/sci/ - Science & Math

> Dat feel when you realize that we are the evil race that craps on every other sentient entity as shown in movies.

FEELS GOOD MAN.

>>3577774
The World is Just Awesome.

Space isnt real nerds

>>3577782
World being awesome you say?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at_f98qOGY0

you in here PhysBro?

Bump, was a pretty good thread.

I saw that thread on /v/.

>>3577779
dat feel when movies and games imply we even have a hope in hell off averting this if it happens

looking at you resistance and you also battle for los angeles

>>3577791
That I am. You reckon we'll ever get off this rock then?

>>3577795

im this guy >>3577779

I honestly believe that we will be the predators. It is in our nature.

What's going on in here?

>>3577802
yeah of course, until we find something that can kick our shit seven shades from sunday, then we beta out

>>3577798
Of course we will, we need to.

>Dwindling resources
>balooning population

And in response to your earlier post about beating the speed of light

special relativity does not forbid the existence of particles that travel faster than light at all times

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachyon

Once again, purely theoretical though...


Anyone have any amateur telescope pics that they have taken?

>implying humans aren't the most advanced life in the universe
>WE are the aliens that will spread out to search for life, and discover them on other planets

That's the thing that always bugged me about sci-fi. Humans are always made out to be the inferior species.

What's to say that among all the potential life in the universe, maybe we've progressed faster than them all?

Wouldn't that be a big kick in the nuts to sci-fi?

>Not in /v/
>Why.jpg

Posting deep space thread in /sci/ is like posting a vidya thread in /v/-- only retards contribute.

>>3577809

Earth is a pretty young planet.

>>3577809
... well fuck

>>3577811
not a deep space, space appreciation.
Feel the love bro


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tD5JWnn66LU

>>3577815

We don't really know though about how life might work in other parts of the universe. What if it takes even longer for life to normally sprout? What if humanity is completely unlike all other life in the galaxy on how we've progressed?

I'm not saying that would be a good thing. But it IS something to ponder

>>3577806
>special relativity does not forbid the existence of particles that travel faster than light at all times

Yeah I remember talking about something like that at uni. We only ever discussed Tachyons and shit though, we were only taught how to manipulate relativity equations for Physical uses, such as particle colliders we could totally tell that most of the department worked at CERN with how they plugged particle physics

I think we will eventually, once we learn to live with one another without wanting to kill Joe Bloggs for looking different.

You suppose with a good enough scope and proper position in the universe, one could look at earth as it was millions of years in the past?

Nevermind the impossibilities.

WHAT IF

WHAT IF EVERY POLITICIAN - PRESIDENTS, VP, SENATORS, REPRESENTATIVES, ETC

WHAT IF THEY ALL DIED

AND A BUNCH OF PROACTIVE YOUNG (20 - 40) PEOPLE WERE INSTEAD APPOINTED TO ALL THE NEWLY OPENED POSITIONS

AND THEY NONE OF THEM WERE CHRISTIANS SO NONE OF THEM WOULD BIASED OR STUPIFIED BY RELIGION

HOW MUCH BETTER OFF WOULD WE AS A RACE BE?

>>3577819
If one were already millions of lightyears away, that would be possible.

>>3577815
Earth is pretty old, people forget multi cellular life only showed up during the last 1% of it's life, a misplaced meteor at anytime would have fucked everything up

Wouldnt surprise me if we're the only intelligent life in the universe

mistyped verification, hit return
mfw
"commander, i've landed on a strange board with strange life forms, attempting to ascertain if they are peaceful"

i was seriously lost

>>3577823
Damn I keep forgetting you can only use spoilers in /v/....I do the same with saging and /b/, completely pointless.

>>3577825
Hmmmm...

I would love to command a starship and nuke the people from pluto cuz they haet our freedomzzz

>>3577809
that's what i've been thinking, i mean we've been looking, and we've seen jack shit, and on a galactic scale, the amount of time until we're space-ready isn't actually that long. if there was a race out there that was looking for us, we'd already know

>>3577825
economy = fucked
probably on pointless earth saving programs with too much funding and collapsing within the first 5 years'an

also captcha: leadership tionatio

>>3577823
Co operation is the key.

However Earth is just so diverse in it's interests that that just won't happen (for quite a while)

>>3577829
Imagine how incredible that view would be?

>Seeing life evolve
>Seeing Humans appear
>Watching the first cooperation
>Seeing the world wars

It'd be like a parent watching a child mature ;_;

>>3577833
I know that feel

>>3577839
However, the universe is a truly immense place. While there is a good chance that there is some other form of [intelligent] life elsewhere in the universe, the odds of there being a highly intelligent form of life near to us and -within the timeframe of mankind's rise of civilization- is extraordinarily slim.

>>3577833

I thought it worked on all SFW boards.

>>3577819

lol were would u stand?

>>3577853
oh no, in the universe there's definitely other intelligent life, it's just too unlikely not to happen, but in this galaxy... not so sure, could be life but it might well just be cells or some shit

So who here has taken a whack at Drake's Equation?

>>3577856
Some other boards do have it, but not all. /co/ and other media-related boards might have it, along with image spoilers.

>rednecks in space.

Also the first thing an alien race would pick up are hitler's transmitions. LoL

Just on /v/ you say?

http://infinity-universe.com/Infinity/index.php

If you haven't heard of it do some site exploring. Fucking awesome.

>>3577848
Yeah...well hopefully when I've got this masters in Astrophysics I'll try and get a job in something space related. See if I can speed the process up a bit(!)

Also I'm going to ask you what I asked one of my lecturers working on the ATLAS detector. Higgs-Boson, reckon it exists? Also you a standard model or string theory guy?

>>3577831
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_evolution
not at all

>>3577865
Did you read Contact?

Watch this, be amazed

I say space exploration will end up like deep sea exploration already has.. a tiny side effect of big companies exploiting resources.

If there even IS a mars mission, I doubt any nation will bother much with space exploration after that.

They are busy enough with their own population, each other and keeping the status quo.
The space race was never as much about "Spaaaaace" or Science as about US and USSR wanting orbital superiority.

Terraforming is still beyond us, would presumably be at a geological timeframe, and need international backing if ever possible.

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110315.html

>>3577856
I dunno, I only browse /v/, /b/ and /sci/ (occasionally). I keep forgetting what tricks work and where. Hell every now and then I look for /r9k/ on the list and just go....oh yeah.....

We are so insignificant...

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/525347

>>3577860
Looked into myself. I think there's too much guesswork in there for me to buy into it but it's a good example of just how many civilizations may be out there using a bit of logic.

>>3577872

nope. Direct me to a synopsis pls. If it interests me, I will buy the book.

>>3577871
The basic point remains, you need a goldilocks planet to remain stable for over 4 billion years for intelligent to arise and even then it's not guaranteed, you could have a planet that stays single celled for 10 billion years

It's entirely possible we're the only intelligence in the universe

>>3577868
I was gonna say, once you've got that degree, just remember us back on /v/ (/sci)

Yes, I believe the Higgs-Boson exists, it has to exist. The void filled by it explains so much.

I support string theory.

Yourself? What's your opinion on the Higgs Boson?

There was a great article on the bbc, lemme find it.

>>3577876

That's just depressing.

>>3577876
OH GOD

IT'S AMAZING
Also someone needs to tell me the name of that song now. I keep forgetting the name.

>>3577894
Technically Dinosaurs evolved into birds.

>>3577904
oh wait

I didn't read below the video.

>>3577876

Getting our asses to Mars, would definitely fuel a drive to explore space.

The technology alone that would get us to Mars, would start us down a path of scientific advancement that in who knows how short of a time, would propel us outside our own solar system.

You've gotta realize the rate at which humanity has advanced via technology. In 111 years, 1900-2011, we've invented flight, computers, the atomic bomb, the LHC, solar power, etc. We've sent men onto the moon, and probes into the deepest reaches of our solar system. And that's been done in the past 60 years.

Something is going to happen to humanity that is either going to make us stagnate (we reach a wall we cannot pass and die off), or make us advance to the next level on the evolutionary chain (whatever that might be), within the next 1000 years.

Provided of course we can survive that long.

>>3577905
*some* dinosaurs evolved into birds

I was about to start this thread, thanks OP.

I acquired this picture from an info thread and it blew my mind and made me dynamically shit myself.


I kind of already knew this, but never really saw a good representation of it.

I think space is interesting but other planets are boring unless they contain something on them. I'd like to see an Ice planet instead of the boring desert planet that is Mars. We should launch more probes to frozen moons.

I doubt we'll be able to spread into space easily unless we find some really fucked up way to travel. And even then, getting into space will still be the problem (as will placing gates if we invent something like wormholes)

I'm honestly of the opinion that we are utterly alone in the sense that even if there are UFOs that are non-human made, they just came from something else Earth based, and any actual aliens are just too far away with no real way to get here.

We'd probably be better off shooting algae and bacteria and weird microscopic things into space to land on other planets and see if they can take.

>>3577896
Hang on the higgs boson is a Standard Model particle. If it exists it will all but disprove string theory, you might have got yourself muddled up there; unfortunately they're both mutually exclusive.

I honestly don't know, I'm leaning more towards believing it and the standard model but then again we should have seen it by now at much lower energies if it was correct. They keep fudging it. If the LHC doesn't find it then the standard model needs to be completely reworked. Next few years should be interesting in that respect.

Also cool, throw me the link when you find it.

>>3577876
at the rate global warming is going, we're going to have to terraform earth first

>>3577913
My pleasure.
That image never fails to astound me

>>3577920

That's my point it HAS to exist, but string theory makes sense to me.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14266358

That's the article
>A US particle machine has seen possible hints of the Higgs boson, it has emerged, after reports this week of similar glimpses at Europe's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) laboratory.

What're your thoughts on these?

>>3577865
http://www.seti.org/page.aspx?pid=558#anchor1054527

Sorry to tell you this bro, but those Hitler transmissions probably never left our solar system. We may be shouting at the top of our lungs on a narrow band of frequencies, but the Sun is shouting a hell of a lot louder on ALL frequencies.

>>3577925
> but string theory makes sense to me.
Sorry,
What I know of string theory makes sense to me.

>>3577894
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitable_zone
goldilocks!

>>3577876
I actually felt like crying. That was beautiful. Thank you good sir.

>>3577930

So, you're okay now? Back to Inurdaes? Inform me once your predicament has ended.

>>3577925
Ah right I think I get you now, you think one is right but the other makes more sense?

As for the article I dunno, since I'm not a pure particle physicist I can only go on what I've been taught, it won't be as in depth as those guys. I think it could be possible that the Higgs has been found since both Tevatron and LHC said they saw something Higgs-esque at similar energies within days of each other. The main problem is it could take months of analysis to confirm. On the other hand it wouldn't surprise me if it turned false as well, since someone leaked that they'd found it back in April/May and that turned out to be an anomaly.

>>3577935
It ended a week ago.

>>3577929
Even if the goldilocks zone is huge, things like mitochondria and chloroplasts evolving arent guaranteed, point remains valid

>>3577942

Well fucking finally. We're all back in business!

Tripfags, tripfags everywhere.

You know betelgeuse, right? I know it's highly unlikely and could occur anytime in a million years, but with them saying that it is late in its life...

I really hope it goes supernova in my lifetime. It would be so beautiful.

A man can dream...

i remember when i was studying astronomy, i read something called "Mars: A near miss for life?"

It was pretty interesting. It had all the basic facts about mars, how it formed, what it's made of etc. But it had a part about how when the planet was reaching the stage in its life that life would appear, the excess amounts of carbon prevented it(something like that). If Mars had just had lower carbon levels a few million years from now, it would be just like earth- jungles and oceans.

Also, pic related, mars

>>3577925
Actually I;ve just read that article thoroughly. They say they both saw something interesting decay into W bosons, and that's certainly one of the predicted Higgs decays so it may well be. Only time will tell.

>>3577938
>Ah right I think I get you now, you think one is right but the other makes more sense?

Bingo.
(Basically, it baffles me to the point where I dribble and stare at my monitor)

> On the other hand it wouldn't surprise me if it turned false as well, since someone leaked that they'd found it back in April/May and that turned out to be an anomaly.

When did that happen?
Was that at the LHC or at the Tevatron?

>>3577944
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade
>Tardigrades are able to survive in extreme environments that would kill almost any other animal. Some can survive temperatures of close to absolute zero (−273 °C (−459 °F))[6], temperatures as high as 151 °C (304 °F), 1,000 times more radiation than other animals,[7] and almost a decade without water.[8]

>>3577953
>Thread fully on topic

I don't see the issue here?

http://www.amazon.com/Hiding-Mirror-Alternate-Realities-Wonderland/dp/B0042P57X4/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&
amp;ie=UTF8&qid=1313548450&sr=1-1

Pop-sci refutation of string theory, wonder what /sci/ makes of it

>>3577953
I hate tripping, I've just got it on so Nub can recognise me as we were talking in a previous thread.

>>3577957
Predicted within the next 1000 years so assuming you're in your 20s you've got I'd say a 5% chance of seeing it (using rough numbers in my head). Fairly high for an event like that.

>>3577958
i meant if it had lower carbon levels a few million years ago*

also more mars. read filename.

>>3577944
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraterrestrial_life
Outside of the habitual zone!

>>3577953
u mad anony?

>>3577958
It wasnt the carbon, the problem with Mars is that is gravity is to small to sustain a atmosphere the enought pressure needed for liquid water to be plentiful. It also doesn't help that its on the cold border of the habitable zone.

>>3577975
>post arguing against the likelyhood of intelligent life
>get people saying that single celled life is common

hurp

>>3577972
>that's not a natural canyon

>that's the result of a very large cannon

>>3577962
It was the LHC, a leaked internal memo rather than a press release. It was quelled pretty quickly mind you and it was a month or two before the LHC/Tevatron joint possibly discovery.

>>3577970
Sorry I forgot to say if that prediction holds true.

After technology like biological immortality and cryogenic preservation are perfected, I believe that interstellar flight will be much more feasible. We won't have to worry so much about the difficulties of having children in space if the initial crew could survive the journey. Send some people to a 1g planet, set up some habitats, a medical bay, and boom, conditions are safe for children.

However, I don't think that interstellar travel will necessarily be commonplace. Too much time passes while traveling. Even if the crew doesn't experience it due to relativistic effects or being in stasis, it will still pass at the home and destination planets. It's simply too inconvenient to be feasible. Rather, I imagine one or more ships sent in quick succession to set up permanent colonies on the planet, then nothing. They'll simply communicate through radio waves or something similar, forming a network of information flow among colonies rather than forming a physical network of ships. This seems to be the most likely scenario for intelligent space-faring life.

Life can be very difficult to detect from a distance (after all, how closely do you have to look at Earth to see life?), so there could be huge networks of life-bearing planets filled with intelligent beings all talking to each other, and we'd never know.

>>3577958
I remember watching a documentary on that topic.
They had a CGI mockup of Mars with a full atmosphere and liquid water, and they showed it getting blown away by Solar winds.

Many a tear were shed man.

Pic related

>>3577995
>Mars has no global magnetic field comparable to Earth's geomagnetic field. Combined with a thin atmosphere, this permits a significant amount of ionizing radiation to reach the Martian surface.

TLDR, you cannot terraform Mars

>>3577983
everything is an arguement now

>>3577958
>>3577995
MARS YOU WERE SO CLOSE TO HAVING LIFE

;_;

>>3577988
>It was quelled pretty quickly
Yeah no doubt.

>>3577994
Say they reached their destination to a planet at say, 4 light years away, assuming they're travelling using ion drive, it'd take 81,000 years to get there.

Everyone on Earth might've died before they even get there.

>>3578000
>>3578002
feels bad man ;_;

>imagine

>>3577995
As >>3578000 said terraforming Mars doesn't seem feasible. Here's to hoping we actually use nuclear engines rather than chemical rockets and blast our way to another planet.

>>3578000
Because of the low gravity, a 500 millibar atmosphere at sea level would be around 2.5x thicker than Earth's, and with a regular dispersal of ozone in the higher atmosphere that can be counteracted. Not to mention Mars recieves 47% of the sunlight compared to Earth, further reducing the amount of harmful radiation and ionizing particles that would be able to reach the ground.

>>3578002
Venus was close too, apparently.

That feel when we're the only surface bound, atmosphere requiring life in the galaxy and everything else just lives underground or in space.

>>3577876
Beautiful. It actually makes me remember the most beautiful dream I've ever had

I was one of the first men to get inside Jupiter's upper atmosphere. We were in some sort of spacial hot air balloon. I looked in the horizon, wonderful and gigantic yellow-orangeish clouds, and I looked down and saw this infinite ammount of clouds, ranging from light orange to dark red, until it was impossible to look down. The feeling I had in that dream was amazing. I hope one day I get to experience something alike

>>3577958
>the excess amounts of carbon prevented it
Fucking greentards! Carbon has nothing to do with has to why Mars does not have liquid water, the reason is various. First Mars has no Dynamo therefore no Strong Magnetic field to protect its atmosphere from the Solar Winds. The g force of Mars is quite low therefore atmospheric gas escape easier than on Earth. By not having a strong atmosphere Mars is subject to the temperatures of Space and because it lies just outside of the habitable zone it has freezing temperatures. So by having a weak ass magnetic field and g-force making it have a shitty atmosphere combined that with its location on the solar system you have the combinations of a cold desert planet.

>>3578028
Holy shit I had a similar dream recently.

>>3578013
>http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/leaked-memo-reveals-discovery-of-god-particle-2274421..
html
Here's an article if you want a look yourself about that memo.

It depresses me knowing that we're not going to do something major space-wise in my lifetime. I wanted to set up planet express dammit.....

>>3578036
Well there's a pretty good chance you'll see a Manned Mars landing in your lifetime.

>>3578021
Oh I know it's not feasible, however on a small scale, life *could* be nurtured there right?

>>3578023
Yep, it just went the opposite way of Mars

>>3578031
You're in luck, in 4 or 5 years we'll be seeing images of the inside of Jupiter's atmosphere (hopefully)

>>3578036
Nice, thanks.

You never know man, just 100 years ago cars we're highly uncommon, now look at us.

>>3578013
Yes you can. We could build a Magnetic Field to protect Mars and then start growing plants & bring loads of contaminants in order to create a runaway green house effect. That way you have a planet filled with CO2 and O2 and in due time it will warm the planet to a point that it could be quite habitable.

>>3577994
>After technology like biological immortality and cryogenic preservation are perfected, I believe that interstellar flight will be much more feasible.

So, never then.

>>3578036
You will see widespread space exploration and colonization firsthand.


The technology:
http://techland.time.com/2011/04/06/spacexs-falcon-heavy-most-powerful-private-rocket-ever/
http://www.universetoday.com/73536/nasa-considering-rail-gun-launch-system-to-the-stars/
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/article4799369.ece

The will:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8bIQLiKi3g
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/02/lord-british-wants-to-take-you-to-space-and-hes-closer-th
an-you-think.ars/3

The time (and one of the main kicks in the ass to get it started):
http://www.hplusmagazine.com/articles/forever-young/manhattan-beach-project-end-aging-2029
http://www.sens.org/sens-research/research-themes
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3329065877451441972#
http://www.nature.com/news/2010/101128/full/news.2010.635.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/nov/28/scientists-reverse-ageing-mice-humans

The economic benefits:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_mining
>At 1997 prices, a relatively small metallic asteroid with a diameter of 1 mile contains more than $20 trillion US dollars worth of industrial and precious metals.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_Earth_Objects#Near-Earth_asteroids
>As of May 2010, 7,075 near-Earth asteroids are known,[14] ranging in size up to ~32 kilometers (1036 Ganymed).[16] The number of near-Earth asteroids over one kilometer in diameter is estimated to be 500 - 1,000.
http://www.virgingalactic.com/

>>3578038
>>3578040

Yeah true, but even so that's going to depend on funding and how much more fucked up the global economy gets. I am a cynic however, I will admit. I hope something major happens and I'd love to actually be a part of it (assuming my degree is useful for it).

>>3578045
>we can build a magnetic field to protect mars

jesus

I had a freaky dream once. (i was like 9)
>i was in a space shuttle in space, had to repair something >so out i goes to fix it.
>the ship explodes but my suit isn;t badly damaged
>float for ages watch the wonders of space in my head
>hear a voice, it asks "wonder why i made all this and then left you alone?
>because you all weree looking fo rthings that werent there to begin with.
>so i stopped caring,

yeah maybe i should head over to /x/

>>3578045
>We could build a magnetic field

There's your problem

>>3578051
Jesus, 5 star post, many thanks.

>>3578053
>I'd love to actually be a part of it (assuming my degree is useful for it).
I'd love that too man

>>3578055
we can build jesus too.

>>3578051
Nice post, but my main worry is more about funding for things like NASA., especially with private companies just wanting to get money of rich idiots by putting them into what can barely be called space.

>>3578059
You at uni then mate?

>>3578055
The closest thing we could make is throw our little friend Ceres towards Mars in such way it has the same effects as the theoretical mars-like body did to our Earth billions of years ago. In theory magnetosphere, more water, seasons, etc.

Hey guys

How about
Wait give me a sec, you'll love this
What if we...

Made giant bubble cities on Mars

More fascinating stuff

This cliff was 20,000 feet high

And it collapsed

>20000 ft high

An airliner cruises between 30 and 35,000 feet.

>>3578070
I'm currently in Canada (I'm English) living with relatives, as I didn't want to go to uni this year.

The only academic thing I'm doing right now is teaching myself Russian.

I'm in that phase where I haven't a clue what to do with my life.

>>3578070
I understand what you're saying, but it looks like NASA's time is becoming more and more limited. Eventually republican shitcocks will cut the budget to something miniscule, sending tens of thousands of people out of work. But you know what? Those will all be very intelligent, very angry, space-loving people. Some may band together to start new space-related companies. Benevolent space corporatism.

I'm a NASA fanboy so this depresses me greatly, but it isn't the end.

>>3578083
I'm a bit like that too mate. Really disillusioned with the state of graduate jobs in the UK. I'm fucking dreading walking out with possibly no jobs to go to. Gonna apply like crazy this year. What did you take at A level?

venus has continents too

>>3578082
Geodesic domed bases and cities on an unterraformed Mars have been suggested many times, being one of the more popular proposals for the colonization, along with underground, lavatube living.

>>3578086
>Eventually republican shitcocks will cut the budget to something miniscule

you do realize it was obama that cut the nasa budget, right?

>>3578082
Habitating subterranean lava tubes is a more feasible proposition.

>>3578094
What if

We domed the entire planet

>>3578094
>underground, lavatube living.

Fuck yeah, my minecraft experience will come in handy. Better whack that on my CV.

>>3578094

And above all, Mars has Carbon, making it feasible to use molecular assembly there. That and all the elements of the upper-right corner of the Table that are required for human life. It's an unexploited gold mine of possibilities.

>>3578102
That wouldn't really be a "dome" then, now would it?

>>3578105
Minecraft? Brofist.

>>3578097

lol, do you realize he increased it?

>>3578105
>go to mars
>build lava contraption
>little green martians blow it up
>fucking creepers

>>3578097

As far as I know Obama proposed an INCREASE to the NASA budget, but Republican Congress voted against it, slashed the budget and put the James Webb Space Telescope in jeopardy.

>>3578102
I've thought about that seriously, it'll have to be done for Venus and Luna if we even intend on making those habitable.

>>3578086
>Those will all be very intelligent, very angry, space-loving people. Some may band together to start new space-related companies. Benevolent space corporatism.

This is what I'm counting on when NASA's funding is finally cut off. A very sad day it shall be.


>>3578091
>Really disillusioned with the state of graduate jobs in the UK.

My sister just came out of Lincoln uni with a law degree.

She works at Tesco's.

I took Physics IT and Chem at A level, but I'm going to retake them, as I took them 2 years ago and just didn't care.
So stupid of me.

Yourself?

>>3578097
He didn't

>>3578105
>>3578113
FUCK YEAR

>>3578097

It's a slippery slope.

Dome an entire planet, you say?

>>357811
>>35781273
Brofist, tried uploading the photo but apparently it's a duplicate file. I know Notch can be a lazy cunt and go on holiday a lot, but fuck me Minecraft is so fun as is. Can't wait for the adventure update. Gonna round me up some pigmen slaves.

I took Physics, Chemistry, Maths, Biology and the free one that is General Studies. You have steam? What's your page, I'll add you.

Why don't we build Halos

but really, is such a thing feasible? I mean screw the weapon part of them, but is a ring world spinning to create artificial gravity feasible in any way?

Maybe you could make the entire thing indoors to get around the problem of holding an atmosphere.

So if you did a cross section the inside would be rectangular.

>>3578125
More terraformed images?

>>3578143
Yes. It's far more feasible than say, a Dyson sphere.

>>3578145
Gah it's getting late, can't even link posts now. That was aimed at >>3578127 >>3578113

>>3578114
>"Obama asked Congress to freeze NASA's 2012 budget at the 2010 level of $18.7 billion, roughly $300 million less than the amount called for in the 2011 road map that's working its way through Congress. Space operations would be cut by 29 percent to $4.3 billion, primarily due to retirement of the shuttle fleet that is winding down three decades of operations.
The White House plan would increase spending on earth science research and commercial spacecraft but offers little hope of transition work for some of NASA's 18,500-member workforce and a far larger team of contractors."
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7427505.html

I don't want to discuss politics. Back to SPAAAAAAAAACE.

here's mercury

>>3578097
Obama actually seems to have sort of the right idea, wanting us to not do much in terms of actually spaceflight and focus on technological development so that when we do decide to get back to manned flight, we'll be the best and will make the most out of it.

>>3578148
Did you draw that yourself?

Oh and some of my OC.

>>3578149
>Carl Sagan is the sun

>>3578149
Is that a mod or just a clever photoshop?

>>3578167

Mod. I have it myself.

>>3578167
He just changed the texture for the sun.

>>3578162
Heh, I modded a texture pack a while back.

>>3578171

The Moon is a terraformed Mars. He also considered changing things, like putting William Proxmire's face on the skeletons.

>>3578150
You took General Studies?
My school didn't even offer that!

my steam is xWench feel free to add me, although it's a new account.
Ignore the name, it has history.

>>3578160
Sadly no,
http://startrektng.freewebspace.com/photo.html

>>3578174
And Sarah Palin's face on zombies, and Ann Coulter's face on Creepers since she seems to be obsessed with bombing everyone.

>>3578170
I'd ask for the mod but then realized how easy it would be to google "Carl Sagan Sun minecraft"

Also, wouldn't it be theoretically possible to dome (yes, more domes) entire craters at the polar regions of mercury as they do not get as much sunlight and therefore are a lot cooler?

>>3578180
Added. Yeah it was compulsory. We didn't have lessons in it, only the exams. An extra A level so I didn't complain.

>>3578184
So yeah nothing came up on google.

>>3578184
I'll upload it to Mediafire right now if you'd like.

>>3578184
It'd make more sense to be near the terminator line since it's tidally locked. Dunno how fesible it is though, never really read up on Terraforming.

>>3578192
That would be great.

>>3578195
http://www.mediafire.com/?8apjntxkz0dz4jo

>>3578188
I'm an idiot, I declined, could you add again?
Was general studies easy?

>>3578213
Ha, I just tried and now it's saying there's a problem. Try adding me, I think it's bwfcnut. Yeah GS was easy, I did one of my exams off my face drunk (me and my mates did it as it was our last ever A level) and got a B in it.

What do you guys think about this? Basically it's Zubrin bashing VASIMR rockets.

http://www.marssociety.org/home/press/tms-in-the-news/thevasimrhoax

>>3578051

I am stealing your space copypasta.

>>3578212
Many thanks.

>>3578230
Sweeeeet.

>>3578233
No problemo.

>>3578225
Goddamn it's my stupid steam.
I've saved your name, I'll sort it out, if not I'll shoot you a message or something.

>bwfcnut

You from Bolton?

>Yeah GS was easy, I did one of my exams off my face drunk (me and my mates did it as it was our last ever A level) and got a B in it.

Nice

We had to take R.S GCSE, I fell asleep in the exam, rushed it in the last 20 mins and got a C. so good.

>>3578247
I'll do the same, may not get around to adding or replying until Friday though since I'm going on a trip to Birmingham. Indeed I am from Bolton, originally at least. Now I'm between places with uni and stuff. Haha I never took RS at GCSE, hated the subject.

If a star hits supernova and explodes, would the 'explosion' be recorded at the time we see it or would it be recorded X amounts of years in the past?

>>3578261
Nice, I'm originally from Bury, Ainsworth specifically.

Moved away from there 3 or 4 years ago to Devon, and now I'm in Canada!

Small world eh

Yeah I hated R.S, but they made us take it.

I'm off, I'll see you around man, great couple of threads. Been a pleasure.

>>3578275
I think we'd record it by our standards.

Though obviously a lot of people would talk about how we're essentially looking into the past.

>>3578275
It'll be recorded x amount of years after it occured, x being its distance in lightyears away if that makes it clearer.

>>3578277
Oh cool got a few mates in Bury. Also gifted a game to a guy from /v/ who was from Darwen. Bastard never gifted me in return so I unfriended him as lame as that sounds.

>>3578275

It's recorded at the time we see it, but it's understood to have happened X years before.

Examples: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SN_185

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SN_1006

But speaking of stars... One thing I'm curious about is: What happens if, as unlikely as it may be, two stars collide?

>>3578291

It's unlikely, but I'd assume one would absorb the other. It is possible this process could disturb equilibrium in the larger star to the point of causing a supernova.

>>3578291
Type 1a supernova.

>>3578291
Ah, Nevermind. Searched it on Google and actually got results this time.

Pretty cool that they form a new young star.

>>3578314

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_collision

Huh, I was right. They can also explode.

>>3578319
That was talking about neutron stars and white dwarfs.

I meant two stars like our sun or maybe a red giant just slamming into each other.

>>3578319
I'd forgotten about Neutron Star collisions/GRBs.

>>3578277
Anyways I am off to bed Nub. Add me on Steam or whatever, if not I'll add you when I'm back home on Friday since I don't trip regularly on here. Thanks for a fun thread all, peace out.

>>3578291

You get one larger star, often accompanied by a mass ejection.

>>3578344

That's in there too, they generally fuse over a long period.

White dwarves explode because they are held together by electron degeneracy instead of thermal pressure, which breaks down as the mass of the star reaches the Chandrasekar limit, causing the whole thing to go boom.

>>3578344
....buuuut before I go, going off what I did in astrophysics I'd imagine it'd be the same mechanism as a Neutron Star collision. Probably a short term GRB. Wiki it and take a look, see if my hunch is right.

Night all, peac out. For real this time.

>>3578148
PhD grad studying Mars here. Hope you like some OC from my spare time.