Heather's Heavenly Vapes - THE BIG THREAD (Part 6)

[ShowMeTwice]

Well, I thought the picture was coming from a telescope and we’d see an explosion or sumpin’. Nope. It was some kind of camera on the spacecraft itself…the thing that smashed into the asteroid. So of course we get no image of an impact because it blew up. But we saw up to the moment of impact and it was a direct hit. Kinda neat. Now NASA will analyze what effect we had in moving that asteroid. Not sure how long that will take.

I thought it was really cool.

There are several telescopes around the world trained on the asteroid. NASA/APL knows from 7+ years of watching that it takes ~11 hours for the smaller asteroid to complete 1 orbit around the larger one. They will know, and announce, by the end of the week what the time of the new orbit is.

FWIW, DART was roughly the size of a full size school bus hitting an object that is 2 times the length of the statue of Liberty.

Now the science begins. They'll be collecting data for several years via ground telescopes, Hubble and Webb. Coming next is ESA's launch of a spacecraft that will study exactly what impact (no pun intended) DART had on the asteroid. That will take another couple years and then one or two more to collect all the data.

I watched it on NASA tv, and man, those folks were seriously geeking out!!!

Thinking they missed a great opportunity by not having Billy Bob Thornton there for commentary. Ya know, the movie...

On a serious note though, anything they can do for planetary defense is a win in my book. Also this marks the first time humanity has ever moved a celestial body.

Yeah ok, I'm geekin' out.

 

[Bronze]

I thought it was really cool.

There are several telescopes around the world trained on the asteroid. NASA/APL knows from 7+ years of watching that it takes ~11 hours for the smaller asteroid to complete 1 orbit around the larger one. They will know, and announce, by the end of the week what the time of the new orbit is.

FWIW, DART was roughly the size of a full size school bus hitting an object that is 2 times the length of the statue of Liberty.

Now the science begins. They'll be collecting data for several years via ground telescopes, Hubble and Webb. Coming next is ESA's launch of a spacecraft that will study exactly what impact (no pun intended) DART had on the asteroid. That will take another couple years and then one or two more to collect all the data.

I watched it on NASA tv, and man, those folks were seriously geeking out!!!

Thinking they missed a great opportunity by not having Billy Bob Thornton there for commentary. Ya know, the movie...
View attachment 981480

On a serious note though, anything they can do for planetary defense is a win in my book. Also this marks the first time humanity has ever moved a celestial body.

Yeah ok, I'm geekin' out.

Yeah, they did a good job explaining what’s next. I too was impressed. At first I was disappointed cuz I was expecting an explosion not realizing what we were seeing on our screens was actually transmitted from the DART itself. Then seeing the rocky surface approach was quite exhilarating. We’ll get some stadium seats eventually. But for now that was pretty cool.

I think of my Grandpa. Born in 1890. No roads. Horses were the primary mode of transportation. An outhouse was a luxury. 79 years later he saw some dudes on a TV playing golf on the surface of the moon. I’m always wondering what he thought OF that. Wish I could talk to him again.

 

[ShowMeTwice]

Yeah, they did a good job explaining what’s next. I too was impressed. At first I was disappointed cuz I was expecting an explosion not realizing what we were seeing on our screens was actually transmitted from the DART itself. Then seeing the rocky surface approach was quite exhilarating. We’ll get some stadium seats eventually. But for now that was pretty cool.

I think of my Grandpa. Born in 1890. No roads. Horses were the primary mode of transportation. An outhouse was a luxury. 79 years later he saw some dudes on a TV playing golf on the surface of the moon. I’m always wondering what he thought OF that. Wish I could talk to him again.

Pretty cool about your Grandpa.

My Grandma, also born in 1890, told me many stories from when she was young. I loved listening to all her stories. They lived in, what used to be, a forested area outside of Milwaukee. There was still a Native American tribe living near their home. Her mom, my Great Grandma, used to make pies and set them on the window sills to cool off. The smells drew the tribal folks to their home. And well, being good neighbors, they shared their pies with them. She told me the Native folks never had pies before. No surprise, they loved them.

I too miss the old folks and their many stories. I could sit and listen for hours.

For us, next comes Artemis/SLS hopefully sometime this October. NASA started rollback today to the VAB due to hurricane Ian. The next available launch window is Oct. 17-31. Anything space related gets my attention. Remember when we were kids watching some of the Gemini and then most of what they televised of the Apollo missions? Of course we had Star Trek so everything space related was near and dear.

Bronze, just think of all the things we've been fortunate enough to see and experience in our lifetimes. I can honestly say I am truly blown away. We've seen much.

 

[Bronze]

Pretty cool about your Grandpa.

My Grandma, also born in 1890, told me many stories from when she was young. I loved listening to all her stories. They lived in, what used to be, a forested area outside of Milwaukee. There was still a Native American tribe living near their home. Her mom, my Great Grandma, used to make pies and set them on the window sills to cool off. The smells drew the tribal folks to their home. And well, being good neighbors, they shared their pies with them. She told me the Native folks never had pies before. No surprise, they loved them.

I too miss the old folks and their many stories. I could sit and listen for hours.

For us, next comes Artemis/SLS hopefully sometime this October. NASA started rollback today to the VAB due to hurricane Ian. The next available launch window is Oct. 17-31. Anything space related gets my attention. Remember when we were kids watching some of the Gemini and then most of what they televised of the Apollo missions? Of course we had Star Trek so everything space related was near and dear.

Bronze, just think of all the things we've been fortunate enough to see and experience in our lifetimes. I can honestly say I am truly blown away. We've seen much.

Jamestown was 400 years ago. Look where we are now. Imagine where this place will be 400 years from now as the pace accelerates. Not sure humanity will make it 400 more years. Not sure it will make it in 4 years.

 

[DavidOH]

Evening.....

 

[Ceejay0875]

Optical illusion… first you see a man running into the snow and then…

View attachment 981137

I didn't see a man at first. Does this mean I'm messed up?

 

[Nermal]

A man is all I ever saw. Maybe I'm the one with a problem.

 

[LAwaters]

I didn't see a man at first. Does this mean I'm messed up?

LOL! Nah. We all see what we see when we see it. We are all messed up.

 

[Bronze]

LOL! Nah. We all see what we see when we see it. We are all messed up.

No truer words have ever been written.

 

[Ceejay0875]

A man is all I ever saw. Maybe I'm the one with a problem.

Nah, just differing perceptions

 

[DavidOH]

Evening.... Had to turn the heat on. Didn't want to but it's been in the mid 40s at night.....

 

[Bronze]

Evening.... Had to turn the heat on. Didn't want to but it's been in the mid 40s at night.....

View attachment 981651

Scruff doesn’t care.

 

[DavidOH]

Evening...... One more day....

 

[DavidOH]

What Scruffy is looking at...

 

[Bronze]

What Scruffy is looking at...

View attachment 981706 View attachment 981707

You feeding that cat?

 

[DavidOH]

You feeding that cat?

I know I shouldn't but yes I am. I can tell it's under weight by looking at it. It eats then leaves.. And runs when it sees me. I had a hard time getting the pics.

 

[Bronze]

I know I shouldn't but yes I am. I can tell it's under weight by looking at it. It eats then leaves.. And runs when it sees me. I had a hard time getting the pics.

Well if it has no home and is malnourished then you don’t have much of a choice.

 

[Nermal]

Good advice, especially if you want to have lots of cats hanging around.

 

[cats5365]

I know I shouldn't but yes I am. I can tell it's under weight by looking at it. It eats then leaves.. And runs when it sees me. I had a hard time getting the pics.

Do you have a Feral cat rescue in your area that helps with TNR? Your new friend looks like an intact male with the big shoulders and face. If you can get him on a meal schedule, he should start trusting you (like Scruffy did) so that you can handle, and maybe trap him to get his trouble puffs taken care of. I think the boys can be easier to socialize after they are neutered and have full tummies on a regular basis.

I've got a pair of lazy, good-fer-nuthin' bum kitties that cashed in their feral cards for the luxury of a soft bed and meal service. They would have killed each other in their former lives, but now they are pretty much inseparable.

 

[DavidOH]

Evening... There are cat rescues around. I've donated to one at Pets Smart a few times and add $1 to purchase when I shop. Not sure about the big shoulders and face. I just know clearly I can see he/she's back and hip bones. Plus the head looks a bit to big.. I just looked he/she has shown up for the dinner I put out.

Time for pizza and beer...