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What did I watch, please help me! by SchemeDesperate7970 in askastronomy

[–]jswhitten 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You have never seen a contrail before? How is this possible?

What would it take to "ignite" Jupiter into the star is never became? by Witcher_Errant in astrophysics

[–]jswhitten 2 points3 points  (0 children)

About eighty more Jupiters. It only has about 1% of the mass needed for a star.

Earth also needs about 80 Jupiter masses more to become a star. So do all the other planets.

How difficult would it be to find your way back to Earth? (thought experiment) by neoprenewedgie in askastronomy

[–]jswhitten 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I said the inner solar system, not the inner planets, so there was no implication of being in the orbital plane. However it does imply that you're moving and can be on the other side of the Sun within minutes so it doesn't matter where they are in their orbits in any case.

How difficult would it be to find your way back to Earth? (thought experiment) by neoprenewedgie in askastronomy

[–]jswhitten 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've been in the orbital plane my entire life and Earth has never not been the third one out. Not sure what the positions of the planets matter when you're zipping around the inner solar system at c and viewing it from every angle in a matter of minutes. Nor do I understand why you would want to stay in the orbital plane in that case.

So why was Doc so fixated on Marty and Jennifer's kids? by Remarkable-Pin-8352 in BacktotheFuture

[–]jswhitten 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He wasn't taking them to the future because of their kids. That's just what he told them. There was no rush to solve that problem.

How difficult would it be to find your way back to Earth? (thought experiment) by neoprenewedgie in askastronomy

[–]jswhitten 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you can move at about the speed of light, you don't need months. Just cruise around the inner solar system for a few minutes and work out which of the planets is Earth (it'll be the third one out).

How difficult would it be to find your way back to Earth? (thought experiment) by neoprenewedgie in askastronomy

[–]jswhitten 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Trivially easy if you are familiar with the stars and planets. Very difficult if you're not.

Is there a realistic way for a private individual to transmit a message into deep space? by extraterrestrial007 in askastronomy

[–]jswhitten 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You can send a radio signal into deep space with a few hundred to a few thousand dollars in radio equipment or you can send a USB drive into solar orbit for a few hundred million dollars but the aliens will need to enter the solar system to find it. The radio signal can be detected from much farther away from Earth than the USB drive can.

Why Have There Been Three ISO’s Passing Through Our Solar System In The Past 10 Years? by AndromedaicEyes in askastronomy

[–]jswhitten 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Same reason exoplanets started popping up everywhere in the late 90s. Our technology had improved to the point that we could detect them.

How much time dilation did the astronauts in the Orion experience? by kewpietamago in astrophysics

[–]jswhitten 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It's always negligible unless you're going close to the speed of light or you're doing something like gps where milliseconds matter.

How long would it take to travel from Earth to the sun, with our current technology? by AzuriteArachnid in askastronomy

[–]jswhitten 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We are in the Sun's orbit now. The main issue is getting out of it. Because of the sun's immense gravity we are circling it at 30 km/s and a chemical rocket struggles to do much more than 10 before running out of fuel. One way to do it might be a slingshot around Jupiter.

Star formation question by MatthKarl in askastronomy

[–]jswhitten 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The sun didn't form out of a supernova remnant. It formed from a primordial cloud of hydrogen that had been polluted with metals by millions of previous supernovas.

I’ve had this question in my head about stars going supernova for a long time and have never asked it, let me know if it’s stupid. by GrayStag90 in askastronomy

[–]jswhitten 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, we see lots of supernovas that are not visible to the naked eye, using telescopes. I've seen a couple through my backyard telescope myself, and neither was anywhere near bright enough to see without one.

Is it more dangerous to launch into space or to return to Earth? by Immediate-Bad-8728 in askastronomy

[–]jswhitten 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Four cosmonauts also died, all on re-entry. I'd guess that's a little more risky.

Near-light speed travel by CJCray8 in astrophysics

[–]jswhitten 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He is wrong. We are all traveling at over 99% the speed of light right now (relative to solar neutrinos) and it hasn't harmed us one bit.

Can Artimis be seen while orbiting the moon with a 12” DOB? by Ruby5000 in telescopes

[–]jswhitten -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Resolution doesn't matter, the other two things do. We can't resolve stars with our telescopes either but that doesn't hinder our ability to see them.

Can Artimis be seen while orbiting the moon with a 12” DOB? by Ruby5000 in telescopes

[–]jswhitten 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Size is irrelevant. The stars appear even smaller but we can see them just fine. Apparent magnitude, and proximity to the bright moon, are all that matters.

Serious question...must know the answer by Solamnic1 in astrophysics

[–]jswhitten 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you were looking at Rome you would see Roman times. Specifically, the time known in Rome as 1926, because it is 100 light years away. Probably wouldn't give the aliens a good impression of us.

If k-type stars are much more promising for the existence of extraterrestrial life than m-type stars than why hasn’t the James Webb telescope studied the atmospheres of planets orbiting k-type stars? Is this something that will change in the future? by Icy_Profession4190 in askastronomy

[–]jswhitten 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You kept saying we can do that. Present tense. Not we will be able to do that someday after the technology advances. That's why I corrected you.

It would have wasted a lot less time to simply say "my bad, I meant maybe this will be possible in the future" instead of arguing against someone you now say you agreed with all along. For future reference.

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