Starship Asterisk*

That's about right. Chris makes his milestone and I get my footnote. Changing usernames seemed like a good idea when I retired but I think I'll keep this one - not wanting them combined to warrant a footstone

This is a golden oldie, although newly processed by Brandon Pimenta. It is certainly a stunning nebula. Is there any information as to how massive IRS 4 is? Ann 888 is such a nice number. Star Forming Region S106 is loosing so much mass it's probably difficult to calculate. In http://arxiv.org/pdf/...

If you were a star and the planets brought you their moons how would you teach them to be their best - and bloom? For Valentine's Day today I thought it appropriate to shine beacon from the past to celebrate the teachers whom we all owe much - including the three teachers in my family (and a certain...

I have a question on the two recently identified black holes that merged into one. It was stated that the event occurred 1 billion light years ago. I think I grasp the concept of light years equalling time and distance. But, if that is the case and the universe is expanding as we speak and has done...

Another good thing that came from today’s press conference was a new word for me – ringdown.

From the simulation - it looked like a tunnel moving through space. Lots to follow.

I thought that was a tremendously well delivered press conference with many perspectives delivered from the standpoints the various principle investigators and many good questions answered. Very revealing - the collaborations involved and those wishing to be involved (like the US in LISA?) I was que...

Those merging galaxies show up " all over the place ". :thumb_up: Nice image Geck!! But sometimes you don't get credit ? The River is so full of them . The crediting is all wonky. I get credit where none is due on some of ESA's images where I found and did process my own versions, but the...

Well. Sounds like a massive story is about to unravel. Can't wait to see what's in the gravity bucket. With any luck it won't be inversely cubed... :doh: Too late. The cat got out of the bag and on to the trampoline. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LcUWDytwRA Then the kids cubed... https://www.yout...

Those merging galaxies show up "all over the place".

Nice image Geck!! But sometimes you don't get credit? Oh - I guess you did and I didn't see it the first time. The River is so full of them.

this is a great catch. Was there a clue this was going to happen ? There were no clues. A supernova explosion explosion is like a landmine. First there is nothing, then there is a bang. Yes, if astronomers could have carefully studied the particular progenitor of SN 2015F, they just might have caug...

Supernovae at least go out with a bang. At the point of " black dwarf " is the only loss of heat through radiation into empty space? At the end of its energy, after that last photon is radiated, at the end of light does it still have mass or just dark matter? Brrrr! :brr: That would be som...

How does one make a half-silvered mirror? Use half the amount of silver or apply the regular amount to half the surface... Yes, that's exactly how you do it. The reflectivity is controlled by the thickness of the deposited material- usually aluminum, but other materials may be used depending on the...

How does one make a half-silvered mirror? Use half the amount of silver or apply the regular amount to half the surface... :ssmile: I know there are different ways to make them but, if all is not known at the quantum level, how can we be sure all the results from such a surface (which has been relie...

I always thought it would be really mean to take apart the cube then put it together with one corner turned, then mix it up and hand it to a genius quick solver, sit back, and enjoy As many really smart people as our world has produced - it makes one think "God" beat us to the punch. :wink:

What kind of a group have I gotten mixed up in? I don't have a theory for that but it is a very cool set.

I like sharing as much as the next person. It would be nice to know what we're sharing, when I'm going to understand it, and who dreamt it all up.

What if Mary and Jane (not so sure about a kid being their best bet – they haven't met my dad these days) had a bad case of xerostomia ? Would they be inclined do be " digging "? :no: Maybe dad could benefit from time travel too so he'd think more along the lines of "cotton mouth"...

It's sort of like square root day today (2x8 = 16) but actually more like a rectangular cuboid. That's it – it's "Rubink Honeycomb Day" just because .. .. I noticed it and my name starts with "R". and I think "cubink"

I couldn't figure out why our helium supply seemed -all of a sudden- better. It's not like we are going to start making it helium from fusion any time soon. Then I read this . But then again maybe there's a new source? Sun Canadian Pipeline.jpg Those Canucks are ambitious!! :thumb_up: I just didn't...

Say, that's pretty good! Now.... let's see if she can put it back to the way it was when she started. Maybe God is some 3 year old girl with a (12×12×12) V-Cube 12 Sorry; no way unless her fingers under went expansion unknown to our universe. Though odd she's been known to mysterically askew cubes?...

If the Big Bang initiated a Calabi–Yau space which later expanded to our known cosmology could it still be reflected in our smallest known dimensions? That's the theory. (It is also reflected in the values for our fundamental physical constants.) The problem is that there are about 10^500 different...

If the Big Bang initiated a Calabi–Yau space which later expanded to our known cosmology could it still be reflected in our smallest known dimensions? Talk about a remnant from the Big Bang. That idea will probably will fall flat but it would be cool if we retained a symmetry from that moment which ...

Has anyone ever theorized fusion in space? Our sun has and it seems to work fine. You'll need to be more clear what you mean by that. Fusion as a practical energy source requires that it be sustained . That requires dense plasmas. Fusion of free particles in space must certainly occur, given the ob...

A question on Quora seems relevant. Mars (planet): Would adding mass to a Mars moon stress Mars enough to release trapped gases in the interior of the planet, thus restoring a more human friendly atmosphere? The obvious question being if Mars had a Ceres -sized moon (or larger) how much different of...

Has anyone ever theorized fusion in space? Our sun has and it seems to work fine. Guess we will have to wait and see.

Maybe dark energy or plasma physics will get us over the wall.

We will probably never know what a black hole looks like close up but you might be able to see one from your back yard.