nudge Posted February 11, 2021 Posted February 11, 2021 18 minutes ago, Stan said: Anyone else find it weird/fascinating that the images we see now - like that Pinwheel Galaxy - is an image that is approx 140tn miles away from us?! It's hard to get your head around. What gets me every time is that when you look through a telescope, you see how that part of the universe looked millions of years ago... That's what's mindblowing for me. A look in the past, a time machine of sorts. Like, it can look completely different now. It might not even be there. Imagine if someone on another planet millions of light-years away had a very powerful telescope and would direct it at Earth at a right moment and at a right spot, they'd see dinosaurs walking the surface of our planet. That's just crazy... Quote
Administrator Stan Posted February 11, 2021 Administrator Posted February 11, 2021 3 minutes ago, nudge said: What gets me every time is that when you look through a telescope, you see how that part of the universe looked millions of years ago... That's what's mindblowing for me. A look in the past, a time machine of sorts. Like, it can look completely different now. It might not even be there. Imagine if someone on another planet millions of light-years away had a very powerful telescope and would direct it at Earth at a right moment and at a right spot, they'd see dinosaurs walking the surface of our planet. That's just crazy... It's insane. We're seeing the past, but it's in our present. Seeing history, in effect. Quote
Subscriber CaaC (John)+ Posted February 11, 2021 Author Subscriber Posted February 11, 2021 1 hour ago, Stan said: Anyone else find it weird/fascinating that the images we see now - like that Pinwheel Galaxy - is an image that is approx 140tn miles away from us?! It's hard to get your head around. Always does my head in when I see or read about that, I would just love to drift around space with no time limit, talk about the 7 wonders of our world, space and the stars have a billion wonders of the universe. Quote
Subscriber CaaC (John)+ Posted February 12, 2021 Author Subscriber Posted February 12, 2021 Quote Europa Clipper: Nasa's ocean world mission gets launch date A mission to study a moon of Jupiter that could be home to extraterrestrial life has been given a launch date. Nasa is sending a spacecraft to the icy world of Europa, which holds an ocean under its frozen outer shell. Scientists have long regarded the moon as one of the most promising targets in the search for life elsewhere in our Solar System. The Europa Clipper spacecraft will now launch to the Jovian moon in October 2024, arriving in April 2030. The spacecraft was to have launched on Nasa's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. But the space agency is reported to no longer be considering that launch vehicle. It will instead lift off on a commercial rocket. Europa: Our best shot at finding alien life? Nasa confirms ocean moon mission Experiment ideas sought for Europa lander Nasa's giant SLS rocket: a guide The details were disclosed by the mission's project scientist, Dr Robert Pappalardo, during a virtual meeting of Nasa's Outer Planets Assessment Group (Opag). "We now have clarity on the launch vehicle path and launch date," Dr Pappalardo, who is based at the space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, told the meeting. Interest in the moon as a potential habitat for extraterrestrial life was given a boost in the 1990s when Nasa's Galileo spacecraft provided evidence that Europa harboured an ocean of liquid water beneath its outer shell. Europa probably has a rocky core surrounded by around 80km (50 miles) of liquid water covered by a shell of water-ice that's roughly 20km (12 miles) thick "Europa's about the size of Earth's moon, yet we think it contains twice as much water as all of Earth's oceans," Dr Pappalardo said during a virtual talk organised by Arizona State University (ASU) last week. Discussing the moon's potential for life, he said: "At the bottom of the Earth's oceans are places where water and rock interact, where water seeps down, contacts hot rock and emerges charged with chemical nutrients - reductants." When these reductants get together with other chemicals called oxidants, they react, he explained. Dr Pappalardo said these reactions could, "potentially power life at the ocean floor of Europa - even where there is no light to allow for photosynthesis". The spacecraft will be able to analyse chemicals in frozen water that has welled up to the surface from beneath the ice shell. It might also be able to sample the contents of water plumes that seem to be spurting out into space from locations on the Jovian moon. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-56031261 Quote
Subscriber CaaC (John)+ Posted February 13, 2021 Author Subscriber Posted February 13, 2021 Quote Explainer: Titan’s chemistry Atomic-force microscopy allows a new understanding of Saturn’s moon. New research from the Astrophysical Journal has identified some of the intricate molecules and reactions happening on the surface of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. How do we identify individual chemicals? Even on Earth, it can be very difficult to figure out the chemical composition of substances. Molecules are too small to see with most technology, so chemists have to use a lot of other techniques to figure out their shapes and how their atoms are arranged. These techniques can include things like spectrometry, which weighs atoms, and spectroscopy, which shines different types of light through molecules and examines the way it’s absorbed. This is how many of the simple gases on solar system bodies have been identified. But the more complicated the molecule, the harder it is to determine exactly what it is. What did we know about Titan? We’ve known for decades that there are a lot of complicated molecules on Titan. These molecules exist in a haze above the moon’s surface, and a lot of them are organic – meaning they contain carbon and hydrogen-bonded with each other in complex structures. It’s thought that 2.8 billion years ago, Earth’s surface looked a little like Titan’s does now. So studying Titan can give some indication of what Earth was like when life was beginning to form. The 1997–2017 Cassini-Huygens mission, which landed a probe on Titan in 2005 and performed several fly-bys, was able to send back a lot more information about the moon. But a spacecraft can only fit so many instruments. The mission was able to send back mass spectrometry data, which can show which elements are present and their abundance, and infra-red spectroscopy data, which yields a little information about how the atoms are bonded together. That still leaves a lot of guesswork on exactly which molecules might be present. How could we find out more? One trick for learning more is to recreate Titan’s haze on Earth. A stainless steel container is filled with the elements that are known to exist on Titan, in the right amounts, and conditions like temperature, pressure and light are changed to mirror Titan. The atoms inside should then start reacting and bonding like they’re on Titan. Then, instead of going to space to study the molecules, they can be examined more closely on Earth. This technique has been used for decades to study both Titan’s haze and that of other moons and early Earth. Some researchers used it recently to get even more detail on Titan’s haze. What did this new research do differently? This research used atomic-force microscopy, a relatively new technology that can create images of individual molecules, to take a look at the more complicated molecules created by their Titan haze replication. The atomic-force microscopy was able to obtain pictures of around 12% of the large, complicated molecules that were in the haze. They found a lot of the molecules were mostly linked rings of carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen, in detailed lace-like structures (pictured above). It had been theorised that these types of molecules existed on Titan before, but this is the first confirmation. How could this be used elsewhere? Analysing chemicals is a difficult science, but deeply important – people need to know what molecules are before they can study them further. This technique could be used to study other extra-terrestrial surfaces modelled in a lab. “For this first time here we see the molecular architecture of synthetic compounds similar to those thought to cause the orange haze of Titan’s atmosphere,” says Conor A Nixon, a research space scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Nixon thinks atomic force microscopy will be “an exciting new tool for sample analysis of astrobiological materials, including meteorites and returned samples from planetary bodies”. Finally, living creatures are formed of complex organic molecules. Studying these molecules on Titan can help further our understanding of how life formed on Earth – and, perhaps, how it might form on other worlds. https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/chemistry/explainer-titans-chemistry/ Quote
nudge Posted February 14, 2021 Posted February 14, 2021 Omega Nebula, also known as Swan or Horseshoe Nebula (M17, NGC 6618). It is one of the richest starfields in the Milky Way. Taken using Planewave CDK24 (60cm F/6.5 reflector), Astrodon LRGB 2gen filters. 14 images, 140 minutes total observation time. Stacked using DeepSkyStacker, processed in PS. 2 Quote
Subscriber CaaC (John)+ Posted February 14, 2021 Author Subscriber Posted February 14, 2021 (edited) Beautiful that @nudge and just looked at my Stellarium Sky Space shot and got this. Edited February 14, 2021 by CaaC (John) 1 Quote
Administrator Stan Posted February 14, 2021 Administrator Posted February 14, 2021 11 minutes ago, nudge said: Omega Nebula, also known as Swan or Horseshoe Nebula (M17, NGC 6618). It is one of the richest starfields in the Milky Way. Taken using Planewave CDK24 (60cm F/6.5 reflector), Astrodon LRGB 2gen filters. 14 images, 140 minutes total observation time. Stacked using DeepSkyStacker, processed in PS. 2 minutes ago, CaaC (John) said: Beautiful that @nudge its also known as the Swan Nebula and just looked at my Stellarium Sky Space shot and got this. Nice shots both I think it's known as the Swan Nebula 1 Quote
Subscriber CaaC (John)+ Posted February 14, 2021 Author Subscriber Posted February 14, 2021 1 minute ago, Stan said: I think it's known as the Swan Nebula Lol, I noticed Nudge had already inserted that so I deleted it. Quote
nudge Posted February 14, 2021 Posted February 14, 2021 You guys should check out the Helix Nebula. It's also called the Eye of God or the Eye of Sauron, and if you take a look at it, it legit looks like that! The image I've taken didn't turn out very well, unfortunately. Quote
Subscriber CaaC (John)+ Posted February 14, 2021 Author Subscriber Posted February 14, 2021 (edited) 10 minutes ago, nudge said: You guys should check out the Helix Nebula. It's also called the Eye of God or the Eye of Sauron, and if you take a look at it, it legit looks like that! The image I've taken didn't turn out very well, unfortunately. That image came out alright, wish I could take something like that, Just found the Helix Nebula, I magnified it a bit also known as C63. Edited February 14, 2021 by CaaC (John) 1 Quote
Subscriber CaaC (John)+ Posted February 15, 2021 Author Subscriber Posted February 15, 2021 The snows have gone so I'm hoping for a clear night tonight and see if I can spot anything...sigh. Quote
Subscriber CaaC (John)+ Posted February 16, 2021 Author Subscriber Posted February 16, 2021 (edited) Caught this earlier slowly creeping across the screen on my mobile Stellarium Star Map, a Starlink satellite launched on Jan 7 2020... STARLINK 1086 Edited February 16, 2021 by CaaC (John) Quote
nudge Posted February 17, 2021 Posted February 17, 2021 Thor's Helmet Nebula (NGC 2359), about 12000 light-years away from the Earth. Its central star is extremely hot, presumably in the pre-supernova stage. 6 narrowband images, 30 min total observation time. 1 Quote
Subscriber CaaC (John)+ Posted February 17, 2021 Author Subscriber Posted February 17, 2021 6 minutes ago, nudge said: Thor's Helmet Nebula (NGC 2359), about 12000 light-years away from the Earth. Its central star is extremely hot, presumably in the pre-supernova stage. 6 narrowband images, 30 min total observation time. I love it when you show the pics, it gives me an excuse of finding it on the Stellarium Star Map. 1 Quote
Subscriber CaaC (John)+ Posted February 17, 2021 Author Subscriber Posted February 17, 2021 47 minutes ago, CaaC (John) said: I love it when you show the pics, it gives me an excuse of finding it on the Stellarium Star Map. NGC 2359 1 Quote
Administrator Stan Posted February 17, 2021 Administrator Posted February 17, 2021 Your pictures are really clear @CaaC (John)! You must have a seriously good telescope !! 1 Quote
Subscriber CaaC (John)+ Posted February 17, 2021 Author Subscriber Posted February 17, 2021 2 minutes ago, Stan said: Your pictures are really clear @CaaC (John)! You must have a seriously good telescope !! I wished, thanks to you and @nudge for giving me the Star Map link as it has me hooked, even showed the eldest grandson and he said he might use it for his science school work. Quote
Subscriber CaaC (John)+ Posted February 19, 2021 Author Subscriber Posted February 19, 2021 (edited) Quote More massive, more problems A heavy black hole may change astronomers’ understanding of their formation. The first black hole ever discovered is more massive than we thought, according to an international team of astronomers. Cygnus X-1 is a binary system consisting of a supergiant star and an enormous stellar-mass black hole, formed after the collapse of another giant star tens of thousands of years ago. Fun Cygnus X-1 facts The black hole and supergiant orbit each other at a blisteringly fast rate of once every 5.6 days. As the black hole feeds on the stellar winds of the supergiant, it sends out jets of high-energy X-rays. Since X-rays don’t penetrate the Earth’s atmosphere, the system wasn’t discovered until 1964, when a pair of Geiger counters were sent up on a space flight. In 1974, physicists Stephen Hawking and Kip Thorne made bets on whether or not Cygnus X-1 was a black hole – though Hawking conceded to Thorne in 1990. Now, in a study published in Science, astronomers have made new observations that show Cygnus X-1 is 7200 light-years from Earth, not 6100 light-years as previously observations found. They also show that it’s 50% more massive then we thought. To measure the distance, the team turned to the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA): an array of telescopes spanning the entirety of North America that combine their data to observe objects with high resolution. Lead author James Miller-Jones explains that the VLBA observed Cygnus X-1 over six days, spanning a full orbit of the black hole around its companion star. The array calculated the black hole’s distance by measuring how far it appears to move relative to the background. “If you hold your finger out in front of your eyes and view it with one eye at a time, you’ll notice your finger appears to jump from one spot to another,” explains Miller-Jones, who is based at Curtin University and the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR). “It’s exactly the same principle.” Combining this data with previous research from 2011 allowed the team to show that Cygnus X-1 is further away than previously thought, and more massive too. The black hole is 21 times the mass of our Sun – 50% greater than previous estimates. Co-author Ilya Mandel, from Monash University and the ARC Centre of Excellence in Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav), says that this may challenge our understanding of black hole formation since Cygnus X-1 began its life as a star 60 times the mass of our Sun. “Stars lose mass to their surrounding environment through stellar winds that blow away from their surface,” he explains. “But to make a black hole this heavy, we need to dial down the amount of mass that bright stars lose during their lifetimes.” The measurements also reveal that Cygnus X-1 is spinning close to the speed of light, faster than any other black hole found so far. “Studying black holes is like shining a light on the Universe’s best-kept secret – it’s a challenging but exciting area of research,” concludes Miller-Jones. https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/astrophysics/more-massive-more-problems/ Edited February 19, 2021 by CaaC (John) Quote
Subscriber CaaC (John)+ Posted February 19, 2021 Author Subscriber Posted February 19, 2021 1 hour ago, nudge said: New arrival! Cost you much? Quote
nudge Posted February 19, 2021 Posted February 19, 2021 Just now, CaaC (John) said: Cost you much? Nope, not at all! Just over 40€; those are pretty much best bang for your buck... 1 Quote
Subscriber CaaC (John)+ Posted February 19, 2021 Author Subscriber Posted February 19, 2021 3 minutes ago, nudge said: Nope, not at all! Just over 40€; those are pretty much best bang for your buck... Still thinking about these binos, waiting until my Birthday coming up and see what happens, either them or a decent camera. Quote
nudge Posted February 19, 2021 Posted February 19, 2021 3 minutes ago, CaaC (John) said: Still thinking about these binos, waiting until my Birthday coming up and see what happens, either them or a decent camera. Depends on what your primary purpose is. If you want to simply observe/stargaze, then pretty much any binos with decent magnification/aperture will be great, just keep in mind that with anything larger than 10x you will struggle to keep it steady without shaking for prolonged periods of time; 10x magnification is more or less the limit for handheld binoculars, and if you get anything larger, you will definitely need to use it with tripod! Even 10x50 is a bit too much for me, hence why I went for a smaller ones (7x50) this time. If you want to take photos, binoculars won't be great, I'm afraid. A decent camera for nightsky will set you back quite a bit... 1 Quote
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