The Astronomy Thread

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Burnem Wizfyre

Burnem Wizfyre

Log Wizard
12,323
21,417
Mikhail Bakunin_sl said:
You do understand that your cell phone doesn't go out to space when it makes calls, right?
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Apparently I didn't I knew it went to towers in your area but I assumed if it was pretty far off it would be bounced off a satellite, apparently I am stupid
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M

Mikhail Bakunin_sl

shitlord
2,199
1
BurnemWizfyre_sl said:
Apparently I didn't I knew it went to towers in your area but I assumed if it was pretty far off it would be bounced off a satellite, apparently I am stupid
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That would be pretty sweet if it were true (since basically you'd never lose coverage) but AFAIK the transmitter in your phone isn't powerful enough for that. That's not to say it couldn't severely fuck up communication networks, but the impact would be on a large scale (international communications would be pretty boned I think).
 
Burnem Wizfyre

Burnem Wizfyre

Log Wizard
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GPS would be fucked, Satellite phones would be fucked, the vast majority of television (not all, yay for local stations), due to heavy dependance on GPS flights might entirely be grounded, international communications would be fucked as mentioned. It would be some heavy duty shit, the big question is how could one get rich preparing for such a disaster in case it happened.
 
Eomer

Eomer

Trakanon Raider
5,472
272
BurnemWizfyre_sl said:
Could you imagine the shit storm it would set off if Apophis destroyed the vast majority of our satellites? Fuckers laugh at me for having a land line but I won't be stuck out if that comes to pass, I can totally call and talk to my grandmother or my aunt.
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What do satellites and cell phones or other telco networks have to do with each other? All that shit is land based due to the distances involved with geo-sync satellites.

edit: ah, my bad, didn't see that it was addressed

That would be pretty sweet if it were true (since basically you'd never lose coverage) but AFAIK the transmitter in your phone isn't powerful enough for that. That's not to say it couldn't severely fuck up communication networks, but the impact would be on a large scale (international communications would be pretty boned I think).
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It's not solely about power. It's about distance. Geo-synchronous orbit is 42,000 km up. Even at the speed of light (300,000 km/sec), communications signals bouncing back and forth four times for voice calls causes pretty large latency, so it's not practical.
 
Burnem Wizfyre

Burnem Wizfyre

Log Wizard
12,323
21,417
Eomer_sl said:
What do satellites and cell phones or other telco networks have to do with each other? All that shit is land based due to the distances involved with geo-sync satellites.

edit: ah, my bad, didn't see that it was addressed



It's not solely about power. It's about distance. Geo-synchronous orbit is 42,000 km up. Even at the speed of light (300,000 km/sec), communications signals bouncing back and forth four times for voice calls causes pretty large latency, so it's not practical.
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I had a Merlin moment, Sorry. Oh add weather forecast to the list of shit that would disappear, oh and April 13, 2029 is when it would pass by us and knock out the satellites. Just imagine hurricane season with out satellites, as someone who lives on the coast that would deadly as fuck if we had landfall.
 
Eomer

Eomer

Trakanon Raider
5,472
272
BurnemWizfyre_sl said:
I had a Merlin moment, Sorry. Oh add weather forecast to the list of shit that would disappear, oh and April 13, 2029 is when it would pass by us and knock out the satellites. Just imagine hurricane season with out satellites, as someone who lives on the coast that would deadly as fuck if we had landfall.
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I don't know that ALL weather satellites are at geosynchronous orbit either, actually. Some may be lower.
 
Araxen

Araxen

Golden Baronet of the Realm
10,456
7,851
Why didn't they move the rover closer to that metal spoke or whatever is so you can get a better look at it?
 
Lenas

Lenas

Trump's Staff
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2,299
Might not be able to navigate those rocks, or it might be in the process of getting there. Fuckin' thing takes forever to move, man.
 
F

fucker_sl

shitlord
677
9
stuff like this spring an interesting question: if by chance we find an alien device on mars, something that proof intelligent life is out there somewhere, what do you think will be the general reaction ? indifference ? wild panic ? some kind of global social "growup" like Star Trek ?
 
iannis

iannis

Musty Nester
31,351
17,656
My expectation would be: authoritarian secrecy (not conspiracy nutter stuff), general indifference, a burst of cashflow into aerospace R&D.

I'm not even a conspiracy nut. But if the NASA rover finds spaceship parts on Mars I don't think we're gonna have an Oprah Special telling us about it. I don't think wars will end because we have a sudden, global, Pale Blue Dot epiphany. I think the information would be there but it wouldn't be widely publicized, widely understood, or widely credited. And most people wouldn't care too much even when they're aware of it.

Because honestly, there are wonders and mysteries in the world in plenty already. Most of us don't give a shit about any of that.
 
Malakriss

Malakriss

Golden Baronet of the Realm
12,659
11,973
Given how much we litter on our own planet and in our own orbit, is anyone really surprised we're already dumping on Mars?
 
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