Space and things

Amazing Astronomy Photograph of the Day

Callum MacInnes — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 10:01:00 +0000

The ISS and Space Shuttle Atlantis pass in front of the sun 50 minutes after Space Shuttle Atlantis had un docked from the ISS. The photograph was captured from Mamers, Normandy, France as the ISS passed over at an altitude of 500KM.

Source: http://www.astrophoto.fr/iss_atlantis_transit.html

String Theory

Callum MacInnes — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 13:48:00 +0000

I recently posted a video of Brian Greene talking about string theory, I took it down as I promised myself I wouldn’t do any filler posts which just have a video attached to them. I’m trying to keep this blog full of good content.

String Theory of M Theory if you will is a subject which greatly interests me, I have read numerous books and watched many lectures on the subject and feel it is one of the leading theories in modern day physics as it definitely fills a lot of gaps in general relativity.

If string theory is to be the leading theory of quantum gravity, then the actual length of a string would be very small. And by very small I mean the length scale of quantum gravity which is called Planck length which is about 10 -33 centimeters and to make it sound even smaller a millionth of a billionth of a billionth of a billionth of a centimeter. These particles are too small to see using current particle experiments so string theory supporters must devise clever experiments to test the theory.

Two books I have read which help with the subject are The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene and Parallel Worlds by Michio Kaku. Brian Greene is one of the leading string theory subscribers and can often be found giving lectures on the subject worldwide. Michio Kaku is one of the most famous theoretical physicists in the world and his book Parallel Worlds touches on the idea of string theory and how they could connect to other worlds.

And here is the Brian Greene video!

Studying Astronomy + Physics

Callum MacInnes — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 11:24:00 +0000

I have recently decided that it would be AWESOME to finally commit and study astronomy, the only problem is I am an absolute beginner. The subject fascinates me but I’ll be the first to admit I cannot speak on the subject knowledgeably.

The Open University offers courses such as this one which offer a basic introduction to astronomy and physics. It looks great but I’m unsure as to whether there is much room to progress. I’d like a course which leads on to a higher level course and eventually maybe even a degree program in a couple of years.

Have you done any astronomy courses or do you know of anywhere that does them? Please let me know;

@subthinking on Twitter
callum@subatomingthinking.com

Alternatively you can comment on this post = )

Thanks in advance

Amazing Astronomy Photograph of the Day

Callum MacInnes — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 19:20:00 +0000

Beautiful photograph of the Milky Way. It always amazes me how every solar system in our galaxy is in that massive cluster. Yet most of those tiny specs in the background are also massive clusters of stars just like our Milky Way.

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/36672102@N07/

ISS ( 28-10-11 )

Callum MacInnes — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 18:22:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/get_player

I apologise about the quality, but this is the best I could do with my compact camera. I hope soon to have a HD camera which should make it a bit easier to record…

ISS Tracking Website

Callum MacInnes — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 10:32:00 +0000

I recently posted about seeing the ISS going over England, but never explained how people can make sure it is definitely the ISS they are seeing when there are so many planes and bright stars in the sky.

First of all, make sure you are using a reliable ISS tracker, most of them are accurate to within a couple of seconds and show the horizon of visibility for the ISS.

Here is the one I use, http://www.isstracker.com/

It shows an accurate prediction for the path the ISS will take, and if you see that it is going over your country when it is dark outside I highly recommend you attempt to see it if the skies are clear where you live.

When the ISS does pass over, make sure you are looking in the right direction which you can do by using the ISS tracker. When you finally do see the ISS it should be the brightest object in the sky, outshining Jupiter and Venus. And most importantly, it is moving at speeds in excess of 17,000MPH, so make sure you are outside ready to see it as it may be out of sight within minutes.

If you are interested and would like to know when you might be able to see a good viewing of the ISS, take a look at this website, N2YO, for a 5 day prediction of when the ISS will be visible in your location.

Amazing Astronomy Photograph of the Day

Callum MacInnes — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 14:01:00 +0000

Click to Enlarge

Thanks to a new follower on Twitter who sent me a link to a Facebook page I found this amazing picture of NGC 1316.

This is the first Amazing Astronomy Picture of the Day!

Source: https://www.facebook.com/AstroPictures

LHC@home experiment

Callum MacInnes — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 13:24:00 +0000

This week I thought it would be fun to sign up to LHC@home, I had nothing better to do and I love the LHC!

It uses a program named BOINC, if you have heard of SETI@home, this is the same thing but for the LHC.

The experiment helps calibrate and make sure the LHC is running smoothly and uses your computing power to help do it. I’ve done around 70 experiments now thanks to my quad-core desktop computer which is a monster and spits out results within four hours each.

I also made a team called The Wesley Crushers, so if you want to join, search and we can rule LHC@home.

Daily Question #1 – How big is the singularity of a black hole?

Callum MacInnes — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:31:00 +0000

And what determines how big a black hole is once the star has collapsed under it’s own gravity?

Comments welcome!

The ISS just went over England…

Callum MacInnes — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 18:21:00 +0000

And I got an awesome view of it! Absolutely perfect sighting, easily outshines Jupiter.

It suddenly faded away which I can only guess is to do with sunlight not reflecting off it from my point of view.

Anyone know if this is the reason why?

That’s all from me!