SteveZilla Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 Re: More space news! Looks like the drive isn't the most complicated part... "Traveling through hyperspace ain't like dusting crops, boy!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DusterBoy Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 Re: More space news! I don't think 5-space maths is going to be enough. . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted February 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Re: More space news! Project Mercury Reunion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DusterBoy Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Re: More space news! Kind of depressing to know that it has been all downhill from there (or at least the Apollo missions). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Re: More space news! Nasa's 2013 Budged. Kind of: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Re: More space news! A demonstration of VTOL rocket self-guidance technology -- the Xombie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 Re: More space news! The Jan 5 issue of Nature has a note announcing the discovery of a small (3 earth masses) gas cloud which is approaching the Galaxy's central black hole and is expected to go through closest approach in mid-2013. Not all of it will survive, and it'll be interesting to see how big a flare-up the event causes in Sagittarius A*'s emissions (which have been more or less steady during the period over which we've been able to observe it). The cloud is expected to sheared out into a long stream (or many small cloudlets), much of which will get accreted onto the black hole over mid-to-late next year. The best-fit orbital elements they derive for the cloud are Parameters of Keplerian orbit around the 4.31 × 10^6 M⊙ black hole at R0 = 8.33 kpc Semi-major axis, a: 521 ± 28 mas (mas == milli-arc seconds) Eccentricity, e: 0.9384 ± 0.0066 Inclination of ascending node, i: 106.55 ± 0.88 degrees Position angle of ascending node, Ω: 101.5 ± 1.1 degrees Longitude of pericentre, ω: 109.59 ± 0.78 degrees Time of pericentre, tperi: 2013.51 ± 0.035 (this is a date: that is, 0.51 of the way through 2013) Pericentre distance from black hole, rperi: 4.0 ± 0.3 × 10^15 cm ~= 270 AU = 3,140 RS (RS == Schwarzschild radius of the central black hole) Orbital period, to: 137 ± 11 years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 Re: More space news! Who's going to do the observations? I ask because I feel as though there aren't enough observatories to be able to stare at Sag A for the next year and a half. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 Re: More space news! Well, your options are X-rays, gamma-rays, radio, and infrared. The high energy stuff is all satellite instruments, of course, and I admit I don't know what's up there right now. Radio variability tends to be slow, so intermittent peeks are OK. Here, infrared means 2.2 microns and longward, and I think that'll all be monster telescope work (the eight-to-ten-meter telescopes and up), rather finely time-sliced, unless something really spectacular happens and the observatory leadership yanks the time away. It's just one more thing for the TACs (Telescope Allocation Committees) to wrestle with. Kinda like when Shoemaker-Levy 9 fell into Jupiter, back at the dawn of the Web. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted February 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 Re: More space news! "Steamy Waterworld" Discovered Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 Re: More space news! Mmmm, sauna ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveZilla Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 Re: More space news! "Steamy Waterworld" Discovered My boat.[/deadpan] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 Re: More space news! "Steamy Waterworld" Discovered Interesting paper. Note they don't have direct detection of water vapor in the atmosphere; rather, the observations require an atmosphere made of gases with a higher molecular weight than hydrogen or helium. Water vapor is a viable alternative (it is heavy enough to satisfy the observational constraints, and you expect it to be an abundant substance) but it is not the only alternative. I think N2 or CO2 would work too. Presumably O2 would also, but the very strong spectral features of O2 would show up and be detectable almost instantly as soon as you could look for them from space (you have no hope of detecting those when you have to look through Earth's atmosphere). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted February 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Re: More space news! If you can't be an astronaut, you can still be a NASA space food taster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Re: More space news! If you can't be an astronaut' date=' you can still be a NASA space food taster. If think you didn't read the trequrements completely: Though the entirety of the study will take place here on Earth, the study is seeking those with NASA-level qualifications. Namely, participants should have a bachelors in the sciences, professional experience, the ability to pass a physical examination, and a history of conducting field research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted February 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Re: More space news! I think I've got that covered. Well, mostly, anyway. Then again, I'm a picky eater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveZilla Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Re: More space news! Cosmic Buckyball Particle 'Factory' Discovered Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Re: More space news! Hmm. XX Oph. Interesting star. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeropoint Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 Re: More space news! Man, talk about credential inflation. I need a bachelor's degree to tell whether food tastes good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 Re: More space news! Man' date=' talk about credential inflation. I need a bachelor's degree to tell whether food tastes good?[/quote'] Nope. But this is a package deal: You have to live in a Mars-Module and do experiments in the 4 months you eat this stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveZilla Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 Re: More space news! Nope. But this is a package deal: You have to live in a Mars-Module and do experiments in the 4 months you eat this stuff. So I guess "TANSTAAFL" is true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawnmower Boy Posted February 26, 2012 Report Share Posted February 26, 2012 Re: More space news! The Moon may still have an active core. Rogue planets may be a hundred thousand times as common as stars, and 3 to 6 percent of stars may harbour captured rogues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemming Posted February 27, 2012 Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 Re: More space news! May 20, 2012 Annular Eclipse It will be near sunset when it come thru my area which I'm hoping for some nice photographs then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveZilla Posted February 27, 2012 Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 Re: More space news! Rogue planets may be a hundred thousand times as common as stars' date=' and 3 to 6 percent of stars may harbour captured rogues.[/url'] It says that The bigger/denser (and thus deeper the gravity well), the better an object is at capturing & retaining rogues. Add that with this article: Hundreds of "Rogue" Black Holes May Roam Milky Way And it seems like it could be a real craps shoot out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted February 27, 2012 Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 Re: More space news! Rogue planets may be a hundred thousand times as common as stars, and 3 to 6 percent of stars may harbour captured rogues. Hundreds of "Rogue" Black Holes May Roam Milky Way These are really going to complicate my hyperspace jump calculations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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