Astronomy and Cosmology

What do you guys think the implications would be if we actually did find some sort of life form on Mars or in some meteorite, and I'm not talking about UFO's or little grey men, I'm talking about any form of life not born on earth, be it viruses, bacteria, fungus, protists, etc. I mean virtually every scientific book ever written would have to be rewritten. And what if that life form was nothing like anything we've ever seen before? After all, since we've never found any sort of non-terrestrial life (at least that's what the government tells us), how could we possibly say with certainty that extraterrestrial life forms would even have DNA, of if that is to far-fetched, ma…

I'm not sure if this question has been asked before, apologies if it has but where did the Supermassive Black Hole(SMBH) that resides at the centre of our (and other) Galaxy originate? I appreciate that "ordinary" black holes are the remnants of massive stars that have burnt out and collapsed but are SMBHs the same? If so then did the precursors of SMBHs exist before the formation of galaxies?

I was just wondering, let's say NASA were to install a large electromagnet inside the floor of the ISS, if the astronauts were to wear some kind of magnetic materials in their shoes and around their wrists and torso, wouldn't that theoretically be able to perfectly mimic gravity? Since the electromagnet would be under the floor not the floor itself, the astronauts would simply be pulled towards the floor, but not get stuck to it. This would obviously affect their lower bodies more than their upper bodies since their feet would be closer to the floor, but still; I can't think of a reason that this shouldn't be able to work, at least to some degree.

After several years will the universe end in a small particle which is called big crunch?

Discussion in another thread reveals that there don't seem to be any good recent books on cosmology (since 2005) accessible to wide audience. There is that extremely helpful Scientific American article by Lineweaver called Misconceptions about the Big Bang, that a lot of SFN members have recommended and I hope everyone has read. This MaBB SciAm article is a must! http://www.astro.princeton.edu/~aes/AST105/Readings/misconceptionsBigBang.pdf The article is great about classicl practical observational cosmology stuff (recession speeds, redshifts, how to picture expansion...) but it doesn't treat quantum cosmology. By which I mean models of events right at the BB, c…

QUASARS OBSERVATIONAL FACT-MODERN INTERPRETATION 1. Quasars have rapid light variations - Most quasars light come from a small source of solar system dimensions, even in quasars as big as giant galaxies. (Explosions of stellar and planetary-sized objects are often to the Super Giant Ultra Dense Nucleus (SGUDN) of quasar). 2. Even high-redshift quasars have long jets - Such jets are largest contiguous structures in the universe which forms thick proto-nebulas of dwarf and giant galaxies. 3. Quasars have little or no visible angular extent – SGUDN of quasar has little or no visible angular extent. Only the center SGUDN of the galaxy-like mass which produces the energy is…

is there a black hole in the centre of the milky way????

STS-124 L-1 Mission Update Part 1 of 2 STS-124 L-1 Mission Update Part 2 of 2 The STS-124 L-1 Mission Update takes you behind the scenes as NASA prepares to launch the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo Laboratory Module-Pressurized Module. Hosted by Allard Beutel, news chief at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the show features NASA astronaut Michael Foale, who provides insights on the upcoming mission and answers questions submitted to our question board.

Firstly, I do have a new theory, but I'm not here to peddle it per se. Secondly, I am not formally educated... As I believe I can find the education I need among people such as yourselves. A discussion online is never good until it gets good and heated. Currently, I believe I have developed a theory for an efficient Vacuum Sustainable Dirigible (a Vacuum Blimp by any other name). Scoffed at since the early sixteenth century; the sheer efficiency of this ludacris idea creates doubt in any of Newton's followers. If realized, a Vacuum Sustainable Dirigible could revolutionize the ideas of Space Travel, by simply being the simplest way to 'cheat' gravity cle…

I have recently read about a theory that involves a black and white hole in place where the Bermuda triangleis. Is this a sound theory? and if so would it account for a lot of anomalies in our planet?

I've tended to think of Mars as not practical to inhabit because I was skeptical that it had a thick permanent layer of ice (except possibly right at the poles) The polar caps seem unstable and change seasonally. But this picture makes me think: http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/images.php?gID=0&cID=34 it shows the lander's rocket nozzles pointing down at what looks like two patches of ice that they appear to have cleared by blowing away the soil the release refers to them as a possible ice TABLE http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/05_31_pr.php ==QUOTE== "This suggests we have an ice table under a thin layer of loose soil," said the lead scientist for …

there is a lot about black holes that i dont understand but heres a few questions i was just thinking about: Are there back holes that arnt in the center of galaxies? i understand that black holes form from collapsed stars (i think). but is this proven? has someone seen a star collapse into a black hole? and if a star did do this wouldnt its gravitation eventualy create a galaxy around it? another similar question: are there galaxies without black holes at their centers? i dunno if there is a difference between supermassive black holes and just normal ones besides i suppose that one is "supermassive". are supermassive black holes formed differently? it…

May 30, 2008 marks the Birth Centennial of space physicist/ astrophysicist/ cosmologist Hannes Alfven. A pictorial tribute to him may be found in this site: http://www.geocities.com/bibhasde/Alfven100.html

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080519m.html ==quote== Flying Over the Columbia Hills of Mars Animated Illustration Credit: Doug Ellison, Randolph Kirk (USGS), MSSS, MER, NASA Explanation: What it would be like to fly over Mars? Combining terrain data from the orbiting Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft with information about the robotic Spirit rover currently rolling across Mars has resulted in a digital movie that shows what a flight over the Columbia Hills might look like. Dark rippled sand dunes are highlighted against the Columbia Hills in the above opening image. Clicking on the above image, though, will launch you across Mars, approaching the Columbia Hills…

Why does Mars not have much of an atmosphere? Is it because it is 1/3 the size of Earth and with 1/3 the gravity it can keep only heavier gases? I noted that Earth's gravity is not strong enough to keep free hydrogen and helium from floating off into space, but how many gases would Mars lose with so much less gravity? Just curious.

This is where we have arrived as I see it after 50 years of heavy participation and contributuion- I ask you, how do we get back to sharing truth because it rings with the dna in every cell of our body-- strickly a matter of physics gut feel as it was for Einstein? Einstein would not have a chance today with his early papers. We have Commercial Headed People calling the shots on what science is and is not all over the internet. We must and can do better! Another apt title for this thread is "Hey! Truth is not for sale! "This thread would offer to be a forum for just that--an open forum on what truth is at the level of Visualizable Einstein Material Points that fill the c…

If both quantum and classical AM (Anglular Momentum) are 'conserved' properties, wouldn't it be possible that this conservation stretchs back to the BB (Big Bang)? If AM only came into existence after the BB, when (in what era?) would it have done so? aguy2

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/26/science/26mars.html? iNow gave a link to a great animation of how the landing was supposed to go

Hey, these questions probably will seem dumb to you but im kinda learning stuff on my own here so help would be nice. i was just trying to understand the whole E=mc^2 equation. i understand its about the energy in atoms and stuff, but does that mean that energy can have mass? what i was really wondering is does energy cause gravity? can light cause gravity? see, dumb questions heh

Is it possible to create an artificial quantum singularity ?

The earth wasn't a star at some point in time and has coalesced (as stars do) through its stages of stardom all the way to its current state. In other words, what happens to dwarfs after they "die"?

My question is something that has been deeply important to me most of my life. And thats how far are we from being able to regularly travel through space and colonize other planets. I too understand the importance of our expansion into other star systems.

Recently, me and my friend had a conversation about Black Holes and why they evaporate. I have read about Black Hole evaporation and know some; however, the books that I have read do not completely explain evaporation and how it works. If you have any information, feel free to share.

MOND. It's driving me up the wall. The fact that on such a large level, the inside of galaxies the movement of the stars, that newton's laws break down. Speaking of F=ma here for very small accelerations. Obviously that was a terribly quick summary, but I'm assuming if you have anything to say on this topic, you know a little bit about it anyway. Does this not bother anyone else terribly? I never see ANY postings on it, very little discussion, anyone I've ever talked to hasn't even heard of it, but it is terribly accurate with observational evidence.

NASA to Announce Success of Long Galactic Hunt "WASHINGTON -- NASA has scheduled a media teleconference Wednesday, May 14, at 1 p.m. EDT, to announce the discovery of an object in our Galaxy astronomers have been hunting for more than 50 years. This finding was made by combining data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory with ground-based observations." Oooh I'm excited already. I was trying to think of cosmic phenomena or objects that have been theorized but haven't been detected as of yet but only recent ones came to mind, with theoretical histories of around 20 years or less, where as this is something that has eluded detection for over half a century. Looking …