posting here cuz notaglobe got banned.
I know this is both overly specific and too vague, but please let me explain. I don't know much about astronomy, but I'm writing a tabletop campaign that hinges on the discovery of Pluto. To make it even weirder, it's Lovecraft so pseudo-science totally works (sorry...), but I'm trying to make it as rooted in reality as possible. Basically what I'm lacking now is an astronomical event, something that people would deem significant, that would occur between 01/23/1930 (the date the first of Tombaugh's plates was taken) and 03/14/1930 (the date when major newspapers announced the discovery) and wouldn't repeat for at least a decade or so, preferrably more. Unfortunately, Google isn't very helpful with "astronomical events Pluto 1930" for obvious reasons. However, here's what I was able to learn:
- Yoursky told me that Pluto didn't intersect with any with the planets and seemingly even the Moon, if I read it correctly. The settings I used were: 1930-01-23 6:00:00; 1930-03-14 4:00:00; 35°11'53" N, 111°39'4" W (coordinates of Flagstaff AZ). I toyed with some other times and dates in that vicinity but was unable to find something drastically different without understanding what I'm looking for.
- It also showed that Pluto spent the good chunk of the year in Gemini (yeah... sorry again), which apparently isn't always the case (it's in Capricorn RN). Could it be that "significant event", or does it happen quite often?
- Theskylive has a handy graph that shows Pluto's distance from Earth, which went from ~40 to ~42 AU in the first half of 1930. The larger sinewave seems to have a low enough frequency that the next time it goes through similar motions will be in 2050, which seems promising - but it's nowhere near an all-time low or all-time high, so it's hard to bring up as a unique event.
[UPD: I might be missing the obvious. Does Pluto's 248-year-long year mean that we won't see the same part of Pluto that Tombaugh did for another century and a half? This sounds unique enough, although I'm not sure if it works that way]
Google has gotten me this far, but frankly I'm taking stabs in the dark here, using both unfamiliar tools and unfamiliar terms. Could anyone wh
... keep reading on reddit ➡Hi I'm gonna do research with an Amateur Astronomers equipment. But I'm fairly new to Astronomy especially Photometry. So I'm looking for a good Book on Photometry and one on Exoplanets. I'd like to have it as deep in the subject as possible with me understanding it. I'm also more interested on the theoretical perspective. I don't have any Mathematical restriction. I've done some Multivariable Calculus.
What are your suggestions?
PS: Maybe: Introduction to Astronomical Photometry And: The Exoplanet Handbook Both from Cambridge University
I'm very interested in the math behind this. I'm aware one uses parallax but I'm not exactly sure how one would measure the baseline or the angle for that matter. Any ideas or explanations would be much appreciated.
This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 70%. (I'm a bot)
> In new research, astronomers have drawn up a shortlist of nearby star systems where any inquisitive inhabitants on orbiting planets would be well placed to spot life on Earth.
> The scientists identified 1,715 star systems in our cosmic neighbourhood where alien observers could have discovered Earth in the past 5,000 years by watching it "Transit" across the face of the sun.
> Among those in the right position to observe an Earth transit, 46 star systems are close enough for their planets to intercept a clear signal of human existence - the radio and TV broadcasts which started about 100 years ago.
> "We asked, 'Who would we be the aliens for if somebody else was looking?' There is this tiny sliver in the sky where other star systems have a cosmic front seat to find Earth as a transiting planet."
> To work out which nearby star systems are well placed to observe an Earth transit, Kaltenegger and Dr Jackie Faherty, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History, turned to the European Space Agency's Gaia catalogue of star positions and motions.
> If there is intelligent life on any of the two known planets orbiting Teegarden's star, 12.5 light years away, it will be in a prime position to watch Earth transits in 29 years' time.
Summary Source | FAQ | Feedback | Top keywords: star^#1 Earth^#2 year^#3 planet^#4 Transit^#5
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... keep reading on reddit ➡Hi! I've been searching all day for an astrological calendar that is detailed in retrogrades and other astrological events and could also give detailed horoscopes based on my full birth chart.
At present it looks increasingly likely SpaceX will complete their Starship based Human Landing System before the Boeing led Space Launch System is ready to commence lunar operations. SLS has a cost plus contract which incentivizes slow working in order to maximize profits whereas the HLS contract is milestone based, which encourages fast development to minimize outlay and maximize return. Already we can see some divergence between these two projects, Ars technica consistently reports the SLS maiden flight, called Artemis 1, will delay into summer something recently confirmed by NASA’s Office of Inspector General, compared to SpaceX who are straining at the bit to launch multiple Starships, as soon as they receive FAA approval.
In the past NASA could regulate the pace of development by limiting the number of work orders issued to contractors, however, SpaceX are largely funding Starship development themself so racing to achieve milestones in the shortest time possible. So far NASA seem happy to accommodate the accelerated pace at SpaceX, considering they paid for 5 development milestones they didn’t oversee, while the HLS award was being challenged by Dynetics and Blue Origin.
So let’s wind the clock forward five years or so, when HLS has successfully demonstrated its first lunar landing and SLS is likely a half decade or more from primetime. Realistically NASA will want to use this new moon landing capability asap, but won’t wait for SLS if there’s a viable alternative. A similar situation occurred with the Commercial Crew Program, after SpaceX completed their Crew Dragon spacecraft years in advance of the Boeing Starliner, NASA decided to use SpaceX exclusively for flights to the ISS instead of waiting for Boeing to catch up.
By the time SpaceX are ready to commence lunar landings, they should have already performed one or more crew missions on Starship, such as #Dearmoon which intends to circumnavigate the moon. Hence NASA will have the means to send large amounts of cargo and crew to the moon, independent of the Space Launch System, which could be reprioritized for flights to the Lunar Gateway Station, when ready. So given the above, we can expect SpaceX to push for one or more lunar projects from NASA in order to recoup their long-
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