Jupiter Facts

[Aldebaran]

Curious how all these events are going on far from human sight. Sunrises, sunsets, quakes, explosions, storms, comet and asteroid impacts, sulfuric acid and methane rains, etc. All while we sit here totally unaware feeling that we are the center of all creation. Of course I don't doubt that we are important. But it makes one wonder about the purpose for all these things.

I've wondered the same thing sometimes. It sort of makes you ask the question, "If a storm rages on Jupiter with winds blowing at 300MPH and nobody was there to see it, did it actually happen? If so, why?"

 

[Radrook]

I've wondered the same thing sometimes. It sort of makes you ask the question, "If a storm rages on Jupiter with winds blowing at 300MPH and nobody was there to see it, did it actually happen? If so, why?"

Well, as Christians we always assume that there is someone seeing it.

BTW
Actually, there was famous a philosopher who believed that for things to exist they need to be perceived. Our current experiments into quantum physics lends a certain credit to that idea.

 

[Radrook]

Is that the James Webb?

No! Actually, that's Janet Wob!

Sorry I couldn't resist!

 

[Radrook]

That's the one! I'm surprised I didn't even mention the name when I was writing about it. I hear it's mostly for infrared observations. I'm not clear on whether it will be able to get images in the visual spectrum like the Hubble does or not. It would sure suck if it didn't. Hubble has been revolutionary! Something 2.5x as big as Hubble would no doubt be a real breakthrough!

Sooner or later we are going to make one so powerful that when we look out there we are going to come eye to eye with someone who is looking right back.

 

[Aldebaran]

Sooner or later we are going to make one so powerful that when we look out there we are going to come eye to eye with someone who is looking right back.

I think that's what they're hoping for. With the technology of today, it seems like almost anything is possible. One of the big advantages of Hubble is that it's above the atmosphere and the distortion it causes in images. Now there are devices that can be put on ground-based scopes that cancel out the atmospheric distortion. Of course, that doesn't cancel out the earth's rotation that eventually gives us daytime. Hubble still has the advantage there of being able to take 100 hour exposures with its camera. But one thing I've wondered about is whether or not they could link hundreds of telescopes together to get an image that would be equal to all of them combined. They could link 100 scopes that are 10" in diameter to get the equivalent of a single 1,000 inch scope. Maybe they already can! It's doubtful though. Otherwise, they wouldn't be spending so much to make even bigger single ones like this: European Extremely Large Telescope - Wikipedia with a 126 foot diameter primary mirror. It won't be done until the year 2024.

 

[Radrook]

I think that's what they're hoping for. With the technology of today, it seems like almost anything is possible. One of the big advantages of Hubble is that it's above the atmosphere and the distortion it causes in images. Now there are devices that can be put on ground-based scopes that cancel out the atmospheric distortion. Of course, that doesn't cancel out the earth's rotation that eventually gives us daytime. Hubble still has the advantage there of being able to take 100 hour exposures with its camera. But one thing I've wondered about is whether or not they could link hundreds of telescopes together to get an image that would be equal to all of them combined. They could link 100 scopes that are 10" in diameter to get the equivalent of a single 1,000 inch scope. Maybe they already can! It's doubtful though. Otherwise, they wouldn't be spending so much to make even bigger single ones like this: European Extremely Large Telescope - Wikipedia with a 126 foot diameter primary mirror. It won't be done until the year 2024.

You really think its possible to build something that efficient? Even if we do all we could do is blink in wondering terror at one another from across the ages since travel is presently impossible. If indeed we detect a civilization then it would appear as it once was and not as it now is. Upon arrival we might find a completely different situation than we expected based on observation. That's why I believe that future travelers should be armed just in case aliens want to throw hands.

 

[Aldebaran]

You really think its possible to build something that efficient? Even if we do all we could do is blink in wondering terror at one another from across the ages since travel is presently impossible. If indeed we detect a civilization then it would appear as it once was and not as it now is. Upon arrival we might find a completely different situation than we expected based on observation. That's why I believe that future travelers should be armed just in case aliens want to throw hands.

Well, we seem to be doing things that approach that kind of efficiency already. The internet allows for connecting things together to form something far more efficient. If they could do that with telescopes, it would be pretty cool. I know they've been doing something similar with radio telescopes for quite awhile. They link many of them together to form one observation. The effect is like a single scope the size of the array: http://www.askamathematician.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/looksouth.jpg I just wish they could do the same with a visual telescope.

 

[Radrook]

Well, we seem to be doing things that approach that kind of efficiency already. The internet allows for connecting things together to form something far more efficient. If they could do that with telescopes, it would be pretty cool. I know they've been doing something similar with radio telescopes for quite awhile. They link many of them together to form one observation. The effect is like a single scope the size of the array: http://www.askamathematician.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/looksouth.jpg I just wish they could do the same with a visual telescope.

You are referring to the VLA Very Large Array Telescope
Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array - Wikipedia


The Very Large Array near Socorro, New Mexico, United States.
By user:Hajor - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, File:USA.NM.VeryLargeArray.02.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

 

[FreeinChrist]

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