*** The Official Astronomy & Universe Thread ***

Stringy said:
Went to Kielder Observatory on Saturday night for the third time, set in the largest protected dark skies area in Europe. It was an amazingly clear night, but unfortunately there wasn't much to see due to the impending full 'supermoon' (they hate that moniker there by the way). We got to have a play with their 20 and 16 inch telescopes, with good views of the orion nebula, Sirius and a binary star that I've forgotten the name of. Views of the moon were spectacular through their telescopes, although even with a lunar filter detail was a little hard to resolve as it was so bright.

I'd massively recommend it to anyone with an interest who is close enough or can be bothered with the journey!
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We went in the summer. Didn't see a thing. It was thick cloud and rain. They did their best to fill the evening and for complete novices it was ok but I left very disappointed. Particularly as Garry Fildes book had just come out and he was all over the media talking about Kielder. Hope to return one day but the unpredictable nature of our weather is a problem!
 
Got this today, been recently published, a companion to The Planets. A great book beautifully illustrated which would make a good present and a bargain at ten quid from the rainforest:

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You guys might be the people to ask about something.

I'm working on a project where we're going to be filming in Space. Specifically aboard the ISS. I've already found the right gyros to keep a camera steady but I'm curious about any other effects I might no have thought about. There are several issues.

1. Astronauts are busy, so I've only got 1 dedicated to my project.
2. The Camera, a RED Epic with Ultra Prime lenses will have some decent mass.
3. I need it the camera to travel
4. Everything will suffer the effects of radiation so I don't have much time

The main one for you guys is the travel. I've found a gyro ththat should prevent the camera from panning, tilting or rolling whilst positioned in centre of module. It won't be tethered to anything. In theory the astronaut could let go of it and it wouldn't move.

The thing I'm wondering is what would happen if he pushed it forward. I'm waiting for an answer from the gyro guys but has anyone here ever watched any like behind the scenes or similar where they talk about things they didn't expect etc?

At £10,000 per kilo to send items, and incredibly tight restrictions, I'm trying to make sure there are no surprises!

Edit: Ive got a team in Baikonur right now, im gonna ask them about that video above!
 
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Some of the first and highest resolution images acquired by the Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) on the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter on 22 November 2016:


The first image sequence shown was taken at a distance of 5300 km with a resolution of 60 m/pixel, about 44 minutes before closest approach. It illustrates how CaSSIS acquires data by taking images in colour simultaneously: at panchromatic, red, near-infrared and blue wavelengths.

A 3D reconstruction of a small area in Noctis Labyrinthus is also presented, based on a stereo pair of images taken, and presented with an altitude map with a resolution of less than 20 m.

Next, a spectacular high-resolution image sequence acquired during closest approach of 235 km altitude is presented. At this time, the spacecraft was flying over the Hebes Chasma region. The highest resolution data acquired is at 2.8 m/pixel. The flyover is shown at half the speed at which the data were acquired.

Then, an image swath about 25 km wide is shown of Arisa Chasmata, which is located on the flanks of a large volcano on Mars named Arsia Mons.

Finally, a close up of a 1.4 km-diameter crater sitting in the rim of a much larger crater near the Mars equator is presented. This image was acquired at 7.2 m/pixel.

This video was produced by the CaSSIS camera team and the University of Bern.
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More:

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/S..._of_Mars_show_potential_for_ESA_s_new_orbiter
 
A visit to Mars with a flight over Mawrth Vallis:


This movie, based on images taken by ESA’s Mars Express, highlights Mawrth Vallis, a 600 km-long, 2 km-deep outflow channel at the boundary of the southern highlands and the northern lowlands of Mars.

The movie begins at the mouth of the channel in Chryse Planitia, and heads towards the apparent source region in the Arabia Terra highlands.

The 4 billion year-old plateau is characterised by many impact craters, indicative of its great age.

Zooming in, patches of light and dark deposits are revealed. The light-toned layered sediments are among the largest outcrops of clay minerals – phyllosilicates – on Mars. Their presence indicates the presence of liquid water in the past.

The variety of water-bearing minerals and the possibility that they might contain a record of an ancient, habitable environment on Mars led scientists to propose Mawrth Vallis as a candidate landing site for the ExoMars 2020 mission.

The animation is based on a colour mosaic and digital terrain model derived from data collected by the high-resolution stereo camera on Mars Express and released earlier this year.
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