Who in here is a space nerd?

[SandraG]

Hello everyone!  

 

I'm a huge space and hard-science and futurism geek. My particular nerd areas are nuclear-powered spacecraft and large rotating habitats (like the Stanford Torus, O'Neill Cylinders, etc.), but I tend to enjoy most parts of science and futurism!

 

Is anyone else in here a space or futurism geek? What areas interest you the most?

 

If anyone's interested, I help out on this YouTube channel sometimes, along with a few dozen others! It's probably the best science and futurism channel on the internet! I may be a bit biased, though. 

 

Although I'm not out of the closet there yet, the Facebook group also tends to be a very trans-friendly place! After all, transhumanism and bioforming/gene tailoring are frequent conversation topics, changing your sex is actually not that big a deal.

[Jani]

I'm not a futurist but I love space.  I was enthralled with our space program when I was younger, following each launch from Alan Shepard onward.  I remember watching the live feed from the moon when Neil Armstrong uttered the famous words.  The company I worked for built many components for the Mars Rovers and Deep Space expedition vehicles.

 

I'm not sure I would want to live forever.  I haven't heard too many good reasons to do so.  One life time is enough for me. 

 

Jani 

[Carolyn Marie]

Yup, space geek, science geek, science fiction nut since I was knee-high to a cockroach.  I even volunteer at a science museum, and also consider myself to be an amateur astronomer.  PM me if you want to talk telescopes.

 

I've often told my wife that if I could afford it, I would sign up for a trip into space in a minute.  She's glad we can't afford it.  LOL!

 

Carolyn Marie

[BrandiBri]

I love space as well. Like Jani, I watched every launch I could. Missed Neil Armstrong though. I was involved in a car accident on my way home from town. I grew up on sci fi.

[SandraG]

On 3/16/2018 at 4:13 PM, MaryMary said:

I see a future where trans woman like me will be frowned upon by transhumans because we actually downgraded, we are "subhumans" in the eyes of someone who see humanity like we see computer upgrades.

 

I definitely see the concern, but in my experience transhumans are actively working to improve the issues that trans people (MTF, FTM and androgyne/nonbinary/etc (and I feel really crappy using that contraction, btw, but can't think of a better way to put it) face with current surgical techniques.In fact, I'd argue that it's a far more welcoming community than most to our plight.

 

I don't thing that we're "downgrading" or "de-evolving," we're dealing with issues that biology has the ability to address in many parts of the animal kingdom (e.g. amphibians and most fish species, among others) has the means to address, but mammals haven't had the time to address in an evolutionary context. 

 

That being said, I definitely appreciate, understand, and on rare occasion have seen the reason for your concern. 

 

On 3/16/2018 at 9:36 PM, Carolyn Marie said:

She's glad we can't afford it.  LOL!

 

 

My wife has been a birdwatcher since she was a small child, and wouldn't want to go into space without an ecosystem, with birds, surrounding her. This, IMO, is the best way to do responsible (from a technological and ethical framework) the best way to do this, and we talk regularly about building enclosed, self-sustaining ecosystems in space. Until that happens, she's dead set against us going up... and I don't want to do it without her!

 

On 3/16/2018 at 11:16 PM, BrandiBri said:

I grew up on sci fi

 

So did I! And have continued the passion as an adult!

 

What's your favorite medium/universe? I tended toward TV as a child, and also more lately, but it's hard to beat a GOOD book...

 

My growing up was ST:TNG, but have come to think that Voyager and DS9 were superior in that universe. That being said, both Babylon 5 and Farscape I find to be FAR superior! For books, I'd say John Scalzi's Old Man's War series has been a big relatively recent influence, but I've fallen into hard-futurism... and the hardness of the science and the quality of the plot seem to sadly be in inverse proportion. 

[tracy_j]

I tend to be in so many ways. I don't avidly watch launches or go out of my way to see the latest gadgets (or even own them), but do look at things in very practical ways (especially my electronics), in principle seeing nothing as impossible and thinking of ways it could be accomplished. I haven't developed warp drive yet, but just my way of thinking gets me forward in the research, understanding and implementing the circuitry I work with in leaps and bounds.

 

Tracy

[Guest]

I've lived in the Orlando area since 1977 and have been to Kennedy Space Center a number of times.

 

The massive sonic wave that rolls across the water and hits you as a rocket leaves the pad is like nothing else I've felt.

 

We're close enough to the coast to make visual contact with launches soon after they leave the ground.  I saw the Challenger shuttle mission break apart in 1986.

 

[McGee]

I'm not exactly a science fiction or futurism geek, but I do love space, and I'm actually studying physics in the hopes of becoming an astronomer, with my most loved areas being black holes, exoplanets, and the multiverse theory (theories)  That being said, I do love gadgets and technology, and I'm continuously amazed by the progress we're constantly making!

[SandraG]

11 hours ago, Kenna Dixon said:

We're close enough to the coast to make visual contact with launches soon after they leave the ground.

 

OMG, I'm so jealous! Seeing a launch is something that I can't wait for. My wife is working near enough to Wallops that I hope to see a launch from there (some tours/payloads, they actually let you touch the launch vehicle beforehand! SQUEE!!! ). Any chance you saw the Falcon Heavy launch?

11 hours ago, Kenna Dixon said:

I saw the Challenger shuttle mission break apart in 1986.

 I'm young enough that, while I know I was watching live on TV, I don't remember it. Since then, Sally Ride has become a personal hero of mine, so it has far more impact on me as years go by...

 

 

2 hours ago, McGee said:

my most loved areas being black holes, exoplanets, and the multiverse theory (theories)

This is so awesome! I'd love to know what you thing about this (from a channel I help produce, but this was before I started helping out): 

 

[Guest]

11 hours ago, SandraG said:

Any chance you saw the Falcon Heavy launch?

 

 

I didn't. 

 

I was at KSC in 1977 to see Voyager 1 go up.  In the late 90s, my wife's job in radio got us to the VIP seats for a launch.  But I couldn't tell you what mission it was.  And that's the last time I was there. 

[McGee]

21 hours ago, SandraG said:

This is so awesome! I'd love to know what you thing about this (from a channel I help produce, but this was before I started helping out): 

 

 

I think it has some incredibly interesting and thought-provoking observations! I thoroughly enjoyed it, though I did not agree with everything in the video  Thank you for bringing it to my attention - I might check out their other videos!

[TclosetGirl]

Absolute space nerd!

 

Ion engines, that's going to be the way to long range travel, just need them a bit more reactive is all

[Josie Beth]

Absolutely a science fi nerd. I’m also a very avid video game mod creator and I typically do better with sci fi futuristic themes. My favorite show along those lines is “the expanse” because it actually seems to take real astrophysics into consideration. Which makes the suspense even better.

[phys]

I love space!!  I love science, science fiction, etc....  At one point I was going to school for physics and math---can't afford it now. Nice to be here!

[Mmindy]

Hey there @phys Welcome to Transgender Pulse Forums,

 

Like you I'm a space nerd, and somehow missed this thread. If it wasn't for your posting here.

 

Best wishes, stay positive, and motivated,

 

Mindy🌈🐛🏳️‍⚧️🦋

[KathyLauren]

Hi, @phys.  Welcome.  Thanks for reviving this thread.  I had missed it.

 

Big space nerd.  I have been interested in astronomy since before I can remember.  I have heard an audio tape of myself as a toddler describing what would happen if you flew your spaceship too close to the sun: "Your bones and brains would all burn up."  Accurate.  I read about the Mercury and Gemini missions in Life magazine.  I watched all the Apollo missions I could on TV.  These days, my main hobby is astrophotography, so I am still a space nerd.

[Lydia_R]

My first memory was of watching probably Apollo 17 on the TV. And then seeing Star Wars at age 6 from sitting on the floor in the front row (my mom got the last seat). I call myself a techno hippie. I like many analog and manual processes. My years of living in cars and vans felt like being on space ships. President Bush was touting a new moon and Mars mission when I was on the streets in 2003. My time on the streets was absolute minimalism and isolation. I've been working from home all but 3 years of the last 20 years. I often think of my house as a base on Mars or the moon.

 

On Mars, there is the communication delay that makes conversations impossible, but there is the reincarnation idea of seeding a planet. The moon is more destitute in the reincarnation gig, but you'd have the Zoom phone ringing all the time.  I think it would be fascinating for people to talk with someone on the moon and be looking at them with a telescope at the same time.

 

Although I think technology will continue to grow, I feel we are reaching some hard limits with what we can do with it.  I think it is a bit of a mystery why we did all this technology stuff. We either hated our pre-industrial situation, or we did it to hop planets. Perhaps both.

 

I have Our World in Space on my coffee table. I like the illustrations and some of Isaac Asimov's writing is excellent.

 

I've never used a telescope. Can you see our devices on the moon with them? It must need some computer guidance to focus in on a spot and stay there. It would be fun to see that and then to take the telescope apart to prove that it is just magnification.

[KathyLauren]

3 hours ago, Lydia_R said:

I've never used a telescope. Can you see our devices on the moon with them? It must need some computer guidance to focus in on a spot and stay there. It would be fun to see that and then to take the telescope apart to prove that it is just magnification.

 

No, you can't see any hardware on the Moon.  The Apollo remnants on the Moon are so small and so far away that it would take a telescope miles across to see them.  Even then, the Earth's atmosphere would make the view too blurry to see clearly.  Most people have no idea just how far 250,000 miles is.

 

Keeping a telescope accurately pointing at any object in the sky for more than a few seconds requires precision alignment and a smooth motor, to counteract the rotation of the Earth.  Surprisingly, it is not too difficult to do, at least to an accuracy that is acceptable for viewing.  A competent amateur can do the necessary alignment in a couple of minutes. 

 

For photography, much better accuracy is required.  Computer-assisted guiding makes that level of accuracy possible.

[Mmindy]

2 hours ago, KathyLauren said:

No, you can't see any hardware on the Moon. 

Because the moon doesn't orbit in a perfect circle, the elliptical orbit varies ever 27 days. During the weekend of February 24th the moon was at apogee placing it about 251,000 miles from earth. When we hear the weather person speak of a Super Moon it places the moon's orbit at perigee or about 226,000 miles from earth. Which is why the average distance is quoted at 250,000 miles. At these distances you can not see vehicle size objects on the moon. Astronomers do have the ability to bounce lasers off of reflective objects on the moon to keep accurate measurements of said distance. Since the Apollo missions placed these reflective objects there in the 1970s, studies have shown that the moon is moving away from earth at an estimated one inch per year. Eventually the moon will be far enough from Earth that we will no longer experience solar eclipses. That's billions of years down the time line. I have a relatively cheap telescope in the $200.00 range and this is my best picture to day with my iPhone attached to it. Winter super moon.

 

Mindy🌈🐛🏳️‍⚧️🦋

[KathyLauren]

19 minutes ago, Mmindy said:

Eventually the moon will be far enough from Earth that we will no longer experience solar eclipses.

 

Already, annular eclipses, where the Moon isn't big enough to cover the Sun are more common than total eclipses.  They will get more common until eventually there will be no more total eclipses.

 

The coincidence of apparent sizes of the Sun and Moon is so unlikely that there can't be many places in the universe where total eclipses are even possible.

[Ashley0616]

I have been thinking about getting into it. Maybe getting a used telescope just something to start off with. What is a magnification to get so I can actually see something? Is there something other than the magnification that I should know about when looking at one?

[KathyLauren]

49 minutes ago, Ashley0616 said:

I have been thinking about getting into it. Maybe getting a used telescope just something to start off with. What is a magnification to get so I can actually see something? Is there something other than the magnification that I should know about when looking at one?

 

People over-estimate the importance of magnification.  Any scope has a range of magnifications at which it can work well.  How much magnification you want will depend in part on what you want to look at.  The maximum magnification at which any scope will work well is equal to the diameter of the aperture in millimetres.  A 100 mm (4") scope can magnify up to 100x.  A 200 mm scope (8") can magnify up to 200x.  Manufacturers will typically double these numbers, but the quality of the image starts to degrade at higher magnifications.  Cheap department store telescopes will quote insanely large magnifications just to capitalize on innocent people's obsession with magnification.

 

The telescope itself doesn't magnify.  It just collects light.  It is the eyepiece, acting together with the telescope, which does the magnification.  So you would typically want two or three (or more) eyepieces for any telescope.

 

Other factors that influence the choice of telescopes are:

- cost, of course

- portability

- ease of setup

- intended use: viewing or photography, and of what objects

[Mmindy]

28 minutes ago, KathyLauren said:

Other factors that influence the choice of telescopes are:

- cost, of course

- portability

- ease of setup

- intended use: viewing or photography, and of what objects

My wife bought me the telescope 🔭 for my birthday several years back and I spend a lot of time outside at all hours of the night just to catch a glimpse of a celestial object or event. The only thing I would change about the telescope is I would get one that automatically compensates for the rotation of the Earth. Depending on the eyepiece some objects move out of view before several people can view it. Here’s a better picture from the iPhone. You can see mountain ranges and crater edge formations. 

[KathyLauren]

45 minutes ago, Mmindy said:

Here’s a better picture from the iPhone.

Very nice picture, especially for a phone camera.

[Mmindy]

Thank you @KathyLauren the iPhone was attached to my telescope eyepiece and then I softly touched (tap feature) the image forcing the camera to focus a sharper image. Grand Universe is working with NASA & Purdue University to build a Science Center and Planetarium just a few miles from my home. Ground breaking is scheduled for April 8, 2024 to coincide with the total eclipse later that same day. We're in the path of totality and it's going to be my second time being in the path of totality. In August 2017 my home town back in Missouri was in the path of totality, and I got to experience it with my sister and mother who are also volunteer astronomers. My mother was deep in her battle with dementia, and while she didn't know how she got outside the building. She was an excellent narrator of the eclipse event. It is my last favorite memory of my mother, because for those three minutes she was her old self in that moment. I get puffy eyes every time I recall that moment. I hope my daughter will let me bring our two youngest grandsons in for this nearly once in a lifetime event.

 

Check out granduniverse.org

 

Mindy🌈🐛🏳️‍⚧️🦋⚫