Comet ISON reaches perihelion (closest to the sun) today in the early afternoon. If it holds together we should be blessed with some wonderful sights as it zooms back out into the solar system.
While we're used to seeing comets from earth, have you ever wondered what one would look like from a cosmic perspective as it rocketed towards the sun (ISON is moving at 248 miles per second)? Sure you have! Check out this link which shows compiled videos from NASA's SOHO satellite showing the comet passing our planet and another showing its encounter with the solar wind.
http://earthsky.org/space/big-sun-diving...ar-in-2013
So, whats the verdict. Read conflicting reports. One said it disintegrated while going around the sun, and other said it made it, albeit "damaged"...
Quote:So, whats the verdict. Read conflicting reports. One said it disintegrated while going around the sun, and other said it made it, albeit "damaged"...
Damaged.
http://earthsky.org/space/big-sun-diving...ar-in-2013
I think it's utterly amazing that we can watch compiled video of a comet rounding the sun.
Science channel will have a special on it next Saturday at 10 pm called "supercomet ison 2013" for those who want to Dvr it.
Quote:Science channel will have a special on it next Saturday at 10 pm called "supercomet ison 2013" for those who want to Dvr it.
Um, that would only be me.
On a more final note, it's looking like ISON didn't completely survive its encounter with our star.
http://www.universetoday.com/106842/ison...es-peeled/
Just for perspectives sake, ISON was estimated to be around 3 miles across. It was traveling at 248 miles per second and grazed the Sun at around 700,000 miles distance (we average around 93,000,000 miles). But what's even more astounding is that it traveled nearly 1 million years to reach its fate; recorded with satellites created by a species that did not exist when its journey began. Think about THAT.
Go ahead, yawn.
I think it's amazing.
Quote:Um, that would only be me.
On a more final note, it's looking like ISON didn't completely survive its encounter with our star.
<a class="bbc_url" href='http://www.universetoday.com/106842/ison-appears-to-be-fading-but-astronomers-keeping-eyes-peeled/'>http://www.universetoday.com/106842/ison-appears-to-be-fading-but-astronomers-keeping-eyes-peeled/</a>
Just for perspectives sake, ISON was estimated to be around 3 miles across. It was traveling at 248 miles per second and grazed the Sun at around 700,000 miles distance (we average around 93,000,000 miles). But what's even more astounding is that it traveled nearly 1 million years to reach its fate; recorded with satellites created by a species that did not exist when its journey began. Think about THAT.
Go ahead, yawn. I think it's amazing.
Not just you, I will be dvr'ing it as well. I find that stuff fascinating. It's mind boggling just trying to understand just how big things are ( like our star), the vast distances between them, and the speeds at which they are traveling. Way more than that catches my attention. I just didn't hear much about this and didn't know much to post in here. I didn't want to sound more stupid than I be.
Nothing uncool about it.
Ever look into the sky at night and sit and think to yourself, "The star that I'm looking at may no longer even exist?"
It's stuff like that which so many people these days can't even get their brains around. They are incapable of thinking on that scale, and in that manner.
Quote:Um, that would only be me.
On a more final note, it's looking like ISON didn't completely survive its encounter with our star.
http://www.universetoday.com/106842/ison...es-peeled/
Just for perspectives sake, ISON was estimated to be around 3 miles across. It was traveling at 248 miles per second and grazed the Sun at around 700,000 miles distance (we average around 93,000,000 miles). But what's even more astounding is that it traveled nearly 1 million years to reach its fate; recorded with satellites created by a species that did not exist when its journey began. Think about THAT.
Go ahead, yawn. I think it's amazing.
Quote:Not just you, I will be dvr'ing it as well. I find that stuff fascinating. It's mind boggling just trying to understand just how big things are ( like our star), the vast distances between them, and the speeds at which they are traveling. Way more than that catches my attention. I just didn't hear much about this and didn't know much to post in here. I didn't want to sound more stupid than I be.
Quote:Nothing uncool about it.
Ever look into the sky at night and sit and think to yourself, "The star that I'm looking at may no longer even exist?"
It's stuff like that which so many people these days can't even get their brains around. They are incapable of thinking on that scale, and in that manner.
Speaking of mind-boggling things and the vastness of Space...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q3ttmqFX10
Quote:Um, that would only be me.
On a more final note, it's looking like ISON didn't completely survive its encounter with our star.
http://www.universetoday.com/106842/ison...es-peeled/
Just for perspectives sake, ISON was estimated to be around 3 miles across. It was traveling at 248 miles per second and grazed the Sun at around 700,000 miles distance (we average around 93,000,000 miles). But what's even more astounding is that it traveled nearly 1 million years to reach its fate; recorded with satellites created by a species that did not exist when its journey began. Think about THAT.
Go ahead, yawn. I think it's amazing.
Quote:Not just you, I will be dvr'ing it as well. I find that stuff fascinating. It's mind boggling just trying to understand just how big things are ( like our star), the vast distances between them, and the speeds at which they are traveling. Way more than that catches my attention. I just didn't hear much about this and didn't know much to post in here. I didn't want to sound more stupid than I be.
Quote:Nothing uncool about it.
Ever look into the sky at night and sit and think to yourself, "The star that I'm looking at may no longer even exist?"
It's stuff like that which so many people these days can't even get their brains around. They are incapable of thinking on that scale, and in that manner.
Have you ever read Stephen King's book "The Gunslinger"? If not, there is a discussion that takes place regarding "size" and how the finite brain cannot comprehend the infinite, even though it thinks it can. Whenever I start into the realm of space and the like, I always think back to that. It's a very interesting perspective.
Quote:Have you ever read Stephen King's book "The Gunslinger"? If not, there is a discussion that takes place regarding "size" and how the finite brain cannot comprehend the infinite, even though it thinks it can. Whenever I start into the realm of space and the like, I always think back to that. It's a very interesting perspective.
Haven't read that. I'll have to check it out. There was a show on history ( I forgot the name of it) that tried to explain sizes and distances between things in space. For instance( and I'm making these numbers up to use to explain the show) they create a scale model of our solar system using a basketball as the sun and a marble for earth placed hundreds of feet away. But what really puts it in perspective is when they show the camera angle from the marble looking at the basketball and vis versa. I don't explain things well, but I hope that made sense. I'll keep an eye on the guide to see if I can find that show again and try to give you guys a heads up or at least give you the name of the show. It wasn't one of their normal shows, I don't think.
Quote:Have you ever read Stephen King's book "The Gunslinger"? If not, there is a discussion that takes place regarding "size" and how the finite brain cannot comprehend the infinite, even though it thinks it can. Whenever I start into the realm of space and the like, I always think back to that. It's a very interesting perspective.
I read the first two books of that series and simply forgot about it until I saw your post. Man, it's been a while since I read those. What a weird, but fascinating, story. I should read the rest. However, I don't recall the finite brain passage. But like I said, it's been a while since I read it.
Quote:Haven't read that. I'll have to check it out. There was a show on history ( I forgot the name of it) that tried to explain sizes and distances between things in space. For instance( and I'm making these numbers up to use to explain the show) they create a scale model of our solar system using a basketball as the sun and a marble for earth placed hundreds of feet away. But what really puts it in perspective is when they show the camera angle from the marble looking at the basketball and vis versa. I don't explain things well, but I hope that made sense. I'll keep an eye on the guide to see if I can find that show again and try to give you guys a heads up or at least give you the name of the show. It wasn't one of their normal shows, I don't think.
The Oort cloud, which consists of trillions of chunks of ice and rock (and also happens to be where ISON originated), forms a kind of globe around the last vestiges of the Sun's gravitational influence. To give an idea of scale, the Earth resides on average around 93,000,000 miles from the Sun, or what is referred to as an Astronomical Unit. If we were to place an object at the center of a table and another object about a half inch away to represent an AU, the Oort cloud would be 50,000 AUs away, or a sphere of about 3/10 of a mile in diameter surrounding that table. That's almost two light years, or over 10 trillion miles. That is just our sun. Our Milky Way galaxy consists of hundreds of billions of suns and measures over 100,000 light years in width.
Now, with the size of our one single galaxy in mind, watch this:
http://all-that-is-interesting.com/impor...-by-hubble
Quote:Nothing uncool about it.
Ever look into the sky at night and sit and think to yourself, "The star that I'm looking at may no longer even exist?"
It's stuff like that which so many people these days can't even get their brains around. They are incapable of thinking on that scale, and in that manner.
“Every atom in your body came from a star that exploded. And, the atoms in your left hand probably came from a different star than your right hand. It really is the most poetic thing I know about physics: You are all stardust. You couldn’t be here if stars hadn’t exploded, because the elements - the carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, iron, all the things that matter for evolution and for life - weren’t created at the beginning of time. They were created in the nuclear furnaces of stars, and the only way for them to get into your body is if those stars were kind enough to explode. [Omitted because of rules]. The stars died so that you could be here today.”
EDIT: I forgot to include that this is a Lawrence Krauss quote.
Think about that, what makes you possible was created by stars much like the one that warms us today and much like the ones that we "see" in the night sky.
There is such beauty in this universe. It's a shame that so many people fail to think beyond Earth or even beyond their own lives
Quote:“Every atom in your body came from a star that exploded. And, the atoms in your left hand probably came from a different star than your right hand. It really is the most poetic thing I know about physics: You are all stardust. You couldn’t be here if stars hadn’t exploded, because the elements - the carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, iron, all the things that matter for evolution and for life - weren’t created at the beginning of time. They were created in the nuclear furnaces of stars, and the only way for them to get into your body is if those stars were kind enough to explode. [Omitted because of rules]. The stars died so that you could be here today.”
Think about that, what makes you possible was created by stars much like the one that warms us today and much like the ones that we "see" in the night sky.
There is such beauty in this universe. It's a shame that so many people fail to think beyond Earth or even beyond their own lives
Carl Sagan, correct? If you haven't read Cosmos yet, I highly recommend it. The TV series is excellent as well. I'm very excited about the remake coming out soon featuring Neil deGrasse Tyson.
Quote:Carl Sagan, correct? If you haven't read Cosmos yet, I highly recommend it. The TV series is excellent as well. I'm very excited about the remake coming out soon featuring Neil deGrasse Tyson.
Lawrence Krauss, actually. I accidentally forgot to add his name when I was omitting a certain segment. I will edit it in shortly!
Unfortunately, I'm not very familiar with Carl Sagan's work. He was a little bit before my time (I was only a year old when he died) and I haven't really had the time to look into his work (yet - it's certainly on my to-do list). I, too, am extremely excited about the upcoming version.
Anyone see the contrail from the SpaceX launch this evening? That's private enterprise going into space right there, boy, I tell you hwat.
There was a distinct gap in the contrail. Curious that. Must have been a temperature layer, or sumpin.
Quote:Anyone see the contrail from the SpaceX launch this evening? That's private enterprise going into space right there, boy, I tell you hwat.
There was a distinct gap in the contrail. Curious that. Must have been a temperature layer, or sumpin.
SpaceX became the first private enterprise to dock with the ISS earlier this year, I believe. It was "non-essential supplies" but still an incredibly exciting event.
Quote:SpaceX became the first private enterprise to dock with the ISS earlier this year, I believe. It was "non-essential supplies" but still an incredibly exciting event.
Elon Musk is an amaaaazing individual.
Quote:Elon Musk is an amaaaazing individual.
Have you heard about the proposed/theoretical hyperloop? Insane (in the "OMG that's amazing" sense of the word, of course) stuff that man thinks of, haha.
Quote:Carl Sagan, correct? If you haven't read Cosmos yet, I highly recommend it. The TV series is excellent as well. I'm very excited about the remake coming out soon featuring Neil deGrasse Tyson.
When I was about 13 or so, a friend of my dads gave me that book. I was interested but hated to read and understood none of it. Now that I like to read and have a better understanding I can't find that book to save my life. My brother also gave me a book about time/space. I'll have to crack that open now that I have plenty of off time for the next five months.
I sometimes like to think about or figure out some things I know no one is capable of understanding. Like how far out the universe goes. It doesn't end. But why? How far out is it and what's there, but there is no end. Infinity. How can it go on forever? How can something not end? Where's it going, wait, it can't go there because it's already past it, but where is that!!!!
When I completely confuse myself about that, I just think, "man, my wife's automobile has enough miles on it to travel to the moon. (She's got 270,000 miles on that thing over the 13 years she's had it!!) I'm hoping it can get back, she's hoping it slips off into the vastness of space.