Stuff that fascinates me - Astronomy.

[PinkyMacGodess]

ELVES in the atmosphere, or maybe better known as 'gigantic jets'. Nearly 50 miles tall too! WOW!!! And recently discovered.

The more we think we know about the planet, the more we are totally clueless... From APOD.com. And such an amazing planet too...

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Another image of the complexities of lightning. And planes fly through that stuff. Amazing...



Jets, sprites, trolls, pixies, starters, ghosts, gnomes, etc. Amazing... I remember actually seeing sprites one night. It's about as easy as seeing the green flash. I've only seen them once. It has to be near perfect conditions, and you have to just be looking at the right spot at exactly the right time. Wow...

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

So what interests you about this amazing planet of ours?

 

[maflynn]

The Voyager, Cassini New Horizons probes, showing absolutely amazing images, and data in our how solar system was created.

The fact that the Voyager 1 spacecraft was launched in 1977, its currently traveling 38,210 MPH and is about 15 billion miles from Earth and yet is still considered in our solar system. The scale of the universe is incredibly and mind boggling large.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

The Voyager, Cassini New Horizons probes, showing absolutely amazing images, and data in our how solar system was created.

The fact that the Voyager 1 spacecraft was launched in 1977, its currently traveling 38,210 MPH and is about 15 billion miles from Earth and yet is still considered in our solar system. The scale of the universe is incredibly and mind boggling large.

Yes, Voyager 1 is amazing. Some of the craft still functions, but the round trip time for communications is ridiculous.

AND I keep seeing BS on YouTube about 'Voyager is coming back and scientists can't tell why!', which is just insane to even think. And 'The Voyager camera should be turned on' which would be pointless, obviously. After seeing 'The Pale Blue Dot' picture, earth would be completely unidentifiable in any image that might be provided from its current distance, and the time to transmit the image would be months (22+ hour one-way light transit time). It's believed that the RTGs are so depleted that camera operation would be impossible. Researchers had long ago shutdown most of the equipment on those probes that are still reporting and controllable.

But all the stuff out there from humans, and this is only official American craft too.

And an older article, but they were able to contact Voyager 2 at the time. Pretty awesome. Sadly NASA's budget for contacting those escaping probes has been under attack in the past. We learn so much from them, and have even more questions because of the data they return. Hmm...

 

[BugeyeSTI]

The Voyager probes will be funded until they no longer operate. There is no other way to gather the limited information they are sending back to Earth as they are physically in the heliopause and hopefully beyond taking direct measurements. The cost of keeping them going is worth the minimal cost of supporting them until EOL in exchange for the data they are sending back. Those two probes have completely changed our understanding of our solar system and the influence the sun has on space well beyond our solar system...

 

[maflynn]

Sadly NASA's budget for contacting those escaping probes has been under attack in the past. We learn so much from them, and have even more questions because of the data they return. Hmm...

The writing is on the wall, scientists are expecting Voyager 1's power to run out in 2025.

According to NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Voyager 1 has enough fuel to keep its instruments running until at least 2025. By then, the spacecraft will be approximately 13.8 billion miles (22.1 billion kilometers) away from the sun.

The amazing thing is the radioisotope thermoelectric generators have been going for almost 50 years - incredible.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

The Voyager probes will be funded until they no longer operate. There is no other way to gather the limited information they are sending back to Earth as they are physically in the heliopause and hopefully beyond taking direct measurements. The cost of keeping them going is worth the minimal cost of supporting them until EOL in exchange for the data they are sending back. Those two probes have completely changed our understanding of our solar system and the influence the sun has on space well beyond our solar system...

Not meaning to get into politics, but the GW Bush administration did advocate to end all funding for current space probes, calling it a waste of money. But, to their credit, the research community and the general public's hue and cry to save the, and keep contact as long as possible kept the funding active, at a slightly reduced level as I remember.

The most striking comment was 'It's taken us decades to get to that distance, and we likely will never get out that far again in any of our lifetimes, so ending funding of such a precious national resource is lunacy', or something to that effect.

Yeah, with people saying that at current funding levels, Apollo would be impossible, gutting funding on basic research doesn't make any sense for the long, or short term, but politics I guess... And, truth: Research is expensive, and some research just proves that you can't do that, but even that knowledge is priceless.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

The amazing thing is the radioisotope thermoelectric generators have been going for almost 50 years - incredible.

'Going' but at such a diminished level. And the signals they are detecting are, what one researcher said would be like seeing a flashlight bulb on Mars, or something like that. It's a really weak signal made weaker by the distance. But we should still listen...

There was another thought lost probe that hackers revived. Read about it on Wired a few years ago. How cool, and crazy is that! Wow!!!

And all of the space junk. An Apollo lunar lander upper return stage is still floating around the heavens, and a second stage is too. It is a study in orbital dynamics to watch where it's been, and where it's heading. The article is out there, and makes an interesting read...

 

[Scepticalscribe]

The Voyager, Cassini New Horizons probes, showing absolutely amazing images, and data in our how solar system was created.

The fact that the Voyager 1 spacecraft was launched in 1977, its currently traveling 38,210 MPH and is about 15 billion miles from Earth and yet is still considered in our solar system. The scale of the universe is incredibly and mind boggling large.

The writing is on the wall, scientists are expecting Voyager 1's power to run out in 2025.



The amazing thing is the radioisotope thermoelectric generators have been going for almost 50 years - incredible.

Agreed.

Actually, I remember when the two Voyagers blasted off, a fortnight apart, if memory serves, - it was covered on the national TV news - and I was fascinated.

I was a student at university when the Jupiter and Saturn flybys occurred, and I followed that story with awed, and rapt attention.

And then, the outer planets, Uranus and Neptune.....spell-binding stories, I couldn't read enough about this subject, and recall attending a talk given by one of the reporters who had covered this story.

Cassini, likewise.

Awesome.

 

[BigMcGuire]

I took an astronomy class in college from someone who worked at NASA and it really opened my eyes to the complexity of Astronomy. I even made a point to buy the book after the class to go through it again when I have some free time.

Since I was a kid I was attracted to Star Trek for the reason it was in space, dealt with technology, discovery, and brought out the best of what we bring to the table when we work together.

The idea that space is the next frontier for our species - we should be working a lot harder to make it happen. Few people know how much NASA research has impacted our daily lives, from almost everything we do on a daily basis. I can't imagine why we wouldn't work towards that.

I love watching the Space X launches on YouTube. NASA sites like https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status/ are a blast to try and comprehend what it happening.

My wife had a summer event where she got to spend time at JPL for a few weeks - then we got to visit JPL in person for a day. That was a lot of fun.

My wife and I have been to a star watching parties and even participated in a double star watching event and got "published" http://www.jdso.org/volume12/number6/Brewer_563_566.pdf (Only had a small part to play on that team). That was a lot of fun.

Loved visiting several observation locations around southern CA - using red lights at night - was a lot of fun.

In another life I could see putting a lot of time and effort into this.

Always liked the idea behind SETI - wish we'd put more $ into listening.

 

[KaliYoni]

For any other Voyager-heads and music collectors out there, this is a great box set:

Voyager

VOYAGER GOLDEN RECORD In 1977, NASA launched two spacecraft, Voyager 1 and 2, on a grand tour of the solar system and into the mysteries of interstellar space. Attached to each of these probes is a beautiful golden record containing a message for any extraterrestrial intelligence that might...

ozmarecords.com

VOYAGER GOLDEN RECORD 3xLP BOX SET

Release notes: Three translucent gold 130 gram vinyl LPs in poly-lined paper sleeves Three heavyweight jackets, gold ink on black Full-color 96-page softcover book containing all images included on the original Voyager Interstellar Record, gallery of images transmitted back from the Voyager...

ozmarecords.com

Not only is there a lot of incredible music on the records, the book is well written and beautifully made.

 

[scubachap]

I too remember the voyager launch...

In the words of Douglas Adams (another Mac obsessive) ...

“Space [...] is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly hugely mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist, but that's just peanuts to space.”

and on that note about mind-bogglingly bigness this is a great website if you haven't come across it...

If the Moon Were Only 1 Pixel - A tediously accurate map of the solar system

 

[Herdfan]

Astronomy fascinates me as well. In fact, in college I needed 1 more science course to graduate so a buddy talked me into taking Astronomy with him. Figured we would learn about the planets and the stars, etc.

Nope. Freaking 400-500 level PHYSICS course. Only C I ever got in college and when I say it was a gift, it WAS a gift. Professor knew I was over my skis, but also knew I was trying.

I will soon be living in the shadow, OK maybe 40 miles away, from the Lowell Observatory (where Pluto was discovered). I am already planning my new home gift which will be a 8-10" reflector with all the new pointing electronics.

Can't wait.

 

[Rafterman]

Astronomy fascinates me as well. In fact, in college I needed 1 more science course to graduate so a buddy talked me into taking Astronomy with him. Figured we would learn about the planets and the stars, etc.

Nope. Freaking 400-500 level PHYSICS course. Only C I ever got in college and when I say it was a gift, it WAS a gift. Professor knew I was over my skis, but also knew I was trying.

I will soon be living in the shadow, OK maybe 40 miles away, from the Lowell Observatory (where Pluto was discovered). I am already planning my new home gift which will be a 8-10" reflector with all the new pointing electronics.

Can't wait.

I always wanted a nice telescope rig. But I live in Buffalo NY, where cloud covers at lest 30 percent of the time. Light pollution makes it worse.

 

[Herdfan]

I always wanted a nice telescope rig. But I live in Buffalo NY, where cloud covers at lest 30 percent of the time. Light pollution maked it worse.

Same where I am now. I used to have a 6" reflector, but cloud cover and light pollution made it almost unusable. Then my parents bought a lake house at Smith Mtn. Lake in VA. Still had some cloud cover, but very little light pollution. So I took it down there. When we sold the house, the new owner asked if he could buy it, so I sold it to him.

And while it was nice, it was still more old school. Had to point at a specific star to get it calibrated. So it took 15-30 minutes just to get it set up. The new ones have GPS so getting them setup will be much easier.

 

[scubachap]

Same where I am now. I used to have a 6" reflector, but cloud cover and light pollution made it almost unusable. Then my parents bought a lake house at Smith Mtn. Lake in VA. Still had some cloud cover, but very little light pollution. So I took it down there. When we sold the house, the new owner asked if he could buy it, so I sold it to him.

And while it was nice, it was still more old school. Had to point at a specific star to get it calibrated. So it took 15-30 minutes just to get it set up. The new ones have GPS so getting them setup will be much easier.

I've got a Celestron 6" Nexstar SCT (had it for years) and it's great but rarely use it as it's a faff - heave it outside, plug in it, 15 mins of viewing then unplug it etc etc .

I'm in a quite a light polluted area but do have a decent wide South view so one thing I really recommend are image stabilised bino's. I bought a pair of Canon 10 x 30 IS a long time ago on an expensive whim and I haven't ever regretted it. I use them for all sorts of things: Stars, the moon, planes, birds . When they eventually break I'll just swallow hard and cough up and replace them despite their cost increases over the years.

 

[Silencio]

Astronomy fascinates me as well. In fact, in college I needed 1 more science course to graduate so a buddy talked me into taking Astronomy with him. Figured we would learn about the planets and the stars, etc.

Nope. Freaking 400-500 level PHYSICS course. Only C I ever got in college and when I say it was a gift, it WAS a gift. Professor knew I was over my skis, but also knew I was trying.

I will soon be living in the shadow, OK maybe 40 miles away, from the Lowell Observatory (where Pluto was discovered). I am already planning my new home gift which will be a 8-10" reflector with all the new pointing electronics.

Can't wait.

I ended up understanding advanced math better by applying it in the physics and astronomy courses I took at university. My alma mater has a leading Department of Astronomy and our professors are heavily involved in much of the JWST research coming out.

We're truly living in a golden age of astronomy with all we're learning from JWST now, and from Hubble before it.

 

[Rafterman]

Cool photos:

The first known picture of a black hole.
A picture of the star Alpha Centuri - not a point of light, but an actual photgraph of the sun's disk.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

I've got a Celestron 6" Nexstar SCT (had it for years) and it's great but rarely use it as it's a faff - heave it outside, plug in it, 15 mins of viewing then unplug it etc etc .

I'm in a quite a light polluted area but do have a decent wide South view so one thing I really recommend are image stabilised bino's. I bought a pair of Canon 10 x 30 IS a long time ago on an expensive whim and I haven't ever regretted it. I use them for all sorts of things: Stars, the moon, planes, birds . When they eventually break I'll just swallow hard and cough up and replace them despite their cost increases over the years.

I've got an 8" NXT something. Turns out I'm living in an area that is in competition with Seattle for most cloudy days (and nights). However, there are nights that are so amazing. I remember actually seeing the the Hubble ST chasing the shuttle on the last service mission. I was so blown away to see it as I'm kinda north of the equator, and Hubble does not venture very far north. So cool!!!

And I got adapters for the 2 SLR cameras I have, AND the extra large eye pieces. But it has GPS capability, and it hasn't worked well since day one, and the response from Celestron was nearly an 'eff-you'. I was shocked, and it took some (most actually) of the thrill out of using it. Sad to say...

But I've seen the Helix, and Altair, and a lot of the nebulae of Orion, and even some stuff closer (saw a weird drone hovering two houses down. *shrug*

And back on the stuff above: How big is the universe? How big is infinity? Will we ever realize that it's just too big to grok? (But don't stop trying)

I was floored when I saw a Saturn style pattern in my dog's bowl as I filled it with water. It was a perfect hexagon.

Isn't reality amazing?

 

[Ben J.]

I'v collected a folder of fine astro images over a couple of decades, which I set as desktop background. Hubble, James Web. A new image for each desktop every day. They do the job so fine; decorative and non-obtrusive, I can't imagine having it different.

Anyone interested, I could make it available for download. It's 240MB, 147 images.

 

[Herdfan]

And back on the stuff above: How big is the universe? How big is infinity? Will we ever realize that it's just too big to grok? (But don't stop trying)

I have trouble wrapping my head around the universe expanding. Expanding into what? What exactly is on the other side?

 

[Rafterman]

I have trouble wrapping my head around the universe expanding. Expanding into what? What exactly is on the other side?

If you knew that, you'd be the most intelligent person to have ever lived. So many theories, like the universe is a donut that wraps around itself.

Some day, I want to visit one of those super dark areas with no light pollution, where you can see the Milky Way. Where I live, you are lucky to see half a dozen stars.

 

[KaliYoni]

If you knew that, you'd be the most intelligent person to have ever lived. So many theories, like the universe is a donut that wraps around itself.

Some day, I want to visit one of those super dark areas with no light pollution, where you can see the Milky Way. Where I live, you are lucky to see half a dozen stars.

To me, the pinnacle (ha ha) is a place with no light pollution at a high altitude. Two places that stick out in my memory are the Sierra Nevada mountains in California and the Valle Sagrado in Perú.

 

[Rafterman]

To me, the pinnacle (ha ha) is a place with no light pollution, at a high altitude. Two places that stick out in my memory are the Sierra Nevada mountains in California and the Valle Sagrado in Perú.

I live in Buffalo and Allegany State Park in Pennsylvania (about 150 miles away) is a potential site. Some day, I have to take a road trip (and hope the weather cooperates).