Any of you find outer space extremely weird and surreal?

[Citizen Koba]

Space Mining: Scientists Discover Two Asteroids Whose Precious Metals Would Exceed Global Reserves

The largest metal-rich body in the solar system, Psyche is about 230 million miles/370 million kilometers from Earth and about 140 miles/226 kilometers wide. Possibly made of iron and nickel, it’s thought to be the leftover core of a planet that failed during its formation.

In comparison, , 1986 DA and 2016 ED85 are tiny—just a few miles wide, yet thought to be the result of the cores of developing planets like 16 Psyche being destroyed early in the Solar System’s history. Crucially, they’re far closer to Earth than Psyche, so would be better targets for mining.

“Our analysis shows that both NEAs have surfaces with 85% metal such as iron and nickel and 15% silicate material, which is basically rock,” said lead author Juan Sanchez, who is based at the Planetary Science Institute in Arizona. “These asteroids are similar to some stony-iron meteorites such as mesosiderites found on Earth … it is rewarding that we have discovered these “mini Psyches” so close to the Earth

.”

And this **** is why it makes massive commercial sense to go into space quite aside from from the scientific rewards and just the damn spirit of adventure and discovery.

[Citizen Koba]

More space mining shizzle... industry of the future if you got £££s to invest

"1 asteroid could contain more gold and platinum then has ever been mined in the whole of human history'

[Marchegiano]

Ace Frehley
Flash Gordon
Sir Elton John
Star Trek
Ziggy Stardust
Star Wars


Of course space is ****ing cool.

[Citizen Koba]

New series with Brian Cox (I've met the dude FWIW) starting in about 5 minutes on BBC2:in the UK..
Dunno if you'll be able to get it in the US, maybe with localisation?

[-Kev-]

What do you all expect from the James Webb Space Telescope launching in December?

It is supposedly going to be to see some of the first stars after the big **** but I have been wondering if we can use it to look within the Milky Way galaxy and its nearby stars, as well as nearby galaxies.

Looks like it is going to happen.



I am way more excited about seeing the center of our galaxy, than looking into the beginning stars that were formed after the big ****. I mean that will be interesting too. But I am more interested in our own galaxies' star systems, other planets in the milky way, supermassive black hole in the middle.

[-Kev-]

NASA’s upcoming James Webb Space Telescope is designed to view the universe in infrared light, which is invisible to the human eye, but is very important for looking at astronomical objects hidden by dust. After its launch, Webb will gather infrared light that has penetrated the dusty veil, revealing the galactic center in unprecedented detail.



“Even one image from Webb will be the highest quality image ever obtained of the galactic center,” said Roeland van der Marel of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), principal investigator on one planned study that will focus on imaging.



Telescopes on the ground and in space have provided tantalizing glimpses of the residents of the galactic center. Astronomers stars orbiting the black hole, some of which approach close enough to provide a test of Einstein’s general theory of relativity. However, so far, only the brightest stars are detectable.



“We’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg from the ground. Webb will be able to study fainter stars and tell us more about the overall stellar population,” said Torsten Böker of the European Space Agency and STScI, a co-investigator on a second planned study of the galactic center that will focus on spectroscopy.



Scientists already have been low-mass infant stars forming close to the supermassive black hole – some within just a few light-years of its grasp. Theoretically, the black hole's immense gravity and harsh radiation environment should disrupt any gas clouds and prevent them from collapsing into stars. Yet these baby stars called protostars have persisted. Webb’s observations may reveal additional protostars, and could provide clues to how stars can form in such an unlikely spot.

The bolded excites the hell out of me.

[Citizen Koba]

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Was Our Universe Created in a Laboratory?

Developing quantum-gravity technologies may elevate us to a “class A” civilization, capable of creating a baby universe




The biggest mystery concerning the history of our universe is what happened before the . Where did our universe come from? Nearly a century ago, Albert Einstein to the big **** model because a beginning in time was not philosophically satisfying in his mind.

Now there are a variety of conjectures in the scientific literature for our cosmic origins, including the ideas that our universe emerged from a , or that it is with repeated periods of contraction and expansion, or that it was selected by the out of the of the —where, as the MIT cosmologist Alan Guth says “,” or that it emerged out of the collapse of matter in the .

A less explored is that our universe was in the laboratory of an advanced technological civilization. Since our universe has a with a , an advanced civilization have developed a technology that created a baby universe out of nothing through .

..........

[Citizen Koba]

New kind of supernova....

Dunno if this already been posted, think it's a couple months old but first I heard anyway.

[BodyBagz]

EF4D0856-269B-4EB5-9FA8A9240BBCC720_source.jpg?w=2000&h=1123&DA335F42-A53D-4470-91437B5F4B8FEEF1.jpg

Was Our Universe Created in a Laboratory?

Developing quantum-gravity technologies may elevate us to a “class A” civilization, capable of creating a baby universe




The biggest mystery concerning the history of our universe is what happened before the . Where did our universe come from? Nearly a century ago, Albert Einstein to the big **** model because a beginning in time was not philosophically satisfying in his mind.

Now there are a variety of conjectures in the scientific literature for our cosmic origins, including the ideas that our universe emerged from a , or that it is with repeated periods of contraction and expansion, or that it was selected by the out of the of the —where, as the MIT cosmologist Alan Guth says “,” or that it emerged out of the collapse of matter in the .

A less explored is that our universe was in the laboratory of an advanced technological civilization. Since our universe has a with a , an advanced civilization have developed a technology that created a baby universe out of nothing through .

..........

God is a mad scientist at heart

[-Kev-]

We are at a time where there’s a lot of interesting things being planned/accomplished in astronomy. Lots of great ideas and experiments being developed.

I feel like what is going on now in astronomy is a milestone. For example like what Newton did and how that advanced us. What Einstein did and how that is, STILL, helping us. Like, the stuff Einstein was predicting back then with inferior technology, is NOW being proven to be true. Like word for word, as if he is from the future. And of course, Stephen Hawking’s predictions of things such as black holes and their radiation. This is all being proven today.

What we are discovering today will help scientists 20, 50, 75, 100 years from now.

I am really loving the idea of the JWST, and I love the idea of an article that suggests putting a small telescope out in the solar system (past Saturn). The reasoning for this, according to the article, is because a small telescope out in space is “better than any gigantic telescope on Earth” paraphrasing.



Also, have any of you read the article about US astronomers 10-year plan?



This is all very exciting.