Astrophysics and Cosmology - Discuss the Universe here

[zeebo]

An article about Tabby's Star. Doesn't discount the Kepler findings, but raises questions about a subsequent LSU study. Inside this article is another link to the actual analysis.

http://gizmodo.com/flawed-data-just-made-that-alien-megastructure-even-mor-1775609592

So is it a Dyson Sphere or a Fleet of Imperial Cruisers?

[akwilly]

So is it a Dyson Sphere or a Fleet of Imperial Cruisers?

it could be all the socks that go missing in the dryers

[GravitySucks]

A little dated, but the first time I read that JAXA has abandoned hopes of establishing communications with the failed ASTRO-H X-ray telescope.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/astro-h-abandoned-1.3559731

[aldousburbank]

Wait, what?

DISINTEGRATING? NASA spots monster hole open up on our star




http://www.express.co.uk/news/science/674234/Is-the-sun-DISINTEGRATING-NASA-spots-monster-hole-open-up-on-our-star

[TigerLily]

Manhattanhenge 2016: Cloudy skies may hinder views of the picturesque NYC phenomenon
New Yorkers will crowd city streets on Monday night in hopes of catching a view of Manhattanhenge, the stunning sunset that occurs four times a year.

[zeebo]

Follow-up story on the gravitational wave discovery:

The first direct detection of gravitational wavesâ€"the echoes of a collision between two black holes more than a billion years agoâ€"was the astronomer’s equivalent of coming across a spectacular, never-before-seen fossil.
...
According to the model, described on Wednesday in Nature, the black holes were once extremely massive stars that orbited each other. This pair of gargantuan stars weighed 96 and 60 times the mass of the sun and formed about two billion years after the big bang.
...
The model also predicts a bounty yet to come for gravitational-wave astronomers. If the suggested rates of black hole mergers are correct, LIGO can expect to see about a thousand mergers a year once it reaches full sensitivity, expected by 2020. That would give astronomers the chance to study entire populations of ancient black holes.
...
In essence, astronomers will “learn about the evolution of stars from their remnants, in the way that a paleontologist can figure out how a living dinosaur looked and behaved from its skeletal remnants.”

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/06/gravitational-waves-stars-ripples-space-time-origins-astronomy/

[TigerLily]

Follow-up story on the gravitational wave discovery: ...

Thank goodness you posted zeebo. I thought perhaps my unscientific post had killed this thread. Luckily it seems it was only on life support but hopefully has recovered now

[Dr. MD MD]

Follow-up story on the gravitational wave discovery:

The first direct detection of gravitational wavesâ€"the echoes of a collision between two black holes more than a billion years agoâ€"was the astronomer’s equivalent of coming across a spectacular, never-before-seen fossil.
...
According to the model, described on Wednesday in Nature, the black holes were once extremely massive stars that orbited each other. This pair of gargantuan stars weighed 96 and 60 times the mass of the sun and formed about two billion years after the big bang.
...
The model also predicts a bounty yet to come for gravitational-wave astronomers. If the suggested rates of black hole mergers are correct, LIGO can expect to see about a thousand mergers a year once it reaches full sensitivity, expected by 2020. That would give astronomers the chance to study entire populations of ancient black holes.
...
In essence, astronomers will “learn about the evolution of stars from their remnants, in the way that a paleontologist can figure out how a living dinosaur looked and behaved from its skeletal remnants.”

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/06/gravitational-waves-stars-ripples-space-time-origins-astronomy/

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GOoJK_fY7nE

[zeebo]

Thank goodness you posted zeebo. I thought perhaps my unscientific post had killed this thread. Luckily it seems it was only on life support but hopefully has recovered now

Not at all, my dear.  Hard science is not what unites us on this thread, but rather the thrill of astronomical exploration and the joy of the cosmic perspective!  All posts in this spirit are welcome.   

[TigerLily]

Not at all, my dear.  Hard science is not what unites us on this thread, but rather the thrill of astronomical exploration and the joy of the cosmic perspective!  All posts in this spirit are welcome.   

Thanks zeebo. Then I will post this. The storm is the size of the entire United States

Hubble confirms new dark spot on Neptune
Date:
June 23, 2016
Source:
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Summary:
New images confirm the presence of a dark vortex on Neptune. Though similar features were seen during the Voyager 2 flyby of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in 1989 and by Hubble in 1994, this vortex is the first one observed on Neptune in the 21st century.

[Camazotz Automat]

The best fireworks this year will be hundreds of millions of miles away as NASA's Juno spacecraft brakes and goes into orbit around Jupiter on July 4th.

It has been almost five years since the Cape Canaveral launch.

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/main/

[zeebo]

Tonite after fireworks, take a look up and find the star Spica.  To find it, follow the handle of the Big Dipper, curving towards the bright red star Arcturus.  From there, head straight for the semi-bright white star along the same path.  (Use the mnemonic from navigators of yore:  Arc to Arcturus, then Spike to Spica.)

When you look at this star, you can then marvel that the light you're seeing started it's journey around the time the Declaration of Independence was signed, since it's roughly 240 lt. yrs. away.   

[trostol]

if anyone cares

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/#public

[I_Speculate]

Approx 16 mins to impact...

[zeebo]

This recent pic shows, not stars, but galaxies -  1.2 million of them.  The map encompasses 650 cubic billion light-years of spaceâ€"about a quarter of the sky.   

It's actually a kind of 3D map: "The colors indicate relative distance from Earth, where yellow objects are the closest, and purple objects the furthest. Grey patches are small regions where no data exists. Galaxies appear to be highly clustered, revealing superclusters and voids."

http://gizmodo.com/new-3d-map-of-the-universe-features-a-whopping-1-2-mill-1783688322

[WildCard]

Whoa. I'm so behind in this thread. Nice work, peeps

This is pretty good -
http://www.ttbook.org/book/across-universe-update

Also, this is cool -

Daff Moon





The GabCast â€" 7 July, 2014
http://www.ufoship.com/?p=1560

The Gabcast  (Eddie, B-Dubb, Onan & Jazmunda) attempt to graduate from 7th grade (metaphorically speaking) by engaging astrophysicist  Agent : Orange (of BellGab) in a discussion about all things Quantum Physics.  Things seem to go exceedingly well until Skype mayhem strikes.  Was the Internet turned inside out by Quantum bozos?  Who will be the first to trademark the trendy & magical word “Quantum” to reap tens of dollars in profit?  Listen to this very special episode of the GabCast to find out.

(Holy shit @ http://www.ufoship.com/?feed=rss2&cat=10  All the GabCasts on one page)

Did Agent : Orange desert us?  Come back AO.

[Dr. MD MD]

This recent pic shows, not stars, but galaxies -  1.2 million of them.  The map encompasses 650 cubic billion light-years of spaceâ€"about a quarter of the sky.   

It's actually a kind of 3D map: "The colors indicate relative distance from Earth, where yellow objects are the closest, and purple objects the furthest. Grey patches are small regions where no data exists. Galaxies appear to be highly clustered, revealing superclusters and voids."

http://gizmodo.com/new-3d-map-of-the-universe-features-a-whopping-1-2-mill-1783688322

It's very Jackson Pollacky, isn't it, zeebo? 

[trostol]

This recent pic shows, not stars, but galaxies -  1.2 million of them.  The map encompasses 650 cubic billion light-years of spaceâ€"about a quarter of the sky.   

It's actually a kind of 3D map: "The colors indicate relative distance from Earth, where yellow objects are the closest, and purple objects the furthest. Grey patches are small regions where no data exists. Galaxies appear to be highly clustered, revealing superclusters and voids."

http://gizmodo.com/new-3d-map-of-the-universe-features-a-whopping-1-2-mill-1783688322

is that one of those 3d pictures? there's a schooner in the middle right? lol

i was gonna ask for a desktop size of that..but i think i would get sick looking at it too much

[trostol]

SpaceX launch in about 20 minutes or so

[Dr. MD MD]

It's very Jackson Pollacky, isn't it, zeebo? 

Channeling images of the cosmos, he was. 

[GravitySucks]

SpaceX launch in about 20 minutes or so

Successful launch and successful landing of the first stage at KSC.

https://twitter.com/americaspace/status/754905929007505409

[Dr. MD MD]

Successful launch and successful landing of the first stage at KSC.

https://twitter.com/americaspace/status/754905929007505409

Damn! I missed it. 

Is there vid anywhere?

[zeebo]

Channeling images of the cosmos, he was. 

He didn't realize he was flinging galaxy clusters lol.

[Hog]

Damn! I missed it. 

Is there vid anywhere?

Just for "Yeeeeeeeeew."

http://bellgab.com/index.php/topic,10032.new.html#new

peace
Hog

[Dr. MD MD]

Just for "Yeeeeeeeeew."

http://bellgab.com/index.php/topic,10032.new.html#new

peace
Hog

Why, thank yeeeewww! Thank yeeeewww, vari much! 

[Agent : Orange]

Just a quick visit before leaving for work to say hi!
Things have been so busy I haven't had much time to put much of anything into writing. But I'm still alive...
Anyway. Nice to see this thread almost make it to 50 pages

A small contribution:
In the first half of August there is a particle physics conference coming up where CERN is expected to make some announcement of the possibility of a new particle at 750 GHz. Rumors don't look good for it right now but it's hard to tell what's what. So this conference will hopefully give some closure or make a really exciting announcement!
http://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2016/05/18/the-biggest-hopes-of-what-a-new-particle-at-the-lhc-might-reveal/#bd5c174e397d

[GravitySucks]

http://www.businessinsider.com/new-mars-reconnaissance-orbiter-hirise-photos-2016-8

NASA releases over 1000 new Mars images. Here is an article showing some of what the authors thought were the most interesting ones.

[albrecht]

http://www.businessinsider.com/new-mars-reconnaissance-orbiter-hirise-photos-2016-8

NASA releases over 1000 new Mars images. Here is an article showing some of what the authors thought were the most interesting ones.

Thanks GS, some amazing stuff! (Of course, I can't wait to hear what the interwebs and RCH make claim about some of the images- and/or 'theories' of the image processing.) But cool stuff.
http://www.uahirise.org/ESP_046245_1890 (Cthulhu?)
http://www.uahirise.org/ESP_046269_1770 (Arcologies of a Texas-like city expanding from urban to rural)

[Agent : Orange]

No new particle from 2016 CERN data after all! The apparent signals turned out to be statistical background and went away with the 2016 data. The standard model stands tall for now.
http://www.nature.com/news/hopes-for-revolutionary-new-lhc-particle-dashed-1.20376

[zeebo]

Tonite Aug. 11 is the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower.  I saw a few good ones last nite.  Look to the NE below the "W" of Cassiopeia to find Perseus, which is where they'll be coming in from.  Show will get better in pre-dawn hours after the moon sets.  Happy gazing.

http://www.astronomy.com/news/observing/2016/08/perseid-meteor-shower-set-for-its-best-show-in-nearly-20-years