24 years and still delivering: The Hubble Space Telescope seems to have spotted clouds on extrasolar
46 replies, posted
[URL="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/hubble-space-telescope-spots-clouds-on-alien-worlds-9034258.html"]Hubble Space Telescope spots clouds on alien worlds[/URL]
[QUOTE]Astronomers have spotted clouds in the atmospheres of two planets outside our solar system, with a pair of research papers suggesting that these sorts of cloudy alien worlds might be far more common than previously thought.
Two separate research teams examined data from the Hubble Space Telescope relating to the extrasolar planets GJ 1214b and GJ 436b. Located 42 light-years away from Earth, GJ 1214b is a prime example of a ‘super-Earth’ planet whilst GJ 436b - 36 light-years away - is a ‘warm Neptune’.
Super-Earths are planets with a mass between that of Earth and Neptune (GJ 1214b has a radius 2.7 times that of Earth) whilst warm Neptunes are, as the name suggests, hot versions of our own Neptune. They maintain a close orbit to their star of less than one astronomical unit (roughly the average distance from the Earth to the Sun, or around 90,000,000 miles).
“We always knew the clouds must be there for some planets, but now we have a wave of results telling us that clouds are actually very common,” said Heather Knutson, a planetary astronomer at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and lead author of the paper studying GJ436b, to Space.com.[/QUOTE]
When it finally is retired, I hope the HST gets towed to a safe place (perhaps a Lagrangian point) and kept as an artifact of the first era of space exploration, when the human race finally opened its eyes for real and began looking out at the rest of the universe.
I still can't believe the hubble's been in space for 24 years
Mmmm, keep putting in work Hubble. We love ya.
[QUOTE=elixwhitetail;43401018]
When it finally is retired, I hope the HST gets towed to a safe place (perhaps a Lagrangian point) and kept as an artifact of the first era of space exploration, when the human race finally opened its eyes for real and began looking out at the rest of the universe.[/QUOTE]Honestly I hope it doesn't get retired at all. Send a crew up there and refresh the bloody thing already. Replace worn reaction wheels, upgrade the optics and electronics, polish the hull, keep it up there doing what it does best. It's bar none one of the top five best things humanity has ever built and deserves to be maintained the best we can maintain it. We could probably get 75 or 100 years of viable science out of that thing assuming it doesn't get shot to shit by space debris.
[QUOTE=Gen. Crumpets;43401043]I still can't believe the hubble's been in space for 24 years[/QUOTE]
Yup. Hubble is a damn good piece of kit.
Big problem is it's gotta have its coolant refilled/replaced. But, fuck, if Hubble can get upgraded in-place to Hubble2 and be able to continue working for another 25+ years before needing another retrofit mission, fuck yeah.
Aren't they already building another "Hubble"?
I could've sworn I read that somewhere.
[QUOTE=booster;43401247]Aren't they already building another "Hubble"?
I could've sworn I read that somewhere.[/QUOTE]
James Webb Space Telescope, which is hoping to be launched in Oct. 2018.
[t]http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/614445main_013526_white2.jpg[/t]
[QUOTE=elixwhitetail;43401018]
When it finally is retired, I hope the HST gets towed to a safe place (perhaps a Lagrangian point) and kept as an artifact of the first era of space exploration, when the human race finally opened its eyes for real and began looking out at the rest of the universe.[/QUOTE]
That would be anything but safe. Also why would you want to tow it anywhere, the orbit it's currently in is stable enough for it to last a couple thousand years.
[QUOTE=DrDevil;43401256]That would be anything but safe. Also why would you want to tow it anywhere, the orbit it's currently in is stable enough for it to last a couple thousand years.[/QUOTE]
REducing space clutter I'd imagine.
[QUOTE=Gen. Crumpets;43401250]James Webb Space Telescope, which is hoping to be launched in Oct. 2018.
[t]http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/614445main_013526_white2.jpg[/t][/QUOTE]
The difference is in the spectrum the two telescopes use. JWST will only see a portion of the visible spectrum, focusing more on infrared than visible light, while Hubble focuses primarily on visible light. There's viable science possible using spectrums JWST won't be able to see, so Hubble still has a job for the forseeable future.
[editline]3rd January 2014[/editline]
[QUOTE=elixwhitetail;43401187]Big problem is it's gotta have its coolant refilled/replaced. But, fuck, if Hubble can get upgraded in-place to Hubble2 and be able to continue working for another 25+ years before needing another retrofit mission, fuck yeah.[/QUOTE]
You'd have to dismantle those systems to upgrade it anyway so changing the coolant at that time wouldn't be an issue. It'd be part of the procedure regardless.
Honestly, I like Hubble a bit more than the James Webb because what Hubble sees is pretty much what we would see.
[QUOTE=Saturn V;43401730]Honestly, I like Hubble a bit more than the James Webb because what Hubble sees is pretty much what we would see.[/QUOTE]
The notion of people being upset at the images we see being 'false colour' kind of shocks me. If anything you should feel awed at what you're seeing. The images that satellites show us are how the universe REALLY is (or at least moreso than our own vision). Sure, it sucks a little bit that you can't see that same range of light, but that's how the universe ACTUALLY is without a filter.
Don't fret that a telescope shows you images in false colour, appreciate it for what it is.
I know, I don't care what spectrum it is.
I just think it's cooler because that is what we would see for real.
I do not give a flying goose-cock how far away the planet is.
I do not give an underground mole shit how unlikely the odds are.
If we find a planet will any life on it, microbial or otherwise, I can finally die.
[QUOTE=Saturn V;43401867]I know, I don't care what spectrum it is.
I just think it's cooler because that is what we would see for real.[/QUOTE]
i'm not sure where you got the idea that most hubble images aren't false colour?
many hubble images are also exposed for hours on end - all those pretty pictures of nebulae are actually incredibly bright compared to the real thing
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/JWST-HST-primary-mirrors.svg/500px-JWST-HST-primary-mirrors.svg.png[/img]
Can't wait for the JWST to be launched. Yeah it's not going to work in most of the visible spectrum, but some of the things we will be able to see with the JWST should be incredible.
Also, have some Hubble appreciation pics:
[IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/NGC_6302_Hubble_2009.full.jpg/515px-NGC_6302_Hubble_2009.full.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Constellation_Fornax%2C_EXtreme_Deep_Field.jpg/550px-Constellation_Fornax%2C_EXtreme_Deep_Field.jpg[/IMG]
Deepest photo it has ever taken, galaxies as old as 13.2 billion years.
[IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/Eagle_nebula_pillars.jpg/624px-Eagle_nebula_pillars.jpg[/IMG]
Before and after corrective optics.
[IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/Hubble_Images_of_M100_Before_and_After_Mirror_Repair_-_GPN-2002-000064.jpg/640px-Hubble_Images_of_M100_Before_and_After_Mirror_Repair_-_GPN-2002-000064.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Stars_in_the_Andromeda_Galaxy's_disc.jpg/452px-Stars_in_the_Andromeda_Galaxy's_disc.jpg[/IMG]
Stars [I]in[/I] the Andromeda Galaxy's disc.
Call me dumb, but i think its fun to think that there are solar systems out there with planets that have life equal to earth, and maybe even a life form exactly like us, who call themselves something different, speak different languages, etc. But are mostly the same, as intelligent as us, maybe more or less, and are wondering themselves exactly what we are wondering about them.
Yea it's pretty far fetched but none the less pretty awesome to think about!
Hubble brings out the imagination of what could be!
[QUOTE=ZakkShock;43401940]I do not give a flying goose-cock how far away the planet is.
I do not give an underground mole shit how unlikely the odds are.
If we find a planet will any life on it, microbial or otherwise, I can finally die.[/QUOTE]
The odds are actually in favour of, despite what an inhospitable place most of the universe is.
[IMG]http://puu.sh/6886H/cca985a2e8.png[/IMG]
God I love this extension
[QUOTE=elixwhitetail;43401018]
When it finally is retired, I hope the HST gets towed to a safe place (perhaps a Lagrangian point) and kept as an artifact of the first era of space exploration, when the human race finally opened its eyes for real and began looking out at the rest of the universe.[/QUOTE]
actually... we probably could rebuild the hubble with orion or space-x's dragon, just because the shuttle launched it and is gone now, doesn't really mean we can't service it, just if it breaks down in the next couple years it would be dead
[QUOTE=BrainDeath;43402215]i'm not sure where you got the idea that most hubble images aren't false colour?
many hubble images are also exposed for hours on end - all those pretty pictures of nebulae are actually incredibly bright compared to the real thing[/QUOTE]
I know about Hubble's light spectrum and sexposures of the sky.
Everything is cool. I just think visual light is cooler in a way, I can't explain, I just like it more.
Stuff in other spectrums can look really amazing and much cooler as well, but visual is different.
[editline]3rd January 2014[/editline]
You can't explain fetishes
[QUOTE=TestECull;43401308]R
The difference is in the spectrum the two telescopes use. JWST will only see a portion of the visible spectrum, focusing more on infrared than visible light, while Hubble focuses primarily on visible light. There's viable science possible using spectrums JWST won't be able to see, so Hubble still has a job for the forseeable future.
[/QUOTE]
Hubble still has a wider range than humans do.
[url]http://hubblesite.org/the_telescope/nuts_.and._bolts/wavelengths.php[/url]
Also Hubble's orbit is going to decay in the next 5 to 15 years. So "the forseeable future" isn't really that long.
[QUOTE=elixwhitetail;43401187]Big problem is it's gotta have its coolant refilled/replaced. [/QUOTE]
i think your confusing it with infared telescopes which need liquid helium coolant onboard to cool the optics, the hubble doesn't have that problem, also luckally enough supposidly the keyhole spy sats share many similar components so while nasa hasn't really been able to upgrade it, the DoD has been upgrading them steadily and there was even a bit of a stirr a while ago where they even offered a couple spy sats that were eerily similar to hubble in design to NASA
Every time I go into one of these space threads, I end up feeling small.
Isn't the Hubble just a standard spy satellite? I remember a story about the government finding two still wrapped up in a warehouse. We should use those.
[QUOTE=OvB;43403871]Isn't the Hubble just a standard spy satellite? I remember a story about the government finding two still wrapped up in a warehouse. We should use those.[/QUOTE]
not even remotely
[QUOTE=sltungle;43401751]The notion of people being upset at the images we see being 'false colour' kind of shocks me. If anything you should feel awed at what you're seeing. The images that satellites show us are how the universe REALLY is (or at least moreso than our own vision). Sure, it sucks a little bit that you can't see that same range of light, but that's how the universe ACTUALLY is without a filter.
Don't fret that a telescope shows you images in false colour, appreciate it for what it is.[/QUOTE]
I thought the images weren't so much 'false color' as they were just colors applied onto certain elements. So when the Hubble looks at a green Nebula, what we would see would look bland and boring, but Hubble fills in the green because the element is a certain gas
I could be wrong on that though
[QUOTE=LarparNar;43402237]
[IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Constellation_Fornax%2C_EXtreme_Deep_Field.jpg/550px-Constellation_Fornax%2C_EXtreme_Deep_Field.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE]
This feels so unreal. It saddens me that there's so much shit in space and I probably won't live long enough to experience any of that.
[QUOTE=BrainDeath;43403938]not even remotely[/QUOTE]
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KH-11[/url]
They're practically identical except for a few modifications for their applications.
This too: [url]http://www.geekosystem.com/nasa-new-telescopes/[/url]
[QUOTE=itisjuly;43403979]This feels so unreal. It saddens me that there's so much shit in space and I probably won't live long enough to experience any of that.[/QUOTE]
Even if I agree with you, it's really not worth getting blue over. In the present, people (myself included) are bummed that they've missed out on both exploration of Earth and the solar system, as well as the exploration of space in general. Hell, I'm pretty annoyed that there's a mission to Mars coming up with civilian astronauts, and yet I have no chance of taking part.
However, you never know what the future might hold. Sometime in the future, Earth might be a polluted shithole, lost to human knowledge or even destroyed entirely, and you can bet any humans born around at the time will be sad that they missed out on the glory days of Earth.
What I'm trying to say is, everyone misses out on amazing steps for humanity in their lives, it's just a sad reality of our (cosmically-speaking) short human lifespan. It's not worth getting all sad over, just be glad that you'll get to see some advancements, no matter how small in your lifetime.
That, or you can hope the consciousness lives on past death, so you'll get to pull up a seat and watch forever. Reincarnation might be a good option to hope for too, if you want to take part.
[QUOTE=sltungle;43401751]The notion of people being upset at the images we see being 'false colour' kind of shocks me. If anything you should feel awed at what you're seeing. The images that satellites show us are how the universe REALLY is (or at least moreso than our own vision). Sure, it sucks a little bit that you can't see that same range of light, but that's how the universe ACTUALLY is without a filter.
Don't fret that a telescope shows you images in false colour, appreciate it for what it is.[/QUOTE]
Looking at the universe with our Mk 1 eyeballs is probably one of the least exciting experiences a person can have. Who cares if there's non-visible spectrum light in our photos, as long as we can actually see crap.
[QUOTE=itisjuly;43403979]This feels so unreal. It saddens me that there's so much shit in space and I probably won't live long enough to experience any of that.[/QUOTE]
Dude, you are kinda experiencing those things, just think about where we are in space exploration right now. Say you're 20 years old (not important), say you'll live for another 50-60 years with a bit of luck. You know what we did 57 years ago? The russians launched the [I]first ever spacecraft[/I] to orbit the earth, Sputnik 1. It was only in 1922 we discovered that the milky way was just another tiny piece of space. Only in recent years did scientists properly start discussing theories on a multi-verse for real. Our knowledge and experience grows increasingly over time so much that who knows what we'll be doing in 60 years?
[editline]3rd January 2014[/editline]
We're at the brink of beginning to discover the universe, this is a time worth living in people.
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