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Science is Drokking Fantastic Because...

Started by The Legendary Shark, 21 July, 2011, 11:05:57 PM

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Dandontdare

Quote from: The Legendary Shark on 16 March, 2015, 06:51:06 PM
Ooh - there's going to be a solar eclipse on Friday! www.ukweatherforecast.co.uk/solar-eclipse-friday-20th-march-uk-weather-forecast/

yeah, looking forward to that. Shame that it's not a totality though. The difference between "it's gone very gloomy" and day turning to midnight like a switch has been flicked is quite big.

I went down to Devon for the 1999 one and found it to be spine-tinglingly impressive, but nobody seemed to have been that impressed when I got home. (I do live in Manchester though - If it had rained fire and rainbows, most folk would've said " 'sa'right, but I've seen better!")

JayzusB.Christ

I love exoplanets, me.  They were only in science fiction when I was a kid, and now they're real.

What I'd like to know, though, is how the hell do astronomers know what they're like?  How can they possibly know that there's a planet made of diamond, or one where liquid glass rains sideways?  Surely you can't see this with even the most powerful telescope.

Can anyone enlighten me?

"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest"

The Legendary Shark

I think it's a combination of factors including the mass of a planet, its distance from the parent star and looking at absorbtion lines from light shining through their atmospheres from both the parent and other stars - and guesswork based on known factors. I may be wrong on this, of course.
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JayzusB.Christ

Quote from: The Legendary Shark on 17 March, 2015, 10:43:43 AM
I think it's a combination of factors including the mass of a planet, its distance from the parent star and looking at absorbtion lines from light shining through their atmospheres from both the parent and other stars - and guesswork based on known factors. I may be wrong on this, of course.

Cheers Sharky, that's more than I knew anyway
"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest"

Jim_Campbell

Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 17 March, 2015, 10:20:06 AM
I love exoplanets, me.  They were only in science fiction when I was a kid, and now they're real.

One important thing to remember about the seeming abundance of exoplanets... there's a quick run down of detection methods here, but —I believe— the transit and lensing methods are among the most commonly used. These only work when the planets travel across 'our' field of vision — if any star has planets whose plane of the ecliptic not edge-on to us, those planets are effectively invisible to lensing and transit detection.

It's actually quite likely that planetary systems around stars are the norm.

Cheers

Jim
Stupidly Busy Letterer: Samples. | Blog
Less-Awesome-Artist: Scribbles.

ZenArcade

Yes, it is about the head on orientation.

The fascinating thing is the detection methods can now define terrestrial sized planets (super earth's etc).

The spectrum absorption lines are also interesting.

The Nearest stars are showing up possible planetary systems eg Alpha Cent A + B and Tau Ceti. The last Tau Ceti is particularly interesting as it is almost 6 billion years old (2 billion more than the Sun) so life if omni prevalent would have potentially started off earlier. Though I have read the star is surrounded by a massive debris field. Hope they didn't blow themselves up!! Z
Ed is dead, baby Ed is...Ed is dead

JayzusB.Christ

#1071
 Thanks, guys, it's great to get a better understanding of this fascinating subject.  What with the 'many worlds' theory of quantum physics and the existence of these bizarre planets, reality is getting more 2000ad all the time. 
Which sort of makes the Fermi Paradox all the more prominent.  Where is everyone?  I want Dyson Spheres and gas monsters.

(If you are absolutely sure you have the correct answer, shut up.)
"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest"

Jim_Campbell

Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 17 March, 2015, 03:21:48 PM
Which sort of makes the Fermi Paradox all the more prominent.  Where is everyone?

I'm absolutely sure I have the correct answer.*

Cheers!

Jim

*No, I'm not.
Stupidly Busy Letterer: Samples. | Blog
Less-Awesome-Artist: Scribbles.

JayzusB.Christ

I remember that post.  Got to say, it's the best argument for the Fermi Paradox I've seen.  You really do know your shit (or at least are very convincing when hypothesising your shit).
I would still really, really love if scientists found a Dyson Sphere, or at least a slice of one like in Ringworld.
"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest"

ZenArcade

Wonderful post Jim. I am facinated with the paradox. I'd say it is berserkers or some sinister von Nuemann type device (qnd we're blaring our existance out over the local stellar region (radio waves out to over 100 ly)....kidding sort of. Z
Ed is dead, baby Ed is...Ed is dead

ZenArcade

It wouldnt be a solid sphere, more of a swarm of discrete structures in orbit around a star. It would be interesting if there are stars which are showing a steady drop in their light curves over a couple of centuries. Z
Ed is dead, baby Ed is...Ed is dead

The Legendary Shark

I'm glad there are some things upon which Jim and I can agree.
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Myself, I suspect that simple life is ubiquitous, complex life is common and "intelligent" life is rare. Dip that rarity into deep time and it's not surprising we haven't found any yet.
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Link Prime

Quote from: The Legendary Shark on 17 March, 2015, 04:13:13 PM
I'm glad there are some things upon which Jim and I can agree.

One would hope you're both fans of 2000AD too.

Interesting stuff on the thread today.

The Legendary Shark

That's true. See? We are getting along! (I'm also a fan of Jim's lettering - but don't tell him that...)
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In other (old) science news, what does everyone think about this Cannae Drive thing? I've only just come across this and there seems to be very little about it out there. Some sites say it's impossible, and I can't find anything about it on NASA's main website, but some scientists seem to think there might be something to it - though nobody seems quite sure what that something might be. If it's true, it could open up a new world of exploration.
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I don't know what to make of it but I'd love for this thing to actually work...
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ZenArcade

Cannae: the impossible victory love the symbolism. Z
Ed is dead, baby Ed is...Ed is dead