Space and Astronomy in general

Norfair wrote:

SN-15 has successfully launched and landed.

If only the weather was better so that we could see it in all it's glory. I had like 3 streams up as per usual and it was a really cool thing to see!

So apparently Musk is exactly the type of ass-hat who buys a small coastal town and then harasses the long standing residents into selling him their homes for a pittance. What a total dick. He could have easily paid them millions each for their homes but instead used his wealth and power to force them out. My home is worth almost ten times more than he paid those folks. And I don’t have an ocean view like those folks did. Unbelievable!

Every billionaire is a policy failure and an asshole.

Generous people don't become billionaires.

They are the ultimate takers. Even Bill Gates who runs an amazing philanthropic foundation has taken and is still taking way more than he is giving back.

Don't you find it odd that it didn't hamper his development to have billions all throughout adulthood, yet his kids (only) get 10 million each because of concerns for their development?

It's almost like he put some thought into it and decided generational obscene wealth was not for him... The Bill Gates of 1982 was a slash and burn, screw you I got mine uber-capitalist. (I know people who worked directly for him in that period.) The Bill Gates of today? Not so much. We are at least lucky that he was self-aware enough not to turn into another David Koch...

When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich.

Let's hope.

::singing:: barbecue saaauuuce

Today's Falcon 9 launch is still ongoing in coast phase.

The landing video was cool; they kept connection to the booster all the way down to the drone ship. It looked funny, though, since the drone ship's connection cut out as usual right before touchdown.

IMAGE(https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2106/Jovey_JunoMajor_960.jpg)

Jupiter wrote:

ALL THESE WORLDS
ARE YOURS EXCEPT
EUROPA
ATTEMPT NO
LANDING THERE
USE THEM TOGETHER
USE THEM IN PEACE

The reason Europa was prohibited was because there was primitive life there.

You see, something's going to happen.

What? What's going to happen?

Something wonderful.

Captain Kirk is going to space!

Stele wrote:

Captain Kirk technically went to space (if you accept that anyone going above the karman line has been to "space"), for about 2 minutes!

FTFY

Hey man he looked into the black. Sounds like a profound experience, even if it was short.

Do you think he booked the trip via priceline?

As much as this is crazy news, I can't believe he is 90 years old.

Stele wrote:

Hey man he looked into the black. Sounds like a profound experience, even if it was short.

I'm mainly just poking fun. I'd definitely take that trip if the opportunity arose!

fangblackbone wrote:

As much as this is crazy news, I can't believe he is 90 years old.

Right?!?!

Will it finally launch? I am terrified.

https://twitter.com/ESA_Webb/status/...

I know. All that work and treasure, and so many things that could go wrong…

Serengeti wrote:
Stele wrote:

Captain Kirk technically went to space (if you accept that anyone going above the karman line has been to "space"), for about 2 minutes!

FTFY

Captain Kirk has been to space in the same way I've been to Canada because I had a connecting flight through Toronto.

We plebs don't really need to be involved in the 'what is space' dick measuring contest, especially when it comes to a human visit. Could you have been hit in the head by a satellite, spacecraft, or spacestation? You are probably in space. Just because you can't stay there without extra energy doesn't mean you're not in space. You're just not in orbit.

I can make a trajectory in Kerbal that goes a thousand miles up and still ends up with me hitting the planet at the end because I didnt circularize. I still visited space, I just didn't move in.

Norfair wrote:
Serengeti wrote:
Stele wrote:

Captain Kirk technically went to space (if you accept that anyone going above the karman line has been to "space"), for about 2 minutes!

FTFY

Captain Kirk has been to space in the same way I've been to Canada because I had a connecting flight through Toronto.

I've never had a connecting flight through Canada, but once while on a flight from Newark to LAX my mobile phone buzzed because I had a text from Verizon saying "Welcome to Canada."

We must have passed over a particularly strong cell tower in SW Ontario.

Agathos wrote:

Will it finally launch? I am terrified.

https://twitter.com/ESA_Webb/status/...

For folks like me who don't really know what the James Webb telescope is (beyond "it's a telescope, duh"), I thought that the below video from last week did a pretty good and insightful job of explaining what it is, how it works, and some of the neat bits about it - such as:

Spoiler:

It's going to orbit an empty point in space, beyond the moon. Wow!

Lagrange point?

There was a good article on those last week. Apparently Jupiter has some rocks captured in its Lagrange points that we're planning to go take a look at. Maybe rocks older than our planet, no big deal.

Stele wrote:

Lagrange point?

There was a good article on those last week. Apparently Jupiter has some rocks captured in its Lagrange points that we're planning to go take a look at. Maybe rocks older than our planet, no big deal.

Yes, but it doesn't orbit at the L2 point, it orbits around the L2 point - not around the Earth or the Moon - so that it can still get some sunlight, even though it's otherwise permanently on the other side of the Earth from the Sun. Skip to the 21:30 mark in the above video for details.

Stele wrote:

Captain Kirk is going to space!

He's finally a Rocket Man.