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

Hubble Finds New Neptune Moon:

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http://www.nasa.gov/content/nasa-hubble-finds-new-neptune-moon/
 
NeilFawcett said:
^^ Isn't there a huge dust cloud entering the black hole at the center of the galaxy over the next few months? (Ignoring it happening tens of thousands of years ago and we're only seeing it now...)
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23343563

The giant gas cloud heading for the black hole at the centre of our galaxy has begun its death spiral.

The cloud, known as G2 is now being stretched out like a piece of spaghetti by the black hole's extreme gravity.

This gravitational field has caused the head of the cloud to accelerate around the black hole and to speed back towards us.

Astronomers have been closely observing G2, hoping to catch it being ripped apart and eaten by the black hole.
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Given black holes can be the brightest objects in the universe technically, scientist are hoping for some "fireworks" from this I believe...?
 
This is a cool article posted on SD about exploratory probes that could have been sent by distant civilisations to seek out star systems and planets in the same way we have done with the Voyager probes. The article explains that advanced civilisations may have done this tens of millions of years ago and by now those probes could have even explored our part of the galaxy and we'd not even know it.

They'd most likely use the slingshot effect and not actually travel at the speed of light. Where we slingshot off planets, they'd slingshot off stars to gain greater speed. These probes could also replicate themselves using dust and materials gathered on the way.

Full article.

Quite enjoy reading stuff like that. You get a more stable picture of how advanced civilisations (if they exist or existed in the past) may have explored Space with unmanned probes before taking the next steps. We ourselves are at the baby stages of that currently.

The article closes with:
"Likewise, the surface of the moon and portions of Mars have been searched at a sufficient resolution to have uncovered any non-terrestrial artifacts that could have been present. However, the deep oceans of Earth and the subsurface of the Moon are largely unexplored territory, while regions such as the asteroid belt, the Kuiper belt, and stable orbits around other Solar System planets could also contain non-terrestrial artifacts that have so far escaped human observation. Because of this plenitude of nearby unexplored territory, it would be premature to conclude that the Solar System is absent of non-terrestrial artifacts."
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It is a bit far fetched though, but still quite cool!
 
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Hi all, is this the right place to talk about astrophotography? I'd love to try my hand at it, considering I live in a perfect place for it (Isles of Scilly). No streetlights here, summer clear nights are ridiculously breathtaking. I would love to try and take some photos.

This was recommended to me as a cheap introduction:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seben-700-7...TF8&qid=1371724609&sr=8-1&keywords=B00426KOQI

But what about a camera? Would an entry level DSL suffice, like a 350D? Thanks!
 
tres said:
Hi all, is this the right place to talk about astrophotography? I'd love to try my hand at it, considering I live in a perfect place for it (Isles of Scilly). No streetlights here, summer clear nights are ridiculously breathtaking. I would love to try and take some photos.

This was recommended to me as a cheap introduction:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seben-700-7...TF8&qid=1371724609&sr=8-1&keywords=B00426KOQI

But what about a camera? Would an entry level DSL suffice, like a 350D? Thanks!
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I'd suggest going to a dedicate astronomy forum and posting on there. You'll get far more feedback. eg: http://stargazerslounge.com
 
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