The Outer Space Thread

[TheGoodBits]

 

 

[ClaytoAli]

WiFi Is Illegal in This American Town. (And Yes, People Actually Live There.)

The town of Green Bank, West Virginia, is home to a superpowerful telescope that needs electromagnetic silence to do its important research. But is that even possible anymore?...

https://greenbankobservatory.org/wifi-is-illegal-in-this-american-town-and-yes-people-actually-live-there/
 

...In order to limit RFI, the West Virginia legislature put a strict law on the books. The state’s Radio Astronomy Zoning Act of 1956 says it’s “illegal to operate or cause to be operated any electrical equipment within a two-mile radius of…any radio astronomy facility.”...

[spjunkies]

 

[Mr. Sinister]

Please come and save us

[Metalhead]

I have my towel, I'm ready to go.

[PokerPacker]

7 hours ago, Metalhead said:

I have my towel, I'm ready to go.

avatar... somewhat checks out.

[China]

Once Starship prototypes stop exploding, we could see an orbital launch this year

 

SpaceX has had a lot of ups and downs lately. On Saturday, May 30, the company made history when their Crew Dragon spacecraft took off from the NASA Kennedy Space Center, carrying two astronauts to space. But just a day before, SpaceX engineers and ground crews watched their fourth Starship prototype (SN4) explode on its testbed during a static fire test, making it the fourth prototype in a row to be lost.

 

But according to recent news from a SpaceX engineer and executive, as well as an internal email from Elon Musk to SpaceX employees, it is clear that the company is all-in with the Starship prototype and could conduct an orbital flight before the end of the year. An ambitious goal, but you don't get to be the head of a company that makes reusability a thing and restores domestic launch capability to US soil by being a pessimist.

 

Not long ago, SpaceX engineers determined the cause of the SN4 explosion, saying that it was the result of a propellant line disconnecting. This led to a major liquid methane leak that then ignited, leading to the spectacular explosion that completely destroyed the SN4. This is similar to what happened during the previous static fire test on May 19, when a small fire broke out near the base of SN4 due to a burst methane line.

 

Nevertheless, the Raptor engine had fired for a full two minutes before the rupture took place, which effectively completed the fifth static fire test of the engine. Combined with other successes, SpaceX's Chief Engineer Hans Königsmann recently indicated that hop tests could begin shortly, which bodes well for an orbital flight before 2020 is over.

 

 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Renegade7]

This YouTube channel is f'n amazing

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZFipeZtQM5CKUjx6grh54g

 

It's by a guy named Issac Arthur, very technical and plausible, most under 30 minutes. 

 

@PeterMP a lot of Fermi Paradox videos : )

[China]

Research sheds new light on intelligent life existing across the galaxy

 

Is there anyone out there? This is an age-old question that researchers have now shed new light on with a study that calculates there could be more than 30 intelligent civilizations throughout our Galaxy. This is an enormous advance over previous estimates which spanned from zero to billions.

 

A new study led by the University of Nottingham and published today in The Astrophysical Journal has taken a new approach to this problem. Using the assumption that intelligent life forms on other planets in a similar way as it does on Earth, researchers have obtained an estimate for the number of intelligent communicating civilizations within our own galaxy -the Milky Way. They calculate that there could be over 30 active communicating intelligent civilizations in our home Galaxy.

 

The two Astrobiological Copernican limits are that intelligent life forms in less than 5 billion years, or after about 5 billion years—similar to on Earth where a communicating civilization formed after 4.5 billion years. In the strong criteria, whereby a metal content equal to that of the Sun is needed (the Sun is relatively speaking quite metal rich), we calculate that there should be around 36 active civilizations in our Galaxy."

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Nerm]

On 6/12/2020 at 2:46 PM, Renegade7 said:

This YouTube channel is f'n amazing

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZFipeZtQM5CKUjx6grh54g

 

It's by a guy named Issac Arthur, very technical and plausible, most under 30 minutes. 

 

@PeterMP a lot of Fermi Paradox videos : )

 

His channel is awesome for learning about so many aspects of spaceflight, and particularly in potential solutions to problems that limit us currently.  I found it ironic that in his early videos he would always include apologies for his speech impediment making it difficult for people to understand him, when he was able to communicate complicated subjects more clearly than just about anyone I have ever come across.

[China]

 

[China]

Kathy Lueders, NASA's 1st female spaceflight chief, will guide a US return to the moon

 

The first woman to be in charge of NASA's human spaceflight program will oversee the first mission to land a woman on the moon, and she's expecting "really big things" to come from the next generation of young, female space enthusiasts. 

 

Kathy Lueders, who until now led NASA's Commercial Crew Program, will take the helm of all crewed spaceflight activities at NASA as the associate administrator for the agency's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The promotion, which NASA announced June 12, came about two weeks after Doug Loverro resigned from the position. 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Baby exoplanet spotted growing around distant star (photo)

 

Planets' origin stories apparently come with a twist.

 

The European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile has captured an image of a planet being born around the young star AB Aurigae, which lies 520 light-years from Earth in the constellation Auriga (The Charioteer).

 

Like previous AB Aurigae images taken by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), this new photo shows spiral arms forming in the thick disk of dust and gas surrounding the star. These spirals are evidence of newly forming worlds, which churn up protoplanetary disks, scientists have said.

 

This image shows the disk around the young AB Aurigae star, where the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) has spotted signs of planet birth. Close to the center of the image, in the inner region of the disk, we see the "twist" (in very bright yellow) that scientists believe marks the spot where a planet is forming. This twist lies at about the same distance from the AB Aurigae star as Neptune from the sun. The image was obtained with the VLT's SPHERE instrument in polarized light. (Image credit: ESO/Boccaletti et al.)

 

But the VLT view, which was obtained using an instrument called SPHERE (short for "Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet Research"), adds something different and more detailed: a twist in those spiral arms. This twist likely pinpoints the spot where the exoplanet is taking shape, researchers report in a new study describing the observations.

 

"The twist is expected from some theoretical models of planet formation," study co-author Anne Dutrey, of the Astrophysics Laboratory of Bordeaux in France, said in a statement. 

 

"It corresponds to the connection of two spirals — one winding inwards of the planet's orbit, the other expanding outwards — which join at the planet location," Dutrey said. "They allow gas and dust from the disk to accrete onto the forming planet and make it grow."

 

VIDEO

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

New closest-known black hole lies in a visible star system

 

Only 1,000 light-years away, the star system can be seen with the unaided eye.

 

Originally published on May 6, 2020, by the European Southern Observatory.

 

A team of astronomers from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and other institutes has discovered a black hole lying just 1,000 light-years from Earth. The black hole is closer to our solar system than any other found to date and forms part of a triple system that can be seen with the unaided eye. The team found evidence for the invisible object by tracking its two companion stars using the 2.2-meter telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. They say this system could just be the tip of the iceberg, as many more similar black holes could be found in the future.

 

Prior to this discovery, the closest-known black hole was A0620-00 in the constellation of Monoceros at a distance of 3,000 light years.

 

Located in the constellation of Telescopium, the system is so close to us that its stars can be viewed from the Southern Hemisphere on a dark, clear night without binoculars or a telescope.

 

ESO scientist Thomas Rivinius, who led the study published May 6, 2020, in Astronomy & Astrophysics (doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202038020), said:

 

"This system contains the nearest black hole to Earth that we know of."

 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Mr. Sinister]

 

[China]

^^^That video made me wonder about where we are in the solar cycle and whether 2020 could add solar storms to the crap we're dealing with.  So when I looked it up I found this:

 

https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/solar-cycle-progression

 

So it looks like we're at a solar minimum, which is good.  Less likely that sunspots will knock out our electronics.

Edited July 2, 2020 by China

[PokerPacker]

1 hour ago, China said:

^^^That video made me wonder about where we are in the solar cycle and whether 2020 could add solar storms to the crap we're dealing with.  So when I looked it up I found this:

 

https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/solar-cycle-progression

 

So it looks like we're at a solar minimum, which is good.  Less likely that sunspots will knock out our electronics.

Finally some good news for 2020.  (Sol says Hold My Corona and finds another way to **** us)

[China]

There's a Lunar eclipse tonight that will be apparently difficult to see.   Jupiter is easy to see though.

[mistertim]

On 7/2/2020 at 1:57 AM, PokerPacker said:

Finally some good news for 2020.  (Sol says Hold My Corona and finds another way to **** us)

 

Don't worry, there's probably a gamma ray burst pointed at us and headed our way, given how this year has gone so far. 

[Mr. Sinister]

Wouldn't mind that so much. At least we'd all die... Together... Probably in agony.

[China]

Newly discovered comet streaking past Earth, with closest approach in 2 weeks

 

A newly discovered comet is streaking past Earth, providing a stunning nighttime show after buzzing the sun and expanding its tail.

 

Comet Neowise swept within Mercury’s orbit a week ago. Its close proximity to the sun caused dust and gas to burn off its surface and create an even bigger debris tail. Now the comet is headed our way, with closest approach in two weeks.

 

NASA’s Neowise infrared space telescope discovered the comet in March.

 

Scientists involved in the mission said the comet is about 3 miles (5 kilometers) across. Its nucleus is covered with sooty material dating back to the origin of our solar system 4.6 billion years ago.

 

The comet will be visible around the world until mid-August, when it heads back toward the outer solar system. While it’s visible with the naked eye in dark skies with little or no light pollution, binoculars are needed to see the long tail, according to NASA.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[NickyJ]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-to-watch-comet-neowise-before-it-disappears-thousands-of-years/

 

 

Quote

 

How to see the comet 

The comet, which has a bright opulent tail, has been putting on a stunning show in the early hours before sunrise in the Northern Hemisphere. Astrophotographers have captured breathtaking images of the comet, as have astronauts aboard the International Space Station. 

 

But late sleepers need not worry — the comet will start appearing in the evening, just after sunset, starting Saturday. To view it, people in the Northern Hemisphere can look to the northwestern sky, just below Ursa Major, commonly known as the Big Dipper constellation. 

 

Scientists say the comet will be visible across the Northern Hemisphere for about another month. In conditions with little light pollution, it may be visible with the naked eye, but NASA recommends using binoculars or a telescope to spot its long tail. 

 

Newowise's closest approach to Earth comes on July 22, at a distance of about 64 million miles. NASA said it's "no Hale-Bopp," the spectacular comet of 1997, but it will be one of the brightest this century.  

 

NASA added it will become even easier to view as July continues, for skywatchers with a clear view toward the horizon. The comet appears higher in the sky for observers farther north, while observers at lower latitudes will view it lower in the sky. 

 

It will be about 7,000 years before the comet returns, so skywatchers shouldn't hesitate to seek out the natural fireworks display.

 

 

 

 

[China]

Astronomers Spot Unexpected Circular Radio Objects at High Galactic Latitude

 

Australian astronomers have detected a series of inexplicable signals that they believe could be “a new class of astronomical object.”

 

A team of international researchers at the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), in the continent’s Western region, has dubbed the objects “odd radio circles,” or ORCs.

 

Led by astrophysicist Ray Norris of Western Sydney University, the scientists shared their findings on arXiv, an open-access scholarly articles archive, while their report awaits peer review for publication into the journal Nature Astronomy.

 

Their study describe four ORCs, which appear as glowing orbs, three of which have distinct, bright rings around the circular object — and ruled out several possible explanations for their existence.

 

“Circular features are well-known in radio astronomical images, and usually represent a spherical object such as a supernova remnant, a planetary nebula, a circumstellar shell, or a face-on disc such as a protoplanetary disc or a star-forming galaxy,” they wrote in their report.

 

“They may also arise from imaging [artifacts] around bright sources caused by calibration errors or inadequate deconvolution. Here we report the discovery of a class of circular feature in radio images that do not seem to correspond to any of these known types of object or [artifact], but rather appear to be a new class of astronomical object,” they explained.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

 

Edited July 15, 2020 by China

[China]

Comet Neowise, two meteor showers and the ISS: Skywatching opportunities abound in next few weeks

If you’re feeling cooped up and looking for an out-of-this-world adventure, you may not have to travel far. In the next four weeks, you will be able to enjoy a comet, multiple meteor showers and a glimpse of the International Space Station.
 

Click on the link for the full article 

[spjunkies]