Dorky stuff about the Universe

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  • dignin
    dignin Posts: 9,478
    It's a comet and yes it is incredible.
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    I just had this picture of a group of people talking about their belief in the wonders and benefits of space exploration and some guy walking in and only hearing the words, "space exploration" and that guy saying, "Yeah, man, what a freaking waste of money and resources," and suddenly having the room become dead still for a few moments and then having all kids of shit being thrown at the guy accompanied by cursing and...

    ...OK, hey wait a minute. It's just a scenario, it's just... it's just...

    OWW! STOP IT! OWW!
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • lazloblue
    lazloblue Houston Posts: 738
    PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

    lazloblue said:

    So amazing. space craft on an Asteroid. I just can't figure out what the point of the exercise is? any one know?

    http://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/spacecraft-lands-safely-on-speeding-comet-despite-bounce-1.2098143
    Thanks for the link!
    Lollapalooza 92, Alpine Valley 11, De Luna 12, Wrigley/Pittsburgh/Dallas/OKC 13, Tulsa/Denver 14, Global 15, Wrigley 1/2 16
  • badbrains
    badbrains Posts: 10,255
    Jason P said:

    The Virgin Galactic Space Ship 2 that disintegrated at 50,000 feet ... the fact that one of the pilots survived is bat shit crazy.

    The break-up led to three coinciding invasive events: sudden deceleration forces, the creation of high velocity projectiles – debris – surrounding the pilots, and a decompression event. The pilots wore simple oxygen masks without pressure suits, so their bodies withstood a split second change from cabin pressure of 1 atmosphere to that of a near-vacuum pressure. Any or all three events at breakup were responsible for the pilots’ losing consciousness within seconds if not immediately.

    Peter Seilbold woke up at 20,000 feet still strapped to his chair as was able to get out of it and deploy his parachute. Can you imagine waking up and find yourself falling towards earth while strapped to a chair?

    It would be a scene from a Hollywood movie with me screaming like a little kid for my mommy!
  • badbrains
    badbrains Posts: 10,255
    PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

    Anyone else think that it's incredible that we landed a spacecraft on an Comet today?

    I'm still trying to wrap my head around this. Fucken unreal
  • PJfanwillneverleave1
    PJfanwillneverleave1 Posts: 12,885
    badbrains said:

    PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

    Anyone else think that it's incredible that we landed a spacecraft on an Comet today?

    I'm still trying to wrap my head around this. Fucken unreal
    Try this to wrap your head around.
    http://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/what-does-a-comet-sound-like-rosetta-records-haunting-song-1.2101440
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    Will somebody please explain to me the justification for landing a space craft on a comet? I'm not simply being a curmudgeon here, I really and truly just don't get it.
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • PJfanwillneverleave1
    PJfanwillneverleave1 Posts: 12,885
    brianlux said:

    curmudgeon

    Nice word
  • rgambs
    rgambs Posts: 13,576
    brianlux said:

    Will somebody please explain to me the justification for landing a space craft on a comet? I'm not simply being a curmudgeon here, I really and truly just don't get it.

    Listen up you old miser! Space exploration isn't no boondoggle, it's f'real science in it's purest form!
    No, really I don't know why they did it...I have seen the idea of mining comets and asteroids in science fiction, and of course there is that Bruce Willis movie about the arm-a-geddy-on... Maybe it was a practice run for Apophos! That makes sense in a kooky way, they redid their calculations and Apophos is set to collide with us so they are gonna land a craft on it and nudge it out of our path.
    Monkey Driven, Call this Living?
  • hedonist
    hedonist Posts: 24,524
    PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

    badbrains said:

    PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

    Anyone else think that it's incredible that we landed a spacecraft on an Comet today?

    I'm still trying to wrap my head around this. Fucken unreal
    Try this to wrap your head around.
    http://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/what-does-a-comet-sound-like-rosetta-records-haunting-song-1.2101440
    Whoa - sounds like a mixture of wind, dolphins and a little helicopter.

    Also, I guess the reason for this exercise would be similar to exploring other planets?

    Just heard the craft lost contact with the comet either physically or functionally.
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    rgambs said:

    brianlux said:

    Will somebody please explain to me the justification for landing a space craft on a comet? I'm not simply being a curmudgeon here, I really and truly just don't get it.

    Listen up you old miser! Space exploration isn't no boondoggle, it's f'real science in it's purest form!
    No, really I don't know why they did it...I have seen the idea of mining comets and asteroids in science fiction, and of course there is that Bruce Willis movie about the arm-a-geddy-on... Maybe it was a practice run for Apophos! That makes sense in a kooky way, they redid their calculations and Apophos is set to collide with us so they are gonna land a craft on it and nudge it out of our path.
    "Old miser", LOL!!

    Yeah, I understand the concept that space exploration is pure science and I'm told many scientific advances are made through this work. My mother, whom I loved dearly, was a lab technologist and had a great interest in science and was a big fan the space program but not even she could convince me that most space programs are not a waste of money. Much of what is "discovered" by these programs are things that are inconsequential to ours and other animal life here on spaceship earth. We have such a massive array of problems on this planet that space exploration cannot solve- environmental issues, species die off, climate change/global warming, overpopulation, etc- and while billionaires prepare to make there vacation plans in outer space, the land bases that support our existence continue to fall to ruin. The huge amounts of money pumped into these programs would, it seems to me, be better spent solving these myriad problems here on earth.

    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • benjs
    benjs Toronto, ON Posts: 9,367
    rgambs said:

    brianlux said:

    Will somebody please explain to me the justification for landing a space craft on a comet? I'm not simply being a curmudgeon here, I really and truly just don't get it.

    Listen up you old miser! Space exploration isn't no boondoggle, it's f'real science in it's purest form!
    No, really I don't know why they did it...I have seen the idea of mining comets and asteroids in science fiction, and of course there is that Bruce Willis movie about the arm-a-geddy-on... Maybe it was a practice run for Apophos! That makes sense in a kooky way, they redid their calculations and Apophos is set to collide with us so they are gonna land a craft on it and nudge it out of our path.
    Space exploration makes a lot of sense to me. We've created an epidemic of environmental and human disasters here on Earth, and our planet doesn't have the resources to sustain us indefinitely. This to me suggests we're going to need to find somewhere new (or, as Hollywood might call it, 'the great universe-wide colonial expansionist movement'). The 'comet' isn't so relevant to me as the fact that we can land from long distances, autonomously and with great precision. That's a big deal. I'm guessing that of particular interest is probably the landing gear technology and/or software and the issues that arise based on the varying size/speed of the body it's landing on: with modern science, we can simulate a great deal which we can apply to R&D of technology like this, but there are still unexplained phenomena that can often only be found by (or wouldn't be thought of without) acting instead of dealing in hypotheticals, and witnessing the actual results.
    '05 - TO, '06 - TO 1, '08 - NYC 1 & 2, '09 - TO, Chi 1 & 2, '10 - Buffalo, NYC 1 & 2, '11 - TO 1 & 2, Hamilton, '13 - Buffalo, Brooklyn 1 & 2, '15 - Global Citizen, '16 - TO 1 & 2, Chi 2

    EV
    Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
  • hedonist
    hedonist Posts: 24,524
    Other (fringe, secondary?) benefits as well:
    http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/ten-nasa-inventions.htm
  • rgambs
    rgambs Posts: 13,576
    benjs said:

    rgambs said:

    brianlux said:

    Will somebody please explain to me the justification for landing a space craft on a comet? I'm not simply being a curmudgeon here, I really and truly just don't get it.

    Listen up you old miser! Space exploration isn't no boondoggle, it's f'real science in it's purest form!
    No, really I don't know why they did it...I have seen the idea of mining comets and asteroids in science fiction, and of course there is that Bruce Willis movie about the arm-a-geddy-on... Maybe it was a practice run for Apophos! That makes sense in a kooky way, they redid their calculations and Apophos is set to collide with us so they are gonna land a craft on it and nudge it out of our path.
    Space exploration makes a lot of sense to me. We've created an epidemic of environmental and human disasters here on Earth, and our planet doesn't have the resources to sustain us indefinitely. This to me suggests we're going to need to find somewhere new (or, as Hollywood might call it, 'the great universe-wide colonial expansionist movement'). The 'comet' isn't so relevant to me as the fact that we can land from long distances, autonomously and with great precision. That's a big deal. I'm guessing that of particular interest is probably the landing gear technology and/or software and the issues that arise based on the varying size/speed of the body it's landing on: with modern science, we can simulate a great deal which we can apply to R&D of technology like this, but there are still unexplained phenomena that can often only be found by (or wouldn't be thought of without) acting instead of dealing in hypotheticals, and witnessing the actual results.
    To echo Brian, wouldn't it be easier and make more sense to fix the problems we have here on this planet rather than just export the same problems to another world?
    Is it too late? With 10 billion people on the planet soon, maybe it is. And maybe there is no fixing humanity's nasty problems... Either way I support space exploration, if only for the single reason that it inspires children in a way that biochemistry can't (not that it should, but it does)
    Monkey Driven, Call this Living?
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    edited November 2014
    Still not even close to convinced, friends. NASA lays claims to these inventions but did we really need to go to the moon to get there?

    benjs, "we're going to need to find somewhere new"? Really? No offense intended here, but I wonder if you have been reading too many sci fi novels? This is just not going to happen.

    By the way all, I know my opinions on this subject are not very popular. If I'm the lone soul who feels this way I'll willingly acquiesce to being booted off this thread with no hard feelings. :-)
    Post edited by brianlux on
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • hedonist
    hedonist Posts: 24,524
    I'm not sure I want to sell anyone on it...but I do appreciate the inventions (and tweaks to the inventions of others) that happened because of the unique circumstances. Who knows if everyday life would've yielded the same?

    I find space exploration humbling, in a way. If I felt like a speck considering myself in the scheme of life on earth, it's multiplied by the thousands when viewed against the universe.

    Hell, the photo on the Binaural cover alone!
  • hedonist
    hedonist Posts: 24,524
    And Brian, popular thoughts can be overrated ;) It's more about how any view is conveyed vs the view itself.

    So speak your mind as you always do!
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    hedonist said:

    And Brian, popular thoughts can be overrated ;) It's more about how any view is conveyed vs the view itself.

    So speak your mind as you always do!

    Thanks, H. I'm practicing being a bit more tolerant of what others say and more cautious about what I think I know. Always trying to learn! :-D

    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • rgambs
    rgambs Posts: 13,576
    hedonist said:

    I'm not sure I want to sell anyone on it...but I do appreciate the inventions (and tweaks to the inventions of others) that happened because of the unique circumstances. Who knows if everyday life would've yielded the same?

    I find space exploration humbling, in a way. If I felt like a speck considering myself in the scheme of life on earth, it's multiplied by the thousands when viewed against the universe.

    Hell, the photo on the Binaural cover alone!

    I was just a child when they released the Hubble photos, and thankfully, the only mag we got was Nat Geo... Those photos, including the Binaural cover, had a huge impact on me. The one with the 3 page spread of GALAXIES really made me consider the vastness of existence and the microscopic scale of what I thought was important. Suddenly, the scale of the universe was in my mind (such that a child can understand) and it brought me down to Earth somehow. I asked for a microscope and a telescope so I could explore both ends and it was then that I truly began to appreciate the woods and creeks through which I tromped as ecosystems as varied as the cosmos. That alone is enough to make me support cosmology, because it really sparked my interest in science.
    Monkey Driven, Call this Living?
  • benjs
    benjs Toronto, ON Posts: 9,367
    brianlux said:

    Still not even close to convinced, friends. NASA lays claims to these inventions but did we really need to go to the moon to get there?

    benjs, "we're going to need to find somewhere new"? Really? No offense intended here, but I wonder if you have been reading too many sci fi novels? This is just not going to happen.

    By the way all, I know my opinions on this subject are not very popular. If I'm the lone soul who feels this way I'll willingly acquiesce to being booted off this thread with no hard feelings. :-)

    Brian, it's always great to have differing opinions on here - it's what makes conversation worth having!

    I don't take offence to what you've said, but yes, really. I don't believe it'll be out of 'desire to see the universe', but I do believe it'll be out of necessity for finding somewhere better. I believe we have depraved our home of its resources by exhibiting our typically human greed. And rgambs, unfortunately, I do believe we have passed the point of no return, and hope I'm wrong. For what it's worth, I don't believe that trying to fix our planet should preclude our space exploration, nor do I believe that our space exploration should preclude trying to fix our planet.

    PS, I haven't read a sci-fi novel in ages.
    '05 - TO, '06 - TO 1, '08 - NYC 1 & 2, '09 - TO, Chi 1 & 2, '10 - Buffalo, NYC 1 & 2, '11 - TO 1 & 2, Hamilton, '13 - Buffalo, Brooklyn 1 & 2, '15 - Global Citizen, '16 - TO 1 & 2, Chi 2

    EV
    Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1

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