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KambahOne

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https://www.9news.com.au/technology...elescope/6403b563-dcc6-48f9-bbe5-bce3b215250e

The surface of our sun is a wild, violent place and now we can see it in exquisite detail, thanks to the first images returned by the National Science Foundation's Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope based in Hawaii.

The ground-based telescope will work with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, which is orbiting the sun, and the upcoming European Space Agency/NASA Solar Orbiter to help us learn more about the sun and how the space weather it creates could affect Earth.

Details in the newly released images show plasma, which covers the sun, that appears to boil. Giant, Texas-sized cells help create convection, where heat from inside the sun is drawn up to the surface while other cells cool and sink beneath it.

Wicked vid.
 

Squash the Berries!

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Currently in Bay of Islands NZ. Pissed and stoned last night on the beach we saw these lights in the sky all in a straight row. I thought surely must be a breaking asteroid or comet and in the frame of mind myself two daughters and others were in, alien spacecraft did cross our minds.

Turns out Elon Musk has launched a heap of satellites trying to provide internet for all, never to be forgotten sight. Has any else seen This.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12305255
 
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KambahOne

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https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2020-01-27/hours-in-dinosaurs-day-physics-astrophysics/11886448

Dinosaurs had shorter days than us.

If it feels like the days of your summer are zipping by too quickly, spare a thought for the dinosaurs. Their days were even shorter.

The 24-hour clock is locked into our mammalian biology, our technology and our culture. But it hasn't always been that way.

The length of an Earth day has been increasing slowly throughout most of the Earth's 4.5-billion-year history, says Rosemary Mardling, an astrophysicist at Monash University, and it all has to do with the Moon.

"The reason is that the Moon is attempting to slow down the spin of the Earth. The Earth was spinning very much faster when the Moon was formed," says Dr Mardling.

Back when the Moon was formed, the length of an Earth day was a very brief two to three hours, and a much closer Moon was orbiting the Earth every five hours.

Tidal records laid down in ancient estuaries can show daily, monthly and seasonal cycles in alternating deposits of sand and silt. They indicate that 620 million years ago the day was 21 hours, says Dr Mardling.
 

CroydonDog

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https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2020-01-27/hours-in-dinosaurs-day-physics-astrophysics/11886448

Dinosaurs had shorter days than us.

If it feels like the days of your summer are zipping by too quickly, spare a thought for the dinosaurs. Their days were even shorter.

The 24-hour clock is locked into our mammalian biology, our technology and our culture. But it hasn't always been that way.

The length of an Earth day has been increasing slowly throughout most of the Earth's 4.5-billion-year history, says Rosemary Mardling, an astrophysicist at Monash University, and it all has to do with the Moon.

"The reason is that the Moon is attempting to slow down the spin of the Earth. The Earth was spinning very much faster when the Moon was formed," says Dr Mardling.

Back when the Moon was formed, the length of an Earth day was a very brief two to three hours, and a much closer Moon was orbiting the Earth every five hours.

Tidal records laid down in ancient estuaries can show daily, monthly and seasonal cycles in alternating deposits of sand and silt. They indicate that 620 million years ago the day was 21 hours, says Dr Mardling.
Is that why we have leap seconds?
 

Hacky McAxe

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The latest episode of Science Rules podcast with Bill Nye has an interview with one of the NASA experts who is handling the new Dragonfly mission to Titan.

For those who don't know, Titan has a methane atmosphere which we obviously couldn't breath but there are lifeforms we know of that can survive in a methane atmosphere.

Also, the atmospheric pressure is only a little higher than Earth's atmospheric pressure so humans could survive there with oxygen tanks only and without space suits. The atmosphere is also 4 times thicker than Earth's so with wings humans could fly quite easily.

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/stitcher/science-rules-with-bill-nye
 

KambahOne

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The latest episode of Science Rules podcast with Bill Nye has an interview with one of the NASA experts who is handling the new Dragonfly mission to Titan.

For those who don't know, Titan has a methane atmosphere which we obviously couldn't breath but there are lifeforms we know of that can survive in a methane atmosphere.

Also, the atmospheric pressure is only a little higher than Earth's atmospheric pressure so humans could survive there with oxygen tanks only and without space suits. The atmosphere is also 4 times thicker than Earth's so with wings humans could fly quite easily.

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/stitcher/science-rules-with-bill-nye
I like Bill will check it out.

We would need protection from the cold though as the surface temp is around -290 F (-179 C), but seeing Saturn take up a third to half the sky would be an impressive sight.
 

MatstaDogg

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Met a Kiwi photographer who took the following picture of our own milky way galaxy with his camera only.View attachment 12956
I'm so fascinated with stuff to do with space, planets and what else is out there. I think it's more of the unknown that draws me to it. I also find it quite relaxing to go star gazing sometimes.
 

Squash the Berries!

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https://www.9news.com.au/technology...elescope/6403b563-dcc6-48f9-bbe5-bce3b215250e

The surface of our sun is a wild, violent place and now we can see it in exquisite detail, thanks to the first images returned by the National Science Foundation's Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope based in Hawaii.

The ground-based telescope will work with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, which is orbiting the sun, and the upcoming European Space Agency/NASA Solar Orbiter to help us learn more about the sun and how the space weather it creates could affect Earth.

Details in the newly released images show plasma, which covers the sun, that appears to boil. Giant, Texas-sized cells help create convection, where heat from inside the sun is drawn up to the surface while other cells cool and sink beneath it.

Wicked vid.
When I did an astronomy course I was lucky enough to look at the sun through a telescope with a special filter so I din't go blind. Also took some photos of the sun and you could see solar flares (in black and white).

If I can ever find the bastards I will post.
 

KambahOne

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https://www.9news.com.au/technology...y-cycles/24043321-5f44-4cb3-abb5-ed2c4575a5c3

A mysterious radio source coming from the outskirts of another galaxy has been sending signals to Earth in steady 16-day cycles, a new study has revealed.
Recording periodic activity from the signals, known as fast radio bursts (FRBs), was a first for scientists working to discover the source.
The discovery was made by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment Fast Radio Burst Project (CHIME/FRB), which is dedicated to researching FRBs.
 

KambahOne

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https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2020/hubble-embraces-spiral-with-open-arms


The spiral galaxy NGC 2008 sits center stage, its ghostly spiral arms spreading out toward us, in this image captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

This galaxy is located about 425 million light-years from Earth in the constellation of Pictor (the Painter’s Easel). Discovered in 1834 by astronomer John Herschel, NGC 2008 is categorized as a type Sc galaxy in the Hubble sequence, a system used to describe and classify the various morphologies of galaxies. The “S” indicates that NGC 2008 is a spiral, while the “c” means it has a relatively small central bulge and more open spiral arms. Spiral galaxies with larger central bulges tend to have more tightly wrapped arms, and are classified as Sa galaxies, while those in between are classified as type Sb.

Spiral galaxies are ubiquitous across the cosmos, comprising over 70% of all observed galaxies — including our own, the Milky Way. However, their ubiquity does not detract from their beauty. These grand, spiraling collections of billions of stars are among the most wondrous sights that have been captured by telescopes such as Hubble and are firmly embedded in astronomical iconography.

The Hubble has brought us some of the most spectacular pics of our Universe, simply stunning.
 
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