The thread for space cadets!

[warpus]

Solar system to scale

 

[r16]

Looking at some profiles, it is curious how the piloting experience of the Russians is mostly based in slow heavy jets like Il-76 and Tu-134 or even slower attack planes like the Su-25. Also L-39, L-29 but this two are trainers so it would be logical. Not any Mig-31, Mig-29 or Su-27 fighter pilot as i would have expected.

their Airforce was mostly spent after the Cold War , 20 flight hours a year is not that much to keep your skills sharp . Transport pilots would do more , even earning money on charter flights for the rest of the Airforce to fly .

 

[LegionSteve]

Solar system to scale

Thankyou for uploading that! I wanted a new desktop wallpaper

 

[Thorgalaeg]

Lets go a bit further beyond:

Spoiler :

Absolutely mindblowing.

Edit: now it works i think.

 

[peter grimes]

Lets go a bit further beyond:

Spoiler :

Absolutely mindblowing.

broken link, I'm afraid.

 

[Thorgalaeg]

And even further beyond with this interactive application about the scale of the universe:

http://scaleofuniverse.com/

 

[warpus]

Thankyou for uploading that! I wanted a new desktop wallpaper

Then you will enjoy this and this

First one is a blown up version of the image I posted - the second one you can use as a background if you dual monitor

 

[LegionSteve]

Nice

 

[Crezth]

damn, stuff is big

 

[Borachio]

And even further beyond with this interactive application about the scale of the universe:

http://scaleofuniverse.com/

Well I never!

 

[Glassfan]

M51, also known as NGC 5194, the Whilrpool Galaxy. 30 million light years from Earth, 60 thousand ly in diameter.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Short article on SpaceX's Grasshopper system.
Video of test flight:

Link to video.
(see if you can spot the cowboy riding the rocket)

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Debris from Chinese anti-satelite test takes down a Russian satelite accidentally

Anyone seen in Wal-E when Eve and Wal-E take off from Earth and have to punch through a dense layer of space junk to get into outer space? Yeah, that's where we're heading - because polluting the Earth itself isn't enough!

Spoiler :

The apparent destruction of a small Russian satellite six weeks ago highlights the growing threat space junk poses to activities in low-Earth orbit, experts say.

The satellite and space junk crash involved Russia's Ball Lens In The Space nanosatellite, or BLITS, which likely collided on Jan. 22 with a piece of orbital debris spawned by a 2007 Chinese anti-satellite test, Space.com reported Friday. The event adds another name to the list of spacecraft that have had run-ins with space junk.

"It's not the wake-up call — we've had too many of those already," said Brian Weeden, a technical adviser with the Secure World Foundation, an organization dedicated to the peaceful use of outer space.

"Many satellites in LEO (low-Earth orbit) are having to maneuver on a regular basis to avoid threatening close approaches with debris," Weeden told Space.com via email. "This is just one more data point that shatters the myth of the 'big sky' theory regarding space activities and shows that debris is one of the most pressing threats satellite operators in LEO have to contend with."

...

The Chinese anti-satellite test was, of course, one of the "debris-producing events" in 2007 that Wright references. In that controversial test, China destroyed one of its own defunct weather satellites, adding about 3,000 pieces of space junk to the ever-growing debris cloud around Earth.

NASA estimates that this cloud contains 500,000 objects bigger than a marble and 22,000 larger than a softball. The number of flecks at least 1 millimeter in diameter probably runs into the hundreds of millions.

Even tiny pieces can seriously damage satellites, since the debris in LEO is zipping around our planet at fantastic speeds — about 17,500 mph (28,160 km/h). And space junk can put astronauts at risk as well. Despite its armor, the International Space Station is susceptible to strikes by objects at least 0.8 inches (2 centimeters) across, NASA officials have said.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Image taken by Col. Hatfield from ISS.

Image shows a full moon, I see a quarter moon out my window.

I *think* it's possible for an astronaut to see a full moon from a point in orbit while on the earth we see a different phase, but um not certain.

Any thoughts?

His name is Chris HADFIELD. Not "Hatfield".

 

[hobbsyoyo]

At least he didn't call him Chris Canuck

 

[Kaitzilla]

@Hobbs - How long until that space junk naturally falls back to Earth? A few thousand years right?


Also, this week is good viewing for the comet PanSTARRS.
http://blog.chron.com/sciguy/2013/0...ies-for-viewing-comet-panstarrs-from-houston/

It is near the horizon at sunset. So if you live on flat land and can watch the sun go down, there you go.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

From days to millenia Kaitzilla. It depends on things like size, height of the orbit, how active the sun is in a given amount of time, etc. The last thing - sun activity - can be unpredictable. When the sun is very active, it warms the upper atmosphere, which causes it to expand. A period of solar warming actually caused the reentry of Skylab when the puffed up atmosphere caused increased drag on the station which then caused it to land on a farm in Australia.

Before then, they had planned to send Space Shuttles to it and use them to boost Skylab's orbit (and the shuttle's delayed development schedule didn't help here).

So anyways, it is hard to predict how long stuff will stay up there but for most of the junk will be there a long time. The real problem though is that each collision creates thousands of new debris pieces, which go on to make more collissions, which then create new pieces and so on. It becomes an exponential curve of collisions that will make many valuable orbits unusuable and destroy billions of dollars in hardware. Signs point to the fact we are entering the clusterfrak curve of destruction right now.

I will probably miss the comet due to completely overcast skies. Oh and if you have them, bring binoculars to view the comet - they will help you see the tail.

 

[Kaitzilla]

From days to millenia Kaitzilla. It depends on things like size, height of the orbit, how active the sun is in a given amount of time, etc. The last thing - sun activity - can be unpredictable. When the sun is very active, it warms the upper atmosphere, which causes it to expand. A period of solar warming actually caused the reentry of Skylab when the puffed up atmosphere caused increased drag on the station which then caused it to land on a farm in Australia.

Before then, they had planned to send Space Shuttles to it and use them to boost Skylab's orbit (and the shuttle's delayed development schedule didn't help here).

So anyways, it is hard to predict how long stuff will stay up there but for most of the junk will be there a long time. The real problem though is that each collision creates thousands of new debris pieces, which go on to make more collissions, which then create new pieces and so on. It becomes an exponential curve of collisions that will make many valuable orbits unusuable and destroy billions of dollars in hardware. Signs point to the fact we are entering the clusterfrak curve of destruction right now.

I will probably miss the comet due to completely overcast skies. Oh and if you have them, bring binoculars to view the comet - they will help you see the tail.

I think the Japanese made an anime covering this subject.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=2654

Plot Summary:In the year 2075, mankind has reached a point where journeying between Earth, the moon and the space stations is part of daily life. However, the progression of technology in space has also resulted in the problem of the space debris, which can cause excessive and even catastrophic damage to spacecrafts and equipment. This is the story of Technora's Debris Collecting section, its EVA worker, Hachirota "Hachimaki" Hoshino, and the newcomer to the group, Ai Tanabe.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

That sounds really cool, I will check it out.

 

[Kaitzilla]

That sounds really cool, I will check it out.

Er, try to watch the 1st ep online I'd recommend. Anime is really hit or miss because of how strange the Japanese are.