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Official Space Exploration Coolness Thread
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Maciej
M AH - ch ain saw
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2011-03-04, 09:56

Wow, 6/9 doesn't sound like a very good success rate - IMO. Although I'm no space geek so I don't really know what a good success rate is.

User formally known as Sh0eWax
  quote
Moogs
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Join Date: May 2004
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2011-03-04, 10:24

No it's not, really. Hopefully it's all a coincidence but sounds like this will put a real dent in our earth science / climate monitoring capabilities.
  quote
curiousuburb
Antimatter Man
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: that interweb thing
 
2011-03-04, 11:42

Last Taurus XL fairing separation failure for OCO launch generated a 'mishap investigation board'.
Lessons learned were apparently put in place for this launch of Taurus XL.
Mishap redux.
[/facepalm]

Try another rocket, dudes!

All those who believe in telekinesis, raise my hand.
  quote
curiousuburb
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2011-03-08, 13:38

Detached prominence off the solar limb = awesomeness... click for bigger



Quote:
As for size, see that dark elongated sunspot near the base of the prominence, just to the right of the bigger, speckly one? That spot is roughly twice the size of the Earth.


The small spot is that big... and teh prominence can be up to 10 Billion tons of material.

Descriptive source

All those who believe in telekinesis, raise my hand.
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thegelding
feeling my oats
 
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2011-03-08, 14:06

wow...so the sun has cloudy days too

Gavin

beautiful photo.
  quote
Moogs
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2011-03-08, 18:29

Holy....

It's remarkable the resolution we can now capture the sun with.
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curiousuburb
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2011-04-05, 06:01

Gravity on Earth isn't the same everywhere... new map shows stronger (yellow) and weaker (blue) zones and a wacky potato shaped planet.

BBC story



Quote:
It looks like a giant potato in space.

And yet, the information in this model is the sharpest view we have of how gravity varies across the Earth.

The globe has been released by the team working on Europe's Goce satellite.

It is a highly exaggerated rendering, but it neatly illustrates how the tug we feel from the mass of rock under our feet is not the same in every location.

...

Technically speaking, the model at the top of this page is what researchers refer to as a geoid.

It is not the easiest of concepts to grasp, but essentially it describes the "level" surface on an idealised world.

Look at the potato and its slopes. Put simply, the surface which traces the lumps and bumps is where the pull of gravity is the same.

Described another way, if you were to place a ball anywhere on this potato, it would not roll because, from the ball's perspective, there is no "up" or "down" on the undulating surface.

It is the shape the oceans would adopt if there were no winds, no currents and no tides.

The differences have been magnified nearly 10,000 times to show up as they do in the new model.


Even so, a boat off the coast of Europe (bright yellow) can sit 180m "higher" than a boat in the middle of the Indian Ocean (deep blue) and still be on the same level plane.

This is the trick gravity plays on Earth because the space rock on which we live is not a perfect sphere and its interior mass of rock is not evenly distributed.

The Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer (Goce) was launched in March 2009.

Goce flies lower than any other scientific satellite
It flies pole to pole at an altitude of just 254.9km - the lowest orbit of any research satellite in operation today.

The spacecraft carries three pairs of precision-built platinum blocks inside its gradiometer instrument that can sense fantastically small accelerations.

This extraordinary performance allows it to map the almost imperceptible differences in the pull exerted by the mass of the planet from one place to the next - from the great mountain ranges to the deepest ocean trenches. Just getting it to work has tested the best minds in Europe.

"Ten years ago, Goce was science fiction; it's been one of the biggest technological challenges we have mastered so far in the European Space Agency," said Dr Volker Liebig, the organisation's director of Earth observation.

"We measure one part in 10 trillion; that's beyond what we understand in our daily experience."

An initial two months of observations were fashioned into a geoid that was released in June last year. The latest version, released in Munich at a workshop for Goce scientists, includes an additional four months of data. A third version will follow in the autumn. Each release should bring an improvement in quality.

... continues
Wonder if the Sri Lankan Olympic team jumps higher at home or needs to train in Papua New Guinea

All those who believe in telekinesis, raise my hand.
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Moogs
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2011-04-06, 22:39

I like taters. Now we know why Michael Jordan could jump so high and why all those Euros are flat-footed chumps.
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curiousuburb
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2011-04-11, 06:40

To celebrate the 50 anniversary of humans in space, watch a YouTube film (made of ISS-shot HD video) recreating the view as if seen during Gagarin's First Orbit

Quote:
April 12th 1961 – Yuri Gagarin is about to see what no other person has seen in the history of humanity – the Earth from space. In the next 108 minutes he'll see more than most people do in a lifetime. What sights awaited the first cosmonaut silently gliding over the world below? What was it like to view the oceans and continents sailing by from such a height?

In a unique collaboration with the European Space Agency, and the Expedition 26/27 crew of the International Space Station, we have created a new film of what Gagarin first witnessed fifty years ago.

By matching the orbital path of the Space Station, as closely as possible, to that of Gagarin's Vostok 1 spaceship and filming the same vistas of the Earth through the new giant cupola window, astronaut Paolo Nespoli, and documentary film maker Christopher Riley, have captured a new digital high definition view of the Earth below, half a century after Gagarin first witnessed it.

Weaving these new views together with historic, recordings of Gagarin from the time, (subtitled in Englsih) and an original score by composer Philip Sheppard, we have created a spellbinding film to share with people around the world on this historic anniversary.

We have partnered with YouTube to share First Orbit with the World in a special global streaming event on the 12th April. The Yuri's Night network will also be showing the film at over 120 parties around the world that day. If you would like to watch it at one of these events then please contact the organizers directly through the Yuri's Night clickable party map.

And if there isn't a party near you then why not make a date with our YouTube channel and organize your own party. You can register the event on the Yuri's Night website by clicking here. And if you are planning a big event then check out our details of how you can download the film in advance, to be part of our global premiere on the 12th April. You can even download a poster from here to print out and advertise your screening. Whatever you do we'd love to hear how you shared First Orbit and what you did to remember Yuri - our first space man!
The 108 minute flight is also condensed into a 100 second App version for iPhone/iPad/etc



Quote:

On the 12th April 1961 Yuri Gagarin climbed into his spaceship and was launched into space. It took him just over 100 minutes to orbit Earth and he returned as the World's very first spaceman. He didn't have an iPhone to capture what he saw to share with the world, so fifty years on we have gone back and filmed it all again for you to enjoy. You can find out how we did it and watch the full length free film at www.firstorbit.org

But if you want to experience a speedier view of what Yuri witnessed on his pioneering flight then this is the app for you! We've condensed our new view into 100 seconds - which is the equivalent of orbiting the Earth at over 1 million miles an hour!

There's also an interactive Earth globe so you can trace the exact route which Yuri took fifty years ago.
There's Android App too for any heretics.

All those who believe in telekinesis, raise my hand.
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Moogs
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2011-04-22, 09:04

Let the terraforming begin!
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drewprops
Space Pirate
 
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2011-05-14, 10:23

Is there any definition by which a moon is considered to be a planet?

I was reading an article about Io's magma "ocean" and noticed that by the end they were referring to that moon as a planet.

Quote:
For now, Io remains a truly distinct planet. Dr. Khurana, comparing the surface of Io to a freshly baked pizza, noted that at 1/40 of Earth’s size, Io produces 40 to 100 times more lava each year than all of the volcanoes on Earth. And the research team’s discovery only adds to Io’s individuality.

“Io is the only planet that we know of in the solar system that has a magma ocean,” he said.
The article is from FoxNews.com

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/...-moon-jupiter/



...

Steve Jobs ate my cat's watermelon.
Captain Drew on Twitter
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arteggio
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Within
 
2011-05-14, 11:05

Quote:
Originally Posted by drewprops View Post
...FoxNews.com...


Don't planets orbit a sun, and moons orbit a planet?

There doesn't seem to be much wiggle space to be had in that definition, but I'm sure Fox is perfectly capable of finding it anyway.
  quote
Banana
is the next Chiquita
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
 
2011-05-14, 11:10

Quote:
Originally Posted by arteggio View Post
Don't planets orbit a sun, and moons orbit a planet?
If orbiting a sun is all it takes to be a planet, then that would mean that Pluto would still be a planet. Obviously, it's a bit more than that. Damned if I know the formal definition, since I'm a long cry from being an astronomer.

(not that I would want to vouch for FoxNews's ummmm... newsworthiness. It looks like a black hole right there.)
  quote
Dave
Ninja Editor
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Bay Area, CA
 
2011-05-14, 12:26

Quote:
Originally Posted by Banana View Post
If orbiting a sun is all it takes to be a planet, then that would mean that Pluto would still be a planet. Obviously, it's a bit more than that. Damned if I know the formal definition, since I'm a long cry from being an astronomer.
As am I, but I remember something about it has to be big enough to have gravitationally collapsed into something roundish, and it has to have cleared its orbit of debris. There is an asteroid in the asteroid belt (more specifically, it's either a Dwarf Planet or a Minor Planet, depending on who you ask) that passes the first test, but not the second. And, of course, I could be mis-remembering the whole thing.

And now my curiosity has gotten the better of me...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wikipedia
A planet (from Greek πλανήτης αστήρ "wandering star") is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.

When I was a kid, people who did wrong were punished, restricted, and forbidden. Now, when someone does wrong, all of the rest of us are punished, restricted, and forbidden... and the one who did the wrong is counselled and "understood" and fed ice cream.
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arteggio
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2011-05-14, 12:33

Yeah, it's a bit more complex (sorry Pluto), but a moon is inherently incapable of being classified a planet, as far as I know.
  quote
curiousuburb
Antimatter Man
 
Join Date: May 2004
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2011-05-19, 19:45

Then there are Rogue planets (without stars to orbit, apparently)

Quote:

Seems like every week astronomers find a new exoplanet, one that's the biggest or the smallest or the hottest or most habitable. However, this week astronomers are announcing a truly unique and new class of exoplanets: Jupiter sized planets that are in extremely large orbits or completely unbound from a host star altogether. And there appear to be a lot of them, as these planets seem to be more common than main sequence stars.

... continues ...
Wonder if there are spindizzies in effect.
  quote
Mugge
Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
 
2011-06-03, 03:28

And a little closer to earth, with no ambitions of going higher up than 15 km, the guys from Copenhagen Suborbitals are at it again. They plan to launch at 3 pm CET.



EDIT:

I worked!

First YouTube video of the launch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0UdxZYezwg

While the rocket itself worked as advertised, the parachute apparently came down empty. Also, the rocket didn't have a guidance system, just some rollerons to keep it steady. Guess they'll need a few more tests before putting a man in it.

Awesome nevertheless!



EDIT2:

Here's a Google translated article about the test: http://translate.google.com/translat...n&u=www.ing.dk

EDIT3:

For some reason Google translate keeps returning the front page of the website I'm linking to instead of the article "The rocket flew, crashed and gathered valuable data into". Oh well, it will probably remain front page stuff for a while anyway.

Last edited by Mugge : 2011-06-03 at 14:22.
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Moogs
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Join Date: May 2004
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2011-06-06, 09:47

Anti-matter in the ... trap!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13666892
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Moogs
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2011-06-07, 15:56

CME Goodness.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/su...711-blast.html
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curiousuburb
Antimatter Man
 
Join Date: May 2004
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2011-06-08, 06:39

Paulo Nespoli provides the first (and last) shots of Endeavour docked with ISS taken from a departing Soyuz.

30+ awesome wallpaper res shots available here



There's also more on Paolo's Flickr pages, but I <3 the fact that the Nasa wallpapers still include Mac OS 9 instructions.

Quote:

It is a stunning image and one that is bound to be reproduced over and over again whenever they recall the history of the US space shuttle.

The picture was taken by Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli as he left the International Space Station in May in a Soyuz capsule to return to Earth.

Safety procedures mean the Russian vehicle would never normally be in transit when a shuttle is present.

It makes this the first-ever image of an American orbiter docked to the ISS.

Endeavour sits firmly on the bow of the station, which is moving across the surface of the Earth at a speed of 27,000km/h (17,000mph) and at an altitude of approximately 355km (220 miles).

... continues here ...

All those who believe in telekinesis, raise my hand.
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Moogs
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2011-06-10, 09:20

News from "V'GER"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13715764
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curiousuburb
Antimatter Man
 
Join Date: May 2004
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2011-07-18, 13:25

Dawn Probe orbits Asteroid Vesta


Vesta seen by Dawn at a distance of 41,000km

Quote:

The Dawn probe has successfully entered orbit around the asteroid Vesta.

Nasa's robotic satellite sent data early on Sunday confirming it was circling the 530km-wide body.

The probe has taken almost four years to get to Vesta and will spend the next year studying the huge rock before moving on to the "dwarf planet" Ceres.

Asteroid Vesta looks like a punctured football, the result of a colossal collision sometime in its past that knocked off its south polar region.

"Today, we celebrate an incredible exploration milestone as a spacecraft enters orbit around an object in the main asteroid belt for the first time," Nasa Administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement.

"Dawn's study of the asteroid Vesta marks a major scientific accomplishment and also points the way to the future destinations where people will travel in the coming years. President Obama has directed Nasa to send astronauts to an asteroid by 2025, and Dawn is gathering crucial data that will inform that mission."

Vesta was discovered in 1807, the fourth asteroid to be identified in the great belt of rocky debris orbiting between Mars and Jupiter.

At the time, its great scale meant it was designated as another planet but it later lost this status as researchers learnt more about the diversity of objects in the Solar System.

Close but careful

Dawn's encounter is occurring about 188 million km (117 million miles) from Earth.

The probe is propelled by an ion engine and engineers put the spacecraft on a course to be captured in the gravitational field of Vesta.

They cannot say precisely when that happened; it will have depended on the asteroid's mass - and that property is something Dawn will determine during its stay.

Initially, Dawn will be orbiting at a distance of several thousand km from the asteroid, but this distance will be reduced over time.

Mission scientists hope to get within 200km of the surface but the team do not intend to take any unnecessary risks.

"We would like to get as low as possible but if we crash Dawn, Nasa would understandably be very angry at us," Principal Investigator Chris Russell told BBC News.

Asteroids can tell us about the earliest days of the Solar System. These wandering rocks are often described as the rubble that was left over after the planets proper had formed.

Vesta and Ceres should make for interesting subjects. They are both evolved bodies - objects that have heated up and started to separate into distinct layers.

Surface detail

"We think that Vesta has a metal core in the centre - an iron core - and then silicate rock around it," explained Dr Russell.

"And then, sometime in its history, it got banged on the bottom and a lot of material was liberated. Some of this material gets pulled into the Earth's atmosphere. One in 20 meteorites seen to fall to Earth has been identified with Vesta," he added.

Ceres, which, at 950km in diameter, is by far the largest and most massive body in the asteroid belt, probably did not evolve as much as Vesta.

Scientists think it likely that it retains a lot of water, perhaps in a band of ice deep below the surface.

Dawn's quest at Vesta over the coming months will be to map the asteroid's surface.

The probe carries instruments to detect the mineral and elemental abundances in its rocks. It will be looking for evidence of geological processes such as mountain building and rifting. The team is keen to understand how Vesta's surface has been remodelled over time by impacts and even lava flows.
Leonard Nimoy narrated a nifty 13 min overview of the Dawn mission you can view here


Artist's impression (not to scale) of Dawn and its ion propulsion system showing the asteroids Vesta (left) and Ceres (right). Image: William K Hartmann/AP

For more, see Dawn's official NASA page or JPL's Dawn pages

Another triumph for Ion engines.

All those who believe in telekinesis, raise my hand.
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Moogs
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2011-07-18, 15:28

Hey amongst all the low gravity biological experiments was there ever any zero gravity hetero lovin' experiments? I'm not sure how fun this would actually be (vs. work), as I read something in a space travel exploration book that said both parties would have to be anchored to a wall or something to enable the boom-boom movement.

Can you imagine giving your she-astronaut the first bump and her flying across the lab? There's a good monty python sketch in here somewhere.

...into the light of a dark black night.
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Moogs
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2011-08-07, 13:45

Awesome... maybe future spacecraft to be powered by anti-proton / anti-matter engine, using anti-proton fields trapped by the Van Allen radiation belts as a fuel source?
Since it would take us forever and a day to produce enough of the stuff to fuel a ship, maybe we can "scoop some up on our way out of town", just before our refueling pit stop in Saturn's radiation belts for a "precursor" mission to the stars. Download the PDF at the bottom of the link. It is awesome even for a math-tard like me. Gives me hope for humanity.

OTOH such a small portion of the population has the motivation to learn these kinds of math and science skills... Imagine if even 2% of the kids out there were motivated to do this instead of skipping their homework so they can listen to Puff Diddly and Lady Googoo, watching Real Housewives of East Bumblefuck, and partying all the time. How many more great minds would we have at work on this problem in 10 years?


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14405122

...into the light of a dark black night.

Last edited by Moogs : 2011-08-07 at 14:28.
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Moogs
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2011-09-01, 21:45

File this under space exploration not-so-coolness.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14757926
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curiousuburb
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2011-09-07, 10:09

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter offers best ever views of Apollo 12, 14 and 17 landing sites.



Detailed images and video available here

Or visit the LRO Camera team website here




Suck It moon landing hoax conspiracy nutters!

All those who believe in telekinesis, raise my hand.
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Moogs
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Join Date: May 2004
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2011-09-07, 17:40

It's the parasite-snake trails leading way from the lander! Apollo 18z is REEL¡¡
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Maciej
M AH - ch ain saw
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2011-09-11, 19:54

Awesome image from Cassini

Here's a tiny teaser from the HuffingtonPost:

  quote
Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2011-09-11, 21:31

Wait a sec, that looks an awful lot like...

Quote:
for about 12 hours in 2006
Ah, yep! That's the one. I see this shot all over the place, most prominently on Neil deGrasse Tyson's homepage. Still, though, super cool!


The quality of this board depends on the quality of the posts. The only way to guarantee thoughtful, informative discussion is to write thoughtful, informative posts. AppleNova is not a real-time chat forum. You have time to compose messages and edit them before and after posting.
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Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2011-09-11, 21:33

Oh, and that tiny dot to the left?



Right there? That's Earth.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Carl Sagan, referencing a similar photo from Voyager
From this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of any particular interest. But for us, it's different. Look again at that dot. That's here, that's home, that's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
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