Author Topic: Space and astronomy  (Read 53352 times)

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Offline Ian

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Re: Space and astronomy
« Reply #30 on: March 29, 2011, 01:42:40 pm »
It's a fun story but not actually true:

From truth or fiction:

"Where did the four-foot, eight-and-a-half-inch standard originate?  Gabriel says it was from a Englishman named George Stephenson.  Carts on rails had been used in mines in England for years, but the width of the rails varied from mine to mine since they didn't share tracks.  Stephenson was the one who started experimenting with putting a steam engine on the carts so there would be propulsion to pull them along.  He had worked with several mines with differing gauges and simply chose to make the rails for his project 4-foot, eight inches wide.  He later decided that adding another six inches made things easier.  He was later consulted for constructing some rails along a roadway and by the time broader plans for railroads in Great Britain were proposed, there were already 1200 miles of his rails so the "Stephenson gauge" became the standard."

Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline Hugo

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Re: Space and astronomy
« Reply #31 on: August 12, 2012, 12:08:28 pm »
The annual Perseid meteor showers are putting on a spectacular sky show this weekend, thanks to clear skies in many parts of the UK.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/news/uk-wales-19232028



Offline Ian

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Re: Space and astronomy
« Reply #33 on: May 22, 2013, 08:57:03 am »
Something clobbered the moon in March:

ScienceCasts: Bright Explosion on the Moon
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline hollins

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Re: Space and astronomy
« Reply #34 on: June 24, 2013, 09:19:15 am »
There was a large full moon on the last couple of nights.
This article explains why it looked larger than usual and has some great photos.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/supermoon-pictures-rare-sight-larger-1983440
Here are a few photos that I took of it.

Offline Merddin Emrys

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Re: Space and astronomy
« Reply #35 on: June 24, 2013, 10:07:19 am »
We tried to see it but no luck! I even went outside late at about 11.30pm, still saw nothing! What time did you see it Hollins?
A pigeon is for life not just Christmas

Offline hollins

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Re: Space and astronomy
« Reply #36 on: June 24, 2013, 10:29:27 am »
I think it was about 11pm.

Offline Merddin Emrys

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Re: Space and astronomy
« Reply #37 on: June 24, 2013, 11:50:19 pm »
We went to the seafront to see it, very nice too! By the time we got home we could see it there too!
A pigeon is for life not just Christmas

Offline Trojan

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Re: Space and astronomy
« Reply #38 on: July 23, 2013, 05:47:31 pm »
NASA have released photographs of the Earth and Moon taken from Saturn.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23419543

Offline Ian

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Re: Space and astronomy
« Reply #39 on: December 14, 2013, 06:00:27 pm »
The full live feed of the Chinese Lunar expedition:

Complete Launching Footage: Chang'e -3 'Jade Rabbit' Lunar Landing mission
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline Ian

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Re: Space and astronomy
« Reply #40 on: December 14, 2013, 08:30:17 pm »
From New Scientist:

"The crew of the final Apollo mission lifted off from the moon's Sea of Serenity on 14 December 1972. After that, three robotic Soviet spacecraft made it to the surface, the final one in 1976. For the next few decades, the moon's only visitors were a dozen or so orbiters and deliberate crashes.

Launched on 2 December, the Chang'e-3 mission was scheduled to touch down in a 235-kilometre-wide crater known as the Bay of Rainbows. The spacecraft has already slipped into an orbit that takes it within 15 kilometres of the surface. To make the soft landing, it needed to fire retrorockets to adjust its position, cut off its engine and ultimately drop from a height of 4 metres.

"Hopefully the lander doesn't tilt," says Bernard Foing, director of the International Lunar Exploration Working Group, a forum sponsored by multiple space agencies. Once on the surface, the lander should set free a rover named Yutu – which translates as "Jade Rabbit" – after the mythological pet of lunar goddess Chang'e.

India and South Korea are also in the running to send missions to the moon that would involve combinations of landers and rovers. India could launch its Chandrayaan-2 mission by 2017, while the newly proposed Korean mission won't be lifting off before 2020."
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline Ian

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Re: Space and astronomy
« Reply #41 on: April 05, 2014, 05:29:14 pm »
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline Ian

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Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline SteveH

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Re: Space and astronomy
« Reply #43 on: October 06, 2014, 02:16:37 pm »
Llanbedr airfield spaceport consultation closes
A four-month consultation which could help decide the location of the UK's first spaceport ends on Monday with one site in Gwynedd being considered.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-29503567

Offline SteveH

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Re: Space and astronomy
« Reply #44 on: October 07, 2014, 06:50:07 pm »
STARS: Llandrillo astronomy buff Brian Woosnam's guide to the October night sky

This month he gives us a detailed look at the constellations throughout the month, as we enter the "best time of year" for observing the night sky.

http://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/138574/stars-llandrillo-astronomy-buff-brian-woosnam-s-guide-to-the-october-night-sky.aspx Z**