Astronomy and space exploration

Guys! I added a poll related to Mars exploration. What would you prefer!

These days I've been thinking about it. It's a matter of choice. What is more valuable, to you? Exploring the planet, the adventure can't wait (trusting that if there's or it has been life there we will be able to detect it, because of its specific differences, and there's no real danger to damage whatever it's there with our microbes)? Or we must wait until there's no risk to contaminate the planet with our microbes, etc.?

This is related to a piece of news I recently came up with: https://www.space.com/37402-mars-life-soil-toxic-perchlorates-radiation.html

Thank you for your participation!
 
The poll will last for a week, BTW.

In relation to this subject:

NASA planetary protection officer suggests loosening limits on exploring Mars for life

Is there life on the surface of Mars? The clock is ticking on scientists’ window to solve that long-standing question before astronauts—and the microbes that live on them—contaminate the planet. Today, at a meeting in Washington, D.C., of NASA’s planetary science advisory committee, the agency’s new planetary protection officer raised the possibility of opening up a few of the planet’s most promising regions to more aggressive exploration.​
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http://astronomy.com/magazine/press-releases/2018/02/nasa-planetary-protection

BTW, yesterday I watched Life and... well, maybe I didn't vote the right thing, haha! :D
 
I saw the humanity star satellite a couple of nights ago.
you remember the furore about that when it launched about it being light pollution etc (which it is) ppl posting pictures of hubble photo's being ruined by a passing satellite etc (though it being of lower orbital altitude to the hubble would make that a bit hard methinks :LOL:)
but talk about a nonevent (nearly as bad a halleys comet from 1987, I remember taking the telescope out to view that disaster)
A. only about 0 magnitude, the way they were talking I expecting irridian like magnitude flares
B. the flashes are pretty infrequent ~5 in 15 seconds (though not in a regular pattern)
C. its at low altitude so will only be visible before sunrise /after sunset
D. it'll burn up in 8 months

now if they want to talk about light pollution perhaps space X's ~10,000 internet satellites is prolly valid
 

Well, I'm not a conspiracist so most of these hoax videos, I use to laugh at them, but then what is all NASA stuff doing there and why I can't find any explanations from NASA about it? :-S

I also saw this:
s8urtfmm3t4z.jpg


And it's difficult to deny that there are striking similarities.

I believe that all those Mars missions are scientifically possible, so I don't think that NASA is lying, but what about that? I wonder if NASA performed some test missions in Earth, of course, but then why don't they explain it?
 
3dilettante said:
Poe's law and all that, but before I expend too much effort, is this a joke?
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No, it's not a joke. I'm only asking why I can't find any explanation from NASA. As I said, I'm not a conspiracist, but I wonder why are those NASA vehicles there and why every time I try to find something NASA said about it the only search results I get are from conspiracy websites.
 
pareidolia

to add more comment: if those where taken on earth, there would be people near the rover to look at the environment and watch out for such "anomalies" to not happen in the photos.

And Nasa have "clones" of their martian rovers doing the same stuff as planned on Mars, they test all maneuvers here before sending orders to the rovers, because if they get stuck or something bad happens, it's game over.
 
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The simplest explanation is that Artic Lemmings are Martians. They can't fly themselves here as their arms are too short so the use Venus Walrus interstellar taxi service.

Or if you have 1000's of digital photos the human brain can pattern find whatever it likes.

Even mid wide shots of Gale Crater look nothing like Devon Island. Extra conspiracy require to explain! (which is why NASA tend not to get involved with conspiracy / explanation rabbit hole).
 
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eloyc said:
No, it's not a joke.
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well it should be, its like the did they go to the moon conspiracy stuff etc
To me the best piece of proof that they did is, if they didn't then the Soviets etc would of been shouting it from the rooftops, yet they've been silent, the only ones making noise are the jokers that believe the queen is an alien lizard person that runs the planet etc
 
eloyc said:
No, it's not a joke. I'm only asking why I can't find any explanation from NASA. As I said, I'm not a conspiracist, but I wonder why are those NASA vehicles there and why every time I try to find something NASA said about it the only search results I get are from conspiracy websites.
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Within the cited image, there's a statement to the effect that the terrain is used for testing purposes. As for what NASA isn't answering, they've answered similar "rock looks like a thing" hoax theories before.
Is the flatearth subreddit that the image claims to be from a serious subreddit? If it is, I can see why NASA wouldn't be spending much time there.

The images in question are of low-contrast shapes at flat angles, juxtaposed with Earth-based objects often shot with more creative framing and angles not consistent with the rover shots.
A lot of things if looked at from a totally different angle and squinted at can look like something else.

The walrus skeleton example is at a very specific angle, and even then it doesn't seem like the flat rock edge in the rover shot makes any sense anatomically, particularly if its bottom edge corresponds to the hinted lip of a rectangular rock whose dimensions make it more like a the legs of an equilateral triangle than a bone.

The second shot seems to show a rodent shape at a lower angle with a back and rear that would make it look too blocky if the color didn't allow it to fade from initial view, and the "front" of it the shape would seemingly require the head, foreleg, and shoulder of an actual rodent be fused.

The third shot is another low-constrast edge, at a low angle that isn't consistent on the right side, and the "vertebrae" look like a play of shadows on a much flatter surface.

The human visual system tries to make sense of messy data--the aforementioned pareidolia. It's noteworthy that of the thousands of shots or video frames from these missions, it only manages to get three "hey this rock looks like a thing" as evidence. Anyone could take several thousand grainy photos of rocks and I think we'd see that happen.
 
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No doubt he'll be rebooted later on to live in the digital afterlife.
I read brief history of time when it came out, TBH I didnt think much of it
 
5 new planets confirmed around cool dwarf stars
A new planet near the habitable zone around a bright cool star
Scientists report the existence of 15 new planets -- including one 'super-Earth' that could harbor liquid water -- orbiting small, cool stars near our solar system. These stars, known as red dwarfs, are of enormous interest for studies of planetary formation and evolution.
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180312085057.htm

Red dwarfs (BTW, why not "dwarves"? :D ) are very interesting, indeed. Maybe we'll find life first in a planet orbiting a red dwarf or even in a moon, rather than in a planet orbiting a solar-star like ours...
 
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