Space

Source

From distant stars and galaxies to asteroids whizzing through the solar system, this next-generation facility unveils its first imagery and brings the night sky to life like never before

• First images: The first published images show the enormous diversity of objects that the Vera C. Rubin Observatory has captured in its images. The images are so large that no single screen is sufficient to display all the details. All images are available for download on the observatory's website.
• Comprehensive sky survey: The observatory will conduct a ten-year survey of the southern sky, investigating the influence of dark matter and dark energy on the distribution of galaxies in the universe, as well as variable phenomena such as supernovae and the flaring of galaxy cores when they swallow matter.
• Telescope of records: With an 8.4-metre telescope and the world's largest digital camera, the observatory captures large amounts of data.

I hope discussions are allowed in this community.

My idea is the following: if people ever set foot on Mars, they will need a continuous food source. It is preferable to be able to produce at least parts of that food on-site, instead of having to import it from Earth.

Now, i've thought about methane-eating bacteria or hydrogen-eating bacteria. They produce organic matter (and thus proteins) from anorganic ingredients (or ingredients that can be produced through technical processes like the Sabatier reaction). This way, anorganic ingredients (water extracted from the environment, hydrogen from electrolysis, CO2) can be turned into a source of proteins.

What do you think?

Is this technically viable?

Is it physiologically viable / healthy?

I'm well aware plants could also produce food. I just wanted to think about a possible alternative.

This portrait from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope puts the nearby galaxy NGC 4449 in the spotlight. The galaxy is situated just 12.5 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici (the Hunting Dogs). It is a member of the M94 galaxy group, which is near the Local Group of galaxies that the Milky Way is part of.

NGC 4449 is a dwarf galaxy, which means that it is far smaller and contains fewer stars than the Milky Way. But don’t let its small size fool you — NGC 4449 packs a punch when it comes to making stars! This galaxy is currently forming new stars at a much faster rate than expected for its size, which makes it a starburst galaxy. Most starburst galaxies churn out stars mainly in their centers, but NGC 4449 is alight with brilliant young stars throughout. Researchers believe that this global burst of star formation came about because of NGC 4449’s interactions with its galactic neighbors. Because NGC 4449 is so close, it provides an excellent opportunity for Hubble to study how interactions between galaxies can influence the formation of new stars.

Source.

• One telescope, one purpose: The Hubble and James Webb space telescopes focus on detailed observations of individual objects, while the Euclid space telescope and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile capture large sections of the sky in the shortest possible time. The latter are therefore considered survey telescopes.
• Highly complex observatories: Modern telescopes are highly complex and benefit from sensitive camera systems in combination with sophisticated optics and telescopes. The Max Planck Society has been involved in the development of many observatories, some of which took decades to complete.
• The universe in three dimensions: A two-dimensional image from a telescope often contains different astronomical objects, such as galaxies, which are at different distances from Earth. This allows computer models of the three-dimensional universe to be compared with real observational data.
• The explosive universe: Speed is of the essence at the Vera C. Rubin Survey Telescope. By photographing the entire southern sky and all the objects it contains very frequently in succession, it also captures explosive and fast-moving events in the universe.

source https://chandra.si.edu/blog/node/719

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/31469771

Scientists find universe's missing matter while watching fast radio bursts shine through 'cosmic fog'

Half of the universe's ordinary matter was missing — until now.

Astronomers have used mysterious but powerful explosions of energy called fast radio bursts (FRBs) to detect the universe's missing "normal" matter for the first time.

This previously missing stuff isn't dark matter, the mysterious substance that accounts for around 85% of the material universe but remains invisible because it doesn't interact with light. Instead, it is ordinary matter made out of atoms (composed of baryons) that does interact with light but has until now just been too dark to see.