685 replies to this topic

[JanionGuy]

plus, this is way more better content than downtown stabbings, tents, and donald frump.

[Victoria Watcher]

today’s test went well until the landing.

https://www.cnet.com...ltitude-flight/


Elon Musk's Starship SN8 prototype, reminiscent of something Buck Rogers might have piloted, fell serenely and silently through the Texas sky for almost two minutes on Wednesday. Then its Raptor engines roared to life, righting the rocket into a vertical orientation in preparation for landing, but it was too little or too late or maybe some of both.

A few seconds and one spectacular explosion later, SpaceX's latest next-generation rocket followed its first successful high-altitude flight with a hard landing that's sure to be an instant member of the GIF and meme halls of fame.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 09 December 2020 - 05:00 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

tom cruise is scheduled to go to space in october:

 

 

https://en.wikipedia...X_Axiom_Space-1

[Victoria Watcher]

This holiday season, the most special thing to see in the sky won’t be flying reindeer pulling a sleigh, but rather a rare celestial rendezvous—a cosmic gift of sorts, many lifetimes in the making. On December 21, Jupiter and Saturn will meet in a “great conjunction,” the closest they could be seen in the sky together for nearly 800 years.

 

_______________________

 

2020’s great conjunction—which coincides with the December solstice, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere and the longest in the southern—the gas giants will appear separated by just 6.1 arc minutes. That is roughly the thickness of a dime held at arm’s length.

 

 

 

https://www.scientif...-how-to-see-it/

[SimonH]

tom cruise is scheduled to go to space in october:




https://en.wikipedia...X_Axiom_Space-1

Oh good. Let's hope nothing goes wrong.

Edited by SimonH, 20 December 2020 - 12:59 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

that was really something last night.  i loved the way jupiter did the two quick revolutions of saturn right near the end before it flew off.

 

reminded me of one of my top do-si-do moves from high school.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 22 December 2020 - 09:31 AM.

[Spy Black]

It will be clear tonight (22nd), with Saturn (which is optically much smaller than Jupiter) sitting right beside Jupiter.

The naked eye will show a single, large bright object (with only those sporting 20/20 vision and extreme dark adaptation able to see two distinct planets) ... it will be the site of a lifetime though a good pair of 10X50 binoculars, and will be spectacular as seen through a modest telescope.

 

If you want to see the conjunction virtually, and in real time, download this free software:

http://stellarium.org

 

Stellarium is used by advanced amateur astronomers (and some professionals) on a regular basis, and will show you exactly what's going on in the heavens above.

Either way, for most folks the difference between last night and tonight will be negligible, with the word "amazing" really the only word applicable.

 

Be sure to start looking directly to the south, just above the horizon (the Olympic Mountains in our case) around 4:10-4:20 or so, as you'll have only a very short window with which to see the event, and the planet Jupiter is so bright it does start to show up while the sky is still blue (those lucky enough to be living on the regions southern waterfront, or a large hill with views to the south will be able to view the event until around 5:00pm or so).

 

Remember that we'll all be long dead before this ever happens again ... so it's definitely worth the effort to try and catch with ones own eyes.

Edited by Spy Black, 22 December 2020 - 01:42 PM.

[Mike K.]

I saw them on my commute home today in the southwest sky, but reading sky’s details maybe I was looking at something else?

They appeared an inch apart, if you were to hold up a ruler at arms length. One was darker/reddish compared to the brighter one to its left. Was that them? It would have been about 5:15 when I saw them, and they were quite high above the mountains, maybe 5-6 inches using the same ruler method of distance.

[Spy Black]

They would have been right on the cusp of the horizon at 5:15 Mike, so if you could see the Olympics from wherever you were, you likely were looking at them.

 

My daughter was visiting tonight, and I showed them to her in my telescope, it was an amazing sight.

I've been doing astronomy as a hobby since I was a kid, and I've never seen Jupiter and Saturn through the same eyepiece at exactly the same time.

 

A good thing to remember is that planets never twinkle, and stars always twinkle ... it's best way to tell if you're looking at a star or a planet.

[Redd42]

I was still at work today at that time. 3rd to last day of the business. Tomorrow is supposed to be clear. Will we be able to see them tomorrow?

[Tom Braybrook]

mt tolmie was packed with stargazers tonight...from just before sunset until the twins disappeared over the horizon...you could see the pair as distinct shiny dots with the naked eye, binocs were better and there were plenty of folks with telescopes whou you could ask for a peek

 

if it is clear again tomorrow check it out and sunset

[Mike K.]

Ok cool, it was them. I’m glad I wasn’t smiling like a weirdo for nothing. Seeing them in the sky brightened the year, in some way.

[Spy Black]

Tomorrow is supposed to be clear. Will we be able to see them tomorrow?

Start looking to the south around 4:50pm.

 

You can see them as soon as it starts getting dark in the southern sky, and they will stay visible (albeit quite low) until around 5:15pm or 5:30pm, depending on your elevation and view to the south (a bit later if you're up on Mount Tolmie).

It gets a bit more difficult to see them as each day passes (they get lower and lower to the horizon, eventually dropping below the horizon before it gets dark).

 

From Mount Tolmie though, with clear skies, you should be able to see them into the New Year, although they're already beginning to separate, and will get further and further apart each night.

[Tom Braybrook]

pretty easy to see from the porch right now

[Tom Braybrook]

also a conjunction of a moon and uranus visible in the bathroom mirror

[Tom Braybrook]

^

 

sorry, my inner child escaped for a minute there...

[Victoria Watcher]

 

REMINDER: Tom Cruise is heading off to space in just over 9 months time now.  In October, 2021.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 01 January 2021 - 01:20 PM.

[Spy Black]

Next time you see Tom Cruise on the screen, note that one of his two front teeth lines up directly under the centre of his nose ... in other words, his teeth are majorly offset inside of his mouth.

He's a bloody mutant.

 

Once you see it once, you'll see it every single time he's onscreen.

[sebberry]

REMINDER: Tom Cruise is heading off to space in just over 9 months time now.  In October, 2021.[/size]

That puts a new spin on 'stargazing'

[Victoria Watcher]

A SpaceX Dragon cargo resupply spacecraft returned to Earth from the International Space Station Wednesday (Jan. 13), splashing down off the coast of Florida for the first time ever.

 

The Dragon CRS-21 mission, SpaceX's 21st space station cargo delivery for NASA, launched Dec. 6, 2020, with 6,400 lbs. (2,903 kilograms) of supplies and science equipment for the seven-person crew of Expedition 64. After a one-day delay due to bad weather at the splashdown zone, the upgraded vehicle autonomously undocked from the space station for the first time on Tuesday (Jan. 12), and it splashed down west of Tampa about 35 hours later, at 8:26 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Jan. 13 (0126 Jan. 14 GMT).

 

https://www.space.co...ntic-splashdown