Space stuff thread

Landing a rocket on a ship will indeed be interesting to see :)
Something tells me it will be more like a barge and probably empty

I have to say, I'll be quite impressed.

ThrashZone said:

Landing a rocket on a ship will indeed be interesting to see :)
Something tells me it will be more like a barge and probably empty

You can see it if you go to: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/media It looks like a re-purposed Oil platform. I'd be impressed also!

Nice vid John!

Tonight Saturday the 13th and tomorrow night Sunday the 14th from midnight to dawn.

Dec. 12, 2014: December has arrived, and for backyard sky watchers that means one thing: It is time for the annual Geminid meteor shower. Every year in early December, Earth passes through a stream of gravelly, dusty debris from "rock comet" 3200 Phaethon. This causes a meteor shower that sometimes lasts more than two weeks.

"This year's Geminid meteor shower will peak on Dec. 13th and 14th with as many as 120 meteors per hour," predicts Bill Cooke, head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. "I'm looking forward to a good display."

Source: Embers from a Rock Comet - NASA Science

For our European members:
Society for Popular Astronomy - 2014 Geminids and Ursids

Australian:
Astroblog: Geminid Meteor Shower 14-15 December 2014

Viewers all over the world can see this display of meteors. The only continent where the display is invisible is Antarctica. From there the radiant never rises above the horizon plus daylight lasts 24 hours this time of year. Viewers in the northern hemisphere have a distinct advantage as the nights are longer plus the Geminid radiant rises higher into the sky.

Observers in Australia, Southern Africa, and South America can best see Geminid activity near 0200 LST or 0300 local daylight saving time, when the radiant lies highest in their northern sky.

I will be happy to answer any questions you have concerning the Geminids. Before you ask please note that these meteors can be seen from anywhere north of Antarctica and that the best time to watch is between 10pm and 2am local standard time, no matter your location.

Source: Viewing the Geminid Meteor Shower in 2014 | American Meteor Society

Related Links for Live Viewing:

Live Telescope & Astronomy Shows of Stars & the Cosmos | Slooh

Virtual Telescope’s WebTV | virtualtelescope.eu

To report your sightings:

International Meteor Organization

Water, water everywhere...

Dec. 14, 2014: Where did our planet get its oceans? Among planetary scientists, this is one of the most important and perplexing questions about the origins of Earth. One popular theory holds that water was brought to Earth by the ancient impacts of comets and asteroids. However, new data from the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft indicate that terrestrial water did not come from comets like 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The findings were published Dec. 10th in the journal Science......

.......The key to determining where the water originated is in its isotopic “flavor.” That is, by measuring the level of deuterium – a heavier form of hydrogen. By comparing the ratio of deuterium to hydrogen in different objects, scientists can identify where in the solar system that object originated. And by comparing the D/H ratio, in Earth’s oceans with that in other bodies, scientists can aim to identify the origin of our water.

Source: Rosetta Reignites Debate on Earth's Oceans - NASA Science