Science Stuff

KambahOne

Kennel Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 3, 2019
Messages
3,659
Reaction score
4,735
News - CSIRO

The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), developed and operated by Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, mapped approximately three million galaxies in just 300 hours.

The Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey is like a Google map of the Universe where most of the millions of star-like points on the map are distant galaxies – about a million of which we’ve never seen before.

CSIRO Chief Executive Dr Larry Marshall said ASKAP brought together world-class infrastructure with scientific and engineering expertise to unlock the deepest secrets of the Universe.

“ASKAP is applying the very latest in science and technology to age-old questions about the mysteries of the Universe and equipping astronomers around the world with new breakthroughs to solve their challenges,” Dr Marshall said.

“It’s all enabled by innovative receivers developed by CSIRO that feature phased array feed technology, which see ASKAP generate more raw data at a faster rate than Australia’s entire internet traffic.

“In a time when we have access to more data than ever before, ASKAP and the supercomputers that support it are delivering unparalleled insights and wielding the tools that will underpin our data-driven future to make life better for everybody.
 

KambahOne

Kennel Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 3, 2019
Messages
3,659
Reaction score
4,735

A team of Australian astronomers have captured a series of inexplicable ghostly circles in space they believe show a completely new type of space object.

The strange new objects were captured using a revolutionary new Australian telescope developed by the CSIRO.

The first was captured by the Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) project manager, Anna Kapinska, in September last year but the research team have since discovered several more.

The astronomers have been unable to explain what is causing the rings of radio emissions, which they have dubbed 'odd radio circles' (ORCs).
However, other telescopes have confirmed they are real and not the result of a software error with the new telescope.
1607055774821.png


Even more bizarrely, the ghostly blobs don't appear in images taken with optical telescopes.

"None of us had ever seen anything like it before, and we had no idea what it was," Western Sydney University's Professor Ray Norris wrote of the discovery.
"The rings of radio emission are probably caused by clouds of electrons, but why don't we see anything in visible wavelengths of light?

"We don't know but finding a puzzle like this is the dream of every astronomer."

Professor Norris said the objects could be in our own galaxy and measure a few light years across, or be far away across the universe and span millions of light years.

The mysterious objects were discovered using a powerful new telescope developed by the CSIRO – the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) – located in outback Western Australia.

The much-anticipated new technology made headlines around the world earlier this week for breaking records by mapping out three million new galaxies in just 300 hours – work that took other telescopes as long as 10 years.
 

Hacky McAxe

Super Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Gilded
Joined
May 7, 2011
Messages
37,038
Reaction score
29,410

A team of Australian astronomers have captured a series of inexplicable ghostly circles in space they believe show a completely new type of space object.

The strange new objects were captured using a revolutionary new Australian telescope developed by the CSIRO.

The first was captured by the Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) project manager, Anna Kapinska, in September last year but the research team have since discovered several more.

The astronomers have been unable to explain what is causing the rings of radio emissions, which they have dubbed 'odd radio circles' (ORCs).
However, other telescopes have confirmed they are real and not the result of a software error with the new telescope.
View attachment 19017

Even more bizarrely, the ghostly blobs don't appear in images taken with optical telescopes.

"None of us had ever seen anything like it before, and we had no idea what it was," Western Sydney University's Professor Ray Norris wrote of the discovery.
"The rings of radio emission are probably caused by clouds of electrons, but why don't we see anything in visible wavelengths of light?

"We don't know but finding a puzzle like this is the dream of every astronomer."

Professor Norris said the objects could be in our own galaxy and measure a few light years across, or be far away across the universe and span millions of light years.

The mysterious objects were discovered using a powerful new telescope developed by the CSIRO – the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) – located in outback Western Australia.

The much-anticipated new technology made headlines around the world earlier this week for breaking records by mapping out three million new galaxies in just 300 hours – work that took other telescopes as long as 10 years.
This is pretty cool. It reminds me of one of the biggest ever discoveries in Cosmology. When two Astronomers were trying to use a radio telescope to detect distance bodies, they kept getting this radio interference. Eventually they looked in the telescope and found some pigeons had been nesting in there and they believed the poo was causing the interference.

So they cleaned it all out and started again. But the interference was still there. They were just going to write it off as background noise (and almost did), but instead they looked further into it and found out that it. And that's how the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation was discovered. The radiation that we have used to map out most of the Universe on a Cosmic scale.

I'm probably murdering the story as my memory is a little vague and I'm hungover, but it's an interesting story.

This kind of thing could be something similar. A chance discovery that leads to something much larger.
 

Chris Harding

Steam Powered Dog
Premium Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2004
Messages
11,088
Reaction score
11,628
This is pretty cool. It reminds me of one of the biggest ever discoveries in Cosmology. When two Astronomers were trying to use a radio telescope to detect distance bodies, they kept getting this radio interference. Eventually they looked in the telescope and found some pigeons had been nesting in there and they believed the poo was causing the interference.

So they cleaned it all out and started again. But the interference was still there. They were just going to write it off as background noise (and almost did), but instead they looked further into it and found out that it. And that's how the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation was discovered. The radiation that we have used to map out most of the Universe on a Cosmic scale.

I'm probably murdering the story as my memory is a little vague and I'm hungover, but it's an interesting story.

This kind of thing could be something similar. A chance discovery that leads to something much larger.
No, you're pretty well spot on with the story. If you have a short wave radio you will hear static between stations as you turn the tuning dial - that is the Cosmic Microwave Background you're hearing.

The sad thing is that we can only detect what has reached us. Some stuff is so far away now, that it cannot travel faster than the speed of light to reach us; so we'll never know what is out there.

Interesting to think that if the light from every star in every universe could reach us simultaneously, the night sky would be brighter than a sunny day.
 

KambahOne

Kennel Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 3, 2019
Messages
3,659
Reaction score
4,735
This is pretty cool. It reminds me of one of the biggest ever discoveries in Cosmology. When two Astronomers were trying to use a radio telescope to detect distance bodies, they kept getting this radio interference. Eventually they looked in the telescope and found some pigeons had been nesting in there and they believed the poo was causing the interference.

So they cleaned it all out and started again. But the interference was still there. They were just going to write it off as background noise (and almost did), but instead they looked further into it and found out that it. And that's how the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation was discovered. The radiation that we have used to map out most of the Universe on a Cosmic scale.

I'm probably murdering the story as my memory is a little vague and I'm hungover, but it's an interesting story.

This kind of thing could be something similar. A chance discovery that leads to something much larger.
lol hungover is the best state to be in when thinking about science, well it has in my experience.

I do remember this from a TV show called amazing machines or something like that, here's the story - https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200207/history.cfm

It didn't matter which way they pointed it they heard that faint sound. It's such a science story.
 

Chris Harding

Steam Powered Dog
Premium Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2004
Messages
11,088
Reaction score
11,628
This "Scotty". He is the largest T-Rex found to date. Larger than "Sue", but nowhere near as complete. "Sue" was the model used for the Jurassic Park franchise.

Scotty is on display until next March, at the Australian Museum in William Street, opposite Hyde Park, Sydney.

Another large Tyrannosaur, "Stan", was auctioned off for over US$30 million to a private buyer. This means that we have lost a valuable resource material so it can grace a mansion or palace of some uber wealthy trophy collector. Sad
T-Rex.jpeg
 

Chris Harding

Steam Powered Dog
Premium Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2004
Messages
11,088
Reaction score
11,628
This is pretty cool. It reminds me of one of the biggest ever discoveries in Cosmology. When two Astronomers were trying to use a radio telescope to detect distance bodies, they kept getting this radio interference. Eventually they looked in the telescope and found some pigeons had been nesting in there and they believed the poo was causing the interference.

So they cleaned it all out and started again. But the interference was still there. They were just going to write it off as background noise (and almost did), but instead they looked further into it and found out that it. And that's how the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation was discovered. The radiation that we have used to map out most of the Universe on a Cosmic scale.

I'm probably murdering the story as my memory is a little vague and I'm hungover, but it's an interesting story.

This kind of thing could be something similar. A chance discovery that leads to something much larger.
lol hungover is the best state to be in when thinking about science, well it has in my experience.

I do remember this from a TV show called amazing machines or something like that, here's the story - https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200207/history.cfm

It didn't matter which way they pointed it they heard that faint sound. It's such a science story.
Every time you use your phone, or car you are experiencing science. Think of the minds who made those objects the things they are today. Also think about the pioneers whose clumsy first attempts were eventually perfected into the things we use today. They were no different from yourself - and many had no tertiary education. The first car, and the first plane, were not invented by people with degrees in mechanical engineering.
 

Psycho Doggie

Kennel Immortal
Joined
Mar 25, 2014
Messages
17,850
Reaction score
25,355
Every time you use your phone, or car you are experiencing science. Think of the minds who made those objects the things they are today. Also think about the pioneers whose clumsy first attempts were eventually perfected into the things we use today. They were no different from yourself - and many had no tertiary education. The first car, and the first plane, were not invented by people with degrees in mechanical engineering.
Science is all about standing on the shoulders of those who came before
 

KambahOne

Kennel Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 3, 2019
Messages
3,659
Reaction score
4,735
French army gets ethical go-ahead for bionic soldiers (9news.com.au)

The French armed forces now have permission to develop "augmented soldiers" following a report from a military ethics committee.

The report, released to the public on Tuesday, considers medical treatments, prosthetics and implants that improve "physical, cognitive, perceptive and psychological capacities," and could allow for location tracking or connectivity with weapons systems and other soldiers.

Other possible interventions considered by the armed forces ethics committee include medical treatments to prevent pain, stress and fatigue, and substances that would improve mental resilience if a soldier were taken prisoner.

The committee said that France needs to maintain "operational superiority of its armed forces in a challenging strategic context" while respecting the rules governing the military, humanitarian law and the "fundamental values of our society."

As a result, it has forbidden any modification that would affect a soldier's ability to manage the use of force or affect their sense of "humanity."

Further examples of banned modifications include cognitive implants that would affect the exercise of a soldier's free will, or changes that would affect their reintegration into civilian life.


Oh yeah this will end well.
 

KambahOne

Kennel Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 3, 2019
Messages
3,659
Reaction score
4,735
The 'longest-ever photo exposure' has been found -- inside a drink can - CNN Style

1607990991803.png



A photo tracking the sun's cycles over more than eight years -- believed to be the longest exposure image ever taken -- has been discovered inside a cider can.

The image shows the 2,953 arced trails of the sun as it rose and set through nearly a decade of changing seasons.

Photographer Regina Valkenborgh was an fine-art student at the University of Hertfordshire in southern England when she decided to create a series of makeshift pinhole cameras by lining drink cans with photographic paper.

Valkenborgh told CNN that she began experimenting with pinhole cameras after noticing how digitally driven society was becoming.

"I wanted to see if there was still value in the old analogue style," she said, explaining that the style of photography allowed her to experiment with long exposures and miniature portraits.

In 2012, after a series of successful experiments with long-exposure photography, Valkenborgh placed the pinhole can cameras on a telescope at the university's Bayfordbury Observatory. The cameras stayed on the telescope, forgotten, until they were removed in September this year by the observatory's principal technical officer, David Campbell.

Valkenborgh said she presumed that all of the pinhole cameras were defunct, and after finding most of the images in the cans had failed, told Campbell to throw all of the cans away.

"Luckily, David had a look before he chucked it in the bin," Valkenborgh, now a college photography technician and visiting lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire, told CNN.
 

KambahOne

Kennel Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 3, 2019
Messages
3,659
Reaction score
4,735

Stargazers will be treated to the spectacular sight of Saturn and Jupiter appearing to kiss in the night sky tonight in an event not seen for centuries.

When the planets align today, in what is known as the "Great Conjunction", Jupiter and Saturn will be within 0.1 degrees of each other.

They'll be so close they will look like a single bright star, the Perth Observatory explains.

There was a Great Conjunction back in 1623, however astronomers predict tonight's event will be visible around the world and not lost in the sun's glare.
 

The DoggFather

OG DF
Premium Member
Gilded
Site's Top Poster
Joined
Sep 2, 2012
Messages
106,385
Reaction score
117,483

Stargazers will be treated to the spectacular sight of Saturn and Jupiter appearing to kiss in the night sky tonight in an event not seen for centuries.

When the planets align today, in what is known as the "Great Conjunction", Jupiter and Saturn will be within 0.1 degrees of each other.

They'll be so close they will look like a single bright star, the Perth Observatory explains.

There was a Great Conjunction back in 1623, however astronomers predict tonight's event will be visible around the world and not lost in the sun's glare.
Is that tonight?

EDIT yep that's an Aussie article so it's all good.

Hope we have a clear view of the "Star of Bethlehem".
 

The DoggFather

OG DF
Premium Member
Gilded
Site's Top Poster
Joined
Sep 2, 2012
Messages
106,385
Reaction score
117,483
Wipe out here too. Drizzling rain, 100% cloud cover, I walked outside looked up, and said "fark you too 2020".
I can't find any pictures of it bro, would the NASA site have it?
 
Top