The Space/Cosmos Thread

Magrathea · Post by **Magrathea** » Thu Aug 18, 2011 3:52 am

fujee wrote:http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/aug/17/universe-lyman-alpha-blobs

Mind. Blown.

You like large Lyman Alpha Blobs, they're fresh and invigorating

fujee · Post by **fujee** » Thu Aug 18, 2011 12:25 pm

They are ridiculous! 300 000 light years across? I can't even comprehend that size let alone the 11.4 billion light years to get there.

Magrathea · Post by **Magrathea** » Thu Aug 18, 2011 5:04 pm

fujee wrote:They are ridiculous! 300 000 light years across? I can't even comprehend that size let alone the 11.4 billion light years to get there.

Well the light has travelled 11.4 billion light years, but the actual object is now much farther because you need to take into account space dilation and all that funky jazz.

I love cosmology

fujee · Post by **fujee** » Thu Aug 18, 2011 5:30 pm

Of course, my favourite subject

If I had a greater grasp of Maths I would of certainly chosen to study Physics. Though I quite like it being just an interest/hobby.

Waterbagel · Post by **Waterbagel** » Fri Aug 19, 2011 8:15 am

fujee wrote: Though I quite like it being just an interest/hobby.

how i feel about cooking!

fujee · Post by **fujee** » Thu Aug 25, 2011 3:38 pm

Living here would be bliss - in the residential quarters of the observatory, it looks like paradise !
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Very_Large_Telescope

Magrathea · Post by **Magrathea** » Thu Aug 25, 2011 5:54 pm

Anyone still keeping tabs on the James Webb Space Telescope? Apparently it's not going to fly until 2018 and the price tag has obesified to around 8.5 BILLION dollars?

This is bad, already the congress wants to axe it but there's never a big of good news coming from that project... I'm starting to lose faith in it, I don't see it bringing back enough science back to justify that monstrous bill.

fujee · Post by **fujee** » Fri Aug 26, 2011 4:25 pm

It's still scheduled to be launched but in a good few years time, probably to lower the profile of the budget crisis.

fujee · Post by **fujee** » Fri Aug 26, 2011 6:38 pm

Supernova has exploded recently nearby !

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/

fujee · Post by **fujee** » Thu Sep 08, 2011 2:51 pm

Want to see a supernova explosion that happend 21 million years ago?

Then look up to the skies tonight

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/ ... le-from-uk

fujee · Post by **fujee** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 8:24 pm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14792580

Gorgeous photography competition. The image of the International Space Station over the Sun with the shuttle attached blew me away.

fujee · Post by **fujee** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 10:44 pm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15146082

Awesome! we need more european space exploration !

Lens Larque · Post by **Lens Larque** » Wed Oct 05, 2011 1:12 am

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/georg ... verse.html

Older than old but one of my favorite net talks.

mechanismj · Post by **mechanismj** » Wed Oct 05, 2011 2:54 am

Lens Larque wrote:http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/george_smoot_on_the_design_of_the_universe.html

Older than old but one of my favorite net talks.

Whenever I see something like this, I get a split second flicker of fear that runs through me. The universe is so fucking huge and chaotic. It's scary sometimes.

saturdayindex · Post by **saturdayindex** » Wed Oct 05, 2011 4:09 am

mechanismj wrote:
Lens Larque wrote:http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/george_smoot_on_the_design_of_the_universe.html

Older than old but one of my favorite net talks.

Whenever I see something like this, I get a split second flicker of fear that runs through me. The universe is so fucking huge and chaotic. It's scary sometimes.

That "pattern" of galaxies looks suspiciously like the neural network of a brain--the Mind of God.

Perhaps this entire Universe is actually a brain, a brain in which the neurons are formed by interconnecting cells (galaxy clusters), which are composed of molecules (galaxies), which are composed of star systems (atoms).

Also, scientists say the universe started from something "smaller than an atom" but isn't size relative? Maybe "smaller than the atom" is actually infinitely huge. Maybe space and time just simply don't even exist outside of the universe. Maybe the speed of light is slowing down because we are expanding WITH the universe.

Lens Larque · Post by **Lens Larque** » Wed Oct 05, 2011 5:03 am

I have many questions about the imagery developed by that team, which is really eye catching computer graphics running on software, they introduced invisible matter for one, and Smoot mentions a basket of artists' tools, "randomness" etc.. I am under the impression that it is not entirely based on actual data?

Smoot appears to hardly believe what he is explaining. Fuck yeah though, its a bit too much isn't it, if that model is near accurate. Webs! I actually was thinking of bone structure, but that's projecting like crazy.

Jonse · Post by **Jonse** » Wed Oct 05, 2011 6:05 am

Ah, space....

Well, there was a time when I felt that, almost absolutely, if I did not explore what is beyond this big collection of water and dirt holding us here at some point in my lifetime, that eveything would feel utterly insignificant in the end.

Since that that feeling has become less prominent now with my more recent experiences using states of consciousness altering psychedelics and whatnot.

I still have a huge desire to go up there someday. Needless to say, if I won some sort of trip to stay on the space station or something like that for a few weeks, I'd take it immediately.

mechanismj · Post by **mechanismj** » Wed Oct 05, 2011 6:21 am

Oh yeah. I've seen that "neural net" pic of the universe numerous times and thought the same thing. The universe looks like a giant brain. This would certainly explain the idea that the whole thing is consciousness... in a way.

Lens, I believe you're onto something there. Bits of it are computer simulation. I tend to think also that since we're so tiny, and like Smoot says, it's hard to see it when you're in it, maybe a lot of it is still speculation.

I hope this makes sense. I was distracted while writing it.

Lens Larque · Post by **Lens Larque** » Wed Oct 05, 2011 6:24 am

I don't know enough maths to be even posting here.

The whole thing is organizing. What the hell is going on?

mechanismj · Post by **mechanismj** » Wed Oct 05, 2011 7:08 pm

Self organizing.

Also, 10% of the known universe discovered. 10% of our brains being used. Hooah!