Astronomy Discussion Thread

[Mechanical Man]

Of course I know. But for space photos they use different techniques. Something like photographing in bands, which are then in laboratory stitched together. But still, it came out kinda odd, comparing photos of Mars, Moon and Titan.

 

[Mystic_Revelation]

I always loved Astronomy, I have a lot of Astronomy books (along with Astrology nonsense) that guide me in my journey through the night sky. Unfortunately, light pollution makes it almost impossible to see the true splendor of outer space. I can only see basic constellations and the brightest stars. I can't even see planets. D:
It makes me want to move to an island, or a mountain, or maybe some hippy camp out in the forests.
Saw Jupiter through a telescope once. I wanted to take the telescope home, but unfortunately it weighed more than a ton.
You know what's funny about eclipses? It's a cute little coincidence in that the Moon is 1/400 as big as the sun but is 400 times closer to Earth. Total eclipse=Sun pwned.
I don't think other planets can get eclipses as beautiful as ours.

 

[chilla_killa]

Yeah, I hate light pollution.
http://sevencolors.org/images/photo/original/earth_lights.jpg
When I see this I wished I could get to Africa with my telescope.

 

[TwistedImage]

Really? The arctic and antarctic regions seem even better.

Also, lol at India's light. You can clearly see India's borders on that map.

 

[Mechanical Man]

Go to North Korea then

At least here on Earth don't have so much clouds like on Venus or Titan, where not even the sun is visible (on Titan even Saturn is hardly visible).

 

[chilla_killa]

oO Japane

 

[Reaper51]

I would go to Greenland.

 

[Mystic_Revelation]

Well, at least the country where I'm from has a lot of dark areas. And then there's Australia, which is just nearby.
And oh my God, Europe, Japan and Eastern North America. The goggles, they do nothing.
Anyway, on topic, how many of you guys have seen meteor showers?

 

[Reaper51]

Sorry, but i'm in Toronto (a lot of light pollution)

 

[Mechanical Man]

Damn, this thread fell in 2nd page D:

 

[chilla_killa]

If noone posts!
I was on holiday in the the netherlands and I had my telescope with me.
One night I went to the beach into these sand hills (how are they called??)
with my telescope and watched the sky.
But it wasn't much better then in germany because there was a big town near.
But I saw the Beehive Cluster (lol Hiveworkshop) in the Cancer near the mars.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beehive_Cluster

 

[Mechanical Man]

You observed mars too?

Your telescope is able to make photos? (or just photograph the ocular)

 

[chilla_killa]

Well, seing the Mars is no problem, you can see it easiliy with pure eyes, but I couldn't see any details, my telescope is just to small and has a too low magnification.
I saw the cluster near the mars.

No it's impossible to make photos with the telescope, it's a Dobson telescope.
http://translate.google.de/translat...p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dobsonian_telescope

 

[Mechanical Man]

Yes, but would like to see planets more in detail, some tiny light similar to any other star doesn't help me much.

 

[chilla_killa]

It's possible with Jupiter and Saturn.
Are they called like this in english?

 

[Reaper51]

Here are all the planets + pluto (which is not a planet anymore) in english:

-Mercury
-Venus (lol makes a funny rhyme)
-Earth
-Mars
-Jupiter
-Saturn
-Uranus (lol UR-ANUS)
-Neptune
-Pluto

 

[chilla_killa]

Ur anus!!! Ftw

 

[chilla_killa]

Venus is risen

 

[chilla_killa]

Come on guys,
talk with me about astronomy!

Let's talk about .. hmm ... Planetary nebulas.
What do you know about planetary nebulas?

 

[Megafyr]

I am Anachron, live in Germany too, near Hanover.
We have a strong industry and are the leading country in germany.

But what has that to do with astronomy?

I think everything in the world is decided. The past, the present and the future.
They are chemical/mathematical/physic laws and the base atoms.
And since all atoms follow the law, there is no way for something being random.
How could a random thing also be?

For me randomness is just something that hard to calculate that you do not want to.
There is no randomness.

Also, because there is no randomness and things follow their laws, we could know the future, but only if we would know all laws and all states of all atoms that are in the plain moment.

Also, time is a lie. Its just a measure of changings.
And also, humans can not think. Some researchers found out that we have some gens that change the size of the nerve pathways, which leads us to decisions. So more or less we all choose the decisions which we are born to do. Ofcourse, it also depends on many other things, but we don't really have a choice what we choose, because there is no thinking in that way. We can not really choose, we just select the thing that is laying in our gens.

Based on what do you wish to convince anyone with this?

Nothing is random? Randomness is something that cannot be estimated exactly. Have you never had a dice? Unless you calculate exactly how the dice lands before you roll it, there is no way you could know the answer. That is random. Unless you can calculate everything, I am sorry to disappoint you with the fact that random exists to you too. If it was not for randomness evolution would not work. Randomness leads to new events. Surely there are laws for subatomic particles. Surely everyone can only look back and say: "Oh! So that's what happened in the reaction!" But how where you ever to estimate how, when, and where which reaction would take place? THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE! THERE ARE TOO MANY VARIABLES! That is randomness. Everything corresponds correctly with eachother following laws, but everything is still entirely random.

People do not think? What have you been smoking.

//Sorry for this off topic post, but I was so annoyed by the post I quoted that I could not resist.

 

[Mechanical Man]

Come on guys,
talk with me about astronomy!

Let's talk about .. hmm ... Planetary nebulas.
What do you know about planetary nebulas?

I know that one was discovered by the new European space telescope Herschel http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=46978 But I wonder, why they didn't say anything how far is it.

I was wondering one thing. Why Titan managed to retain such dense atmosphere, while bigger moons, for example Ganymede and Callisto doesn't have it. Even our moon is more massive than titan, yet no air.

 

[ikillforeyou]

Atmosphere doesn't have anything to do with the size of the planet, (ok, well a little) it's the density of the planitary core to make magnetic fields, without magnetic fields a solar storm, or a emp from jupiter could completely strip it's atmosphere.

Otherwise, they would have an atmosphere.

 

[Mechanical Man]

But the thing is, Titan has no significant magnetic field, neither to Venus and Mars, yet they retained their atmosphere. Actually, Ganymede

Apparently, bodies with higher amount of nitrogen tends to develop denser atmosphere, you know Earth has almost three quarters, Venus has a lot of it actually, it's just atmospheric pressure is high there, so nitrogen amount should be roughly same as earth, Titan's it's most nitrogen and then there is Triton, which could have an atmosphere (notice the nitrogen geysers), but there is so cold, that the all gases freeze solid, still very thin layer is up, varying heavily depending on season.

 

[medion555]

chilla the sand hills xD are called duinen in dutch i now that becouse i life there .... if u really want to see the planets nice then go to veluwe thats a bit more nature with less city's

 

[Coolty44]

But the thing is, Titan has no significant magnetic field, neither to Venus and Mars, yet they retained their atmosphere. Actually, Ganymede

Apparently, bodies with higher amount of nitrogen tends to develop denser atmosphere, you know Earth has almost three quarters, Venus has a lot of it actually, it's just atmospheric pressure is high there, so nitrogen amount should be roughly same as earth, Titan's it's most nitrogen and then there is Triton, which could have an atmosphere (notice the nitrogen geysers), but there is so cold, that the all gases freeze solid, still very thin layer is up, varying heavily depending on season.

Yes, But if I recall, all are thought to have solid iron cores, just like earth. That could be whats keeping whatever atmosphere they have together. The Gas Gaints really don't have an atmosphere, since they are all just gass anyway.

 

[chilla_killa]

chilla the sand hills xD are called duinen in dutch i now that becouse i life there .... if u really want to see the planets nice then go to veluwe thats a bit more nature with less city's

I was at Bergen Aan Zee near Alkmaar.

 

[medion555]

ahh ok

 

[Teaspoon]

I am Anachron, live in Germany too, near Hanover.
We have a strong industry and are the leading country in germany.

But what has that to do with astronomy?

I think everything in the world is decided. The past, the present and the future.
They are chemical/mathematical/physic laws and the base atoms.
And since all atoms follow the law, there is no way for something being random.
How could a random thing also be?

For me randomness is just something that hard to calculate that you do not want to.
There is no randomness.

Also, because there is no randomness and things follow their laws, we could know the future, but only if we would know all laws and all states of all atoms that are in the plain moment.

Also, time is a lie. Its just a measure of changings.
And also, humans can not think. Some researchers found out that we have some gens that change the size of the nerve pathways, which leads us to decisions. So more or less we all choose the decisions which we are born to do. Ofcourse, it also depends on many other things, but we don't really have a choice what we choose, because there is no thinking in that way. We can not really choose, we just select the thing that is laying in our gens.

But wouldn't it be possible with "illegal" atoms? Not following the law.

 

[Mechanical Man]

Randomness is something you can't predict. But if you could predict something, you could try everything to prevent happening. Thus randomness exists.

 

[chilla_killa]

Have you already heard about Schrödinger's cat?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schrödinger's_cat

 

[The Reborn Devil]

There is no such thing as randomness. Everything that happens is caused by something else which has happened before. Things might seem random as there are so many variables. If I type out a series of "random" letters like this: kdnfbgidsfuhsfdbskifdgs, they aren't random. My brain sends signals to the muscles in my hands and fingers and makes them push down buttons, which button they press is based on how my hands move and when I decide to press down. When you roll a dice it isn't random which number you get. It's based on how you roll the dice, how much force you use, how you hold it when you throw it, etc.

Lolol Wikipedia:

Also, what appears random to one observer may not appear random to another. Consider two observers of a sequence of bits, when only one of whom has the cryptographic key needed to turn the sequence of bits into a readable message. For that observer the message is not random, but it is unpredictable for the other.

 

[TwistedImage]

Randomness is "The property of all possible outcomes being equally likely." So yes, randomness exists; saying it doesn't is believing in fate, which is such massive BS that I don't even care to argue about it anymore.

 

[The Reborn Devil]

That's probability. Randomness means that there is NO WAY to predict what will happen. F.ex, IF it was possible to make a time machine (I said IF) and you went back 100 years, if randomness existed then something else than happened those hundred years would happen now and something else would happen each time you go back in time. THAT's randomness.

Edit:
Here's some definitions for you:
"The word can mean “non-deterministic” (as in a random process) or “purely by chance, independently of other events"

"Lack of predictability, without any systematic pattern."

"Having no specific pattern, arrangement or predictable outcome."

 

[TwistedImage]

Wrong topic, let's not continue the argument.

 

[chilla_killa]

This theme is very important for astronomy.
This all about quantum mechanics.
We all couldn't live without quantum mechanical effects.
Especially the Quantum tunneling. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_tunnelling)
is the most important thing for our sun.
Without this effect core fusion inside our sun or other star's wouldn't be possible.

 

[TwistedImage]

Quantum mechanics =/= astronomy, though?

 

[chilla_killa]

What? I don't understand you.

 

[TwistedImage]

What I'm saying is, this isn't the Quantum Mechanics Discussion Thread

 

[chilla_killa]

Okay, but it all belongs together.
Do you have an idea for a new discussion topic about astronomy?

 

[TwistedImage]

No, my repertoire of topics on astronomy is fairly limited.

 

[chilla_killa]

Let's talk about ...
Dark Matter?
I don't know much about it.
Tell me what you know about Dark Matter and Dark Energy.

 

[Jaret]

"The dark matter is like matter that is said that it exists from the gravitational "effects" that it causes on the visible matter and radiation, but is yet unknown (or not detected) to the emitted or scattered electromagnetic radiation all over the cosmos."
That's what we have learned about the "Dark Matter" (Tamna Materija on Serbish (I'm from Serbia)). Now, I look it up on Wikipedia, and it's the exact as I said here, well, maybe 2 or 3 words are not.
And, about the Dark Energy, it's a form of energy that tends to increase the rate that the universe grows. I don't know much about these two, But I'm pretty sure I've learned that from some game shows on the TV.

 

[Coolty44]

Well, the hypothetical existance of dark matter and energy, that is. It'd be pretty hard to prove that it exists, since its not something thats visible in our solar system, or anything else we can see.

 

[The Reborn Devil]

The existence of dark energy is kinda proved as the speed at which the universe expands is increasing, which would imply that everything in the universe are subjects to some sort of outside force.

 

[Mechanical Man]

I can't wait for New Horizon to finally come to Pluto. But it still is 5 years to go :/ Damn we really need to speed up our spacecraft, it's taking a lifetime only to cross our solar system.

 

[MGCǂSpectre]

5 years are actually little time, imagine how far Pluto is. When I go to an observatory I will remember all that I studied in Astronomy, my personal observations for years and ofc revise the locations of all more famous nebulae and stars we can see in the North hemisphere.

If you have heard about Element 115 (Uup), if we used such technology we would be able to get spacecrafts to destinations times faster than we do now. Bob Lazar is just the genius, he's the real Fox Mulder except for he's a genius scientist, not an FBI agent.

 

[chilla_killa]

No never heard of it.
What's so special about it?

 

[Mechanical Man]

It will visit Pluto and take some pictures too. You know, we don't have any good picture of Pluto, little is known about its structure and surface. This is the best image of Pluto we have so far:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pluto-map-hs-2010-06-c180.jpg

 

[MGCǂSpectre]

No never heard of it.
What's so special about it?

Chemists thought the objects in space are made of the same elements met on Earth and not others. However, this element is from outer space, it is an element used by those aliens to make the propulsion of their ships to lift off. Yeah I know I sound like im talking about a movie but this youtube link (part 1 out of 6 clips) removed my skepticism about the whole alien story at least partially.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntTk0pCvVik&feature=related

Yes, I agree Pluto will be very interesting to see cause the silver-like pic

is very unclear. Maybe it is like the Moon but has some ice.

 

[chilla_killa]

It's no picture, it's a computer model.