The Space Thread

Or, our system is likely to produce similar enough lifeforms in various bands because the basic building blocks are kind of local, fairly widely available and, ultimately, almost exclusively from the same source.

Sure, some bits and bobs moving inward from the Oort Cloud could come from other systems... but, they're rarities. Everything else? One small patch of dust cloud, baby.

And there is, of course, the natural barrier that is the heliosphere. I doubt much in the way of microbial life of any form could survive going through all that superheated plasma.

edited 4th Oct '15 9:44:12 PM by MarqFJA

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

For those who have not seen it yet. The Project Apollo Photo's page on Flickr Thousands of photos. Lots of interesting shots of all types.

Who watches the watchmen?

Wet paleoclimate of Mars revealed by ancient lakes at Gale Crater: "Scientists have described ancient water flows and lakes on Mars, and what this might mean about the ancient climate."

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

Apparently we just barely missed an asteroid that flew by us, about halfway to Venus' orbit. Snark in the article was not added by me, but potholes were.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw

Gee, it's almost like each and every doomsday theory is doomed to fail.

So what the source the article came from?

edited 11th Oct '15 3:12:32 AM by MorningStar1337

It was from CNN, but for some reason when I link articles people complain the links don't work, so my subconscious made me forget to put it in this time.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw

Peeking into our galaxy's stellar nursery: "Astronomers have long turned their telescopes to the wide swaths of interstellar medium to get a look at the formation and birth of stars. However, the images produced over the last 50 years look more like weather maps showing storm systems instead of glittering bursts of light that the untrained observer might expect of a 'star map.' That is, until now."

Blue skies and water ice discovered on Pluto: "The first color images of Pluto's atmospheric hazes, returned by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft last week, reveal that the hazes are blue."

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

The Forum software doesn't deal well with long links, or ones with commas in them. If you put such a URL through a service like TinyURL that creates short URLs that link to the article with the long URL you'll be able to get a working link.

I'm sure this will be fixed eventually, but currently it's not at the very top of the agenda for the admins. They're doing something much bigger at the moment.

Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur.

Hubble's planetary portrait captures changes in Jupiter's Great Red Spot: "Scientists using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have produced new maps of Jupiter that show the continuing changes in its famous Great Red Spot. The images also reveal a rare wave structure in the planet's atmosphere that has not been seen for decades. The new image is the first in a series of annual portraits of the Solar System's outer planets, which will give us new glimpses of these remote worlds, and help scientists to study how they change over time."

Rapid formation of new stars in distant galaxies: "Galaxies forming stars at extreme rates nine billion years ago were more efficient than average galaxies today, researchers find."

Shedding light on the growth of stars and black holes: "A Southampton astronomer is among a team of international researchers whose work has revealed a surprising similarity between the way in which astronomical objects grow including black holes, white dwarfs and young stars.

Christian Knigge, Professor in Physics and Astronomy at the University of Southampton, worked with colleagues from around the world to study one of the most important, but least understood processes in astronomy — accretion, where the mass of an object grows by gravitationally collecting material from nearby.

The article Accretion-induced variability links young stellar objects, white dwarfs, and black holes has been published in the latest edition of the journal Science Advances."

Spectacular 'halos' of spiral galaxies: "A study of spiral galaxies seen edge-on has revealed that 'halos' of cosmic rays and magnetic fields above and below the galaxies' disks are much more common than previously thought."

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

I literally cannot do that for another two months. Anything remotely related to tinyurls is blocked from work. Which is why I copy/paste the whole article when I post things.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw

Why of all things is that blocked?

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran

Three months after flyby, New Horizons team publishes first research paper: "The New Horizons team described a wide range of findings about the Pluto system in its first research paper, just published. 'The Pluto System: Initial Results from its Exploration by New Horizons' appears in and on the cover of the Oct. 16 issue of the journal Science; the publication comes just three months after NASA's historic first exploration of the Pluto system in mid-July."

Mound near lunar south pole formed by unique volcanic process: "Within a giant impact basin near the moon's south pole, there sits a large mound of mysterious origin. Research by geologists suggests that the mound was formed by unique volcanic processes set in motion by the impact that formed the basin."

Hot Jupiter-like planet: Discovery of two close-in planet companions sheds new light on planet formation: "For the past 20 years, astronomers peered into the night sky, puzzled about a type of planet called hot Jupiters.

As they analyzed data from giant telescopes on mountaintops, and later data beamed to Earth from spacecraft such as the Kepler space telescope, they wondered: How did these large hot planets ever get so close to their suns?

Scientists at the University of Michigan, working with a team of colleagues, have made a startling discovery using data collected by the K2 mission: One of these mysterious hot Jupiter systems has not one, but two close-in planetary companions, leading to new clues about planet formation and migration."

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

Astronomers catch a black hole shredding a star to pieces: "A team of astronomers has observed a tidal disruption event in a galaxy that lies about 290 million light years from Earth. The event is the closest tidal disruption discovered in about a decade."

Scientists predict cool new phase of superionic ice: "Scientists have predicted a new phase of superionic ice, a special form of ice that could exist on Uranus and Neptune, in a theoretical study performed by a team of researchers."

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

@tidal disruption

that name needs another S and an I. Maybe some sort of Creed?

Seriously, It seems interesting knowing that some stellar matter can escape a black hole this way

Black hole has major flare: "The baffling and strange behaviors of black holes have become somewhat less mysterious recently, with new observations from NASA's Explorer missions Swift and the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or Nu STAR. The two space telescopes caught a supermassive black hole in the midst of a giant eruption of X-ray light, helping astronomers address an ongoing puzzle: How do supermassive black holes flare?"

Probing the mysteries of Europa, Jupiter's cracked and crinkled moon: "New research, using spectrographic data, shows what are likely deposits from Europa's sub-surface ocean on it's so-called 'chaos terrain.'"

Why Earth is so much bigger than Mars: Rocky planets formed from 'pebbles': "Using a new process in planetary formation modeling, where planets grow from tiny bodies called 'pebbles,' scientists can explain why Mars is so much smaller than Earth. This same process also explains the rapid formation of the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn, as reported earlier this year."

New component of Milky Way discovered: "Astronomers have discovered a previously unknown component of the Milky Way. By mapping out the locations of a class of stars that vary in brightness called Cepheids, a disc of young stars buried behind thick dust clouds in the central bulge has been found."

Wall-less Hall thruster may power future deep space missions: "To prolong the lifespan of Hall thrusters, scientists have experimentally optimized the operation of a novel, wall-less thruster prototype developed a year ago by the same team. The preliminary performance results were satisfactory, the team said, and pave the way toward developing a high-efficiency wall-less Hall thruster suitable for long-duration, deep space missions."

Study solves mysteries of Voyager 1's journey into interstellar space: "In a study published today in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, scientists from the University of New Hampshire and colleagues answer the question of why NASA's Voyager 1, when it became the first probe to enter interstellar space in mid-2012, observed a magnetic field that was inconsistent with that derived from other spacecraft observations."

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

Surprising discovery of oxygen in comet's atmosphere: "The biggest surprise so far in the chemical analysis of Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko's atmosphere is the high proportion of oxygen molecules. While such molecules are common in the earth's atmosphere, their presence on comets had originally been ruled out."

Astrophysicists produce the first age map of the halo of the Milky Way: "University of Notre Dame astronomer Timothy Beers and his Galactic Archaeology group, which includes Notre Dame astronomers Daniela Carollo and Vinicius Placco, have led an international team of researchers that produced the first chronographic (age) map of the halo of the Milky Way galaxy. The halo, along with the disk and bulge, are the primary components of the galaxy. Using a sample of 4,700 blue horizontal-branch (BHB) stars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the research team showed that the oldest stars are concentrated in the central region of the galaxy, confirming predictions from numerical simulations of galaxy assembly. The researchers have also shown that chronographic maps such as theirs can also be used to identify complex structures of stars still in the process of being added to the halo system of our galaxy."

'One size fits all' when it comes to unraveling how stars form: "A massive star, 25 times the mass of the sun, is forming in a similar way to low-mass stars, astronomers have discovered. The research is one of the final pieces of the puzzle in understanding the lifetimes of the most massive and luminous stars, called O-type stars. These stars are major contributors to heavy element production in the Universe, such as iron and gold, which they eject into space in dramatic supernovae explosions at the end of their lives."

Astrophysicists find Jupiter likely bumped giant planet from solar system: "It's like something out of an interplanetary chess game. Astrophysicists at the University of Toronto have found that a close encounter with Jupiter about four billion years ago may have resulted in another planet's ejection from the Solar System altogether."

New NASA study reveals origin of organic matter in Apollo lunar samples: "A team of NASA-funded scientists has solved an enduring mystery from the Apollo missions to the moon - the origin of organic matter found in lunar samples returned to Earth. Samples of the lunar soil brought back by the Apollo astronauts contain low levels of organic matter in the form of amino acids. Certain amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, essential molecules used by life to build structures like hair and skin and to regulate chemical reactions."

Microscopic messengers from the depths of space: "In 1990, an important space probe was launched, tasked with the ambitious mission of orbiting the sun and scanning our star at all latitudes. However, the much-publicized mission was not solar research but the detection of tiny particles from interstellar space. This joint NASA/ESA mission, lasting 19 years, has revealed the properties of the particles originating from interstellar space and has provided new insights on these tiny cosmic visitors."

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

Birth of universe modelled in one of largest cosmological simulations ever run: "Researchers are sifting through an avalanche of data produced by one of the largest cosmological simulations ever performed."

They're calling it the Q Continuum BTW.

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

Hubble uncovers the fading cinders of some of our galaxy's earliest homesteaders: "Using Hubble Space Telescope images, astronomers have conducted a 'cosmic archeological dig' of our Milky Way's heart, uncovering the blueprints of our galaxy's early construction phase. The researchers uncovered for the first time a population of ancient white dwarfs — smoldering remnants of once-vibrant stars that inhabited the Milky Way's core."

Growing pains in a cluster of protostars: "A new study has found a cluster of young stars that develop in distinct, episodic spurts. It is the first time astronomers have seen such a growth pattern within a star cluster — a chaotic, turbulent environment that is common for star formation. Previous observations have focused on stars forming in more isolated regions of space."

edited 9th Nov '15 12:26:31 AM by rmctagg09

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

Here are some articles on the proposed "moon village."

As NASA Shrugs, FAA Looks at Leadership Role in Global Moon Village A truly black day for Nasa when a mere regulatory agency shows more determination for exploration than the head of Nasa. I as an American would consider it a national disgrace if we were not the first nation to return to the Moon. Nasa must back this plan not only for our own national pride, but for the good of the human race.

Why NASA could be vital for the European ‘moon village’ concept

This is, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest ideas for global exploration to come up in years, shame it has gotten so little backing.

Pluto may have ice volcanoes.

edited 9th Nov '15 4:05:54 PM by JackOLantern1337

I Bring Doom,and a bit of gloom, but mostly gloom.

Mars' moon Phobos is slowly falling apart: "The long, shallow grooves lining the surface of Phobos are likely early signs of the structural failure that will ultimately destroy this moon of Mars."

Mercury gets a meteoroid shower from Comet Encke: "The planet Mercury is being pelted regularly by bits of dust from an ancient comet, a new study has concluded. This has a discernible effect in the planet's tenuous atmosphere and may lead to a new paradigm on how these airless bodies maintain their ethereal envelopes."

Simpler way to define what makes a planet: "A professor of planetary astronomy has described a simple 'planet test' that can be readily applied to bodies orbiting the sun and other stars. According to this new test, all eight solar system planets and all classifiable exoplanets are confirmed as planets."

So far there are no signs of life coming from the 'alien megastructure' star: "In bad news for alien enthusiasts, initial observations of the mysterious 'alien megastructure' star KIC 8462852 have so far turned up no signs of extraterrestrial life."

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

'Most distant' Solar System object spied

I Bring Doom,and a bit of gloom, but mostly gloom.

NASA's Cassini finds monstrous ice cloud in south polar region of On Saturn's moon Titan: "New observations made near the south pole of Titan by NASA's Cassini spacecraft add to the evidence that winter comes in like a lion on this moon of Saturn."

Astronomers eager to get a whiff of newfound Venus-like planet: "The collection of rocky planets orbiting distant stars has just grown by one, and the latest discovery is the most intriguing one to date. The newfound world, although hot as an oven, is cool enough to potentially host an atmosphere. If it does, it's close enough (only 39 light-years away) that we could study that atmosphere in detail with the Hubble Space Telescope and future observatories like the Giant Magellan Telescope."

NASA’s released a prototype of the spacesuit astronauts will wear on Mars: "ICYMI, humans are going to Mars in the mid-2030s, and NASA is about to start recruiting astronauts for the mission. But before it opens those floodgates, the US space agency has provided a little more insight into what those lucky future astronauts will be wearing when they touch down on the Red Planet for the first time.

NASA unveiled its first images of the Z-2 spacesuit advanced prototype last month, and it looks a lot more modern than the white extravehicular mobility unit suits we’re used to seeing on astronauts these days."

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

Scientists explain why moon rocks contain fewer volatiles than Earth's: "Scientists have combined dynamical, thermal, and chemical models of the Moon's formation to explain the relative lack of volatile elements in lunar rocks. Lunar rocks closely resemble Earth rocks in many respects, but Moon rocks are more depleted in volatile elements like potassium, sodium, and zinc, which tend to have lower boiling points and vaporize readily."

First gamma-ray pulsar detected in another galaxy: "Researchers have discovered the first gamma-ray pulsar in a galaxy other than our own. The object sets a new record for the most luminous gamma-ray pulsar known."

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

Researchers capture first photo of planet in making: "Capturing sharp images of distant objects is difficult, largely due to atmospheric turbulence, the mixing of hot and cold air. But researchers captured the first photo of a planet in the making, a planet residing in a gap in LkCa15's disk. Of the roughly 2,000 known exoplanets, only about 10 have been imaged — and long after they had formed, not when they were in the making. Results were published in Nature."

Dark matter dominates in nearby dwarf galaxy: "Dark matter is called 'dark' for a good reason. Although they outnumber particles of regular matter by more than a factor of 10, particles of dark matter are elusive. Their existence is inferred by their gravitational influence in galaxies, but no one has ever directly observed signals from dark matter. Now, by measuring the mass of a nearby dwarf galaxy called Triangulum II, Assistant Professor of Astronomy Evan Kirby may have found the highest concentration of dark matter in any known galaxy."

Radiation blasts leave most Earth-like planet uninhabitable: "The most Earth-like planet could have been made uninhabitable by vast quantities of radiation.The atmosphere of the planet, Kepler-438b, is thought to have been stripped away as a result of radiation emitted from a superflaring red dwarf star, Kepler-438. Regularly occurring every few hundred days, the superflares are approximately 10 times more powerful than those ever recorded on the sun and equivalent to the same energy as 100 billion megatons of TNT."

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.