@sonhouse saidHow close are we to accelerating objects to light speed? Does anyone know what the record is for the fastest man-made object in space, currently?
@Liljo
But for a first place to visit once we get propulsion near light speed, would be Alpha Centauri system, you get three for the price of one, three stars in that system so it will be a great place to visit, life or no life.
It is amazing they can figure out just where that L2 spot is, it is not like there are big moons to peg it. I think they figured that one out by analyzing the gravitational fields of the planets and the sun and just figured it out mathematically.
@wildgrass
That goes to the solar probe, clocking in at 660,000 miles per hour.
It has to go that fast because it is so close to the sun at closest approach, it has to scoot through as fast as possible so it won't melt, then it goes away from the sun in its orbit, allowing a bit of a cool off before flying in again.
@sonhouse saidThat is really fast. But my quick math says that is two thousand times slower than the speed of light, or less than 0.1%. We've got a long way to go.
@wildgrass
That goes to the solar probe, clocking in at 660,000 miles per hour.
It has to go that fast because it is so close to the sun at closest approach, it has to scoot through as fast as possible so it won't melt, then it goes away from the sun in its orbit, allowing a bit of a cool off before flying in again.
@liljo saidSpeaking of aliens, that extra-solar oumaguma object that flew through our solar system a few years ago could have been an alien shipwreck. It was about the size and shape of a huge ocean liner, had metallic properties, and a speed about twice as fast as any natural comet or meteor. It could have suffered some sort of accident or malfunction, and had been tumbling through space for millions of years. It's interior could be filled with ancient machinery and alien skeletons, but we'll never know because we were unprepared to intercept something like this.
I dunno. Maybe it’s da weed, but…I am in the camp with people who believe there is life all over the universe. It’s just that there is so much distance between galaxies/stars/exoplanets, etc., that we’ll never come in contact.
I mean, the closest known solar system to ours is about 4.5 light years. And if there isn’t life there, well, it is truly staggering how far away it ...[text shortened]... find life on a Galilean moon near Jupiter. But alien civilizations? Rare if any, and far, far away.
A missed opportunity of the century.
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Yes, detailed analysis showed it to be natural, albeit a "visitor" from outside the solar system. Oumuamua was the first ever confirmed interstellar object to be observed coming though our solar system.
At any rate, the current status of the Webb is as follows:
Distance traveled: 833,600 miles
Distance left: 65,000 miles
Speed: 559.8 mph
@bunnyknight saidActually these guys proposed a mission to catch Oumouma still:
Speaking of aliens, that extra-solar oumaguma object that flew through our solar system a few years ago could have been an alien shipwreck. It was about the size and shape of a huge ocean liner, had metallic properties, and a speed about twice as fast as any natural comet or meteor. It could have suffered some sort of accident or malfunction, and had been tumbling throu ...[text shortened]... ause we were unprepared to intercept something like this.
A missed opportunity of the century.
https://news.mit.edu/2020/catch-interstellar-visitor-use-solar-powered-space-statite-slingshot-0506
@sonhouse saidI always find it suspicious when someone claims to know an absolute fact about something unknown.
@bunnyknight
More detailed analysis however, shows it to be natural.
What evidence led to this solid conclusion that it's 100% natural? Do they have close-up photos or rock samples?
And then there is politics -- if it was unnatural, don't you think that certain people would lie and kill just to get to it first?
@sonhouse saida bit off topic...sorry...but didn't Einstein say that an object's mass increases the closer it gets to the speed of light? And if it did reach light speed, an object would be infinitely large ? That never made sense to my puny brain...
@wildgrass
That goes to the solar probe, clocking in at 660,000 miles per hour.
It has to go that fast because it is so close to the sun at closest approach, it has to scoot through as fast as possible so it won't melt, then it goes away from the sun in its orbit, allowing a bit of a cool off before flying in again.
@bunnyknight saidI think we know more about what it isn't than what it is.
I always find it suspicious when someone claims to know an absolute fact about something unknown.
What evidence led to this solid conclusion that it's 100% natural? Do they have close-up photos or rock samples?
And then there is politics -- if it was unnatural, don't you think that certain people would lie and kill just to get to it first?
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Currently, 19:04 CST, the scope is deploying the last two mirror segments, with alignment to follow.
Current distance traveled:839,363 miles.
Speed has slowed to 539 mph. That’s 884 kph for most of the world!
Everything is just going so smoothly—it’s just a testament to the brilliance of the collective thinking of some of humanity’s brightest.
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@sonhouse saidYes sir! I’m watching and counting down the minutes. I realize we won’t get images until mid to late summer, but they should be well worth the wait. This thing supposedly will be able to gather light from well before the Sun formed. There was supposedly a period of darkness after the Big Bang until hydrogen and I believe helium atoms began the process of fusion.
@Liljo
Bout 3 days left before it gets to that hole in space known as L2🙂
Webb should be able to gather light from the formation of the earliest galaxies! Humanity is about to witness wonders beyond many of the wildest imaginations. I am personally amped up about this.
I think they begin to lock into L2 on Monday.
@Ponderable
I think they would be destined for disappointment when they find out it is just a long and thin sliver of an asteroid, just regular space rocks that flaked off a bigger asteroid.
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https://webb.nasa.gov/content/science/firstLight.html
The is an excellent article about the early formation of the universe, and how far ‘back in time’ the new Webb Space Telescope promises to see.
Currently: 877,500 miles out, or 96.3% of the needed distance to reach L2.
Speed: 487mph