SPAAAAAAACE 5/01/13

[Typical Michael]

Hey! You Guys!

Do you love space? You know, outer space? Up there? I bet you do!

Man, unfortunately, the rover Opportunity had some trouble. She was launched in July 2003:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunity_(rover)

But, she is doing ok, now. Old girl has some life in her yet. 37 times the designed lifespan, you guys! Just watch out for those dust-storms, ok Opportunity?

Opportunity has covered 22.15 miles on the surface of Mars. The one to beat is the Lunokhod 2 from the USSR that covered a bit more on the moon in 1973. Go, Opportunity, go!

Read about the recent glitch here: http://www.space.com/20932-opportunity- ... -mode.html

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Hey, have you ever folded paper before? Probably not, right? That's pretty weird. Well, good things scientists are on the case.

http://www.space.com/20917-tiny-satelli ... sails.html

Hopefully, this folding technique can help little satellites catch space debris and not die. Cubesats are little and space rocks are bullies.

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Sometimes I have these awesome dreams about things exploding in the sky. But guess what? Sometimes it totally happens!

http://www.space.com/20903-may-night-sk ... hower.html

This makes me want to fly to space with a jet-pack and headbutt every single space-thing I can find and then once I have a super-headache, latch on to a space thing and then ride it all the way through the atmosphere.

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SPACE PHOTO!!

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-575 ... -infrared/

The Horsehead Nebula!



Taken by that old freaking Hubble Space Telescope, just hanging around up there. IN SPACE.

The James Webb telescope is set to launch in 2018 and it is just gonna get better.

http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/

This stuff happens every day.

Don't miss it.

[Lindvaettr]

Mike, are you space?

[LaChaise]

SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE!

[ButtChocolate]

I-I-I ah I dunno mister- they say Space is where them Invaders come from. Showin' up in a fleet arranged in slowly advancing rows, shootin' up my huts n' stuff. Are yoo sure we can trust it?

[Ganymede314]

Ahhh we're doing spaaaace, hurray! My day is officially made!

Ok a few other little bits that people may find interesting:

Firstly, for those TCSers in the Southern Hemisphere or near the equator, there is a meteor shower due this weekend, peaking on the 5th or 6th. It should be a spectacular show, with some very good naked eye viewing, or even better with binoculars or a scope.
Check this out for more information: http://meteorshowersonline.com/eta_aquarids.html

And, recently discovered was this super-heated cloud of gas surrounding two colliding galaxies. This is a fascinating discovery and once studied may give us more information about the mechanics and processes involved in the collision of galaxies.
Here is an image taken in both x-ray light (by the Chandra telescope) and optical light layered over. (The purple parts are the x-ray emissions)



And finally, a very nice recently taken image of Enceladus, (which is a moon of Saturn) with it's massive geyser of water vapour and organic compounds, illuminated by the light of Saturn. While the image is beautiful, the spectral readings taken from the eruption can tell us alot about both the composition of Enceladus, and the processes that drive the eruptions.



Right, well I hope that was interesting! I have much much more space love to share.
Did I mention I quite like space?

Oh, and thank you, Michael for starting this thread!

[Typical Michael]

Of course, Gany. If people like it, I will try to do it every day.

[OrangeEyebrows]

I am so terrified that I'm just going to huddle. If other people want to huddle with me, that's fine. We'll have a huddle-in.

[D-LOGAN]

Space is okay I guess, but I still say Time is where it's at these days!

[Ganymede314]

Ah Logan, everyone knows its all about the continuum, man!

[D-LOGAN]

Meh, call me old fashioned but I likes to keeps my Time and Space separate. I'm sorry but that's just how I was raised!

[LaChaise]

Share more space with us gany! <3

[Typical Michael]

Share more space with us gany! <3

And I am become Chopped Liver.

[AboveGL]

I love the pillars of creation.

[D-LOGAN]

Man, those pillars things, it just makes you think, like the entire universe in all it's glory is only knowable to us because we happen to exist. What if life had never happened to evolve on Earth, and what if it hasn't evolved anywhere else either. What if there was no life at all in the universe. It would be just as beautiful and amazing as it is right now, but, no one would ever be around to see it.
Just an awe inspiring, breath taking, infinite expanse of ......stuff no one would ever see. And I gotta imagine, that would of seemed like a more likely state of affairs, and yet here we are, not only able to exist alongside all this but able, at least on some level, to begin to comprehend it and take in a portion of it's wonder. Makes ya think .....
Time still kicks it's ass though. And reality comes second. Sorry, I don't make the rules.

[JohnMulroy]

Did Enceladus just fart?