Cool Science thread

[Dantheman]

Carbon-copper catalyst converts CO2 to ethanol
http://phys.org/news/2016-10-nano-sp...e-ethanol.html

Dark energy may not actually exist*
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/201...study-suggests

* - Non-clickbait headline: Expanded Type 1a supernova database indicates that the evidence for accelerated expansion is, at most, 3 sigma.

[NoPostholio]

I have been geeking out on planet nine speculation - so cool to think about this huge solar system influence that could be discovered in our lifetime.
Orbital mechanics makes my brainz hurt.

http://www.space.com/34455-planet-ni...ming-soon.html

This video of a scale model of the solar system built in the desert is a must see, especially enhanced with a quality sativa.

Then think about something orbiting the sun 100 times further out.


https://vimeo.com/139407849

[Dantheman]

The planet 9 stuff is way cool. It seems like it's only a matter of time now before they find it.

[abraham]

The planet 9 stuff is way cool. It seems like it's only a matter of time now before they find it.

Wasn't the projected orbit 20k years? So we should find in the next couple thousand


I actually have no idea how they figure out where it is in its orbit. But we've found planets by predicting position then observing before

[NoPostholio]

Wasn't the projected orbit 20k years? So we should find in the next couple thousand


I actually have no idea how they figure out where it is in its orbit. But we've found planets by predicting position then observing before

I think that they base their assumptions on the effect of its gravity on other objects. If it is that hudge it has some big sway. The latest speculation on it being the force that has the sun slightly out of plane with our existing solar system makes sense to my feeble space mind.

[Dantheman]

I actually have no idea how they figure out where it is in its orbit. But we've found planets by predicting position then observing before

Like NoPost said, it's existence is inferred from anomalies in the orbit of other objects that appear to only be explained by, not to get too technical, a shit ton of mass orbiting way the fuck out there. As those observations stack up the model of its hypothetical orbit gets refined and the potential search area shrinks. There are also vast swathes of the sky in its potential orbit that have been surveyed in sufficient detail to rule out its presence there. There's also a good chance it's near its aphelion and only visible to a handful of the most powerful telescopes. The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_...rvey_Telescope) may end up playing a key role in finding it.

[Groomer Gambler]

I have been geeking out on planet nine speculation - so cool to think about this huge solar system influence that could be discovered in our lifetime.
Orbital mechanics makes my brainz hurt.

http://www.space.com/34455-planet-ni...ming-soon.html

This video of a scale model of the solar system built in the desert is a must see, especially enhanced with a quality sativa.

Then think about something orbiting the sun 100 times further out.


https://vimeo.com/139407849

Already been done! Carl Sagan spacewalk in downtown Ithaca!

[NoPostholio]

^^^thank you - that is very cool and worth a visit.

In other news - it seems the search for intelligent life has gained new traction. I think they want to try and offset the dummies on this planet...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...tructure-star/

[TomCrac]

NASA has completed the $8.7 billion James Webb space telescope
Hubble's successor is ready for testing ahead of the October, 2018 launch.
https://www.engadget.com/2016/11/07/...ace-telescope/

The Hubble Space Telescope has given humanity unprecedented glimpses into the universe, but it will soon be replaced by a far more powerful model. NASA administrator Charles Bolden unveiled the completed $8.8 billion James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which will be able to see the universe as it was 13 billion years ago. It's equipped with a 21-foot, gold-coated mirror array that can collect seven times more light than Hubble and scan the infrared spectrum to see through dust. "We've done two decades of innovation and hard work, and this is the result," project scientist John Mather says.

[Dantheman]

Fuck yeah. I can't imagine how nervous NASA is going to be when that thing launches.

[Dantheman]

Opaline silica deposits found on Mars may be biogenic
http://www.astronomy.com/news/2016/1...crobes-on-mars

[NoPostholio]

Hope this pans out - multi generational travel here we come!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...-works-anyway/

[Mazderati]

Portion of a dinosaur tail preserved in amber discovered in a market.

[406]

Wow, Jack Horner must be excited. From your photo I thought it looked like feathers so Google and found the NG article.

[Mazderati]

^ Fist thing that came to mind when seeing it was the mosquito scene. It's hard for me to wrap my head around the age or even existence of the thing.

[NoPostholio]

It is crazy that the ant is basically unchanged (at least in form) over ~100 million years.

[Dantheman]

That is amazingly cool. It sounds like the Burmese amber deposits that thing came from are a scientific bonanza: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2...nantiornithes/

[raisingarizona13]

That's so bad ass. I want to know when we can start booking reservations for the new Jurassic Park.

[Dantheman]

Results from the first experimental test of Erik Verlinde’s alternative theory of gravity agree with the theory's predictions:

http://earthsky.org/space/1st-test-e...itational-lens

[abraham]

Results from the first experimental test of Erik Verlinde’s alternative theory of gravity agree with the theory's predictions:

http://earthsky.org/space/1st-test-e...itational-lens

I hadn't heard about that. Here's a good article about it. https://www.quantamagazine.org/20161...y-dark-matter/

[SkiCougar]

VERY, VERY COOL interactive map to see some of the theories trying to be resolved in physics and their relations.

click start and prepare to start wasting you workday.

"Theories of Everything, Mapped"
https://www.quantamagazine.org/20150...-theories-map/

[NoPostholio]

Cool Cassini shots - Pandora is a cool looking moon

https://www.cnet.com/pictures/cassin...oons-pictures/

[Dantheman]

Vampires being recruited for clinical trial
http://www.refinery29.com/2017/01/13...ion-slow-aging

There's a giant wave in Venus' atmosphere

http://www.space.com/35349-giant-wav...tmosphere.html

[Dantheman]

VERY, VERY COOL interactive map to see some of the theories trying to be resolved in physics and their relations.

click start and prepare to start wasting you workday.

"Theories of Everything, Mapped"
https://www.quantamagazine.org/20150...-theories-map/

This was a really cool way to waste time while sitting at home sick (and watching it snow outside). It's just insane what has happened in physics over the last 100 years. A century ago we seemed to just about have it all figured out; everything had been boiled down to a handful of forces and subatomic particles and it seemed like we were on the cusp of doing the equivalent of completing the periodic table. Everything done since then seems to have raised more questions than it answered. We sit here now knowing almost nothing about what 95% of the universe is made of and seriously contemplating the possibility that an infinite number of other universes may exist. Crazy.

[Timberridge]

The new GOES-16 satellite is settling in and producing some stunning high res images.

Go to https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/content/...-image-gallery

If you click on the image snapshots it blows them up.