terrence

I searched for a thread that would cover this topic but none came up, so I am starting one. Since there is a great deal of discussion on material consumption, pandering and defamation, I thought it would be an nice addition to the "Off-topic" forum to have a discussion and exchange of ideas in the fields of math and sciences. If you work or study in either (or both) fields please share with the class what you do and any new or interesting that have come up in your field. Even if you just show an interest or enthusiasm of amateur astronomy or do linear algebra for fun in your spare time; feel free to add to the discussion. Also no theology, it serves not purpose here.

Since today is Carl Sagan's birthday it seems a fitting day to start this thread as well.

I know a lot of people are interested in astronomy and cosmology, but I do not want this thread limited to just that. Abiogenesis is a fascinating field and the concept of being able to formulate organic matter from inorganic matter is the topic of an article I read recently: It moves! Lab-made blob can crawl - physics-math - 08 November 2012 - New Scientist

I know similar experiments have been conducted in the past but much more "simpler" results, but it is neat seeing something that reacts like something we would traditionally associate with being alive.

Mikester

Yea I know, old thread... But I'm a dad and a nerd... and THEN a car guy haha!

I'm big into amateur astronomy... Here are a couple pics I shot afocally thru the telescope I got for Xmas.









Definitely a great hobby to have when messing with the car isn't in the cards. The kids really dig it too! Still accumulating accessories for taking better pics.

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terrence

Lot better than the shit I can take. What's your setup?

Here is one from a few weeks ago:

omgRWDgoodness!

I'm taking Astronomy this semester. It's interesting, but a lot harder than one might think. Much more to it than just staring at the heavens through a high-power telescope.

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Mikester

Dude thank you but wtf are you talking about??? That's a pretty BA shot you got there! My setup is Celestron Nexstar 5SE SCT... Pics taken afocally with a Joe schmo Sony point-n-shoot..

True dat man! I'm taking astronomy & space studies (physics just ended)right now- definitely a LOT to digest! 8th grade astronomy was a lot less work

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terrence

Nice, I really would like to get a cassegrain in the future. Using 6" Newtonian at the moment.

What are you majoring if you don't mind my asking?

Mikester

Space Studies at AMU

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Sleepy_Steve

Reddit.com/r/asksciene

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'95 240 | @SleepySteve72

Gold Coast S14

That picture of Saturn is pretty tight, not gonna lie.

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I'm so intoxicated, sometimes I sit back like "God damn I made it"

Mikester

^^Thanks! Got a new planet-cam... Still dialling it in:





Totally bogged down w/school... SICK of fucking winter. Need to get out of the midwest.

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Gold Coast S14

I know exactly what you mean brah... Bismarck the past week has been so weird. Monday was a blizzard, tuesday, wednesday, and thursday were nice, sunny and warm, and today is cold and snowy... I have no idea what season it is right now. haha but props on the planet cam man.

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I'm so intoxicated, sometimes I sit back like "God damn I made it"

Mikester

Thanks dude... If you liked the previous Saturn pic, you'll love this one (Just took it half hr ago )




Been doing lotsa research over the past few days

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terrence

That's a really good shot. I wish the south didn't have so much light pollution and humidity.

Mikester

^^Dude, I live in South City St Louis... Light pollution is hoorible... Can't wait till it warms up so I can go out to where its dark

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Gold Coast S14

Damn... That one's pretty damn clear in my opinion. haha makes me wanna get a telescope, you can see an incredible amount of stars up here in the winter even without a telescope. Out of curiosity how much did yours cost?

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I'm so intoxicated, sometimes I sit back like "God damn I made it"

Mikester

About $700 at the time of purchase... The next size or two bigger are about that much now.

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HiddenCharacter

Wow beautiful pics...anything worth buying in the 300 dollar range?

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HiddenCharacters Crew

Mikester

Plenty...

Look for Celestron, Orion or Meade telescopes. The key to really good & fun viewing is getting one with a motorized mount. This is a good deal for $400:

Amazon.com: Celestron NexStar 130 SLT Computerized Telescope: Camera & Photo

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Kuma

BAD. ASS. period.
Did you get any of the comet a week or so ago? It was visable to the naked eye in OKlahoma around 18:30 for a couple days. I missed it though because I kept forgetting.

terrence

Craigslist has some good deals too.

Mikester

Naw it was never naked-eye visible here in St. Louis; and it was either too cold or too cloudy to try to see it from anywhere less light-polluted or congested with houses, trees etc. However, a guy on the astronomy forum I am on shot a really badass long-exposure shot of it outside Las Vegas:



It wasn't naked-eye visible there either... Needed binos, long exposure camera nad/or telescope to be able to see it. He knew where it should be, and set his camera up accordingly. There is a comet called ISON coming in this November. JPL thinks it's on it's maiden voyage to the sun, so unlike PanStarrs, it should be visible in broad daylight like Hailbob was back in the day.

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terrence

Nice PAN-STARRS, every chance I had to view it was cloudy or I was inside working.

HiddenCharacter

Thanks fellas want to get something for me and my kids.

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HiddenCharacters Crew

Mikester

Awesome- very much cars and pussy, a telescope becomes pretty much like crack once you get the hang of it... 4-8inch scopes are awesome because they are very portable & easy to set up. Also, scopes like mine (NexStar SE Schmidt-Cassegrain) are nice for beginners b/c they are sealed... which means you never have to take it apart to clean the internals; and they only require collimnation (fine-focus adjustment) very infrequently... I've used the hell out of mine since Christmas... All I've had to do is clean the lens once so far.

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Walperstyle

I hated math in school. ...I'm 32 now, but learning a lot of math right now due to tuning and turbo selection.

Video of the math involved with Turbos!! (made by me)
update-Turbo Math, and what helped me - YouTube


I would go back to school, but I get paid way too much to.

I have no telescope, but this year our sun is going through its 11 year sun cycle, producing massive solar flares, and causing awesome Aurora (northern lights) every few days up here in Canada.

Took this not too long ago

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KA-T ORG-Function over Flush

Mikester

That is absolutely amazing! I hate the cold with a capital H.A.T.E. But seeing the auroras is on my bucket list- great shots!

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Felipe

me too


has anyone seen them vieos of quatum levitation? thats going to be our future hover cars lol

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Late Night Crew #1

bigs

that saturn picture is awesome

Mikester

Thanks dude... Here is an afocal of the moon I shot awhile back:

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