Cosmos

[VegasFulham]

http://www.parade.com/250591/lynnsh...yson-transforming-how-we-think-about-science/

Ok, so this was on the cover of Parade Magazine. As somebody who has a huge crush on Tyson, in the most intellectual way possible of course , I am really excited for this show and its intent. I read his intent as to try and inspire a new age of physicists and dreamers. We have a really bad habit of ignoring the possibilities of space. As Tyson usually points out, if we just give NASA a full penny on the dollar budget then we could go to Mars. But our governments do not seem interested, particularly the US.

Tyson is right that we ignore space because our fascination in the past was fueled by the Cold War. We went to the moon and the Soviets lost. End of story. That is when we started to ignore the possibilities. Anybody who plays the Fallout Series would know they had it spot on. Everywhere you look, the society pre nuclear holocaust was fascinated with space. This was accurate. My Dad often says he thought we would have colonized space by now when he was a kid in the sixties.

I guess I am hoping that this show brings us beyond some nationalistic bs about Space. We don't need competition to do great things and understand our universe. And, no, I don't think the private sector will bring us to the final frontier. Put simply, the profit motive will limit what they do and the risks they take. If you can't make a profit, what use would they have to take a risk? I think the most we will see is space mining and maybe resorts in space in some far off point in the future. It will take government and public support to actually accomplish the big stuff and answer the big things about our universe and our role in it. Like, I don't see Virgin Galactic exploring Mars. Maybe I am wrong, but I don't see it happening.

Anybody else excited or have expectations for this show? I am probably being a bit too optimistic, but I think that if anybody could inspire a new generation, it is Neil Degrasse Tyson.

Also, am I wrong to think the private sector won't be able to accomplish the big things, like exploration and such?

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

If you like pop-science entertainment then I recommend Brian Cox and Carl Sagan. Easily accessible on yt.

And Nottingamscience. Good hints on topics you could choose to understand by deep studies.

The primary problem behind low activity in space is fuel and inefficiency of supply and entire operations.

It usually takes ~10 years to completely prepare a space programme and by that time the technology is 10 years behind.

More focused developments will happen when issues with Middle East control, European Union and U.S will lead to more unified and interconnected economies. It may take 5-20 years or may never happen.

Currently the more interesting technologies and subjects researched are LHC and ITER.

 

[VegasFulham]

If you like pop-science entertainment then I recommend Brian Cox and Carl Sagan. Easily accessible on yt.

I only like it in that it brings in people who would otherwise not be interested. I like both of the guys you mentioned and also like Michio Kaku for his crazy futurist predictions.

 

[QuickTwist]

I will be checking out some videos then.

 

[Cherry Cola]

Neil Degrasse Tyson used to be smokin hot:

 

[ApostateAbe]

Premieres tonight!

 

[ApostateAbe]

There is a marathon of Carl Sagan's Cosmos on the National Geographic Channel, too. It is a happy day for me.

 

[ApostateAbe]

It really was a great show. If you missed it, catch a rerun.

 

[Rook]

Right now, private sectors are making leaps and bounds in space travel. You are right in saying they won't achieve much in exploration. Not on their own, that is.

There are two possibilities that may revive the common man's lust for space, though: A collective collaboration between companies(ie. An expedition to Mars funded by Google and Virgin), or a truly international enterprise between willing countries. In today's political climate, my bet would be on a corporate collabaration.
Perhaps if companies do it, and by doing it capture the attention of the populace, the countries may chime in?
Time will tell.

 

[Turniphead]

I'm going to go see Neil speak in person this week, hopefully.

 

[Analyzer]

Right now, private sectors are making leaps and bounds in space travel. You are right in saying they won't achieve much in exploration. Not on their own, that is.

There are two possibilities that may revive the common man's lust for space, though: A collective collaboration between companies(ie. An expedition to Mars funded by Google and Virgin), or a truly international enterprise between willing countries. In today's political climate, my bet would be on a corporate collabaration.
Perhaps if companies do it, and by doing it capture the attention of the populace, the countries may chime in?
Time will tell.

Who knows that if the "public" sector was never involved in space exploration, we could be further then we are now. All that money used was mis-allocated as it was focused on national interests such as cold war tactics.

Finally like you said private entities have the ability and desire to advance space exploration, which being a market entity they are accountable to the customers wants(you and me).

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

I haven't seen a better and more detailed short explanation of what black holes are that wouldn't require people to read in advance, it also explains why a black hole is not a massive object but rather a punctured hole in space time and debunks popular misconceptions that are often offered in other pop sciency documentaries or videos.

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNaEBbFbvcY

Essentially yeah, a black hole is another universe with a causality of its own. Obviously enough, the hole is not even black, it's just a name for "nothing" that is detectable by gravitational lensing effects and disappearing things.

The channel seems to have really experienced people presenting information and if you want to listen to some easily understandable entertaining facts about space, it's worth a try.

I'm impressed by the challenges they issue, allowing the audience to win prizes when they calculate problems or give correct answers and some of those are very advanced indeed, great stuff because it has the potential to engage the mind if one wants to tackle the question.

 

[Gather_Wanderer]

Neil is supremely cool. I've watched many of the panel discussions he's hosted and he's very funny in addition to his brilliance. I saw a few episodes of the show when I first started and thought the CGI was nice looking.

OP: yeah that has been one of the great mysteries and disappointments of history. I've been obsessed with space since I was 8 years old and assumed then that one day we would be able to go to distant planets and systems. Imagine how disappointed I was when I was old enough to understand special relativity and how Einstein is the pope of physics and his ideas should be challenged only in front of your bathroom mirror at home . (j/k)

That brings me to my point: The only world humans can get to based on our current paradigm of physics IS mars. And Mars is on the absolute fringe of habitability as it is. You're never walking outside and getting fresh air or anything of the sort. It'll be in a dome of some sort, which I guess is fine. Who knows, one day it could be a necessity... though I suspect that most potential problems humans could ever face in needing to evacuate Earth, humans also have the ability to deal with/adapt to. I think Mars could be worth it as sort of an emergency home or an outpost of some kind but as a full-on human colonization? 'Fragile' would be a word to describe that kind of life. (Though I suppose Earthly life might be thought of as fragile to some also).

But for me space exploration has always meant something far beyond our world, to the edges of the solar system and beyond. Thankfully I have a good hunch that we absolutely can get there and a lot sooner than people think. Of course that means physics will change. But that's what most of us are after, isn't it?

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

How's that? We are capable of colonising, or at least visiting every planet in the solar system in the upcoming 100 years.

We have the basic technology to achieve 10% speed of light and we may get humans to travel interstellar distances and come back. Or at least have their progeny tell the tale.

Not that spreading human disease across the galaxy is something to be endorsed without considering the consequences, but redshift and expansion, while true, don't exclude our galaxy and the Andromeda from becoming accessible in the future. Of course, not in our lifetime, if that's what you meant.

 

[Gather_Wanderer]

How's that? We are capable of colonising, or at least visiting every planet in the solar system in the upcoming 100 years.

We have the basic technology to achieve 10% speed of light and we may get humans to travel interstellar distances and come back. Or at least have their progeny tell the tale.

Not that spreading human disease across the galaxy is something to be endorsed without considering the consequences, but redshift and expansion, while true, don't exclude our galaxy and the Andromeda from becoming accessible in the future. Of course, not in our lifetime, if that's what you meant.

Uhh, you want to colonize Jupiter? I'm trying to understand what you mean by colonize planets in our system when the only other one we can actually step foot on without quickly dying is Mars. I'd bet you didn't mean this, but just saying though...
And do we really have the technology today to achieve .1C? Because I've never heard of anything like that. (If you have a link, please please share. Would love to read it later tonight actually )

Edit: Yeah you didn't mean 'colonize'. Sorry.

The speed of light, though impressive in our everyday lives, is quite slow cosmologically, not to mention humans live ~120 years. Even at .1C at constant velocity, you're talking an 80-year round trip to Alpha Centauri. (I've no idea what that system looks like planet-wise. Maybe there are rocky planets in a goldilocks zone, maybe not). You're quite right when you mention raising kids in space because that's exactly what it would take.

Andromeda in the future? That future had better include new physics because otherwise we're more likely to die off as a species first.

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

Living in the atmosphere of Jupiter is feasible, countering pressures and buoyancy. I don't say it's necessary.

I'm pretty sure you're familiar with the nuclar propulsion ideas, Orion project among them, sure it's theory for the most part, so my perspective is not entirely practical. Though Orion is thought to exceed the 10% speed and has flaws I'm throwing numbers around as estimates here.

My approach to this stuff is very much imaginative and that's why I even mention Andromeda, sure we might be dead at that time, I have no problem discussing currently impractical what if scenarios.

Assuming Mars is possible, no planet should pose insurmountably greater difficulty as an extension, maybe the gas giants, but I'd be optimistic here. I don't think it will happen because there's little incentive or utility in achieving that.

 

[Gather_Wanderer]

My approach to this stuff is very much imaginative and that's why I even mention Andromeda, sure we might be dead at that time, I have no problem discussing currently impractical what if scenarios.

I get it. Was thinking earlier that I sound quite a lot like the person I've been avoiding becoming; that is, the doubtful "expert", though I am no such expert or person of that kind.

Probably, in my mind I spend almost zero time trying to figure out how this might be possible based on current physics (though I did so in days past). I politely "smile" but then roll my eyes when I hear standard model speech regurgitated over and over (don't get me wrong, had fun learning the basics).

People in less than a decade are about to go live on Mars and, while that's admirable in many ways, I see it mostly as a waste of life and time and hate the idea. Why? Because I'm the same kid I was 20 years ago and I just know deeply that there has to be another way to do this space exploration thing. And I've quite literally staked my life on it.

 

[ZenRaiden]

I am kind of not sure why as of yet no one tried to unite all space progams under one to go to Mars. Maybe they think it wouldnt be such good investment.