I know I'm not the only one who likes to read about new planet discoveries and other Space intrigue.  We have a new candidate for life-supporting planets, and like all the others, it's the "best one yet."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/exoplanet-alien-life-search-for-found-habitable-zone-new-earth-20-signs-cetus-sea-monster-a7691576.html

Pretty exciting, really.

4 hours ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

 

Hope no one was injured.

14 hours ago, Tracker said:

Hope no one was injured.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/12/arecibo-radio-telescope-in-puerto-rico-collapses/

Quote

The Arecibo Observatory’s suspended equipment platform collapsed just before 8 a.m. local time on December 1, falling more than 450 feet and crashing through the telescope’s massive radio dish—a catastrophic ending that scientists and engineers feared was imminent after multiple cables supporting the platform unexpectedly broke in recent months. No one was hurt when the 900-ton platform lost its battle with gravity, according to staff at the observatory in Puerto Rico.

The telescope itself has been destroyed, although the full extent of the damage to surrounding facilities hasn’t yet been determined. Aerial photos show that the platform likely made a pendulous swing into a nearby rock face. Parts of it, including a large dome housing a complex reflector system, shattered near the dish’s center. Photos from the ground reveal that the tops of the three towers supporting the platform also broke off. People nearby reported that as the platform came down, it sounded like an avalanche, a train, or an earthquake.

“We can confirm the platform fell and that we have reports of no injuries. We will release additional details as they are confirmed,” says Robert Margutta of the National Science Foundation (NSF), which is in charge of the facility.

It sounds like it had been off limits since mid-November after evaluation of the structure determined it was beyond repair. It's too bad as it's such an icon. Remember Goldeneye?

2 hours ago, blue_gold_84 said:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/12/arecibo-radio-telescope-in-puerto-rico-collapses/

It sounds like it had been off limits since mid-November after evaluation of the structure determined it was beyond repair. It's too bad as it's such an icon. Remember Goldeneye?

Sounds fishy to me.

Video of the Arecibo collapse

https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1334530789804019715/pu/vid/720x432/_b4VyouTB3D6x3bN.mp4

 

 

Edited December 3, 20205 yr by FrostyWinnipeg

Suspect in Arecibo collapse

Spoiler

 

2 hours ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

Suspect in Arecibo collapse

  Reveal hidden contents

 

It was the cigarette-smoking man.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/12/05/hayabusa-2-return-mission-status-center/

Also

 

Edited December 5, 20205 yr by FrostyWinnipeg

Hayabusa-2: Capsule with asteroid samples in 'perfect' shape

Need to work on the landing more

 

ttps://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/geminids-2020-1.5834093

Quote

The Geminids is an annual shower that runs from December 4 to 17 as Earth moves through debris left from asteroid 3200 Phaethon. It peaks on the night of December 13–14.

The shower gets its name from the constellation from which the meteors appear to originate, called the radiant. In this case, it's the constellation of Gemini, which rises in the east after 7 p.m. local time.

 

 

https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/planets/great-conjunction

https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/a-signal-from-proxima-likely-intelligent-unlikely-from-aliens

Today's the day (or evening): https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-how-to-see-and-photograph-the-great-conjunction-of-2020/

 

Quote

...what makes this conjunction more special than most is how near to each other the planets will seem to approach. The last time Jupiter and Saturn had such a close meetup was 1623, nine years before Galileo published his ground-shaking manuscript defending the idea that Earth was just one planet among many and that all planets orbit the sun.

But that conjunction would have been difficult for Galileo and his contemporaries to observe because it took place so much closer to the sun’s position in the sky. To find a time when Jupiter and Saturn last appeared as they do now, one would have to rewind the clock back to March 5, 1226.

The planets can been seen easily by the unaided eye, low in the southwest as soon as the sky is dark enough for them to appear. Binoculars will enhance the effect.

 

https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/news/1672/discovery-alert-first-six-star-system-where-all-six-stars-undergo-eclipses

 

1 hour ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

 

Still having trouble sticking the landing. 

7 minutes ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

Still having trouble sticking the landing. 

 

 

2 minutes ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

 

 

If Elon Musk wants to pioneer a new age of commercial passenger air and space travel for civilians, these videos are not helping consumer confidence. I mean, would you willingly board one of his rockets right now?

https://earthsky.org/space/titans-largest-sea-kraken-mare-is-1000-feet-deep

https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/the-red-planet-is-so-hot-right-now-a-look-at-this-month-s-3-mars-missions-1.5304900

 

https://scitechdaily.com/game-changing-new-way-to-look-for-planets-that-could-harbor-life

 

 

Touchdown confirmed! Perseverance is on Mars.