Astronomy, cosmology and space thread

[PeteC]

I'm sure they've already found us, and want nothing to do with this place.

[Lost]

Difference between the Hubble and James Webb images. Same region.

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[Nereus]

NASA releases next wave of images from James Webb Space Telescope

https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/23448 ... -telescope

The James Webb Space Telescope began releasing a new wave of cosmic images on Tuesday, heralding a new era of astronomy.

"Every image is a new discovery," said NASA administrator Bill Nelson. "Each will give humanity a view of the universe that we've never seen before."

On Monday, Webb revealed the clearest image to date of the early universe, going back 13 billion years.

One new image on Tuesday shown water vapor in the atmosphere of a faraway gas planet. The spectroscopy -- an analysis of light that reveals detailed information -- was of planet WASP-96 b, which was discovered in 2014.

Nearly 1,150 light-years from Earth, WASP-96 b is about half the mass of Jupiter and zips around its star in just 3.4 days.

best veiwed at the link......................................

A group of five galaxies that appear close to each other in the sky: two in the middle, one toward the top, one to the upper left, and one toward the bottom are seen in a mosaic or composite of near and mid-infrared data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, a revolutionary apparatus designed to peer through the cosmos to the dawn of the universe and released on Tuesday.

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[Nereus]

There is not much point in trying to post the contents of the following, as there is far too much. A lot of it must also be beyond comprehension to most of us plebs:

The beauty in the details: Take a tour through the James Webb Space Telescope images

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-14/ ... 231818#top

[PeteC]

Astronomers discover 'fastest' star in galaxy

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/6208163 ... pVkI7_y0II

Astronomers have discovered a super-fastest star which can orbit a black hole in record time.

The star - called S4716 - orbits close to the Sagittarius A black hole at the centre of our galaxy, the Milky Way.

Researchers have found that the star orbits the black hole, which measures 23.5 million kilometres across, in just four years - which is the shortest orbital period of any star.

This means that the star is traveling at blisteringly fast speeds of around 18 million mph (29 million kph), or nearly 5,000 miles every second.

The S4716 was discovered by researchers at the University of Cologne and Masaryk University.

A total of five telescopes were needed to observe the star, with four of these five being combined into one large telescope to allow even more accurate and detailed observations.

The telescopes included NIR2 and OSIRIS in Hawaii, and the European Southern Observatory's SINFONI, NACO, and GRAVITY telescopes.

After observing S4716 for almost 20 years, the scientists established the star moves at a speed of 8,000 kilometres per second.

"For a star to be in a stable orbit so close and fast in the vicinity of a supermassive black hole was completely unexpected and marks the limit that can be observed with traditional telescopes," said Dr Florian Peissker, lead author of the new study.

They found that the S4716 comes as close as 100 astronomical units (AU) to the black hole.

One AU is about 149,597,870 kilometres which is considered a small distance in astronomical standards.

The S4716 is part of a densely packed group of stars called the S-star cluster or Sagittarius A* cluster which contains around 100 fast-moving stars.

[lindosfan1]

Interesting article 2 neutron stars colliding

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61911047

[pharvey]

Buzz Aldrin's moon jacket sells for sky-high $2.8m

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62314303

[PeteC]

Irresponsible and simply not caring about anything that doesn't threaten them. Typical of a dysfunctional race of people.

Chinese rocket stage to hit Earth in uncontrolled descent

https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2022/0 ... 658935981/

[handdrummer]

Irresponsible and simply not caring about anything that doesn't threaten them. Typical of a dysfunctional race of people.

Chinese rocket stage to hit Earth in uncontrolled descent

https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2022/0 ... 658935981/

"Race of People?" I'll break it to you gently; there's only one race, the human race.

[pharvey]

"Race of People?" I'll break it to you gently; there's only one race, the human race.

Unfortunately some "people" don't qualify for membership....

[handdrummer]

"Race of People?" I'll break it to you gently; there's only one race, the human race.

Unfortunately some "people" don't qualify for membership....

I've been trying to opt out for years. I guess I'll have to wait until the end.

[pharvey]

I've been trying to opt out for years. I guess I'll have to wait until the end.

When you find the way, let us know!!

[pharvey]

In all seriousness though, will be keeping my eye on this - it's a fairly large junk of material due to hit who-knows-where in all fairness.

https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2022/0 ... 658935981/

[handdrummer]

I've been trying to opt out for years. I guess I'll have to wait until the end.

When you find the way, let us know!!

A friend used to ask, "Where do you go to give up."

[Nereus]

This is not the same as the junk mentioned previously:
......................................................................................................
Space junk potentially found in NSW Snowy Mountains paddocks

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-29/ ... /101277542

A large piece of debris found in the middle of a sheep paddock could be space junk from a SpaceX mission, and linked to a large bang heard across the region earlier this month.

Many of those who heard the bang on July 9 took to social media to report it across the Snowy Mountains in southern NSW, and as far away as Albury, Wagga Wagga and Canberra.

Speculation was rife that it may have been caused by the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft re-entering earth's atmosphere after it launched in November 2020.

Mick Miners, who runs a sheep farm at Numbla Vale, south of Jindabyne, stumbled across an almost three metre high object wedged into a remote part of his paddock on Monday.

"I didn't know what to think, I had no idea what it was," he said.

After the discovery, he called neighbouring farmer Jock Wallace, who also found some mysterious debris nearby.

"I didn't hear the bang, but my daughters said it was very loud," Mr Wallace said.

"I think it's a concern it's just fallen out of the sky.

"If it landed on your house it would make a hell of a mess."

Give NASA a buzz

After contacting the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, Mr Wallace said he was told to contact the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the United States.

"I'm a farmer from Dalgety, what am I going to say to NASA?" Mr Wallace said.

One of the pieces found on his property contained serial numbers.

Australian National University College of Science astrophysicist Brad Tucker said the debris was most likely from the unpressurised crew trunk of the craft.

He said it was possibly the largest piece of documented debris in Australia since NASA's Skylab space station came plummeting back to Earth above Esperance in Western Australia in 1979.

A large oxygen tank from the station was later found by Pauline and Geoff Grewar in 1993 hundreds of kilometres from Esperance.

"In photographs of the debris you can clearly see charring, which you would expect from re-entry," Dr Tucker said.

"It is very rare to see, because they don't usually land on land, but in the ocean."

He said the craft was planned to land in the Pacific Ocean between Australia and New Zealand.

"People often think they find small pieces of space junk, but they would burn up on re-entry, so it's more likely to be large pieces like this," Dr Tucker said.

Junk from the stars

Dr Tucker said the craft was likely travelling at 25,000 kilometres per hour at the time of re-entry and the debris and was likely linked to the widely heard bang on July 9.

He said it was likely made of carbon and aluminium composites.

He said recent reports predicted there was a 10 per cent chance someone on Earth would be "hit by space junk" this decade.

"A big piece of metal falling from the sky is never going to end well," he said.

Dr Tucker said there was also concern over the uncontrolled return to Earth of a Chinese booster rocket over coming days, which was being monitored by the United States Space Force.

Swinburne University of Technology astronomer Rebecca Allen also confirmed Dr Tucker's analysis of the parts, saying it appeared to be pieces of rocket fairing.

The Microgravity Experimentation Space Technology and Industry Institute program leader said the debris had been tracked to South East NSW.

"This shows that although most of it is supposed to burn up in the atmosphere ... large pieces don't," Dr Allen said.

"This is quite worrying, and shows it's critical to track debris.

"There could even be issues with it damaging the ozone layer, so we need to do more research in this area."

SpaceX has been contacted for comment.

Mick Miners found what is believed to be space junk while mustering sheep on Monday.(ABC South East NSW: Adriane Reardon)

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