Sundog Posted January 2, 2010 Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 I spotted a bright star in the eastern sky at 3:39 am this morning (3Jan2010). It was bright enough that I initially mistook it for Venus - until it suddenly declined to nothing. I'm in southern Perth, Western Australia. What do people think? Nova? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSgt Baloo Posted January 2, 2010 Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 Re: Nova? No clue. If it was, the word hasn't leaked onto the internet news sources yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristopher Posted January 2, 2010 Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 Re: Nova? Depending on what part of the eastern sky you saw it in, I'd guess satellite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted January 2, 2010 Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 Re: Nova? Could be an Iridium Flare. Iridium is a set of sixty-odd satellites in low earth orbit for satellite cell phones. At certain times, the sun glints off them, causing a bright start appear. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_flare http://www.satobs.org/iridium.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 Re: Nova? Satellite. Judging by the brightness, either an iridium flare or the ISS right before it crossed into earth's shadow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundog Posted January 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 Re: Nova? Yep,seems likely. If it had been a Nova it would be all over the news today. Spectacular, anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 Re: Nova? Novae decline in brightness much slower than that, too. Days or weeks rather than seconds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted January 4, 2010 Report Share Posted January 4, 2010 Re: Nova? I'm for the Flare myself. Iridium has some reflective mojo. Interesting metal. ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristopher Posted January 4, 2010 Report Share Posted January 4, 2010 Re: Nova? Are the Iridium sats made of iridium? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted January 4, 2010 Report Share Posted January 4, 2010 Re: Nova? Are the Iridium sats made of iridium? They wish. Nope, the satellites are not made of iridium. Originally there were going to be 77 satellites. This is the same as the atomic number (and number of electrons) of the element Iridium so they gave the satellites the same name. Then the corporation found out they could get by with only 66 satellites. "Dysprosium" did not have the same dramatic sound, so they kept the name "Iridium". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristopher Posted January 4, 2010 Report Share Posted January 4, 2010 Re: Nova? They wish. Nope, the satellites are not made of iridium. Originally there were going to be 77 satellites. This is the same as the atomic number (and number of electrons) of the element Iridium so they gave the satellites the same name. Then the corporation found out they could get by with only 66 satellites. "Dysprosium" did not have the same dramatic sound, so they kept the name "Iridium". I didn't think so, but it would have explained what the company wasted all their money on, leading to their failure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted January 4, 2010 Report Share Posted January 4, 2010 Re: Nova? Heh.....very true. Still, there is a lot of Shiny reflective stuff up there in the trash orbits. So I still lean, flash. ~Rex.... wonders how we have forgotten how to get to the moon.....Not like it's hiding or anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeropoint Posted January 4, 2010 Report Share Posted January 4, 2010 Re: Nova? We haven't forgotten HOW . . . we've forgotten WHY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndianaJoe3 Posted January 4, 2010 Report Share Posted January 4, 2010 Re: Nova? We know how to get to the Moon. We just don't know how to do it profitably. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted January 5, 2010 Report Share Posted January 5, 2010 Re: Nova? We know how to get to the Moon. We just don't know how to do it profitably. The fact that we're now often thinking about profit from space is probably one of the main reasons why we haven't even tried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted January 5, 2010 Report Share Posted January 5, 2010 Re: Nova? Ah, but there IS Profit out there, and without Profit as a motivator, the great exploration era, would have gone a lot different. Altruists are mighty fine people, but they don't get the job done as well, as real Gold Miners. ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeropoint Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Re: Nova? I understand that the total value on the current market of all the stuff that makes up a typical metallic asteroid is somewhere in the neighborhood of $20,000,000,000,000. You'd think that would be an incentive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundog Posted January 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Re: Nova? Except you're not allowed to own one. If you don't own the mine, you don't own the ore, so you can't legally sell it. The first step to exploiting space is abolishing the Outer Space Treaty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Re: Nova? Possession is 9/10ths of the Law. I'm pretty sure, if some company manages to get up there to grab a nice chunk of metal in the form of an asteroid, then they'll own it. After all, how is someone going to take it away from them? That Outer Space treaty is a joke anyway and would go the same way as every other similar treaty that went to the compost heap dirtside, the second some company figured out how to make the profit exceed the investment. ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Re: Nova? I understand that the total value on the current market of all the stuff that makes up a typical metallic asteroid is somewhere in the neighborhood of $20,000,000,000,000. You'd think that would be an incentive. Well, you have to subtract the transportation cost from that total. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Re: Nova? Couple of Nukes, to nudge it in the right direction, then wait. Actually I think Jerry Pournelle's A Step Farther Out (which I found in my Lensman box), really laid out some nice stuff for all of that. Great book by the way if you have not read it (not counting you Nyrath I know you've read it heh). ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Re: Nova? Possession is 9/10ths of the Law. I'm pretty sure' date=' if some company manages to get up there to grab a nice chunk of metal in the form of an asteroid, then they'll own it. After all, how is someone going to take it away from them? That Outer Space treaty is a joke anyway and would go the same way as every other similar treaty that went to the compost heap dirtside, the second some company figured out how to make the profit exceed the investment.[/quote'] Well, up until the point where the company has the capability of slicing off the asteroid chunks capable of annihilating entire cities and accelerating them into an Earth impact trajectory. Before that point the company will experience an expression of displeasure from the national government which has jurisdiction (e.g., the company will be nationalized, the corporate headquarters will experience a commando raid capturing all the CEOs, military spacecraft will seize the company's spaceborne assets, something like that). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Re: Nova? Actually I think Jerry Pournelle's A Step Farther Out (which I found in my Lensman box)' date=' really laid out some nice stuff for all of that. Great book by the way if you have not read it (not counting you Nyrath I know you've read it heh).[/quote'] Yes, I have a note to that effect on the title page of my Atomic Rocket site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Re: Nova? I still think, the "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" (And other death from above examples) (since being on the moon will make it easier to get the rocks in the belt in the first place), will Trump "Big Guv'ment Nationalization". Besides, those politicians had to get their "Elect me" money from some place right? That is if they are still really around in any sort of power at all (Mega Corp evolution), but most likely, I lean towards a world power like, China or India, or even Russian, that's going to look at that Outer Space Treaty and go...."Yeah....so what." ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristopher Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Re: Nova? Their exectutives or their leaders still live somewhere. That somewhere is vulnerable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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