Astronomy and Cosmology.

[heronviewer]

Amazing and wonderful photography !

 

[Anthraquinone]

I was a research chemist in a previous stage of my life and have always been fascinated by cosmology. I hope I will still be here when the mystery of dark matter / modified gravity is solved. The origin of the elements has always been of special interest starting with how the sun works and Fred Hoyle's work on the triple alpha process using anthropic reasoning. The fact that virtually all the elements, except hydrogen, that make our bodies was manufactured in a star has always amazed me but more than that the gold in my wedding ring originated in a super nova is just mind blowing.

Another of my hopes is that I live to see the super nova that will happen when Betelgeuse goes off. Each time I look at Orion in the winter sky I want to count down 3, 2, 1, NOW !!!

If you are reading this thread you probably know of the A.P.O.D. web site - if not look it up. The attached "origin of the elements" file came from there

AQ

 

[billw]

Here's another YouTube link which gives a good idea of the enormity of it all:

I think I lost the concept of scale before it even got to the end of the first bit. Bodies that are millions of km across, yet in the space of a few seconds in that video become meaninglessly small.

 

[Stanleymonkey]

I remember watching clips of the early discoveries - just from looking at such small areas of the sky.



From about 2:40 onwards

 

[Stanleymonkey]

I've shown that Star Size Comparison video to so many classes.

You can see their brains exploding! They ask to watch it again and again for weeks.

 

[Sandyn]

In science, guesswork is known as a 'theory'

 

[DrPhill]

Just remember that you're standing on a planet that's evolving, and revolving at 900 miles an hour.....

As for guesswork v science: Science is our current best explanation for the phenomenon we observe based on some root assumptions:

• The universe behaves in a consistent manner across time and space ('laws of science'). Our descriptions of remote galaxies etc rely on the assumption that the 'laws of science' hold there, and everywhere between here and there. They assume that the did hold there when the light that we see started its long journey towards us, and that it still holds there, although we might not know for thousands of years....
• Humans beings are capable of perceiving these rules
• Human beings are capable of understanding these rules.

These are reasonable assumptions, and necessary in order to begin to construct the theories, but there can be no justification for these assumptions other than necessity. If the way light (electromagnetic radiation) behaves is radically different in other parts of the universe we would not know - and would be trying to interpret what we see in an inappropriate manner.

Also remember that dark matter - stuff we cannot see/detect/explain - but is necessary to explain the universe makes up maybe 85% of the universe (Dark matter - Wikipedia). Add in Dark energy (energy we cannot explain, detect) and you can see that most of the universe is not even included in our theories.

Min-boggling indeed.

 

[Vinn]

In terms of trying to imagine the scale of things (or at least realising that we're just not in a position to), I use this thought process:

Imagine travelling at 100mph

most people have experienced something close to this in their car​

Imagine travelling at 1000 mph

most people have been in a plane travelling at half this speed, although it's very difficult to judge speed because you are so far from anything fixed​

Imagine travelling at 35,000 mph

this is roughly the current speed of Voyager 2 spacecraft launched in the 70's and only just escaped the outer reaches of the Solar system. At this speed you could get from London to the South of France in about one minute!​

​

Now you have tried to imagine that speed, then realise that it would take Voyager 2 another 81,000 years to get to the NEAREST star, Proxima Centuri.

So now you have an unimaginable speed and an unimaginable length of time - try to picture those 80,000 years if you can, although that pales into insignificance when you think the dinosaurs became extinct 65,000,000 years ago, another factor of a thousand.

All the numbers become ridiculous to comprehend.

That's just the NEAREST star, which is extremely close compared with other stars, even those in our galaxy.

I used to be interested in cosmology, but just gave up when I realised the scales are so far away from everyday life that's futile to even try to understand.

Interesting to do the maths though...

Cheers

 

[Sandyn]

A couple of months ago, whilst having a break during a cycle ride, I was interviewed for a YouTube TV channel by a flat earther. I respect that anyone can believe what they want, but it was a very interesting conversation.

 

[Duncan A]

A couple of months ago, whilst having a break during a cycle ride, I was interviewed for a YouTube TV channel by a flat earther. I respect that anyone can believe what they want, but it was a very interesting conversation.

Was the cycle ride nice and flat?

 

[Sandyn]

Was the cycle ride nice and flat?

Yes, until I fell off the edge!

 

[Nigel Burden]

Stunning pictures.

Just to give some idea of scale, the link below relates to our Solar System.

If the Moon Were Only 1 Pixel - A tediously accurate map of the solar system (joshworth.com)

Nigel.

 

[Starflyer]

Thanks to all for your kind comments on my images, in the New Year I'll start the planning and drawings for my meagre observatory.

If anyone's interested;
This build thread, amongst others on Star Gazers Lounge, has been my inspiration. It's more framing and construction than fine cabinet making, but my woodworking skills are fairly basic at the moment.

 

[Anthraquinone]

Sandyn said

In science, guesswork is known as a 'theory'

That is so so wrong. Why cannot people use the English language correctly.

AQ

 

[Sandyn]

That is so so wrong. Why cannot people use the English language correctly.

Im Scottish. I don't generally use 'The English Language'

 

[Bm101]

There's a few of my pics here if anyone's interested. I'm aware that people get a glazed look in their eyes when I start talking about my images though

Just incredible! I was going to point you towards an old thread (New toy...this could become an expensive hobby! )by Jim Hendrix but when I looked it up to get a link you were already there so you must be travelling at a fair rate of knots. By the time I originally read that thread it had already finished and Jim wasn't even a member anymore. Confusing stuff time travel.
When I read Bill Bryson's Short History of Everything he was fairly sympathetic with a brain like mine trying to understand BIG numbers. That's my excuse.
We went to Cape Verde year before last. The night sky made me punch drunk. Ok sometimes I was actually a little drunk but nevertheless, never having travelled that close to the equator and somewhere that dark at night, it was genuinely astounding.

 

[Danieljw]

Aaah! Eureka..
The reason most home woodworking projects go slightly adrift.
We're too busy star gazing... lol.
Wonderful pictures

 

[Sandyn]

The mount tracks the sky and allows me to image the same object over multiple nights

I have done some very simple night photography, but with just a 400mm lens, so the moon is still very small. It always amazes me how fast the moon moves across the field of view. You have some amazing shots of craters on the moon (Clavius). Do you use the the mount to track for those? What magnification did you use and what length of exposure for those?

 

[Jacob]

I did astro navigation on a sailing course years ago. Still got the sextant! Was fascinating without a doubt.
Not used it much latterly though I can still recognise a few constellations; "find the plough, arc to Arcturus then I spy Spica" etc

 

[Steve C]

Amateur astronomer as well. Not as good as some of the earlier on here but these are some of mine.