Astronomy

[Paige]

I love astronomy and just how small we are in comparison to everything else!  You all have such awesome stuff to share!

[Asmodel]

[Asmodel]

[ObiDongKenobi]

For those interested in the progress of the James Webb telescope

https://jwst.nasa.gov/content/webbLaunch/whereIsWebb.html

[Shiela_M]

For those interested in the progress of the James Webb telescope

https://jwst.nasa.gov/content/webbLaunch/whereIsWebb.html

This is fantastic Obi, thanks for sharing the link.

[ObiDongKenobi]

SpaceX's Starlink satellites are interfering with ground-based astronomy

https://www.techspot.com/news/93047-spacex-starlink-satellites-interfering-ground-based-astronomy.html

Some interesting comments at the end of the report as well.

[MintJulie]

Driving up to Cape Canaveral to watch Space X launch.  Just and hour and a half north of where I'm at.

It's a little windy and some clouds just arrived. Launch is still on as reported by the website.  Fingers crossed.

You can watch it here.
https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-4-7-launch-watch-live

[msslave]

Hope the weather ho and launch is a go. That would be a spectacular sight to view.

I watched as a youth when we first started shooting rockets into space. I remember the tension of the space race. Our German scientists vrs the Russian German scientists.

It was crushing when Russia got their first Sputnik satellite into orbit, beating the USA. Now Jules may watch a rocket take off that will put 14 satellites in orbit.

We've come along way, baby!

[Shiela_M]

More satellites 

Guess we're bored dumping garbage all over this planet, so now we have to fill space with junk.

Even though I get excited by the photos and stuff from Mars, I cant help but think of the sky crane that lowered the rover and then launched itself away from the rover to crash someplace "safe"

Sorry for being a debby downer.

[Hilda]

Guess we're bored dumping garbage all over this planet, so now we have to fill space with junk.
Sorry for being a debby downer.

That animation is not to scale. If it were to scale, each of those dots would be the size of a city.

Space is full of debris, but it's even more full of, er, space.

Although there's been talk of building space tugs to reload dead satellites with propellant, or move them to different orbits, and one or two successful experiments, there appears to be no motivation to use such space tugs to clear the unwanted debris.

The International Space Station has been hit quite a few times by flying junk, but as far as I know, it's been micro-meteorites.

And, yes, I am a space nerd. 

[Shiela_M]

Well it isn't to scale because if it were, you wouldn't be able to see 99% of the stuff it's trying to show especially as it zooms out away from the planet. It's just trying to show just how much crap we throw out there.

[MintJulie]

Hope the weather ho and launch is a go. That would be a spectacular sight to view.

We had a great view just 12 miles south of the launch site.
I was hoping to see the boosters return, but no luck.
The flame was so bright in the sky as it rose into the sky and then out across the ocean in front of us.
LOVED IT

[Clitical Thinking]

More satellites 

Guess we're bored dumping garbage all over this planet, so now we have to fill space with junk.

Even though I get excited by the photos and stuff from Mars, I cant help but think of the sky crane that lowered the rover and then launched itself away from the rover to crash someplace "safe"

Sorry for being a debby downer.

Thanks, that was really interesting. Despite Hilda's explanation, I'm still amazed that "traffic accidents" aren't a more common occurrence up there. 

[Hotrod216]

The James Webb telescope is orbiting an imaginary point in space called L2. (Lagrange point) so the telescope moves around this point and this point moves around the Sun with the Earth always between L2 and the Sun. So how does the telescope stay focused on any space object if it's constantly moving. As a matter of fact the telescope will move 1124 miles around the Sun in one second. Anyway,  small motors, which get their power from solar collectors,  keep the telescope focused on what it's looking at. So these motors are turning constantly. Questions?

[Shiela_M]

For those wondering, L2 is just shy of 1 million miles from earth. About 930,000. This is the point between the earth and sun where gravity between the two celestial bodies equals out. This will keep the telescope from having to use fuel to stay "in one place"

Also the telescope used far less fuel to reach is destination allowing the telescope to operate far longer than they anticipated. It should be able to function properly for near 20 years.

[msslave]

Wow Shiela...all that beauty and brains too. No wonder you're special.

[Asmodel]

Truly, she really is.  

But then, as once CT said, we’re just stating the obvious, aren’t we sir. 

[Hotrod216]

Jupiter has about 79 moons that orbit it. But it has about 9800 Trojan moons that orbit the sun in Jupiter's orbit 60 degrees ahead and 60 degrees behind Jupiter. These Trjan moon locations are at the L4 and L5 Lagrange points of Jupiter. All the planets have 5 Lagrange points. BTW, Earth has two Trojan moons,each about one kilometer in diameter.

[staci]

I've mooned before.

[Pornhubby]

NASA just parked the Webb Telescope in orbit around earth’s Lagrange 2. They put it in orbit around the spot, else the solar panels of the telescope would be blocked by the earth’s shadow.

We have an active astronomy thread, that all the space nerds post in regularly. Consider posting space things there, rather than creating another thread they won’t get as many eyeballs.

http://www.kristensboard.com/forums/index.php?topic=66712.0