Space - the final frontier
marcitko
Veteran
Hello friends of the stars,
with the encouragement of @Kotishka and @Jeroen, here is a thread for all things related to Space, astronomy, star-gazing, cosmological contemplations, space-travel, the relationship between us humans and the Cosmos, and even astronomy-related films and books.
Why astronomy on a Buddhist forum? I find that astronomy has many connections to spirituality. Astronomy cultivates a cosmic perspective that at least intellectually puts our self and even humankind into perspective. It can foster a humanistic and ecological perspective, as can be observed by reports of astronauts and sky-gazers. The beauty of the cosmos can inspire a renewed appreciation for life. The paradoxes, scale, and weird things existing in the Universe can bring a sense of awe, appreciation, and pleasurable contemplation. The list goes on...
Why me? Since late elementary school I have been an amateur-astronomer and visual observer. For the last decade or so I have not gone observing much, since my observing buddy left the country and I don't drive, but the interest has always been there. I enjoy following along with space-related news, amateur astronomy resources such as forums, and talking about these issues with people. Unlike political science, which I studied, discussing astronomy always seems to light-up and bring people together.
One of the things that blows my mind in astronomy are the vast differences in size and scale. Here is a YT video that goes from the very small to the very large: 
Enjoy your stay 
Comments
Clap clap, applause, loud whistling! I’m a fan of astronomy and have been for a long time, I find it triggers my sense of wonder to see new things about the stars, whether that is pictures from the James Webb space telescope or the latest update on the NASA rovers on Mars.
A little while ago I was watching this episode of The Sky at Night, the venerable BBC series about astronomy. It’s about the New Horizons space probe which went to examine Pluto:
My first thought as I started to read was to link a scale of the universe video, which you already did. It is really mind blowing the scale.
I had the opportunity a few years ago to drive about 10 hours to see the full solar eclipse that passed across the US. It was pretty fantastic and worth the effort, I highly recommend doing it if anyone finds themselves with the chance.
https://newbuddhist.com/discussion/25095/eclipse-fever
When one looks out towards the heavens, one/consciousness is looking within..
Sitting on my terrace
On a cloudy night
I can still see four stars
Four is better than none
So I am content
But also displeased
Why not more?
Isn't it that I have this attitude to life?
Liking, but always wishing for more
Ha! Now through the big green pine tree
I see a big bright light!
If I fiddle around a bit, I see more
Here stops my poem
For I am already inside
Not liking my poem
But thinking of my NewBuddhist friends
The first stanza reminded me of how light pollution affects the night sky. A few times a year I'm in an area with very little light pollution and the difference in the night sky is amazing. I can see why past societies put so much emphasis on it, its like the ancient ipad!
https://darksky.org/resources/what-is-light-pollution/light-pollution-solutions/
This YouTuber tackles the problem of representing the scale of the universe in film.
Here is a global light-pollution map: https://www.lightpollutionmap.info
I find it interesting to observe how Europe is swamped in light pollution, how the US and China still have dark parts, and how Africa and Australia are very dark. Latin America is also more light polluted than I would have expected.
This number might be off, but I have read recently that light pollution is increasing by 10% annually. There is the obvious problem to professional astronomy and citizen star-gazing, but I believe an even greater issue is the effect on animals and plants, which rely on a steady day-night rhythm. Also on people's circadian rhythms.
It should be possible to have moderate and sensible lighting. But for some reason, I do not know of any larger cities or countries that have been successful. Maybe they did not try much.
As a rule of thumb we at least want so called cut-off lamps, which point downwards to the ground, and do not light up the sky. Light-pollution is also obviously needlessly costly both in dollar and carbon terms, since we need to produce and pay for all of this light that is escaping into the sky.
Interesting, I thought I was getting to pretty dark areas. But it looks like I'm only getting down to a 3, maybe a 4.
When I visit rural areas, if I'm driving at night you can see in the distance where the towns and cities are by the light beaming up from the area. It's even more pronounced if its cloudy out.
Seems a significant part of the USA is getting an eclipse on October 14th at 9.16 am. Here is an article with all the details… at least for this you will not need a telescope, lol.
https://www.extremetech.com/aerospace/octobers-ring-of-fire-solar-eclipse-will-peak-in-western-oregon
The Perseverance rover has been driving around on the surface of Mars since 2021, so a couple of years now, and it has been doing a lot of science. Ars Technica has done an in-depth article on the progress of the mission, you can read it here (lots of pretty pictures, I promise).
https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/09/the-perseverance-rover-is-reading-a-wet-history-of-mars/
It’s between a 6 and an 8 where I live. Plus the Netherlands is quite a wet country, so lots of cloud cover and so that’s not so good for doing astronomy. But I can still dream about the stars, lol.
Happy Autumn Equinox! This is the beginning of Autumn in the Northern and Spring in the Southern Hemisphere.
More info: https://www.space.com/autumnal-equinox-fall-begins-september-2023
The NASA mission Osiris-Rex is bringing back asteroid material, people are hoping to see a bit more of the solar systems history revealed.
The article via google translate
K2-18b has just been detected by the space web telescope as probably reading molecules of Dimethyl Sulfide readings in its atmosphere, that on earth, are only created through the existence of life. These results are pretty tentative and might take a year for corroboration but are the best scientific evidence yet for the possibility of life existing somewhere other than on earth.