The Pod Bay

RhysW

00:00

sometimes i can be mature and responsible....sometimes :P

TildalWave

09:48

@UV-D Re that question on He-3 reserves, did you intentionally leave it slightly open-ended and not specifying exactly what you mean by "sufficient"? I'm asking because if it's intentional I'm fine with that, answerers will just have to discuss a bit more what that means (which might make them more interesting anyway LOL)

I mean their answers ... duh, good morning, I need moar coffee

UV-D

10:11

yesm intentional

TildalWave

10:22

OK I might drop an answer then, after I wake up :)

Stack Exchange

11:59

astrobites: Adventures in Astrostatistics: Astrobites at SAMSI (Part 1/2)

posted on November 02, 2013 by Ben Montet

A recap of the “Modern Statistical and Computational Methods for Analysis of Kepler Data” workshop in North Carolina, featuring both astronomers and statisticians!

Stack Exchange

15:01

0

Q: Space.SE resolution: 1000+ questions by year end

I would like all of us to make one rather reasonable resolution, to ask at least 1000 questions by New Year's Day 2014. This is a perfectly reasonable number to target, and should be close to our statistical projection based on last few months of activities. But with many holidays coming up in b...

ManishEarth

15:33

@RhysW actually it doesn't; has happened to both the RPi and Robotics rooms (as someone who was helping the sites get started and was guiding the mods, I got access to the rooms because I set them up for them and didn't revoke my own access). Some sites just don't have many problems. For that matter, we don't have many problems on Chem either, but sometimes we just chat in the mod room :P

Undo

15:52

0

A: Space.SE resolution: 1000+ questions by year end

We can do it. And while we're at it, let's kill the character limit.

Everyone

16:56

@Undo (+; storms of the same ~~sand~~ rust

Stack Exchange

18:03

astrobites: Along for the Ride: Entrainment in Jets

posted on November 02, 2013 by Susanna Kohler

What happens when an astrophysical jet moving at enormous speeds plows into the gas and dust around it? Some of that matter gets dragged along for the ride — and according to this author, this process could create the two different types of jets that we see.

TildalWave

18:25

@Undo I've deleted my answer on the Curiosity dust issue with retrorockets because I felt it's all of it a bit awkwardly put, not really descriptive. I'll try to rewrite it ASAP and undelete and I also found a nice reference why that would really be a problem, but I of course got stuck answering another question in the meantime... it's Saturday and my attention span is measured in minutes LOL. ;)

And I've also promised an answer to @UV-D ... I have loads of references already open (don't worry, no Wikipedia LOL), hope it doesn't crash my browser again ... mentioning it, I better save the links now

Everyone

What question did UV have??

Undo

19:07

Oy @Tildal, great answer.

TildalWave

@Undo Ah cheers, yes I finally managed to write it up :) Thanks for the accept!

Now for the Helium-3 reserves

Undo

Ah yes... I might go mathjaxify that question, just a minute...

Done. Hope I did it right - @Manish? $He_3$ means helium-3, right?

TildalWave

@Undo use this: $^3He$

Undo

Eh? What's it do?

TildalWave

try it :P

Should come out as ³He

of course, you could just use ^ LOL

Undo

19:17

Yeah, that's not what we want I think - I'm learning something from that chemistry class.

Oy @ernestopheles!

TildalWave

It is ... we want Helium-3 not three atomic Helium

Undo

Oh, okay. Lemme fix it.

TildalWave

He_3 is just three atomic Helium, which isn't Helium-3

Undo

Ah, okay.

So much for learning something from the chemistry class. Maybe I should just take a class from you and @Manish.

TildalWave

yup... answering the question will be tricky tho

Undo

19:21

What would be really awesome is if we could get any of the original Gemini/Apollo astronauts/controllers on here.

TildalWave

it's not so much of "are there sufficient reserves"... there are sufficient enough for all we'd ever need it for throughout the solar system (estimates inferred through He-3 levels on Jupiter, indicating how much of it there was in the Solar nebula everything formed out of), but how to get it in an economically viable way

Undo

I sense another Tildal answer...

:D

TildalWave

Yeah ... well there is then also the Apollo mission samples and measurements in-situ ... but those are rather disappointing for several reasons, mostly because of how they were done

let's just say that He-3 deposits don't like mechanical disturbance

Undo

Let's have 1000+ questions by December 31st!

2

TildalWave

and they were bloody drilling the samples out LOL

Undo

19:24

Lol

6 questions so far today, still 4.5 hours left...

TildalWave

I think I might leave it till tomorrow, sleep on it a bit to gather thought on how to present it. He-3 is a resource of utmost importance but nothing about it is easy or straightforward.

Undo

True - anything that makes your voice sound funny is a very important resource.

TildalWave

@Undo Nice, I'll also try to think of some questions. I was thinking of the Soyuz switching docks on ISS and why the procedure would require three astronauts onboard ... spaceflightnow.com/station/exp37/131101relocation If you wanna ask it or anything similar, go ahead

this was yesterday BTW

Undo

Nah, your question, you should ask it. I don't want to steal anyone's credit :)

TildalWave

19:41

I honestly don't have the time now, and I have some backorder stuff to do on the site too ... the answer I promised to @UV-D on He-3 reserves, then to write up a digest on the CSA answers and pointed to documents on the craniovascular pressure gradient, and I still didn't rewrite one answer of mine that I kinda didn't exactly know what OP was asking until after I posted an answer and he clarified in the comments.

So ... you go ahead, and don't worry about my credit either, I'll win this week with the "rep fight" with @PearsonArtPhoto, so that makes me happy enough :) He'll probably win all other remaining weeks in the year anyway LOL (mind you, it's not really a competition, just a joke)

Undo

19:55

Okay, I'll try to get to it today. Mind you that if you get time and I haven't got it yet, you can always write it up :)

also, SE kind of works because of competition - competition is just fine :)

Undo

21:43

Went to the Apple store and opened a browser on all the computers pointing to Space.SE... let's see what happens :P

Oy, @TildalWave, is the visits/day graph something you can share?

TildalWave

@Undo No I don't think so and I wouldn't like to anyway, because all these stats are way too easily misinterpreted, and I don't like discussing the science of statistics that much ... I'm not THAT inclined to masochism LOL

Undo

Ah, ok, fine by me.

TildalWave

I can describe some for you, if you ask a clear question :P

Undo

Ok, let me see...

What is the per-week visits/day growth rate?

Probably too broad.

TildalWave

@Undo hmmm if I polish out the wrinkles (irregularities), then it comes out neatly enough almost exactly +10% per week in visits / week

pretty steady too

Undo

21:51

That's... awesome.

Cumulative?

TildalWave

well on a graph it actually looks quite flat

@Undo that is yet impossible to judge, not enough sample data really

Undo

Ah, ok.

TildalWave

You do get some impression from A51 stats, if you know what you're looking at

I can't say that I know exactly what they're supposed to represent, but I do have some ideas and there might be some more info about them on mSO

I'd say tho that they're 14 day moving average projected for the current week, something like that

Undo

Sounds about right.

I think I read something like that at one point.

TildalWave

they do give that impression to me... could be 3 weeks moving average and 10 day projection dunno, that one is tricky

stats are a tricky business anyway

Undo

21:56

Yes... stats are fun, though. Especially if they're in a SQL db

0

Q: Why are three cosmonauts required to move a Soyuz?

The opening paragraph of this article caught my eye*: Three space station crew members put on spacesuits and boarded their Soyuz spacecraft Friday for a short trip to relocate the capsule to a new docking port on the orbiting outpost, clearing the way for the arrival of three new residents ne...

iss soyuz

^ Hope I didn't butcher your idea :D

Wow, today is a good day for questions. This just in:

0

Q: Space Shuttle range safety system

Why did the Space Shuttle have an indicator to alert the crew to the arming of the range safety destruct system? Quoting from here: The first message, called arm, allows the onboard logic to enable a destruct and illuminates a light on the flight deck display and control panel at the comm...

space-shuttle

TildalWave

@Undo No, you did it nice :) No need to mention me tho, ... I mean, I don't mind, but it's hardly required, we're all after same goal here

Undo

@TildalWave We're all after the same goal, sure, but we can give credit where it's due too ;)

TildalWave

OK now everyone knows I've been reading SpaceflightNow ... shouldn't that be expected of me anyway since it's mostly me scheduling chat room events for launches?

RhysW

Tildal is just happy that he gets the reward without the effort! (the reward being the posting of the question to the site)

TildalWave

@RhysW we need answers too you know? :P

RhysW

22:04

nahh, only questions

your goal is 1000 questions, why not 2000 answers!?

Undo

lol

TildalWave

and meta stuff ... and events scheduling and organizing ... and trolling on twitter ... ad infinitum :P

RhysW

and pestering astro mods :P

TildalWave

@RhysW that could be our next goal, sure

@RhysW and that

Undo

/me writes a rallying meta post telling everyone to go pester Astro mods

Just found this, it's a really neat read. Might be some questions in there, too:

dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a102320.pdf

TildalWave

22:08

@Undo this one ... I've seen it mention in many articles, and with crew interviewed about it and all ... when you first think of it you think nothing much of it, range safety self destruct is standard practice on any launchers nowadays ... but then you realize STS didn't have any LES at all, so yeah it does get rather "grim" as OP put it. I suggest answering it, should be an interesting experience ;)

Undo

I'm trying to find something about it... nothing.

TildalWave

I'll try find you some links, give me 10

@Undo message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=58247

now google for "space shuttle" "flight termination"

e.g. popularmechanics.com/science/space/nasa/4262479

►

and there's a wiki page on it of course

Range safety

In the field of rocketry, range safety is assured by the systems which protect people and assets on the rocket range in cases when a launch vehicle might endanger them. Range safety is usually the responsibility of a Range Safety Officer (RSO). At NASA, the range safety goal is for the general public to be as safe during range operations as they are in their normal day-to-day activities. RSOs are also present in the hobby of model rocketry. In this case, they are usually responsible for ensuring a rocket is built correctly, using a safe engine/recovery device, and launched correctly. F...

Undo

Yes... but I'm having a hard time finding something justifying the existance of the light.

TildalWave

@Undo the self destruct is not on the orbiter, it's on solid rocket boosters and the external tank, both of which the orbiter could detach from in an emergency ... there are parameters that define at which altitude that would be sufficient to save the crew tho, and the designs didn't bother with LES for a few also interesting reasons, IIRC the main one being that they wouldn't stand a chance anyway if it happened earlier than about 2 minutes into flight... which kinda proved true

something like that

needs to be verified though ;)

Rory Alsop

22:27

I was soooo hoping this was a joke :-)

1

Q: Why are three cosmonauts required to move a Soyuz?

The opening paragraph of this article caught my eye*: Three space station crew members put on spacesuits and boarded their Soyuz spacecraft Friday for a short trip to relocate the capsule to a new docking port on the orbiting outpost, clearing the way for the arrival of three new residents ne...

iss soyuz

Undo

@RoryAlsop lol

Rory Alsop

@Undo Well - it had the potential :-)

Undo

:)

TildalWave

hehehehe

Rory Alsop

It got an upvote from me anyway

TildalWave

22:39

I'm still laughing and I didn't even manage to think of a good reply yet

Rory Alsop

I really want to answer this with "From very far away":

11

Q: How can I safely observe a Solar Flare?

Solar Flares obviously release extreme amounts of energy and extend thousands of miles out into space. Because they are so big I would like to be able to observe some of these events through a telescope but I am wary of damaging both my eyes or the sensitive telescopic equipment. How might I s...

amateur-observing observation solar-flare

evening @RhysW

you get everywhere

:-)

RhysW

Sup

I am omniprescent

TildalWave

@RoryAlsop there's basically 3 ways to do it ... cheap but uninspiring way with a screened projection, still cheap but will cost a bit of money and cutting out with white light filter, and the best but more expensive way with h-alpha filters

David Freitag

@RhysW Is that what that smell is?

RhysW

@DavidFreitag Oi! I forgot about you :P

David Freitag

22:49

@RhysW Talk about omnipresence.

Rory Alsop

We roam the chatrooms, like a posse

That's 'posse'

Shuttup down the back there

TildalWave

hehe

RhysW

We are one. We are legion.

TildalWave

@RoryAlsop Is dr. Mayhem laughing at you saying 'posse'?

Rory Alsop

We've ... seen things... you people couldn't imagine

@TildalWave Dr. Mayhem laughs at everything. Except the X-Factor

RhysW

22:51

hmm, it worries me that my friend just posted that she was going drinking and dancing, and mentioned that she was driving there

TildalWave

@RhysW it's not driving there you should be worried about

David Freitag

Pff, noob. I walk to the pub and come stumbling back.

RhysW

@TildalWave I meant i was worried because they intend to be driving back...

David Freitag

And no matter how cold it gets, I'm always warm.

Mostafa

Hey, tomorrow (Nov 3) there will be a rare hybrid eclipse:

eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2013.html#SE2013Nov03H

TildalWave

22:53

@RhysW well hopefully there's a teatotaller among them with a driving licence

RhysW

@TildalWave no...

Undo

@Mostafa Neat! Mind posting that over the observatory too? That's where the Astro nerds hang out.

RhysW

@Undo oi us Astro 'nerds' are here too to hear you say that! ;)

Rory Alsop

@DavidFreitag you aren't a Geordie are you?

Undo

@Rhys lol.

David Freitag

22:54

@RoryAlsop Nope, I'm me.

Rory Alsop

@DavidFreitag pffft

Mostafa

@Undo Ok.

David Freitag

Sorry, i had to do it, mostly because i wasn't nearly motivated enough to read the wiki entry on what a "Geordie" is

Rory Alsop

@Mostafa what does that mean? I'm reading the page but can't understand why it is called Hybrid

Undo

Thanks!

RhysW

22:55

@RoryAlsop ask it as a question!

Rory Alsop

@DavidFreitag Geordie - person from Newcastle: never wears a jacket or coat when going out. Even in the middle of winter.

@RhysW will do - gimme a moment

Actually I should ask it on Astro

TildalWave

@RoryAlsop shouldn't matter in UK and most of Europe anyway

RhysW

@RoryAlsop :D you get extra points for that

Undo

Rhys is campaigning for questions... won't be long and we'll need to get some weapons to brandish at eachother.

RhysW

you are on a roll today!

Mostafa

22:56

@RoryAlsop See this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse#Types

David Freitag

@RoryAlsop Ah. Well i always wait until the last possible second to wear my coat. I often shovel snow (usually a few feet deep) in nothing but gym shorts and a T-Shirt

RhysW

@Undo nah, space and astro are like brother and sister, banter, but the love is there

David Freitag

But that's because my 101.4F internal body heat causes me to overheat with all that extra layering

Undo

Brothers and sisters still need weapons to brandish at eachother, you know.

Rory Alsop

@DavidFreitag you are a geordie then :-)

Undo

22:57

We could have sombreros vs. washing machines.

David Freitag

@RoryAlsop I'm genetically predisposed :p

RhysW

@DavidFreitag I don't want to know how you know that temperature

David Freitag

@RhysW My doctors. In elementary school i used to go home sick whenever i wanted too because my core temperature always made the nurses think i had a severe fever

Undo

brandishes washing machine

Wow, these things are hard to brandish.

RhysW

@DavidFreitag haha, im pretty sure my temperature sensors are broken

David Freitag

22:59

@Undo That must be some holster

RhysW

room mate dropped the temp by 12 degrees before i noticed

Undo

Drat, brandish quit sounding like a real word.

RhysW

brandish is a real word

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