Star Talk ☆ Let's Hang - All Are Welcome!!

[Polaris]

Ahh! Cassini's final mission T w T
I can't wait for more amazing pictures from its dives, but I'm also counting down the sad day when it'll be sucked into Saturn's atmosphere and lose connection with us

[Gingerale]

I wish we could set up orbiting satellites throughout the galaxy (and beyond) that would work like way stations where we could transmit the info to them and they would send it on to us, increasing our distance of transmissions. I wonder if that would also help to increase the speed in which we receive the transmissions?

[galled]

Transmissions in space doesn't really require repeaters. Because space is a vacuum, distance doesn't really affect signal. Repeaters won't make com's faster either (it'll actually make it slightly slower) because it already travels at the speed of light.

[Gingerale]

so what would increase/speed the relay to us or enhance the the ability to transmit from further away?

[galled]

They're looking at phenomena like quantum entanglement to possibly solve the time/distance limitations. Strange stuff, but really fascinating!

[Polaris]

The fact that our concepts of time and space are different from other life forms and planets and galaxies is just woooaahhh! We can look at the stars and admire it, but they could be looking at us 1 billion years into the future or a billion years in the past!

[Lemon Cheesecake]

maybe I watch science fiction shows too much, they seem to come up with ways of transmitting that seem plausible...

[mdom]

They have convincing writers xD

[galled]

It's also to help keep the show moving. In Star Trek, the creator Gene Roddenberry, thought up the transporter for this purpose. Otherwise they'd spend precious minutes landing the ship and taking off every week. I suspect the idea of fast interstellar communications was done for the same purpose. Imagine waiting years for a reply from earth? That would be terrible for a TV show!

[Lemon Cheesecake]

well, maybe like on Galaxy Quest some one will think it is possible and find a way to duplicate it!

[mdom]

I remember watching in the 90s a sci-fi (?) series and the girl entered a tube that cleaned her automatically. Even her hair lost the dye xD My dream shower. Step in and step out.

[Lemon Cheesecake]

did it blast her though?

[Gingerale]

maybe an ultrasonic shower?

Did you hear Mars will be its closes to Earth on May 30?

[mdom]

No, it was like nothing happened!

oooh will we be able to see it with telescopes?

[Lemon Cheesecake]

We may be able to transmit information about other planets sooner then we thought!

Even if the craft were moving at 90 percent the speed of light, the onboard cameras should still be able to pick up signs of large oceans, clouds and land masses that an exoplanet might have

[+] SPOILER

Over the course of two days on April 20-21, dozens of scientists attending the Breakthrough Discuss conference contemplated options for exploring planets in other star systems. These options include using a new generation of powerful telescopes for long-distance observations, as well as advancing a first-of-its-kind technology to visit other star systems — all within the next generation.

http://www.nbcnews.com/mach/space/searc ... ls-n755396

[+] SPOILER

The hope is that, someday, by combining laser acceleration of these very small craft with cameras and other sensors, we might finally be able to take a firsthand look at habitable-zone planets circling nearby stars, and, in so doing, perhaps definitively find life elsewhere in the universe. Combining data from our new generation of very large telescopes with atmospheric observations of nearby exoplanets around M-dwarfs may help us choose the best targets for small Starshot craft to fly by.