tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post6687594946926533271..comments2024-03-28T14:07:18.682-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: Our best year in space yet!David Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-83266452585519729822018-10-30T01:53:25.216-07:002018-10-30T01:53:25.216-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.siskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07076079736141144027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-31111547226071668562015-08-24T17:46:46.297-07:002015-08-24T17:46:46.297-07:00onward
onwardonward<br /><br />onwardDavid Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-36050236246753776272015-08-24T17:39:54.646-07:002015-08-24T17:39:54.646-07:00TCB though let's be generous and fair. Tenzin...TCB though let's be generous and fair. Tenzing did have an assistant who provided the funding and equipment. And who was one of the most generous men of his day.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-64719431630256197042015-08-24T12:18:07.763-07:002015-08-24T12:18:07.763-07:00"The only real change in 60 years is the assu...<i>"The only real change in 60 years is the assumption of exponential growth in population"</i><br /><br />If the increased expansion rate of the universe by dark energy is true, then this is a change that Asimov could not have anticipated. In addition, if the multiverse model is true, then the expansion might be possible into new universes. Actually when Asimov wrote that story, it assumed the universe would expand forever, even though there was an argument about whether this was the case or whether the oscillating universe was true.Alex Tolleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01556422553154817988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-63703254574294847062015-08-24T08:41:26.385-07:002015-08-24T08:41:26.385-07:00It makes me happy to see the tallest mountains on ...It makes me happy to see the tallest mountains on Pluto named after Tenzing Norgay.TCBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08153506222271955110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-36103340846441089382015-08-23T18:03:43.567-07:002015-08-23T18:03:43.567-07:00Black holes aren't mentioned.Black holes aren't mentioned.Jumperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11794110173836133321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-45805279029454964752015-08-23T16:45:37.290-07:002015-08-23T16:45:37.290-07:00In the Asimov piece
The only real change in 60 yea...In the Asimov piece<br />The only real change in 60 years is the assumption of exponential growth in population although Asimov ducks the question after the galaxies are filled<br /><br />One of the three "Truths" from my youth that are no longer trueduncan cairncrosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14153725128216947145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-44114023061648470122015-08-23T15:25:03.267-07:002015-08-23T15:25:03.267-07:00 Some of the plot premises (if there is a plot) to... Some of the plot premises (if there is a plot) to the Asimov piece are silly… but the ultimate question is still… ultimate. David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-55302153420702424562015-08-23T13:29:19.021-07:002015-08-23T13:29:19.021-07:00Dr. Brin, I thought you might enjoy this.
The Las...Dr. Brin, I thought you might enjoy this.<br /><br /><a href="http://imgur.com/gallery/9KWrH" rel="nofollow">The Last Question</a> by Isaac Asimov... in webcomic format.<br /><br />Enjoy :)<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-9225057247456786412015-08-23T12:01:39.726-07:002015-08-23T12:01:39.726-07:00Heh! Though that may be how the cold-flu that kil...Heh! Though that may be how the cold-flu that kills humanity started, in The Last Ship.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-14130071028319172292015-08-22T23:22:06.321-07:002015-08-22T23:22:06.321-07:00Non-destructive whale research is all mucus and fa...Non-destructive whale research is all mucus and faeces. What must we look like?<br /><br />Still, if they sing songs about us, that chorus would be #It could be worse, could be worse, could be worse#.Paul451https://www.blogger.com/profile/12119086761190994938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-69987212320861983432015-08-22T20:29:21.522-07:002015-08-22T20:29:21.522-07:00Slightly off topic Dr. Brin but wanted to bring yo...Slightly off topic Dr. Brin but wanted to bring your attention to a worthy kickstarter cause that needs some help raising the remaining funds. Noninvasive whale research via use of drones to collect their "snot" for analysis!<br /><br />https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/snotbot/snotbot-pushing-the-frontiers-of-whale-research-wiAndynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-83350231667078722822015-08-22T13:06:26.026-07:002015-08-22T13:06:26.026-07:00KS Robinson's novel AURORA both explores in de...KS Robinson's novel AURORA both explores in detail... and ultimately disses... the concept of generation ships to the stars. Though he does seem to stack the deck in about a dozen ways. Then, in the end, saves his characters when Earth sends them a tech that... well... makes the whole argument moot.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-26275933208651127112015-08-22T12:32:59.054-07:002015-08-22T12:32:59.054-07:00Daniel, while generation ships certainly have thei...Daniel, while generation ships certainly have their flaws, they are currently a doable (albeit expensive) technology. Meanwhile, despite the enthusiasm for the concept in certain circles, we haven't figured out how to freeze humans without killing them yet.<br /><br />"Conceivable" and "possible" aren't always the same thing...Jonathan S.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-10664847006591308062015-08-22T12:09:30.942-07:002015-08-22T12:09:30.942-07:00Brain drain discovered
Back in inner space, scienc...Brain drain discovered<br />Back in inner space, science progresses. Existence of lymphatic system in the brain, long thought not to exist, is found. Students of neuro-biochemistry will be interested:<br />http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/brain-drain-missing-link-discovered-in-the-brain/2015/08/17/03df9332-44ef-11e5-8ab4-c73967a143d3_story.htmlJumperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11794110173836133321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-37908055700184219032015-08-22T11:28:34.104-07:002015-08-22T11:28:34.104-07:00Like Tony, I am concerned that we face long years ...Like Tony, I am concerned that we face long years of little planetary exploration, machine or human. I hope 2015 proves to be just a temporary peak that will be exceeded as other nations and private organizations extend our capabilities. I think that cheaper access to space plus miniaturization will allow a lot more to be accomplished in the coming decades.<br /><br />And yes, solar sails seem to have been an unconscionably long time in gestating, I well recall Drexler's articles on solar sails back in the early 1980's making a lot of sense. I hope that the Planetary Society's 2016 Lightsail really inspires some new thinking and hardware development. This really is a potential game changer for low coast space exploration.Alex Tolleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01556422553154817988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-42977082183201052692015-08-22T10:32:36.682-07:002015-08-22T10:32:36.682-07:00@Daniel - nice video using the von Neumann replica...@Daniel - nice video using the von Neumann replicator strategy but with humans along for the ride. But if this was so easy (colonizing galaxies with 1 bn years), it really highlights the Fermi question "Where are they?".<br /><br />The strategy is reasonable, although it seems to assume that humans can live without the biological ecosystems of Earth. At the least we need to bring our microbiomes along with us, and I doubt that is possible without a lot more of Earth's ecosystems.<br /><br />The underlying assumption is that Earth can even afford to send such a starships out. The assumption of economic growth (assumed by Dyson) that we will be rich enough by the middle centuries of this millennium may be false. I certainly think that Earth alone cannot sustain such growth with associated energy consumption and that we will need to be solar system wide in extent, which will include consumption. Since I'm not entirely sure humans will live off world, although I hope we do), this may mean machines becoming the producers and consumers in this economy, with humans as just a small part of the economy. I think Pohl/Kornbluth raised this idea of robot consumumers once, but I have never seen it explored in SF except in passing by Stross' "Accelerando". Technically Bron's "Kiln People" would fulfill a similar role. In practice, so would the robots in Asimov's "The Naked Sun" as rather than being just owned appliances, robots would require a huge economic support system that they would manage, rather than the few humans living on Solaria.<br /><br />My view is that if you have AI that is smart enough to raise humans, then you have smart robots too, so why even bother with human embryo's with all the biological baggage and ethical issues they raise? Why not colonize the universe with machines instead, as they can operate on almost any world. They could green the universe where no life exists and carry our human initiated culture to the ends of the universe. That seems like a glorious adventure, even if we humans 1.0 will be left behind, as well as biological post humans that we evolve or engineer ourselves into. <br /><br /> Alex Tolleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01556422553154817988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-85791438797123620622015-08-22T05:27:37.892-07:002015-08-22T05:27:37.892-07:00Robert,
"What the moron failed to realize was...Robert,<br /><i>"What the moron failed to realize was he was taking a picture of something dozens (if not hundreds) of times larger in diameter than Pluto."</i><br /><br />Also 7.5 times further from the sun, therefore about 1/60th as much sunlight per square metre, requiring a longer exposure which produces more noise in the image. (In addition to 1/60th the diameter, therefore 1/3500th the surface area, which means you blow up the images sixty times more, which also increases blurriness. As you noted.)<br /><br />Also that the "high resolution" camera was 1024x1024, and the early images were taken with the lower resolution navigation camera.Paul451https://www.blogger.com/profile/12119086761190994938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-57827072012079712142015-08-22T04:25:37.008-07:002015-08-22T04:25:37.008-07:00"And go on to the stars."
Found this fa..."And go on to the stars."<br /><br />Found this fascinating video about how Mankind could colonize the entire galaxy and beyond in a relatively short (astronomically speaking) time using self replicating ships, frozen embryos and artificial wombs, frozen hibernation of adult crew, protective nurturing AI, and nuclear pulse spacecraft traveling 1% to 10% of - all very conceivable technologies:<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WtgmT5CYU8<br /><br />Other methods are probaly not possible (FTL using warp drive or hyperspace) or practical (generation colony ships - as KSR pointed out in "Aurora", when things break down in the habitat biomes the nearest repair shop and spare parts depot is light years away).<br /><br />But by using the simpler methods of frozen hibernation for the few adult crew, and/or AIs that would serve as nurturing parent analogs for those millions of frozen embryos gestated in artificial wombs upon arrival, we as a species could spread throughout the universe like a virus.DPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07087941506162882852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-59255159902856373632015-08-22T01:59:02.881-07:002015-08-22T01:59:02.881-07:00Until IAU decrees otherwise, I hereby dub the fuzz...Until IAU decrees otherwise, I hereby dub the fuzzy areas on Charon 'Regio Yuggoth' (where there be fun guys).<br /><br />Otherwise, I think the standard comment on seeing the first flyby photographs of Pluto was 'so when are we going back?'* Finding evidence of geological activity where none was expected (on Pluto *and* Ceres) is precisely what exploration is about. (Although I was a little disappointed not to see any filamentary strands joining Pluto and Charon**. Still, the imagination can fill in the gaps while there's still plenty of data to be returned.)<br /><br />While this year has been great for planetary exploration, we are facing a few lean ones. Messenger has ended. Cassini will be ending soon and, while Juno is due to arrive at Jupiter next year, it's not expected to last that long in the radiation belts. By 2020, Mars will be the only place we have a sustained presence.<br /><br />By way of consolation, there is still 'inner space', and I gather that <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-22/deepsea-robot-discovery-rivals-great-barrier-reef-parks-victoria/6717028" rel="nofollow">Parks Victoria has just discovered an extensive coral/sponge reef in 100m just off Wilsons Promontory</a>. (In keeping with previous remarks about geological activity, Bass Strait is *not* where I'd expect to find a coral reef)<br /><br />*Bearing in mind that an orbit insertion mission would take ~ 40 years coasting to get there. Not sure what a large tank of xenon does to the figures.<br />**In case you're wondering, I'm referring to "Hothouse" where Aldiss describes a far future Earth that has become tidally locked with the Moon, and the two have become linked by the webs of vegetable creatures that are a cross between dirigibles and giant spiders.Tony Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14578160528746657971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-80863263013213123822015-08-22T01:00:51.032-07:002015-08-22T01:00:51.032-07:00I must say as an American living in Paris that I a...I must say as an American living in Paris that I am very proud of what the American soldiers did today in the Amsterdam to Paris train.Deuxglassnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-24436717332015780492015-08-21T22:14:37.242-07:002015-08-21T22:14:37.242-07:00I know that today's thread is technology relat...<br /><br />I know that today's thread is technology related -- woohooo, go space & technology -- but I had to share one of the most astute & manipulative applications of game theory since Briar Rabbit convinced his adversaries to throw him back into his beloved briar patch. I am speaking, of course, of the Greek Crisis and Game Master Tsipras who managed to (1) reposition his progressivist anti-austerity party as the new face of greek conservativism, (2) convince the IMF to 'force' yet another unsecured loan on the most indebted nation in the EU, (3) force the EU to bear the brunt of immigrants who have invaded the EU through Greece and (4) dissolve his new 'conservative' government in so abrupt a fashion that future greek government accountability becomes impossible, leaving centralist EU federalists holding the (metaphorical) bag while leftist US-style socialists like Bernie Sanders demand balkanisation in a desperate 'last gasp' attempt to save european democracy from the rule of EU oligarchy. Expect step (5) in short order and thank god that we live in a society that makes all this possible.<br /><br />Bestlocumranchnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-23907756286799169112015-08-21T20:36:22.109-07:002015-08-21T20:36:22.109-07:00I'm rather surprised at the stupidity of the &...I'm rather surprised at the stupidity of the "head" truther who claims Pluto's images were faked... because of the blurriness of an initial picture of Pluto taken from the same distance as his own photograph of Jupiter. He puzzled over how the image could be so pixelated when his showed clear detail.<br /><br />What the moron failed to realize was he was taking a picture of something dozens (if not hundreds) of times larger in diameter than Pluto. It dawned on me in a matter of seconds, and I'm not that smart. (Mind you, I'm no idiot either, like this guy seemed to be.)<br /><br />All it took was two things: a basic understanding of planet sizes, and logic. Both of which the truther lacks. <br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-67425730672693962962015-08-21T18:47:03.052-07:002015-08-21T18:47:03.052-07:00"We are a people who are doing all these wond..."We are a people who are doing all these wondrous things, exploring our solar system with pennies out of each citizen's pocket... and so many other signs of progress down here on Earth... yet, we are letting dogmatists and indignation junkies of both the right and the left hijack the discussion, spreading fear and only fear of the future."<br /><br />You sound like comedian Louis CK, "Everything is amazing and nobody's happy"<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEY58fiSK8EDPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07087941506162882852noreply@blogger.com