The Space Thread

[Redder Lurtz]

Saw it last year whilst in Devon. Great stuff.

[Russ Atmosphere]

I love spotting it whenever I can, something brilliant about being able to. Set a phone alarm on a day when the forecast is good and you can't miss it.

[Rico1304]

I hope Xmas eve is clear, it'll be great for kids to see it and pretend it's Father Christmas.

[Sut]

"He's not stopping this year, kids. Make sure you behave a bit more next year."

[Lee909]

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/dec/12/geminids-meteor-shower-britain-hopes-clear-skies

[RoboRiise]

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/dec/12/geminids-meteor-shower-britain-hopes-clear-skies

 

Used to love doing stuff like this. Then two years ago the council installed new street lights - I have one right outside my house, it's at the same height as my bedroom window and 8 feet away.  Light pollution doesn't even come close to describing it.  I could go and stand in the back garden but it's hovering just above 1C right now and I'm also likely to get attacked by feral cats.  Fuck my life.

[Croque Monsieur]

Hopefully, New Horizons probe will come out of hibernation fully working. Is this just going to be a fly by rather than go into orbit?

According to Wikipedia it will fly past Pluto and head on into the Kuiper Belt.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Horizons#Pluto_approach

[Red Phoenix]

Looks like they might be closer to finding something on Mars : Methane surges in Martian atmosphere point to a dynamic and local process, possibly biological

[Fugitive]

Looks like they might be closer to finding something on Mars : Methane surges in Martian atmosphere point to a dynamic and local process, possibly biological

It's Simon.

 

He attempted that Bike ride but took a wrong turn near Birmingham and ended up on the Red Planet.

[Anubis]

Looks like they might be closer to finding something on Mars : Methane surges in Martian atmosphere point to a dynamic and local process, possibly biological

 

As long as they don't unleash Sand Kings.

[Rico1304]

It's Simon.

He attempted that Bike ride but took a wrong turn near Birmingham and ended up on the Red Planet.

Or it could be Pronto-print you took those photos to.

[Fugitive]

Or it could be Pronto-print you took those photos to.

Or it could also be a dump site fully of the decomposing bodies of all the pensioners you and your company have murdered.

[cochyn]

The Beagle HAD landed!

 

 

The missing Mars robot Beagle2 has been found on the surface of the Red Planet, apparently intact.

High-resolution images taken from orbit have identified its landing location, and it looks to be in one piece.

The UK-led probe tried to make a soft touchdown on the dusty world on Christmas Day, 2003, using parachutes and airbags - but no radio contact was ever made with the probe.

Many scientists assumed it had been destroyed in a high-velocity impact.

The new pictures, acquired by Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, give the lie to that notion, and hint at what really happened to the European mission...

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30784886

 

Reading the comments, Colin Pillinger, the brains and the energy behind the project died last year believing Beagle had failed. Gutted for him.

[ratcatcher]

Yeah was looking for this thread when I found the Space Elevator!

 

After all the questions about what happened to Beagle 2, it appears it landed bang on the money as designed. Unfortunately something did go wrong (a burst cushion bag on landing speculated) and although the probe started to unfurl its solar panels, something appears to have stopped the 3rd panel deployment. This prevented panels 4,5 and the transmission aerial deploying so the probe couldnt 'phone home.'

 

Pilger got a lot of stick for the 'failed' mission rather unfairly I thought. ESA didnt want to fly the mission and gave the team tight deadlines and other criteria before agreeing. Must be a real bitch to get so close and yet fail to achieve the goals.

[ratcatcher]

That's 'Pillinger' not Pilger!

[cochyn]

ESA, rather unfairly IMO, went to town on Pillinger and his team in their report on Beagle 2. Despite not being able to pin-point what had actually gone wrong themselves. It all seemed a bit hi-falutin' from the ESA, probably miffeed at having to deal with effectively a bunch of enthusiast planetary astronomers rather than slick multi-billion $ spaceCorps.

 

ESA need to look at who pays their wages. And if some shed boffins from the massive EU net contributor of the United Kindom want to put a probe in their rocket ship, then they bloody well can!

[Rico1304]

Or it could also be a dump site fully of the decomposing bodies of all the pensioners you and your company have murdered.

Only just seen this. as if I'd be involved in disposal.

[Rico1304]

It's such a shame Pillinger didn't get to see this, he was a fantastic character.

[Dan Vito Corleone]

Fantastic news that Beagle 2 made it down, shame it didn't quite work as that would have been a fantastic achievement with a £50m budget.

[ratcatcher]

Fantastic news that Beagle 2 made it down, shame it didn't quite work as that would have been a fantastic achievement with a £50m budget.

 

Yeah. If I remember, it actually had a primary mission to detect life so maybe, we'd have a better idea if there is anything alive there now.

[ratcatcher]

ESA, rather unfairly IMO, went to town on Pillinger and his team in their report on Beagle 2. Despite not being able to pin-point what had actually gone wrong themselves. It all seemed a bit hi-falutin' from the ESA, probably miffeed at having to deal with effectively a bunch of enthusiast planetary astronomers rather than slick multi-billion $ spaceCorps.

 

ESA need to look at who pays their wages. And if some shed boffins from the massive EU net contributor of the United Kindom want to put a probe in their rocket ship, then they bloody well can!

 

Yes, spot on. ESA didnt want to fly the mission in the first place. Think they thought some 50 quid multiple bin lid contraption would denigrated their efforts. There was a Horizon Special (I think) that followed the hoops Pillinger had to jump through. The ESA guy with the final say was British and he made it as tough a fuck with timings and the rest of the imposed conditions.

 

He almost seemed gutted Pillinger and his team satisfied all the criteria in time.

[cochyn]

That's the impression I got as well. I mean, fair play to them for giving Beagle 2 a lift, and is not as if ESA themselves learned a shit-load from the episode.

 

It'll clearly never happen, but just how beautiful would it be if NASA sent their rover to the 'crash' site to see if it could nudge Beagle 2 to life? It would be the greatest space story since the Apollo moon landings: NASA to the rescue!

[PestiRed]

First Pluto's a planet, then it's not and now there's two extra Earths in the solar system

 

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jan/18/two-undiscovered-planets-earth-solar-system

 

I don't think these space scientists know what they're doing

[Anubis]

Do the Guardian. The picture says an artist's impression of the as yet two undiscovered planets, but there is only one.

[jacco maccaco]

Not sure where else to post this, so here is as good as anywhere...

Pretty good visuals topped of with a Carl Sagan narrative, As stated on the site "Make sure to view in full screen, and turn up the volume on your best set of speakers or headphones."

 

The maker has it down as Sci-Fi, although its based on places known to exist!

 

 

The Vimeo video on the website is better than the yt one.

 

http://www.erikwernquist.com/wanderers/film.html

 

All in all very nice.