I am have been watching a few World Science Festival talk shows regarding the search for Earth like exoplanets, finding out about the chemical composition of their atmospheres, how to detect if life is there as well as imaging said planets.
Of course this involves the aforementioned James Web Space Telescope, JWST, along with a follow up telescope that involves the start shade I mentioned in a previous post.
I pictured doing something very similar in my head, about targeting a start with a powerful telescope and blocking out the light so that any planets reflecting the stars light would show up optically.
I am confused how they did not think if this earlier but was likely down to having the technology. I imagine that one or more scientists had the same idea I did but had to wait until the technology was both possible in theory, then available and finally cheap enough?
Every now and then when I want to speak a little about exoplanets there is always something I want to point out but which I always forgot, or at least I think I have, to mention.
I have been well aware of the fact that they have used the dimming effect of stars as their planets are an in transit in relation to our view of the stars and their planets.
I was watching this video on YouTube about Earth like exoplanets and I wondered whether or not something that keeps occurring to me gets mentioned, either by the scientists or some bright spark in the audience.
I am over 48 minutes into watching this talk and it has not occurred yet.
Checking for the dimming effect is great but it cannot rule out the existence of planets because any start you might be looking at may have its planetary orbits perpendicular, or at 90 degrees, to our view of that star and you cannot change that.
The longer it has taken for me to remember to remark about this fact the longer I have gone and the more minutes watched of some episode or other on exoplanet astronomy that it never gets mentioned.
What is exciting though is the things I am hearing about that I was not aware of. I had always found it ridiculous, even as a child, that we could not image the planets. It was always stated that we would not be able to do that and I thought this statement preposterous.
I have often spoken in discussions that with a strong enough telescope you simply need something top block out the light of the actual star itself. A tiny shade.
I then hear that they were creating something like this recently, albeit not tiny at a shade measuring ... hmm was it 30 or 100 metres across? I think it was 100?
Then is saw another short video on YouTube about them coming up with a smaller way of blocking out the stars light.
I had long known about the James Webb Telescope and it turns out there are other things in the pipeline too?!
That is very cool.
I just hope that my sporadic and unpredictable health issues do not prevent me from being around to witness this?
After all I might come back as a religious nut in my next like that has no appreciation for science and astronomy?
I watched a very interesting programme, think it was a National Geographic one, yesterday.
It was about what would happen if a nearby star became a Neutron star and headed into our solar system, though technically it does not even have to be within it to wreak havoc.
A Neutron star is the result of a star going supernova within certain mass parameters. Does not become a brown dwarf after is red giant phase and nor does it become a black hole.
In effect it is one of the ways in which a star is dying, so is a dying star. But its mass has collapsed to such a density, hard to imagine, that it sends out two beams of material extremely high in dangerous particles that are radioactive. Think something that has the same effect as standing next to a nuclear bomb going off but the source that could be hundreds of thousands of miles away.
But the beams go in just two directions so it is possible the beams might miss us, even though a neutron star spins...fast.
Now the programmes itself talk to scientists while having mock ups of what would happen and makes it interesting.
There is a funny part in what happens towards the end regarding one of the ships they built you just have to watch.
I will also add that though they gather scientists and theoretically talk about the possible ways to power a spacecraft, anti-matter or nuclear, I will stress that this is for like ... now!
They also state that they suggest that there would be a 70 to 80 year margin between detection of the oncoming catastrophe and the event taking place. So what you should, or would, happen in those 75 years.
In other words, silly scientists, that they make a big case for how dangerous anti-matter would be but this is if it was to bee discovered imminently.
If, say for argument sake something like this was discovered in 15 to 25 years time ... well ... a lot could have happened technology wise between now and then and there could be come surprise major advancements in handling a material as volatile as anti-matter. Which, to be frank, is about as volatile as they come.
Of course it does not take into account what the military establishments of the world might be hiding by way of technology which could come out of the woodwork and be used?
I would state that I would be quite calm about it all and sensible and I know I would not get onto either ship! And that's OK. Lol.
Still an interesting programme and the first one I ever put in my favourites...
Well this is getting both extremely interesting and exciting.
It would appear that the Kepler telescope is now speeding up in its discovery of Earth sized worlds inhabiting other solar systems?
NASA just announced the largest number of discovered worlds, known as Exo planets (extra solar planets), in one announcement than they have since the searches started.
The level of increase is quite something and one cannot help but wonder what the next few announcements will be like?
Then in 2020 we have the James Webb Telescope going into orbit, fingers crossed and provided there are no further delays?
My mind simply liquefies when I try to predict what, or precisely how many, discoveries would have been announced by the time the JWT is in orbit?!
One hundred more Earth sized planets announced in one go. Now just waiting for the spectral interferometer announcements that simply have to come with ever greater detail?
It's always been a theory of mine that life would be found among the stars we could see with our naked eye. But that life that had developed as far as we had our slightly further might be a little further afield than what our eyes can detect without help.
That's always been how I thought it would turn out, even as a child. I never had any doubts life was out there and even had a few ideas of life would have evolved.
I even started writing a sci-fi novel that I managed to plan out over four books. It's rather infamous among friends and family that I reached for chapters in then my life was turned upside down and kept being turned at regular intervals that I never got back to working on.
I still have those five chapters I did write.
I just never got around to adding to them in any way, shape or form. I did, however, make some rough sketches of the spacecraft in the stories.
Maybe one day I will be in a position to go back to them and get them finished?
One day.
Hmm, maybe by 2020? Lol, yup that would be kind of fitting ... provided the James Webb Telescope goes to that year and it works?
Once again I have to cross my f.... oh wait? Better crossed my toes?!
This was my first attempt at anything like this with any kind of photography equipment.
But after realising you could actually see Jupiter's Galilean moons with the naked eye, when your really lucky and the sky is very clear, not tonight though, I longed to do this.
I am sure I can do much better in the future in a few weeks when I have learnt what I need to and acquired a remote control for the shutter release.
This is using my Nikon Coolpix P900.
Yes just the camera on its own, I tried using the Fireworks setting!
Was a quick rush job to be honest, was laying on my bed, remembered Jupiter was about, checked the skies through my window, threw on some shorts, insect repellent and ran down stairs!
I am waiting for the day we see our first images of EXOPLANETS! I mean real images where you can make out the finer details, or some, and the colour.
Yeah you just know it is coming, sooner rather than later I hope. Looking forward to seeing what the James Webb Telescope can do!
Bugged me that I was so tired and it was so late. I wanted to mess around with the setting but due to some branches I was having difficulty getting it in shot and was right up against the front wall to my house!
I will do some research and film it later in the night, around midnight I think would be good in the next couple of days?
Hmm, have to check to see which moon is which?
Just imagine for a moment ... life could exist on, Io, one of those little bright points in the video?
You would never have thought this possible twenty years ago, filming another world that could have life on it from something you can buy in your local store?
Oh, well OK , yes PC World in Enfield did not have this P900 ... but I could have ordered it to be delivered to that store. Instead a got on a bus, climbed some horrible stairs and collapsed against a wall toying with the idea of phoning '999' just so I can get my hands on this camera as soon as possible!
Oh end be able to check the box for tell-tale seals.
