Space and Science BS Thread

Beware of off name brands especially at that price point. Nothing more discouraging than a bad experience at the eyepiece.

Here’s a link I posted in the Stargazer’s thread:

Meade or Celestron would be top on my list but there’s some newer manufacturers making decent scopes too. If you could save up a bit more, your options would expand.

Good Luck!

 

@PzTank

Thanks, that will be a huge help.

And BTW, we're from CT and avid hikers and spend a lot of time up your way

 

Cool! We see quite a bit of CT plates year round.

After you get the basics down, these links can help steer you to the best bang for the buck:
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-equipment/choosing-astronomy-equipment/

 

https://twitter.com/mastronomers/status/1620209198192820224?s=46&t=ipSC0cdDJfS6qfIYRg838A

 

Not as brave as the folks riding the Boeing Starliner

 

Not sure if anyone is interested, but I signed up and took this course several years ago and learned a lot about spaceflight. It was offered through MITx when I took it (now EDx). I found it really enjoyable. You can take it for free unless you want a verified certificate. I was 25 years out of college when I took it and was happy to find out that the math didn't go beyond algebra. Calculus got away from me by the late 90's.

https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-to-aerospace-engineering-astronautics

 

Cool, thanks!

 

I hadn’t seen this crew pic before.

20 years ago today.

I was on the phone getting financing for my house when I saw it as breaking news on the TV..

 

https://twitter.com/csa_asc/status/1621184168553234432?s=46&t=9ufDRsE0zhAXnXdTHIj_Bw

 

I work in biomed research with rodents (our lab sent mice to the ISS a few years ago) and just yesterday I learned that five mice went along for the ride on Apollo 17. Had never heard anything about that!

 

https://twitter.com/nasahistory/status/1622248692764889092?s=46&t=Iv7WY9LYVp3AeEc2wdjykg

 

Cool!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fe,_Fi,_Fo,_Fum,_and_Phooey

 

5 Years since SpaceX launched Musk's Tesla. Where is it now? Per the graphic, crossing Mars orbit heading away from Sol.

https://www.whereisroadster.com/

 

https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1623390919369101313?s=46&t=EEwCGwKuuSDgagdim9PyXg

And, is she drinking the Elon kool-aid?
https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1623397555462701057?s=46&t=p4b5f1FS3GYhNJSIPyVPNA

 

This is such a new approach that I’m just looking for milestones of progress. As inefficient as NASA is as long as they stay on task things get done. A private company has no public mandate to keep going. A successful 33 engine static fire would be a massive step but so much infrastructure will be tested and at risk that even a success could lead to months of delays if Starbase proves inadequate and they have to effect changes or even develop a new site at KSC to handle F9 crew launches away from the new mechazilla tower. Even if that’s successful there was so much damage and debris from Artemis 1 that it could prove impossible to launch at the desired cadence without more stage 0 improvements. I realize how pessimistic this sounds but I’m still optimistic about the end result. It’s the time between the major steps forward where I have doubts. Back in August we were hoping for an October orbital test. It’s not delays from doing things slowly but from so many things to be done that we as outside observers are only made aware of after the fact. Spacex is far more transparent than Blue Origin but it’s not like they publish their working plans.
I’ll be looking forward to seeing that test immensely but I feel like the rocket itself is not where any problems are likely to come up.

 

According to the article, Gwen says there's been improvements at Stage 0 and that they're not expecting that kind of damage again but offered no further details.

I know SpX aspires not to have a flame trench/diverter for the SH but at what point do you just go with what's proven to get the thing going vs. innovation at every single point?

 

Any other tacoma bros work at Goddard?

 

I think it’s the lack of acreage at Starbase that kept them from building the mound that would allow a flame trench and put them in the position of needing a new approach. Since Elon has already suggested that Boca Chica is just a test facility rather than the all up location of high cadence launches I guess they feel they can put up with a certain amount of degradation as long as they can achieve their short term goals. I somehow doubt Shotwell would openly admit they were expecting poor performance but instead would just deal with the publicity aspect of problems as they present. KSC is the obvious next choice but 10 years from now it wouldn’t surprise me to see Spacex with an even larger facility or a few of them internationally with fewer regulatory hurdles as well as equatorial location. That assumes continued success but even more importantly demand for such high mass launches. Those facilities on Mars won’t pay for themselves.

 

Awesome pic ‘o the morn:
https://twitter.com/spaceflightnow/status/1623723270385041409?s=46&t=XCKVIMV3SW_dCdVB71aThw

 

Yay! Go Capstone
https://twitter.com/spacedotcom/status/1623759127028588549?s=46&t=XCKVIMV3SW_dCdVB71aThw