The Space Thread -

Viking64

mrbigbluelight wrote: »

So NASA is going to have a Stream on April 3 with the astronauts who will be heading for the moon on April 5 ?!
Where the heck have I been ?!!
😲

The dark side.

dromunds

Was watching the SpaceX launch this morning but they nixed it with a couple minutes left. At least 48 hours before they can relaunch. Pretty cool stuff

bcwsrt

Was gonna make Elon late for his interview with Tucker Carlson tonight?

mrbigbluelight

Need to get this thread back on the front page 👍

AstroAlexandfa has a channel on Youtube .
Her videos,while relatively short, do bring up interesting topics regarding space
This will give you something interesting to do at work.👍

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/dmyiyfcDfn4

treitz3

LDN 1235: The Shark Nebula

The Shark Nebula, also known as the Dark Shark Nebula, is a emission nebula located in the constellation Cepheus. It is situated about 650 light-years away and spans a distance of about 15 light years. Here is another shot from NASA...



Tom

treitz3

This is the Bubble and the Crescent (Nebula). Discovered in 2013, the Soap Bubble Nebula is likely a planetary nebula, the final shroud of a lower mass, long-lived, sun-like star destined to become a slowly cooling white dwarf. Both stellar shrouds are 5,000 light-years or so distant. The larger Crescent Nebula is around 25 light-years across.

It resides 7,100 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cassiopeia. The seething star forming this nebula is 45 times more massive than our sun.

Tom

audioluvr

treitz3 wrote: »

The Shark Nebula

The eye must be either a black hole or a worm hole into another time and dimension.

treitz3

Pickering's Triangle - Pickering's Triangle is part of the Veil Nebula complex visible in the constellation Cygnus. The nebula is the remnant of a supernova explosion that occurred roughly 10,000 years ago. Pickering's Triangle was discovered in 1904 on a photographic glass plate by the Scottish born Williamina Fleming while working at the Harvard College Observatory under the direction of Edward Charles Pickering.

Fleming was part of a team of skilled and underpaid women known as the Harvard Computers hired to analyze and process data collected by the observatory. Fleming had initially been hired to serve as Pickering's housemaid. Pickering reportedly fired a male assistant at the observatory while exclaiming that his maid could do a better job, although he clearly recognized her intellectual talents and abilities. Fleming became a strong advocate for the advancement of women in the field of astronomy.

Accomplishments in her highly successful career included: the discovery of numerous variable stars, novae, and nebulae including the famed Horsehead Nebula in Orion; the development and assessment of a system to classify stars through distinctive features of their spectra; and the publication of scientific articles and reports. In 1906, she was the first American (and Scottish) woman elected to the Royal Astronomical Society of London. An additional honor is the recognition of her discovery of Pickering's Triangle under the appellation of Fleming's Triangular Wisp.



Tom

treitz3

The Tadpole Galaxy, also known as UGC 10214 and Arp 188, has an eye-catching tail that is about 280,000 light-years long. The galaxy is a disrupted barred spiral galaxy located 420 million light-years from Earth in the northern constellation Draco. NASA image -



Tom

treitz3

Last one for tonight. There are 2 more minerals here on Earth...

https://www.chaosmosnews.net/2022/12/15/meteorite-that-recently-fell-in-somalia-turns-out-to-contain-two-minerals-never-before-seen-on-earth/

Tom

mrbigbluelight

The sun. 😳
Dide had a lot of pics done by an amateur astronomer

https://www.facebook.com/reel/824133642777982?sfnsn=mo&mibextid=6AJuK9

audioluvr

^^^ COOL!

treitz3

The Angel Nebula - Is this a painting or a photograph?

In this classic celestial still life composed with a cosmic brush, dusty nebula NGC 2170, also known as the Angel Nebula, shines near the image center. Reflecting the light of nearby hot stars, NGC 2170 is joined by other bluish reflection nebulae, a red emission region, many dark absorption nebulae, and a backdrop of colorful stars. Like the common household items that still life painters often choose for their subjects, the clouds of gas, dust, and hot stars featured here are also commonly found in this setting -- a massive, star-forming molecular cloud in the constellation of the Unicorn (Monoceros). The giant molecular cloud, Mon R2, is impressively close, estimated to be only 2,400 light-years or so away. At that distance, this canvas would be over 60 light-years across.

Tom

treitz3

Voyager - NASA's longest lived mission logs 45 years in space after re-establishing communication with Earth.

In case you didn't know or hear about this - Voyager 2 is located more than 12.3 billion miles (19.9 billion kilometers) from Earth, and a mistaken antenna redirect has interrupted communication between Voyager 2 and the ground antennas of NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN). Data being sent by the spacecraft is no longer reaching the DSN, and the spacecraft is not receiving commands from ground controllers.

Voyager 2 is programmed to reset its orientation multiple times each year to keep its antenna pointing at Earth; the next reset will occur on Oct. 15, which should enable communication to resume. The mission team expects Voyager 2 to remain on its planned trajectory during the quiet period.

UPDATE, Aug. 1, 2023: Using multiple antennas, NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) was able to detect a carrier signal from Voyager 2. A carrier signal is what the spacecraft uses to send data back to Earth. The signal is too faint for data to be extracted, but the detection confirms that the spacecraft is still operating. The spacecraft also continues on its expected trajectory. Although the mission expects the spacecraft to point its antenna at Earth in mid-October, the team will attempt to command Voyager sooner, while its antenna is still pointed away from Earth. To do this, a DSN antenna will be used to “shout” the command to Voyager to turn its antenna. This intermediary attempt may not work, in which case the team will wait for the spacecraft to automatically reset its orientation in October.

UPDATE, Aug. 4, 2023: NASA has reestablished full communications with Voyager 2.

The agency’s Deep Space Network facility in Canberra, Australia, sent the equivalent of an interstellar “shout” more than 12.3 billion miles (19.9 billion kilometers) to Voyager 2, instructing the spacecraft to reorient itself and turn its antenna back to Earth. With a one-way light time of 18.5 hours for the command to reach Voyager, it took 37 hours for mission controllers to learn whether the command worked. At 12:29 a.m. EDT on Aug. 4, the spacecraft began returning science and telemetry data, indicating it is operating normally and that it remains on its expected trajectory.

As an added FYI, there is this to watch for your consideration -



Tom

mrbigbluelight

What a ride !!!!

Thanks for that info, Tom

This is a great thread

treitz3

Okay, so we see plenty of things far, far, FAR away from Earth. Let's take a step back and take a closer look at just the swath of our own solar system. This should put things into a greater appreciation of the sheer vastness of space....unfathomable is an understatement.

When you have a spare 8 minutes, this one is worth your time. The perspective is eye opening. Enjoy.

https://youtu.be/pR5VJo5ifdE

Tom

treitz3

NGC 7822. Late last month NASA and ESA released a swirling infrared vista capturing an evolutionary snapshot of the formation of two nascent stars, known collectively as Herbig-Haro 46/47.

According to the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, which is responsible for JWST's operations, the most likely explanation is that the question mark is actually a remote galaxy or pair of galaxies getting tangled in each other's gravitational pull.








Tom

mrbigbluelight

My amateur guess is that there is a black hole between the two, pulling matter from each.
Very interesting pictures.

treitz3

Scientists are still debating about this and it may not be solved for quite some time. Your explanation could very well be the case. It could be that one galaxy is being ate up by a black hole and the other one is 65,000 light years away from the other, left undisturbed. Yet, from our perspective, it appears as if the two are interconnected.

It's a new finding that I'm pretty confident will be explored/studied (in all spectrum's) in the coming decades.

That said, let's move back toward Earth for a second, shall we? Ever wondered what the surface of Venus looks like?



The last photo (above) from the surface of Venus is now 40 yrs old. The Venera-14 lander reached the surface in 1982, lasting 52 minutes in Venus' temperature of 450°C (847°F)! Photo courtesy of NASA.

Tom

mhardy6647

The Perseid meteor shower peaks this Friday and Saturday night - "just after midnight" in northern New England.
https://fairbanksmuseum.org/eye-on-the-night-sky/

pitdogg2

mrbigbluelight wrote: »

My amateur guess is that there is a black hole between the two, pulling matter from each.
Very interesting pictures.

OR Marvin the martian is up there holding up a picture in front of the camera......giggling....

audioluvr

mhardy6647 wrote: »

The Perseid meteor shower peaks this Friday and Saturday night - "just after midnight" in northern New England.
https://fairbanksmuseum.org/eye-on-the-night-sky/

I went out last night about midnight and saw nothing but the Andromeda Galaxy and the rising moon (which was pretty cool).

ZLTFUL

treitz3 wrote: »

Scientists are still debating about this and it may not be solved for quite some time. Your explanation could very well be the case. It could be that one galaxy is being ate up by a black hole and the other one is 65,000 light years away from the other, left undisturbed. Yet, from our perspective, it appears as if the two are interconnected.

It's a new finding that I'm pretty confident will be explored/studied (in all spectrum's) in the coming decades.

That said, let's move back toward Earth for a second, shall we? Ever wondered what the surface of Venus looks like?



The last photo (above) from the surface of Venus is now 40 yrs old. The Venera-14 lander reached the surface in 1982, lasting 52 minutes in Venus' temperature of 450°C (847°F)! Photo courtesy of NASA.

Tom

Russia has absolutely nailed the Venus lander formula. Us on the other hand...well...we have one successful impact probe and multiple orbitals and flybys... LOL.

treitz3

Tom

audioluvr

Hubbles is cooler

ZLTFUL

treitz3 wrote: »

Tom

What really cooks my noodle is that in the Webb version, the VAST majority of those star-like dots in the image are in fact entire galaxies.

treitz3

The (now) Dwarf Planet Pluto -



As a reminder, Pluto is no longer considered a "Planet" in our solar system. A quick and short answer as to why - The International Astronomical Union (IAU) downgraded the status of Pluto to that of a dwarf planet because it did not meet the three criteria the IAU uses to define a full-sized planet. Essentially Pluto meets all the criteria except one—it “has not cleared its neighboring region of other objects.”

Tom

treitz3

Amazing perspective - The Andromeda galaxy isn't bright enough for us to fully see with our naked eye. But if you can do a longer exposure with high light sensitivity, this picture actually does show how big the galaxy would appear to us.

To be exact Andromeda, from our point of view, is 6 times wider than the moon.

With a telescope you could see the center of the galaxy, and it would already fill your entire eyepiece. But with the naked eye it's just too dim to see. Only on very dark (moonless probably) nights in very dark areas with barely any light pollution would you vaguely be able to see the center of Andromeda with the naked eye.

Just try to imagine how absolutely mind bogglingly big it is to appear that large in our sky, while it's 2.5 million light-years away!

Tom

audioluvr

I see it clearly will binoculars at my house. It's not that pretty though in real time.

mhardy6647

It was a lovely night last night here, so Mrs. H and I spent about an hour sitting out back, starting about 11 pm, watching the sky for the Perseids. We were rewarded within moments, both of us seeing a kind of dim but unmistakable streak. We saw about a half-dozen in toto. Given the time frame we were looking, that's not bad at all. We were both really sleepy by midnight, so we threw in the towel & went to bed. Thus the vicissitudes of old age.

Viewing conditions were very good. The sky wasn't really dark but for a summer evening it was quite respectable (e.g., the Milky Way was clearly visible overhead). I was too lazy to set up the camera & take some long exposures, unfortunately.

so... Here's an old night sky photo taken in August 2019.



I like this photo because the galaxy that holds our sun and earth looks like it's coming out of our chimney.