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Astronomy General Space Discussion
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MP_
I am the devil that you forgot
Yeah it would have been an awesome site to see in Tassie. I’m trying to talk my wife into a northern lights cruise.
I was cycling on Beach Rd on the Sunday night when tons of people were out looking for the aurora. It took me a while to realise why the traffic was so crazy. Someone else took this photo of Beach Rd, Ricketts Point at about 10pm!!! And it was cold
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- Aug 21, 2016
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China lands on the far side of the moon in an unmanned craft and plans to return to earth with 2kg of rock and soil samples. It's not clear what scientific knowledge will be discovered by this journey.
www.abc.net.au
Footage shows China's spacecraft landing on far side of the Moon
Footage of China's uncrewed spacecraft landing on the far side of the Moon has been released by Chinese media.
www.abc.net.au
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Boeing Starliner finally launched atop an Atlas V rocket after a number of delays. They have found a number of helium leaks en route to the ISS. Pressurised helium is used by the navigation thrusters of the craft. NASA are saying these are not dangerous or mission killing.
IIRC this is the 100th consecutive successful Atlas V launch, there are only 16 flights left before ULA change to the Vulcan rocket.
- Aug 21, 2016
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Starship successfully completed several critical tests then demonstrated some of the rocket’s reusable technology by performing a “soft” landing at sea of its Superheavy booster in the Gulf of Mexico. It's a significant achievement.
www.forbes.com
SpaceX’s Starship Rocket Splashes Down For First Time In Key Test Flight
The previous test flight ended as the spacecraft broke apart while reentering Earth’s atmosphere.
www.forbes.com
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Yes it is a real significant achievement. Largest rocket ever launched. Good few days for NASA.Starship successfully completed several critical tests then demonstrated some of the rocket’s reusable technology by performing a “soft” landing at sea of its Superheavy booster in the Gulf of Mexico. It's a significant achievement.
SpaceX’s Starship Rocket Splashes Down For First Time In Key Test Flight
The previous test flight ended as the spacecraft broke apart while reentering Earth’s atmosphere.
For the moon landing it doesn't need the heat resistant tiles or fins. This variant of Starship is called Starship HLS (Human landing system) I'm not sure there are any precise plans what to do with Starship HLS after it's returned crew to Artemis. Left in orbit it could be turned into am orbital station, if it was refueled it could be landed on the moon as a base or even return to Earth orbit.
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11 minute video of the 4th Starship mission. There is a second video which follows the first showing Starship reentry. Recommended for all space cadets.
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- Aug 21, 2016
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Goosebumps when the booster completed its soft landing and all the people who had worked on it were cheering.
What's next for the Starship program?
- Oct 1, 2014
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Musk was suggesting they might try to catch the booster with the chop sticks next time. They have the block II ships coming through which are lighter and carry more fuel, though I think they have a couple of block I already built which will be used in the next test. The first deadline is the 2026 when the first Artemis mission is scheduled and Starship becomes a very, very large lunar lander. They need to nail landing starship, orbital refuelling and docking before that, so I expect later missions will incorporate tests of those
MP_
I am the devil that you forgot
Was at a Dark Sky event last night and was on a table with members of the Dark Sky alliance. They all did talks on light pollution, the science behind blue light and the different spectrums and the James Webb satellite. Interesting to hear that light pollution is the fastest growing pollution in the world. The area I live in is one of the darkest regions in the world registering as 21.96 on the dark scale with 22 being the darkest putting our region in gold tier level. One of the speakers was Fred Watson and he was extremely entertaining to listen to and has a podcast with over 400 episodes that I’m now going to start listening too
- Oct 1, 2014
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An article by a man wanting to dismiss pixie dust (dark matter).
theconversation.com
We need to consider alternatives to dark matter that better explain cosmological observations
Cosmology does not need dark matter or dark energy in an expanding universe that allows the constants of nature to evolve, and light loses energy as it travels vast distances.
theconversation.com
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Some scientists have been claiming that phosphine gas has been found in the atmosphere of Venus. This has been disputed with some studies failing to detect it. Recent studies have found phosphine gas is only detectable at night and it is suggested that during daylight it's destroyed in the atmosphere by UV radiation.
Why is phosphine important? It may be a biomarker, most on earth comes from decaying organic material. Of course. this is Venus and we do things differently there.
www.9news.com.au
Wikipedia has a detailed article on 'Life on Venus'
Why is phosphine important? It may be a biomarker, most on earth comes from decaying organic material. Of course. this is Venus and we do things differently there.
Possible sign of life on Venus sparked controversy. Now, scientists have more proof
Four years ago, the unexpected discovery in the clouds of Venus of a gas that on Earth signifies life - pho...
www.9news.com.au
Wikipedia has a detailed article on 'Life on Venus'
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I can't imagine life surviving on the surface there at 450°C and 9MPa pressure, and conditions couldn't be that much better in the cloudsSome scientists have been claiming that phosphine gas has been found in the atmosphere of Venus. This has been disputed with some studies failing to detect it. Recent studies have found phosphine gas is only detectable at night and it is suggested that during daylight it's destroyed in the atmosphere by UV radiation.
Why is phosphine important? It may be a biomarker, most on earth comes from decaying organic material. Of course. this is Venus and we do things differently there.
Possible sign of life on Venus sparked controversy. Now, scientists have more proof
Four years ago, the unexpected discovery in the clouds of Venus of a gas that on Earth signifies life - pho...
Wikipedia has a detailed article on 'Life on Venus'
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Yes, our sort of life is not possible on the surface. In the clouds, perhaps. Around 50-60kms pressures and temperature are 'earth like' so not impossible for an acid proof version of our type of life to exist. That's where our cloud cities will be next century.I can't imagine life surviving on the surface there at 450°C and 9MPa pressure, and conditions couldn't be that much better in the clouds
I wouldn't be surprised if there was simple life in the atmosphere of Venus, in fact I expect microbial lifeforms to be common in the universe, we may even find some on Titan or Europa.
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This is part of the Panspermia theory that microbial lifeforms were introduced to Earth by meteors and the right conditions found the right microbe
MP_
I am the devil that you forgot
Just waiting to see what noxious things are found on UranusSome scientists have been claiming that phosphine gas has been found in the atmosphere of Venus. This has been disputed with some studies failing to detect it. Recent studies have found phosphine gas is only detectable at night and it is suggested that during daylight it's destroyed in the atmosphere by UV radiation.
Why is phosphine important? It may be a biomarker, most on earth comes from decaying organic material. Of course. this is Venus and we do things differently there.
Possible sign of life on Venus sparked controversy. Now, scientists have more proof
Four years ago, the unexpected discovery in the clouds of Venus of a gas that on Earth signifies life - pho...
Wikipedia has a detailed article on 'Life on Venus'
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It may not be complete organisms, it could be some of the molecular building blocks landed on Earth and over time formed simple lifeforms. It happened pretty quick, there is genetic evidence the last known common ancestor (LUCA) was up to 4.2 billion years old and pretty good microfossil evidence from 3.7 billion years ago. So simple life started within 500 million years of the Earth being formed, the next 3 billion years it it remained pretty unimpressive. That pattern could be consistent with panspermia in one form or another.
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NASA's Mars rover, Perseverance has found a possible-biosignature in a Mars rock. It's still very speculative and a lot more work need to be done to see if the source of the signature is likely biological or geological.
www.space.com
Possible signs of Mars life: Astrobiologist explains Perseverance rover's exciting find
"This is not a slam dunk by any means — there's multiple lifetimes of questions to address."
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Mofra
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Would those conditions preclude carbon-based lifeforms and require some sort of sulfur-based bacteria like life?
It's fascinating to think about but the changes are incredibly marginal.
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Our carbon/water based life is a no go on the surface, it would have to be very different biochemistry, No one knows about the clouds but at certain heights, conditions are not too dissimilar to Earth, perhaps something similar to terrestrial microbes could live there, just need to be acid and UV resistant. No one knows if there are other biochemical systems in other planetary environments that could form life. It's a big question, hence the interest in having a close look at Europa, Titan etc. Some have speculated whether gas giants could harbour life themselves, again with very different chemistry. We don't have a 'warm Jupiter' in the solar system to study, I actually think they might be even more likely to harbour a form of life because they receive more energy. Andy Weir, the author of the Martian wrote a very good book called the 'Project Hail Mary' which includes one of the best descriptions of an alien from a very different hot, CO2 rich environment. Not quite Venusian in temperature and pressure. We may not even recognise life in some of these environments. Queue McCoys voice saying "Jim, it's life but not as we know it." I'd like to live long enough to see some of these questions answered Might have to wait till my next iteration.
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My son is not a big reader of SF but he really enjoyed it. I was originally going to say he's not a big SF fan. then I remembered all the games he plays Fallout, Halo, Mass Effect, Bioshock etc. So I guess he's a SF fan but not a big reader of it. It really is an interesting novel, worth a read.
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Clever scientists have determined material laid down at the time of the impact that caused the Cretaceous extinction 66 million years ago was produced by a carbon-rich, “C-type” asteroid.
www.theguardian.com
'Writing in the journal Science, the researchers report how they studied different types, or isotopes, of ruthenium within a layer of material that settled over the globe after the impact 66m years ago.
“This layer contains traces of the remnants of the asteroid” said Fischer-Gödde.
The team chose to look at ruthenium because the metal is very rare in the Earth’s crust.
“The ruthenium that we find in this layer, therefore, is almost 100% derived from the asteroid,” said Fischer-Gödde, adding that offers scientists a way to determine the makeup, and hence type, of the impactor itself.
The team found samples of the layer from Denmark, Italy and Spain all showed the same ruthenium isotope composition.
Crucially, said Fischer-Gödde, the result is different to the composition generally found on Earth, ruling out a theory that the presence of ruthenium and other metals such as osmium and platinum, are down to past eruptions of the Deccan Traps volcanoes.
The team also cast doubt on the possibility that the impactor was a comet, saying the ruthenium isotope composition of the samples is different to that of meteorites thought to be fragments of comets that have lost their ice.'
Crater formed from Earth’s extinction event produced by carbon-rich ‘C-type’ asteroid, scientists suggest
Experts studying material from event 66m years ago find signs to show how Chicxulub impact crater was formed
'Writing in the journal Science, the researchers report how they studied different types, or isotopes, of ruthenium within a layer of material that settled over the globe after the impact 66m years ago.
“This layer contains traces of the remnants of the asteroid” said Fischer-Gödde.
The team chose to look at ruthenium because the metal is very rare in the Earth’s crust.
“The ruthenium that we find in this layer, therefore, is almost 100% derived from the asteroid,” said Fischer-Gödde, adding that offers scientists a way to determine the makeup, and hence type, of the impactor itself.
The team found samples of the layer from Denmark, Italy and Spain all showed the same ruthenium isotope composition.
Crucially, said Fischer-Gödde, the result is different to the composition generally found on Earth, ruling out a theory that the presence of ruthenium and other metals such as osmium and platinum, are down to past eruptions of the Deccan Traps volcanoes.
The team also cast doubt on the possibility that the impactor was a comet, saying the ruthenium isotope composition of the samples is different to that of meteorites thought to be fragments of comets that have lost their ice.'
