Posts by Insomnia

Not exactly a favorite, but I find the lunar craters amusing. The poor satellite had been hit by so many meteorites and volcanic eruptions for billions of years! The scientists even name the craters. For example, this one is called the Schrödinger crater. Look at the unique shape!

Another Saturn fan right here! At some point in the past, I was sad that Earth didn't have a ring like Saturn. I guess I'm drawn to Uranus and Neptune for their rings as well, although not as spectacular as Saturn's. Also, being ice giants, their colors make them look soft and beautiful!

What does everyone think about the dwarf planets?

I like that they try to gear up young folks' interests by providing this important study tool. If more countries can do that, then we will be able to draw more interest in this field and push research forward. That will be so cool!

Quote from Gabrielle

I don't think it would be easier to colonize other planets, even with robots, because they will still need the help of humans. They usually require instructions, supervision, and materials to upgrade their system. Without a manipulator, robots will likely rust and function with no direction.

I believe we can develop the necessary programs to make sure the robots' algorithm is appropriate. Maybe we can even develop ways to control the robots from miles away for more complicated tasks. Otherwise, humans can supervise them from the orbiting space stations, descending once in a while for maintenance.

While it is understandably difficult for humans to move out to a new planet right away, I think robots would have fewer difficulties adapting to the unknown environment. I say this for a long-term project, where they check on the land, attempt to make buildings, and maybe even harvest resources. Do you think that's way too impossible?

I'd say it's a great use of technology. This experience will help us to plan future research in other fields. Disaster prevention is also huge if we can play it right. (But with the way we humans live right now, I'm not so sure if we can properly prevent anything.)

Do you think we can do the same for the forests too?

Thank you for sharing the cool video, Belinda! Many parts are quite imaginative and speculative, but that is probably how most inventions start anyway. Fixing our earth is far from easy; naturally, terraforming one whole planet--especially one as toxic as Venus--will take decades.

What do you think is the part we can start today? I'd say it's the long-distance transportation method.

This would make an excellent topic for discussion, not only from the U.F.O side but also from the science side. We have no idea what kind of technology the other lifeform may have, so there is always a chance that they can do something beyond what we know. However, having two propulsion systems that work in different environments sounds like a major breakthrough our scientists should be aiming for. Why do you think we have not reached that point yet?

Quote from Garnet

Hey guys! I just want to add that I was able to see it last night. It was so amazing. I don't have a telescope, so I just looked for the moon and was hoping to notice something different, and there it was! It looked like a tiny little dot on the left side of the moon. It was so cool

Congratulations! I'm so happy for you. None of my close friends managed to catch it without any tools, unfortunately, and neither did I. Perhaps I was looking during the time when Mars was hidden by the moon. Then there was my schedule as well. I will try to be patient until 2025 for another possible sighting!

Like Maddie, I mostly played this game in an arcade, smashing the buttons out of rage and panic at times with my friends! I remember feeling so nostalgic watching the game appears in the movie Pixels. Games have grown so far to the point where a playstyle like Space Invaders is now too simple, but I think there is still charm in simplicity.

So, experts recommend we try looking at Mars on the evening of December 7th around 6-9 PM. For those in Europe, this is on the morning of December 8th. We may be able to see a red dot appears, disappears, and reappears at the bottom-right of the full moon. Some articles say that those in North America and Western Europe are in the best positions.

I really hope I don't need to go anywhere specific to get a nice view, especially because that friend with the Dobsonian telescope I mentioned the other day couldn't come with me. Is anyone planning anything special for the D-day?

If we go into astronomy believing that we can see stuff like what the magazines or NASA videos have in our first viewing, I'm sure we are going to be very disappointed. Sometimes my friends only talk about this dot, that little shine, or a slight color that may be up for debate. I guess we should be prepared for that much if we want to go deep into this subject.

This Earth is already so full, so building power stations outside the Earth does sound like the right choice. We will have another question in form of transporting the harvested energy though. Just think about the distance.

There are so many big-money points along this topic, so why would those people pull out? It's to no one's disadvantage if progress were to slow down or stop anyway.

I just read a news article on China using Tiangong Space Station for their space-based solar power project. Looking at how we've been utilizing solar power this far, this sounds like a promising idea even if results may probably take decades (and even more until we can use those resources for our daily lives). Do you think we will ever be successful in finding a new energy source like this?

I'm very excited that we will be able to see Mars with no tools! Orion, what kind of telescope are you bringing? Preparing for the worst is never bad, so maybe I should drag a friend and his 8-inch Dobsonian telescope with me that day.