Solar System

[Drone]

 

[lexluthermiester]

Mars versus Venus.... Which has got more chance of life?

My personal opinion, I think it's equally likely that both may have had life on some basic level.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I always think that there was no life on Mars or any other planets in the Solar System. What are the real facts that prove there could be life on them even in the past? The weird 50 years of research and nothing else. They always find different arguments about life on the and then they find arguments against life there.

So you think Earth is the only place life can or could exist?

 

[R-T-B]

What are the real facts that prove there could be life on them even in the past?

Phosphine is pretty damn convincing. And that's a recent "real fact."

 

[lexluthermiester]

Phosphine is pretty damn convincing. And that's a recent "real fact."

Have to agree here. Phosphine is a very strong bio indicator. There are no known naturally occurring non-biological processes that can produce that compound. That's not to say it isn't possible, it's just unknown and the only known process is biological.

 

[delshay]

Sorry, we have another asteroid on it's way. It's going to be close.

Asteroid 'could hit Earth' on eve of US election, says Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Refrigerator size drama queen much lol

 

[Drone]

ESO’s Very Large Telescope

Anemic Star Cluster Breaks Metal-poor Record – W. M. Keck Observatory

keckobservatory.org

"Touchdown declared" on asteroid, NASA probe attempts to collect samples for return to Earth

The dramatic effort to collect a sample is the centerpiece of an $800 million mission.

www.cbsnews.com

Smile, wave: Some exoplanets may be able to see us, too | Cornell Chronicle

Some exoplanets – planets from beyond our own solar system – have a direct line of sight to observe Earth’s biological qualities from far, far away, according to research led by Lisa Kaltenegger, director of the Carl Sagan Institute.

news.cornell.edu

Bennu, a well-preserved, ancient asteroid, is currently > 321 million km from Earth and offers scientists a window into the early solar system as it was first taking shape billions of years ago and flinging ingredients that could have helped seed life on Earth.

ALMA Shows Volcanic Impact on Io’s Atmosphere

 

[delshay]

Voyager 2 still working.

Voyager 2: Nasa finally gets in contact with 50-year-old spacecraft from 12 billion miles away

 

[Space Lynx]

Voyager 2 still working.

Voyager 2: Nasa finally gets in contact with 50-year-old spacecraft from 12 billion miles away

that is insane lmao

 

[lexluthermiester]

Voyager 2 still working.

Voyager 2: Nasa finally gets in contact with 50-year-old spacecraft from 12 billion miles away

Thought Voyager2 was written off because they though the power supply had run down. Guess not! Or maybe I was thinking of Voyager1...

 

[Space Lynx]

Thought Voyager2 was written off because they though the power supply had run down. Guess not! Or maybe I was thinking of Voyager1...

ah I was thinking of Voyager1 too. lol woops.

still 12 billion miles away is mighty impressive imo

 

[lexluthermiester]

still 12 billion miles away is mighty impressive imo

Indeed. And this new radio array is going to make communications much better in many ways.

 

[delshay]

Indeed. And this new radio array is going to make communications much better in many ways.

What's impressing me is they can still transmit & receive from that distance. Where is the cut-off point.

 

[R-T-B]

Sorry, we have another asteroid on it's way. It's going to be close.

Asteroid 'could hit Earth' on eve of US election, says Neil deGrasse Tyson

And not matter. It won't do anything.

Voyager 2 still working.

Voyager 2: Nasa finally gets in contact with 50-year-old spacecraft from 12 billion miles away

I love voyager 2... the fact that it is that far out and still sending signals is amazing.

 

[Space Lynx]

What's impressing me is they can still transmit & receive from that distance. Where is the cut-off point.

there is no cutoff point depending how big your transmission signal is. we can detect radio waves and various other lenses of frequency from 8 billion years ago I think, and James Webb Telescope will up that 12-14 billion years ago I think. the signal doesn't vanish, its just it only goes at a certain speed.

 

[rtwjunkie]

ah I was thinking of Voyager1 too. lol woops.

still 12 billion miles away is mighty impressive imo

Even more impressive is they are able to continue to do workarounds that upgrade it!

 

[Bones]

Thought Voyager2 was written off because they though the power supply had run down. Guess not! Or maybe I was thinking of Voyager1...

It all depends on how much power is left for the probe to transmit with, I did see sometime ago an estimate of the year 2022-2023 could be the cutoff. It would also need enough power to keep running experiments and so on, if not then all it can do is say "Hello" and that's about it. Many of the probe's insturments have already been shutdown to conserve power anyway for extending it's life.
Actually both are still going with Voyager 2 supposedly being the first that will go silent with Voyager 1 doing the same not too long after if I recall things correctly.

A true testament to the work that was put into it all those years ago.

 

[lexluthermiester]

It all depends on how much power is left for the probe to transmit with, I did see sometime ago an estimate of the year 2022-2023 could be the cutoff. It would also need enough power to keep running experiments and so on, if not then all it can do is say "Hello" and that's about it. Many of the probe's insturments have already been shutdown to conserve power anyway for extending it's life.
Actually both are still going with Voyager 2 supposedly being the first that will go silent with Voyager 1 doing the same not too long after if I recall things correctly.

A true testament to the work that was put into it all those years ago.

Let's be fair, they have nuclear power units. I'm surprised they haven't lasted longer. It's the electronics lasting this long that I find interesting.

 

[metalfiber]

Is 10,000 quadrillion enough of an incentive to do a startup mining operation in the asteroid belt?

They think that Psyche could have been a past or future planet core if it wasn't for Jupiter...

Hubble Examines 16 Psyche, the Asteroid Worth $10,000 Quadrillion

Researchers just finished an ultraviolet survey of 16 Psyche, the ultra-valuable asteroid NASA plans to visit in 2026.

www.extremetech.com

https://www.zmescience.com/space/as...hought-to-be-worth-10000-quadrillion-dollars/

 

[R-T-B]

Let's be fair, they have nuclear power units. I'm surprised they haven't lasted longer. It's the electronics lasting this long that I find interesting.

Their RTGs. They have a finite lifetime. They've gone through their halflife a few times already.

The electronics ate cool though. Radiation hardening computers is basically massive shielding coupled with massive redundancy. To keep it from being too heavy, where you use it is a very strategic decision.

I think we can all agree they did well with the Voyager platform.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Their RTGs.

Right, but aren't they supposed to last a few decades longer? I'll admit, my understanding of them is not so great.

I think we can all agree they did well with the Voyager platform.

Of course!

EDIT;
According to several sources the half-life for those RTG power units is 87years. Both Voyagers were launched in 1977 which puts them about half way through the first half-life cycle. Each probe had three units each so they should still have ample power, strictly by the numbers.

 

[R-T-B]

Let's be fair, they have nuclear power units. I'm surprised they haven't lasted longer. It's the electronics lasting this long that I find interesting.

Right, but aren't they supposed to last a few decades longer?

I believe lasting from the 80's like they did is rather impressive given these are early tech RTGs, not like the stuff on New Horizons.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I believe lasting from the 80's like they did is rather impressive given these are early tech RTGs, not like the stuff on New Horizons.

See edit.. But I agree with you.

 

[metalfiber]

It would look as if the capacitor life is a factor...if the Voyagers even used capacitors. I do know that's a major issue in old tech.

I'm trying to find Voyager schematics and i'm mostly very detailed Star Trek ship schematics.

Spacecraft - NASA Science

The identical Voyager spacecraft are three-axis stabilized systems that use celestial or gyro referenced attitude control to maintain pointing of the high-gain antennas toward Earth. The prime mission science payload consisted of 10 instruments (11 investigations including radio science).

voyager.jpl.nasa.gov

Instruments - NASA Science

The identical Voyager spacecraft are three-axis stabilized systems that use celestial or gyro referenced attitude control to maintain pointing of the high-gain antennas toward Earth. The prime mission science payload consisted of 10 instruments (11 investigations including radio science).

voyager.jpl.nasa.gov

Where Are Voyager 1 and 2 Now? - NASA Science

Both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 have reached "interstellar space" and each continue their unique journey deeper into the cosmos.

voyager.jpl.nasa.gov

http://www.ninfinger.org/models/vault2007/Voyager%20plans/voyager-stitche2.jpg