NASA found something cool?

johnhpus · Post by **johnhpus** » Thu May 08, 2008 10:08 pm

I'm sick, and so I'm spending time trapped between "too sick to stand" and "able to work". Which means I've been reading reddit, and found this link to a release by Nasa.

http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/ma ... isory.html

Which basically says they've found something cool, but won't be telling us until the fourteenth.

Any guesses?

Daerst · Post by **Daerst** » Thu May 08, 2008 10:18 pm

...an object in our Galaxy astronomers have been hunting for more than 50 years...

There are some things coming to my mind...

An infinite bottle of beer...
The perfect woman...

Whatever

johnhpus · Post by **johnhpus** » Thu May 08, 2008 10:21 pm

I was leaning toward...

Edit: removed giant image of Alf to reduce clutter

KungFooMasta · Post by **KungFooMasta** » Thu May 08, 2008 11:31 pm

Whats the point of announcing there will be an announcement?

Its probably some cloud of gas that hasn't been seen before.

Post by **betajaen** » Fri May 09, 2008 10:15 am

In similar news (and you've probably read this you read Slashdot).

NASA is planning a manned 3 month mission to an asteroid with the Orion spacecraft.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/ ... xploration

About time we stretch our legs

johnhpus · Post by **johnhpus** » Fri May 09, 2008 10:17 am

Oh, wow. I saw the headline for that story, but didn't realize it was going to be a manned mission. That's outstanding news.

Post by **Kencho** » Fri May 09, 2008 10:42 am

KungFooMasta wrote:Whats the point of announcing there will be an announcement?

Hope this isn't a recursive call

nikki · Post by **nikki** » Fri May 09, 2008 11:47 am

Kencho wrote:
KungFooMasta wrote:Whats the point of announcing there will be an announcement?
Hope this isn't a recursive call

Then lets make it a recursive quote.

johnhpus · Post by **johnhpus** » Wed May 14, 2008 5:22 am

Yay, tomorrow is the day http://www.nasa.gov/news/media/newsaudio/index.html

I hope it's something worth all of the hype. I have my fingers crossed for a non-natural radio signal, but it will probably be something like liquid water or an earth-like extrasolar planet.

And actually, the release says "NASA has scheduled a media teleconference to announce the discovery of an object in our Galaxy astronomers have been hunting for more than 50 years." So I guess radio signals at least aren't it.

KungFooMasta · Post by **KungFooMasta** » Wed May 14, 2008 6:03 am

Now an asteroid called 2000SG344, a lump of rock barely the size of a large yacht, is in the spotlight again, this time as a contender for the next giant leap for mankind.

...potential landing site for astronauts...

So we're going to try to land on a space yacht? Doesn't this seem really impractical, especially if the rock is traveling 28,000mph? ...

Post by **betajaen** » Wed May 14, 2008 11:04 am

johnhpus wrote:And actually, the release says "NASA has scheduled a media teleconference to announce the discovery of an object in our Galaxy astronomers have been hunting for more than 50 years." So I guess radio signals at least aren't it.

I doubt it would be an earth-like planet either; Mankind has been wondering about such things for more than 50 years. Besides the tone of the text suggests it's not local, and as I understand it. Detection of extra-solar planets only work with local stars?

I vote for either a "visible" black hole, evidence of dark matter or some sort of alien space station that has been sitting there for longer than we've been on the Earth - a group of US Space Marines have visited the station and found out, that we are not alone.

volca · Post by **volca** » Wed May 14, 2008 11:07 am

I hope it'll be a White Hole

Fuinelen · Post by **Fuinelen** » Wed May 14, 2008 11:29 am

betajaen, the only marine to come back from the mission is currently suffering from severe pasta-hunger and slight abdominal pain?

Post by **CABAListic** » Wed May 14, 2008 11:51 am

betajaen wrote:I vote for either a "visible" black hole, evidence of dark matter or some sort of alien space station that has been sitting there for longer than we've been on the Earth - a group of US Space Marines have visited the station and found out, that we are not alone.

Most black holes are quite visible, in fact, black holes are amongst the brightest phenomena to be observed out there (this is due to their absorption of nearby mass, creates kind of a ring of energy around the black hole which shines brightly). So that would hardly be anything new

Post by **betajaen** » Wed May 14, 2008 12:20 pm

Fuinelen wrote:betajaen, the only marine to come back from the mission is currently suffering from severe pasta-hunger and slight abdominal pain?

He was probably "touched" by his Noodliness, the Messiah is coming!

@CABAListic

I said the wrong words. I meant a super-massive black hole thus more visible, like the one that is theorised to be at the center of the galaxy.

milliams · Post by **milliams** » Wed May 14, 2008 2:00 pm

volca wrote:I hope it'll be a White Hole

A white hole?

volca · Post by **volca** » Wed May 14, 2008 2:36 pm

milliams wrote:
volca wrote:I hope it'll be a White Hole
A white hole?

Yes, that's right. I was thinking about Red Dwarf series, but it seems it really is considered as a possible astronomical object: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_hole

Post by **betajaen** » Wed May 14, 2008 2:55 pm

Is anyone good a pool?

Anyone who gets this; wins a pint of beer.

volca · Post by **volca** » Wed May 14, 2008 3:05 pm

betajaen wrote:Is anyone good a pool?

Anyone who gets this; wins a pint of beer.

We should ask this man about that:

Cat wrote:Will you relax? I've seen Gerbil-Face play down in the Recreation
Room. He's a diva! He can knock those striped balls around the table
all night long, and I tell you what, I have never once seen him lose a
single ball down one of those holes!

Fuinelen · Post by **Fuinelen** » Wed May 14, 2008 3:05 pm

Mars in the left corner black hole ... after a rebound on earth.
(don't have a copy of the Hitchiker's Guide handy right now, so vague paraphrazing will have to be enough

I accept any Munichean beer as currency. Guiness is NOT acceptable

Post by **betajaen** » Wed May 14, 2008 3:31 pm

You were close; wrong sci-fi but correct country in which it was originiated.

Volca got it right and wins the beer.

volca · Post by **volca** » Wed May 14, 2008 4:20 pm

betajaen wrote:You were close; wrong sci-fi but correct country in which it was originiated.

Volca got it right and wins the beer.

Woohoo! Can it be Pilsener Urquell? I'm used to that one

So where's the NASA's secret? It's probably America's time so about 2 more hrs to wait?

milliams · Post by **milliams** » Wed May 14, 2008 6:49 pm

Given that the MoD has just unclassified a load of documents about supposed UFO sightings (BBC article) perhaps it's a hidden suggestion as to what the announcement involves

P.S. My favourite quite in the article is from a Government briefing to House of Lords, "Let me assure this House that Her Majesty's government has never been approached by people from outer space."

warmi · Post by **warmi** » Wed May 14, 2008 6:51 pm

"Pilsener Urquell"

Yeah, good stuff.

Surprisingly, you can relatively easily find it in Chicago.

Post by **betajaen** » Wed May 14, 2008 8:05 pm

Well that was disappointing. It's a 140 year old supernova our galaxy. An amazing discovery, aside NASA really knows how to over-hype things.

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008 ... asa-a.html

I really wanted it to be the citadel.

[Edit]

Although, I'm in the 2nd year of a BSc in Physics and haven't covered quantum physics properly yet. I understand that light travels at a fixed speed, a light year is light distanced traveled in a year, etc.

So my question is this: If the thing is 26,000 light years away at the galactic center, and it exploded 140 years ago? Why are we seeing it now, and not 26,000 years into the future?

[Edit x 2]

Do'h. The announcement is very misleading. It actually exploded 26,000 + 140 years ago and the light started to reach Earth 140 years ago. Problem solved.