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Astronomy General Space Discussion

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The Southern Sky Astrophotography exhibition for 2024 has been decided. If you live in sin city you can see the winners in the flesh at the Sydney observatory until 1 February. There are some real beauts.

Galaxies, auroras and a cosmic bat: Southern Sky astrophotography exhibition 2024 – in pictures

The Southern Sky Astrophotography 2024 exhibition displays the top entries from the 20th David Malin awards for Australian astronomers and photographers. The images are on display at the Sydney observatory until 1 February
www.theguardian.com

Unfortunately the Guardian doesn't mention how they were taken, which I find very annoying with any photography competition, even more so with Astrophotography.
 
CD Xbow said:
The Southern Sky Astrophotography exhibition for 2024 has been decided. If you live in sin city you can see the winners in the flesh at the Sydney observatory until 1 February. There are some real beauts.

Galaxies, auroras and a cosmic bat: Southern Sky astrophotography exhibition 2024 – in pictures

The Southern Sky Astrophotography 2024 exhibition displays the top entries from the 20th David Malin awards for Australian astronomers and photographers. The images are on display at the Sydney observatory until 1 February
www.theguardian.com

Unfortunately the Guardian doesn't mention how they were taken, which I find very annoying with any photography competition, even more so with Astrophotography.
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Nothing worse than looking at a great picture and not knowing what lens they were using and the settings.
 
CD Xbow said:
The Southern Sky Astrophotography exhibition for 2024 has been decided. If you live in sin city you can see the winners in the flesh at the Sydney observatory until 1 February. There are some real beauts.

Galaxies, auroras and a cosmic bat: Southern Sky astrophotography exhibition 2024 – in pictures

The Southern Sky Astrophotography 2024 exhibition displays the top entries from the 20th David Malin awards for Australian astronomers and photographers. The images are on display at the Sydney observatory until 1 February
www.theguardian.com

Unfortunately the Guardian doesn't mention how they were taken, which I find very annoying with any photography competition, even more so with Astrophotography.
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These pics are amazing. Agree - should have more details.
 
Cosmologists have been forced to 'make stuff up' to explain a number of inconsistencies between their observations and theories. Dark matter and dark energy are the 2 most notable. I have discussed my dislike of dark matter in previous posts and I am a little hopeful the physicists may have found other explanations for the alleged effects that require pixie dust dark matter.

A recent paper suggests we may be able to also bury dark energy as a requirement for cosmic expansion.

'The new evidence supports the "timescape" model of cosmic expansion, which doesn't have a need for dark energy because the differences in stretching light aren't the result of an accelerating Universe but instead a consequence of how we calibrate time and distance.

It takes into account that gravity slows time, so an ideal clock in empty space ticks faster than inside a galaxy.

The model suggests that a clock in the Milky Way would be about 35 per cent slower than the same one at an average position in large cosmic voids, meaning billions more years would have passed in voids. This would in turn allow more expansion of space, making it seem like the expansion is getting faster when such vast empty voids grow to dominate the Universe.'

Research Rejects Dark Energy, Debunks Universe Expansion

One of the biggest mysteries in science – dark energy – doesn't actually exist, according to researchers looking to solve the riddle of how the
www.miragenews.com

Underlying both these issues seems to be a poor understanding of 2 fundamental things which we all experience daily, time and gravity.

Added - I asked one of our silicon friends the following

Q. If the timescape model of dark energy is correct, how might that affect the physical effects that dark matter is used to explain?

'If the timescape model of cosmic expansion is correct, it would fundamentally change our understanding of the universe and the role of dark matter. Here's how it might affect the physical effects attributed to dark matter:
  1. Galaxy Rotation Curves: The timescape model suggests that the observed rotation curves of galaxies, which currently imply the presence of dark matter, could instead be explained by variations in the passage of time due to gravitational fields. This means that the need for dark matter to explain these curves would be eliminated.
  2. Gravitational Lensing: Similarly, the bending of light around massive objects (gravitational lensing) would not require dark matter to explain the extra mass. Instead, it would be due to the differences in how time passes in regions with varying gravitational strengths.
  3. Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB): The patterns observed in the CMB, which are currently interpreted as evidence for dark matter, would need to be re-evaluated under the timescape model. The variations in time and space expansion could account for these patterns without invoking dark matter.
  4. Large-Scale Structure: The distribution of galaxies and galaxy clusters across the universe, which is currently attributed to dark matter, would be explained by the uneven expansion of space in the timescape model.
In essence, if the timescape model is correct, it would mean that the phenomena we currently attribute to dark matter are actually due to variations in the way time and space expand in different regions of the universe. This would eliminate the need for dark matter as an explanation and provide a new framework for understanding cosmic expansion.'

The timescape model could kill 2 birds with one stone, wouldn't that be beaut?
 
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K2-18b is an exoplanet fairly close to us, at 'only' 124 light years and it has been of interest because of potential 'biosignatures'. It's 2.6 times the size of Earth so it could be a water covered terrestrial type planet, one of the so called super Earths. On the other hand it could be a mini Neptune, one a bit smaller and warmer than which we are familiar. Read about it here.

NASA’s James Webb Telescope discovers life supporting gases on a planet in space - Times of India

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has detected an exoplanet, K2-18 b, which is larger than Earth and located in a habitable zone. The planet's atmosph
timesofindia.indiatimes.com
There is another possibility, a theoretical Hycean planet, one with large oceans and hydrogen-rich atmospheres. Hycean planets are thought to be common around red dwarf stars, and are considered to be a promising place for life.
 
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Blue Origins New Glenn rocket is supposed to launch today, in fact, it was scheduled to launch around 5.00pm AEST. The contdown is curranty at T -35m, which is worse than a while ago when it was T 20m. The New Glenn is designed to be reusable like Falcon 9, though it's a much larger rocket.
Live updates from CNN
Spaceflight.com has a 13 minute video looking at the rocket and mission, which I found informative.


Added 8.30 pm It was scrubbed because of a 'vehicle subsystem issue'
 

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Comet G3 Atlas should be visible in the southern hemisphere skies tomorrow for the next week. Look south to southwest around 20 minutes after sunset. It may be as bright as Venus is currently but will dim as it moves away from the sun . Hopefully I have clear skies so I can get some pics to share of this comet which hasn’t been past earth for over 160,000
 
Chief said:
They were supposed to be on the moon by now weren't they?
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Mid 2027, but I don't think they will. They need Starship working in its moon lander variant AND Artemis to be up and running. 2029-30 I reckon is realistic, which is the same time that the PRC is planning to land taikonauts. Space Race II, could end up like this:
 

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Registered User said:
Has anyone seen the comet? I haven't. I had a look last night
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I tried to photograph it but couldn’t see it, will try again tonight with a different lens. I’ve upgraded one of my astronomy apps so I can pinpoint the comets location. I’ve seen a few photos of it from Australia so people are seeing it some with naked eye but most with binoculars or 200mm lens.
 
The chemical results from the Bennu asteroid return mission have been published. The chemists found loads of mineral salts, which was unexpected as there are seldom found in meteorites on Earth, the reason is evaporation in the water vapour of our atmosphere. Briny things these chondrite asteroids. However, it was the organic chemists who had the biggest find

"They found unexpectedly high levels of ammonia, an essential building block of the amino acids that form proteins in living matter. They also found all five of the nucleobases that make up part of DNA and RNA.

Based on these results, we’d venture to guess that these briny pods of fluid would have been the perfect environments for increasingly complicated organic molecules to form, such as the kinds that make up life on Earth."

Panspermia, no, its not a drinking game at an orgy, it's the very real possibility the young Earth was seeded with organic molecules. Given these recent findings I have no doubt it happened, but whether it was important or not in the development of life is yet to be determined. Read about it here:

Bennu asteroid reveals its contents to scientists − and clues to how the building blocks of life on Earth may have been seeded

New findings reveal that a NASA mission traveled to an asteroid that may have once been covered in salty lakes containing organic molecules.
theconversation.com
 
Folks are starting to look at Venus for future colonization, as the author says, the upper atmosphere of Venus is the most hospitable place in the solar system. Right gravity, light, temperature and pressure, well shielded from radiation and vastly closer than Mars. It is true, without protective gear you'll choke and your skin will burn off, but at least your eyeballs won't pop out. The paper below is a proposal for a long term balloon mission, cleverly using the MOXIE O2 generating gear previously used on Mars.

A balloon mission that could explore Venus indefinitely

Sometimes, the best innovative ideas come from synthesizing two previous ones. We've reported before on the idea of having a balloon explore the atmosphere of Venus, and we closely watched the progress of the Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE) as part of the Perseverance rover on Mars.
phys.org
 
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dirty2 said:
Don't know if I would put my hand up to live on a floating balloon 🎈 on Venus.
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In terms of sinking, it's no more likely than a ship at sea. Because the pressure outside and inside are close, it's easy to build and keep floating. Structures on Mars and the Moon both will have to be stronger because they are containing high pressure within. They will also have to be built to tolerate extreme cold and on the moon extreme heat, as well as providing radiation protection. Most folks on the moon and Mars are going to be living in caves, whereas I will be sipping cocktails on the balcony of a magnificent cloud city with a spectacular view of the clouds of Venus, like this:
venus42.jpg ​
 
CD Xbow said:
In terms of sinking, it's no more likely than a ship at sea. Because the pressure outside and inside are close, it's easy to build and keep floating. Structures on Mars and the Moon both will have to be stronger because they are containing high pressure within. They will also have to be built to tolerate extreme cold and on the moon extreme heat, as well as providing radiation protection. Most folks on the moon and Mars are going to be living in caves, whereas I will be sipping cocktails on the balcony of a magnificent cloud city with a spectacular view of the clouds of Venus, like this:
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You put it that way it sounds quite pleasant lol
 
dirty2 said:
You put it that way it sounds quite pleasant lol
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How could it not be pleasant, Venus is named after the goddess of love!
Which actually provides a nice segue into the next topic, the exoplanet GJ 1214 b. This is an intermediate size planet, about 8 times the size of Earth, the sort that don't exist in our system and at this point in time we have NFI. So there has been much speculation about them, are they super Earths? Water or ice worlds? Are they Hycean planets? Located a measly 48 light-years from Earth, it's one of the easiest of these intermediate planets to study. A recent study revealed an atmosphere that was unexpected. It was neither hydrogen-rich, nor water-rich. It was, instead, rich in carbon dioxide (CO2). GJ 1214 b is neither a Super-Earth nor a Sub-Neptune, but a Super-Venus.

Inhospitable worlds called “super-Venus” exist which we didn’t know about until now

Astronomers confirmed a type of exoplanet exists dubbed a “Super-Venus”.
cosmosmagazine.com
 
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Physicists are battling a number of problems with their models of the Universe forcing them to engage in unpleasant activities of just 'making stuff up' like Dark Matter. There are a number of other observational and experimental inconsistencies concerning gravity which also don't fit current models. This well written article in Scientific American discuses the resurrection of an old theory of Einstein's, a torsional gravity (teleparallel gravity), as a way to resolve these differences. The great master was using it for a different problem, to try to resolve gravity and electromagnetism in a unified field theory, a problem which remains to this day. Easy to read and understand, not a single formula.

Could Einstein’s Abandoned Theory of Teleparallelism Rescue Modern Cosmology?

A nearly century-old offshoot of Einstein’s general theory of relativity may hold promise for solving the mysteries of dark matter, dark energy and more
www.scientificamerican.com
 
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Yet another approach to unify gravity and quantum mechanics. Professor Ginestra Bianconi proposes gravity arises out of quantum entropy and the G field. Can't say I understand it. There has been a few attempts at interpreting gravity through the lens of information theory, this one seems the most viable. The introduction of the G-field and its seeming solution to some long standing cosmological problems is hopeful. Research will focus on testing the model’s predictions against observational data and exploring its implications for black holes, cosmology, and quantum information science.

Gravity from Entropy: Breakthrough Theory Links Quantum Mechanics and Relativity

A new study proposes gravity emerges from quantum entropy, offering insights into dark matter and spacetime.
www.thebrighterside.news

Almost forgot this one, first space craft to 'land' in Australia. Skylab littering the outback decades ago doesn't really count as a landing..

Saucer-like space capsule drops down in Australian outback, marking 1st for commercial space industry

Varda Space Industries' W-2 space capsule reentered Earth's atmosphere and touched down in the Australian outback last month, becoming the first commercial spacecraft to land Down Under.
www.livescience.com
 
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This is a doco about Venus that has some nice graphics including cloud cities and a trilby wearing scientist who probably needs his arms restrained.


This one is gruesomely silly.
 
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