General / Off-Topic What's interesting in space today.

Patrick_68000

Patrick_68000
Winterwalker said:
They're tracking an interstellar object .. the first ever observed I believe.
https://www.space.com/38838-interstellar-asteroid-oumuamua-space-cigar.html

It's already passed the Sun and is heading back out .. but is travelling too fast to have originated in the Oort Cloud. It's also an unusual shape .. and looks like a cigar. How formed?
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Yes, the Thargoids arrives :eek:

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...-or-Spaceship-Astronomers-check-out-‘Oumuamua

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...lsewhere-quot-passes-through-the-Solar-System
 

OnePercent

OnePercent
SpaceX just landed their 20th successful falcon 9!!!!

[video=youtube_share;OPHbqY9LHCs]https://youtu.be/OPHbqY9LHCs[/video]

In 2017, they have already launched more than half of the mean anual launches in the globe, basically, they have already increased the anual launch rate by 50%, in 2018 they are going to then launch 30 rockets!, with 75% reuseability on each falcon 9, and with even more reuseability potential by reusing the 2nd stage fairing they will have hit 80% reuseability, each and everyone of their falcon 9's have cost a fraction of the cost per kilogram that a standard expendable rocket has, displaying to the industry and the world that reuseability can be economically viable.

Go Elon! I can't wait when their new 'BFR' 100% reuseable 2 stage rocket launches. Each year they aim to exponentially increase the launch rate, and through both the technological and ecomomic learning curve, they hope to perfect propulsive landing to the point where landing gear becomes unnecessary and the launch pad will be able to "grab" the rocket, which is what was displayed on their BFR multiple launch system concept video.
 

Zak Gordon

Zak Gordon
I must admit i was dubious about non nation states going into space (you know, i had my concerns re profit vs safety etc), but Elon Musk is one of those rare one-in-a-million CEO's that can do it right, and is. I just hope the rush to Mars is not too big a challenge for SpaceX?
 

Zak Gordon

Zak Gordon
'The Universe is producing more massive stars than we thought':

https://arstechnica.com/science/201...producing-more-massive-stars-than-we-thought/

A new survey of a star-forming region adjacent to the Milky Way has found an excess of stars with 30 or more times the mass of the Sun—and an even larger excess above 60 times the mass of the Sun. The find suggests that we could see a lot more supernovae and black holes. And it also implies that there might be something fundamentally off about our models of star formation.
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Quite interesting.
 

Zak Gordon

Zak Gordon
'Large sheets of ice may have been spotted on Mars':

https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/01/large-sheets-of-ice-may-have-been-spotted-on-mars/

Mars clearly had a watery past, and it's expected that much of the water is still on the planet. Figuring out where the ice is hiding could tell us a lot about the planet's climate history and something about Mars' current water cycle. It could also help direct future landers to sample the planet's water and possibly use it to support human landings.

While we've found plenty of ice near the pole during the Phoenix Lander mission, that's not a very convenient location for future landings (in part because the site ended up frozen over with dry ice during that pole's Martian winter). In today's issue of Science, researchers are reporting the likely presence of ice sheets in more temperate regions. The sheets are at least 100 meters thick and appear to preserve layers that may help us reconstruct how the water ended up frozen there.
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