Astronomy and Space

Advances in the investigation of the physical universe we live in.
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Typhoon
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Astronomy and Space

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arXiv | Billion-Ton Comet May Have Missed Earth by a Few Hundred Kilometers in 1883
A reanalysis of historical observations suggest Earth narrowly avoided an extinction event just over a hundred years ago.
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Re: Astronomy and Space

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http://www.fastcompany.com/1769468/scie ... e-in-space

Image

Quasar with the largest body of water.
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11 Solar Systems Identified by Kepler

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"I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness."
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Re: Astronomy and Space

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John Kappenman, A Perfect Storm of Planetary Proportions

The approach of the solar maximum is an urgent reminder that power grids everywhere are more vulnerable than ever to geomagnetic effects

http://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/the-sma ... portions/0
Luminous fingers of intense red, green, and violet light flicker and pulse across the northern and southern skies like a vast cosmic conflagration. Within minutes, millions of people are tweeting, texting, and blogging about the wondrous sight. But then the sky turns a deep blood red, and fascination turns to panic.

Linked to the celestial spectacle are enormous fluctuations of the magnetic field in Earth's magnetosphere, which are causing immense flows of electric current in the upper atmosphere over much of the planet. Those huge currents disturb Earth's normally quiescent magnetic field, which in turn induces surges of current in electrical, telecommunications, and other networks across entire continents. Streetlights flicker out; electricity is lost. A massive planetary blackout has occurred, leaving vast swaths of North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia without power.

Within a few months, the crisis has deepened. In many areas, food shortages are rampant, drinking water has become a precious commodity, and patients in need of blood transfusions, insulin, or critical prescription drugs die waiting. Normal commerce has ground to a halt, replaced by black markets and violent crime. As fatalities climb into the millions, the fabric of society starts to unravel.

Of course, no geomagnetic storm has ever wreaked such global havoc. But the last time we had a truly powerful storm was in 1921—decades before developed economies became utterly dependent on electrical infrastructure. The doomsday scenario described above is based closely on the warnings of numerous government panels and industry studies I've participated in during my more than 30 years of investigating the problem that extreme space weather poses to power grids....
Be not too curious of Good and Evil;
Seek not to count the future waves of Time;
But be ye satisfied that you have light
Enough to take your step and find your foothold.

--T.S. Eliot
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Typhoon
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Re: Astronomy and Space

Post by Typhoon »

Antipatros wrote:John Kappenman, A Perfect Storm of Planetary Proportions

The approach of the solar maximum is an urgent reminder that power grids everywhere are more vulnerable than ever to geomagnetic effects

http://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/the-sma ... portions/0
Luminous fingers of intense red, green, and violet light flicker and pulse across the northern and southern skies like a vast cosmic conflagration. Within minutes, millions of people are tweeting, texting, and blogging about the wondrous sight. But then the sky turns a deep blood red, and fascination turns to panic.

Linked to the celestial spectacle are enormous fluctuations of the magnetic field in Earth's magnetosphere, which are causing immense flows of electric current in the upper atmosphere over much of the planet. Those huge currents disturb Earth's normally quiescent magnetic field, which in turn induces surges of current in electrical, telecommunications, and other networks across entire continents. Streetlights flicker out; electricity is lost. A massive planetary blackout has occurred, leaving vast swaths of North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia without power.

Within a few months, the crisis has deepened. In many areas, food shortages are rampant, drinking water has become a precious commodity, and patients in need of blood transfusions, insulin, or critical prescription drugs die waiting. Normal commerce has ground to a halt, replaced by black markets and violent crime. As fatalities climb into the millions, the fabric of society starts to unravel.

Of course, no geomagnetic storm has ever wreaked such global havoc. But the last time we had a truly powerful storm was in 1921—decades before developed economies became utterly dependent on electrical infrastructure. The doomsday scenario described above is based closely on the warnings of numerous government panels and industry studies I've participated in during my more than 30 years of investigating the problem that extreme space weather poses to power grids....
At some point in the future the earth will experience a geomagnetic storm sufficiently intense to fry unprotected electric power systems and electronics.

Yet industrial societies are completely unprepared for such an event.

Meanwhile billions are spent on the imaginary threat of man-made global warming.
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Re: Astronomy and Space

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Typhoon wrote:
At some point in the future the earth will experience a geomagnetic storm sufficiently intense to fry unprotected electric power systems and electronics.

Yet industrial societies are completely unprepared for such an event.

Meanwhile billions are spent on the imaginary threat of man-made global warming.
Indeed. And Al Gore, David Suzuki, and others of that ilk grow rich on stoking the hysteria.
Be not too curious of Good and Evil;
Seek not to count the future waves of Time;
But be ye satisfied that you have light
Enough to take your step and find your foothold.

--T.S. Eliot
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Re: REAL TIME SATELLITE TRACKING

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Yay! Another country to enter into the worldwide surveillance state!

مامان‎ must be so proud.
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Re: Astronomy and Space

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KDEmtWLwMOM
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Re: Astronomy and Space

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Beautiful.
Deep down I'm very superficial
Simple Minded

Re: Astronomy and Space

Post by Simple Minded »

Antipatros wrote:
Typhoon wrote:
At some point in the future the earth will experience a geomagnetic storm sufficiently intense to fry unprotected electric power systems and electronics.

Yet industrial societies are completely unprepared for such an event.

Meanwhile billions are spent on the imaginary threat of man-made global warming.
Indeed. And Al Gore, David Suzuki, and others of that ilk grow rich on stoking the hysteria.
I've always thought that Joe Isuzu had more credibility than David Suzuki.
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Re: Astronomy and Space

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Re: Astronomy and Space

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Yomiura | Construction firm aims at space elevator in 2050
It may be possible to travel to space in an elevator as early as 2050, a major construction company has announced.

Obayashi Corp., headquartered in Tokyo, on Monday unveiled a project to build a gigantic elevator that would transport passengers to a station 36,000 kilometers above the Earth.

For the envisaged project, the company would utilize carbon nanotubes, which are 20 times stronger than steel, to produce cables for the space elevator.

The idea of space elevators has been described in several science-fiction novels. Obayashi, however, believes it is possible to construct one in the real world thanks to carbon nanotubes, which were invented in the 1990s, the company said.

Some other organizations have also been studying the development of space elevators, such as the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

In Obayashi's project, a cable would be stretched up to 96,000 kilometers, or about one-fourth of the distance between the Earth and the moon. One end of the cable would be anchored at a spaceport on the ground, while the other would be fitted with a counterweight.

The terminal station would house laboratories and living space. The car could carry up to 30 people to the station at 200 kilometers per hour, which would mean a 7-1/2 day trip to reach the station. Magnetic linear motors are one possible means of propulsion for the car, according to Obayashi.

Solar power generation facilities would also be set up around the terminal station to transmit power to the ground, the company added.

Whether carbon nanotubes can be mass-produced economically enough and whether various organizations from around the world can work together are two key issues facing the development of the space elevator, according to the company.

"At this moment, we cannot estimate the cost for the project," an Obayashi official said. "However, we'll try to make steady progress so that it won't end just up as simply a dream."
http://www.obayashi.co.jp/english/
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Need to set up an Anti-Meteor capability

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Typhoon wrote:arXiv | Billion-Ton Comet May Have Missed Earth by a Few Hundred Kilometers in 1883
A reanalysis of historical observations suggest Earth narrowly avoided an extinction event just over a hundred years ago.
Thank you Very Much for your post, Typhoon.

Some of the comments doubt this particular occurence, but IMVHO we humans and reasonable facsimiles there of are very foolish if we don't take steps to develop a first rate meteor detection service and anti-meteor capability ASAP.

Somewhere out there, there is almost certainly a Dinosaur Killer asteroid or comet with our name on it.

The Book of Revelation may mention something like this.........
and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon a third of the rivers, and upon the springs of water; And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and a third of the waters became Bitter; and many people had died of the waters, because they were made bitter."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wormwood_% ... pretations

The human race has been running on luck for too long..........

There's mention of a space elevator being possible by 2050........ That's way too long to wait IMVHO.....

AFAIK the best possibility is something along the lines of the now mothballed Project Orion which would also be a good way to use up the overabundance of nuclear bombs rather than destroying ourselves with them.........

Project Orion was a study of a spacecraft intended to be directly propelled by a series of explosions of atomic bombs behind the craft (Nuclear pulse propulsion). Early versions of this vehicle were proposed to have taken off from the ground with significant associated nuclear fallout; later versions were presented for use only in space.

A 1955 Los Alamos Laboratory document states (without offering references) that general proposals were first made by Stanislaw Ulam in 1946, and that preliminary calculations were made by F. Reines and Ulam in a Los Alamos memorandum dated 1947.[1] The actual project, initiated in 1958, was led by Ted Taylor at General Atomics and physicist Freeman Dyson, who at Taylor's request took a year away from the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton to work on the project.

By using energetic nuclear power, the Orion concept offered high thrust and high specific impulse, or propellant efficiency, at the same time. As a qualitative comparison, traditional chemical rockets—such as the Saturn V that took the Apollo program to the Moon—produce high thrust with low specific impulse, whereas electric ion engines produce a small amount of thrust very efficiently. Orion would have offered performance greater than the most advanced conventional or nuclear rocket engines then under consideration. Supporters of Project Orion felt that it had potential for cheap interplanetary travel, but it lost political approval over concerns with fallout from its propulsion.[2] The Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963 is generally acknowledged to have ended the project.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Or ... pulsion%29
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EMP attack by Man or Nature......Re: Astronomy and Space

Post by monster_gardener »

Typhoon wrote:
Antipatros wrote:John Kappenman, A Perfect Storm of Planetary Proportions

The approach of the solar maximum is an urgent reminder that power grids everywhere are more vulnerable than ever to geomagnetic effects

http://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/the-sma ... portions/0
Luminous fingers of intense red, green, and violet light flicker and pulse across the northern and southern skies like a vast cosmic conflagration. Within minutes, millions of people are tweeting, texting, and blogging about the wondrous sight. But then the sky turns a deep blood red, and fascination turns to panic.

Linked to the celestial spectacle are enormous fluctuations of the magnetic field in Earth's magnetosphere, which are causing immense flows of electric current in the upper atmosphere over much of the planet. Those huge currents disturb Earth's normally quiescent magnetic field, which in turn induces surges of current in electrical, telecommunications, and other networks across entire continents. Streetlights flicker out; electricity is lost. A massive planetary blackout has occurred, leaving vast swaths of North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia without power.

Within a few months, the crisis has deepened. In many areas, food shortages are rampant, drinking water has become a precious commodity, and patients in need of blood transfusions, insulin, or critical prescription drugs die waiting. Normal commerce has ground to a halt, replaced by black markets and violent crime. As fatalities climb into the millions, the fabric of society starts to unravel.

Of course, no geomagnetic storm has ever wreaked such global havoc. But the last time we had a truly powerful storm was in 1921—decades before developed economies became utterly dependent on electrical infrastructure. The doomsday scenario described above is based closely on the warnings of numerous government panels and industry studies I've participated in during my more than 30 years of investigating the problem that extreme space weather poses to power grids....
At some point in the future the earth will experience a geomagnetic storm sufficiently intense to fry unprotected electric power systems and electronics.

Yet industrial societies are completely unprepared for such an event.

Meanwhile billions are spent on the imaginary threat of man-made global warming.
Thank You Very Much for your posts, Antipatros & Typhoon.

This is basically a Natural EMP attack....... Also happens when nukes are detonated in the upper atmosphere.......
An electromagnetic pulse (sometimes abbreviated EMP) is a burst of electromagnetic radiation. The abrupt pulse of electromagnetic radiation usually results from certain types of high energy explosions, especially a nuclear explosion, or from a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field. The resulting rapidly changing electric fields and magnetic fields may couple with electrical/electronic systems to produce damaging current and voltage surges.

In military terminology, a nuclear bomb detonated hundreds of miles above the Earth's surface is known as a high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) device. Effects of a HEMP device depend on a very large number of factors, including the altitude of the detonation, energy yield, gamma ray output, interactions with the Earth's magnetic field, and electromagnetic shielding of targets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_pulse

Also unfortunately a very likely possibility............. and getting more likely

IMVHO we should be spending at least as much on this and the Killer Asteroid threat as we/US/the world is on MMGW........

Speculation: but I suspect the military has spent some money on this already given the nuke war EMP aspect..........

If anyone knows and can tell without getting in trouble, I would be interested in hearing it.............


Note: I found this book while looking for the one below....... No user reviews as yet..........
Solar Flare Survival We live only 8 light minutes from a massive, tumultuous, unpredictable star. The Sun provides us with the energy to sustain life on our planet, but that gift comes with a price. There has been more intense solar activity in the last 50 years than there has been in the past 11,000 years. As we approach the apexes of both the 11-year solar cycle and the longer Grand Solar Cycle, our Sun is continuing to produce increasingly destructive storms. A proton storm blasted from the Sun can travel as fast as 4 million miles per hour and have the energy of 100 billion atomic bombs. In the last 20 years we have witnessed solar storms powerful enough to destroy most of the electronics on our planet and impact human health. So far none of them have been pointed in our direction. We now know that the question is not if a major event will occur--But when? Solar Flare Survival first discusses what our scientists have learned so far about the Sun and how it affects our planet. Furthur chapters illustrate how the Sun can, and has in the past wreaked havoc on worldwide national power grids, spacecraft, and electronics. Key questions are discussed objectively drawing from some of the latest technology and current scientific studies. How do solar flares affect the human body? Can solar flares trigger earthquakes? Is a Faraday cage that has been designed to withstand a geomagnetic storm adequate for an EMP attack as well? Faraday cage theory, design and construction for the common man. Where to get current alerts and information about extreme space weather, and how to understand them.

http://www.amazon.com/Solar-Flare-Survi ... 492&sr=8-3


Note: The late Christian financial expert, Larry Burkett wrote a novel about this ........."Solar Flare" ... his writing was panned by the critics but at least he was aware of the danger............ probably because he had worked on the Space Program and in the electronics industry..........

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Burkett

http://www.amazon.com/Solar-Thorndike-C ... 492&sr=8-1
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Re: Astronomy and Space

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Re: Astronomy and Space

Post by Typhoon »

CbIZU8cQWXc
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Re: Astronomy and Space

Post by Antipatros »

Typhoon wrote:CbIZU8cQWXc
There's more good sense in a 15-second aliquot portion of that video than in the entire collected speeches of Hussein Obama or of any of the Republican hopefuls.
Be not too curious of Good and Evil;
Seek not to count the future waves of Time;
But be ye satisfied that you have light
Enough to take your step and find your foothold.

--T.S. Eliot
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Re: Astronomy and Space

Post by Typhoon »

Antipatros wrote:
Typhoon wrote:CbIZU8cQWXc
There's more good sense in a 15-second aliquot portion of that video than in the entire collected speeches of Hussein Obama or of any of the Republican hopefuls.
Indeed.
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Re: Astronomy and Space

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May the gods preserve and defend me from self-righteous altruists; I can defend myself from my enemies and my friends.
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Cannot afford not to..........Re: Astronomy and Space

Post by monster_gardener »

Typhoon wrote:
Antipatros wrote:
Typhoon wrote:CbIZU8cQWXc
There's more good sense in a 15-second aliquot portion of that video than in the entire collected speeches of Hussein Obama or of any of the Republican hopefuls.
Indeed.
Thank you VERY Much for your posts, Antipatros & Typhoon.

SECONDED!

IMVHO if we are interested in the long term survival of the human race, we cannot afford NOT to be investing more in Space..............
or of any of the Republican hopefuls
Possible exception for Newt IF he was serious about supporting Moon Colonization.......... But Newt is very unlikely............
For the love of G_d, consider you & I may be mistaken.
Orion Must Rise: Killer Space Rocks Coming Our way
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Re: Astronomy and Space

Post by Typhoon »

May the gods preserve and defend me from self-righteous altruists; I can defend myself from my enemies and my friends.
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3 Planet Sky Show

Post by monster_gardener »

Thank you Very Much for your post, Typhoon.

Saw it too but background was not as beautiful.

Mars was in the sky at the same time at opposition and bright........
For the love of G_d, consider you & I may be mistaken.
Orion Must Rise: Killer Space Rocks Coming Our way
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Re: Astronomy and Space

Post by Antipatros »

Gregory L. Matloff, Deflecting Asteroids

A solar sail could use light to nudge an earthbound rock into an orbit we could live with

http://spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace/spac ... steroids/0
Sixty-five million years ago, a Manhattan-size meteorite traveling through space at about 11 kilometers per second punched through the sky before hitting the ground near what is now Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. The energy released by the impact poured into the atmosphere, heating Earth’s surface. Then the dust lofted by this impact blocked out the sun, bringing years of wintry conditions everywhere, wiping out many terrestrial species, including the nonfeathered dinosaurs. Birds and mammals thus owe their ascendancy to the intersection of two orbits: that of Earth and that of a devastating visitor from deep space.

We humans need not wait, like dinosaurs, for the next big rock to drop. We have an advanced understanding of the heavens and a spacefaring technology that could soon enable us to alter the orbits of any celestial object on a collision path with us. That capability just might come in handy.

We got a taste of the challenge in December 2004, when scientists at NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), in Pasadena, Calif., estimated there was a nearly 3 percent chance that a 30-billion-kilogram rock called 99942 Apophis would slam into Earth in 2029, releasing the energy equivalent of 500 million tons of TNT. That’s enough to level small countries or raise tsunamis [PDF] that could wash away coastal cities on several continents. More recent calculations have lowered the odds of a 2029 impact to about 1 in 250 000. This time around, Apophis will probably miss us—but only by 30 000 km, less than one-tenth of the distance to the moon.

But let’s not rejoice too quickly. We know next to nothing about that asteroid’s porosity, composition, and tensile strength. It’s possible that tidal stresses during its 2029 approach could cause it to break apart, adding to the odds of an Earth impact during another rendezvous further down the line.

There is some disagreement about the best course of action. In the United States, experts tend to want to experiment with various deflection techniques by first sending robots or even astronauts to asteroids that do not threaten Earth. But in Russia, many asteroid watchers believe the risk of a collision between Apophis and Earth has been underestimated. These analysts contend that we should therefore concentrate our experiments on this particular asteroid.

To be sure of diverting any interplanetary intruder, we would need several strings to our bow. A method that could swiftly deflect a hunk of iron might blow an icy rock into several parts, each of which could then become a danger. And the gentler method now being discussed—to vaporize part of the surface of the asteroid, creating an outpouring of gas that would generate a propulsive force—would do no more than warm a meteorite made of iron. So we’ll doubtless need to devise several strategies for dealing with threatening asteroids.

So I have proposed a new tool, one that would use the pressure of light to nudge threatening objects into safe trajectories. That I’ve been asked to explain it at all in a magazine article shows that there’s indeed one thing we can rejoice in: the enhanced awareness of the problem. The mention of killer asteroids no longer raises jeering comparisons to the cries of Chicken Little, now that we know celestial impacts are far more common than once thought....
Be not too curious of Good and Evil;
Seek not to count the future waves of Time;
But be ye satisfied that you have light
Enough to take your step and find your foothold.

--T.S. Eliot
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