#astronomy
#Contrail #Shadow X
#Astronomy #Picture of the Day
Not really anything to do with astronomy. Have they run out of relevant material?
#Moon and #SmokeRings from Mt. #Etna
#Astronomy #Picture of the Day
"US-based startup RocketStar has successfully demonstrated an electric propulsion unit for spacecraft that uses nuclear fusion-enhanced pulsed plasma."
"By introducing boron into the thruster's exhaust, high-speed protons generated from ionized water vapor collide with boron nuclei, triggering a fusion reaction that significantly boosts the thruster's performance. This fusion process, like an afterburner in a jet engine, transforms boron into high-energy carbon, which rapidly decays into three alpha particles. The result? A remarkable 50% improvement in thrust compared to our FireStar Foundation thruster."
"This discovery, initially made under an SBIR from AFWERX, has been independently validated. We've witnessed fusion reactions occur in our lab and the result is a 50% jump in thrust performance. 'RocketStar has not just incrementally improved a propulsion system, but taken a leap forward by applying a novel concept, creating a fusion-fission reaction in the exhaust! This is an exciting time in technology developments and I am looking forward to their future innovations,' stated Adam Hecht, Professor of Nuclear Engineering, University of New Mexico."
"The FireStar Foundation thruster is ready to ship now. It will fly in July and October 2024 on D-Orbit's proprietary OTV ION Satellite Carrier riding on two SpaceX Transporter missions, proving performance in the ultimate test -- space itself. But get ready, because our FireStar Fusion Drive is headed to the launchpad too, scheduled for in-space testing in February 2025 on Rogue Space System's Barry-2 spacecraft."
From what I've been able to figure out, and for those of you who like things expressed in equations (don't worry, for those of you scared by equations I'll describe it in words as well), what they're claiming looks like:
proton + 11B -> 12C* -> 3 4He + boatload of energy
Boron by definition has 5 protons, add 6 neutrons and we get the 11 isotope of boron. Hit it with a proton and that makes it 6 protons, which makes it carbon by definition. The asterisk indicates the carbon is in an "excited state", which means it has excess energy. It sheds this excess energy by splitting into 3 "alpha particles", also known as 3 helium nuclei (2 protons, 2 neutrons, without the orbiting electrons -- the "4" indicates the 4 isotope). The "boatload of energy" term of the equation increases the velocity of the thrust and cranks up the acceleration that the engine imparts to the spacecraft and the efficiency of the engine.
They say, "This discovery, initially made under an SBIR from AFWERX, has been independently validated."
SBIR stands for Small Business Innovation Research, a US government funding program, and AFWERX is an agency within the US Air Force for tapping into innovations from startups in the US economy. They say:
"As the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force and powered by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), AFWERX brings cutting edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address the most pressing challenges of the Department of the Air Force."
Link to their website below. I wasn't able to find any record of this on their website, but that could be because I don't know how to properly search the website.
RocketStar tests fusion-enhanced in-space propulsion process
The #CigarGalaxy from #Hubble and #Webb
#Astronomy #Picture of the Day
In 1973, there was a total solar eclipse that lasted 74 minutes. Well, sort of -- it was done with a clever trick. Viewed from any spot on Earth, the eclipse lasted a little over 7 minutes, but viewed from a supersonic aircraft flying in the direction of the eclipse, the duration could be stretched out.
The aircraft was a modified Concorde, and it wasn't quite able to keep up with the speed the moon's shadow moved over the face of the Earth. So it couldn't stretch out the length of the eclipse indefinitely. But it was able to stretch it out quite a lot.
This got me curious how fast the moon's shadow moves. For the eclipse we just had, I measured the distance from where it first lands on the North American continent, just south of Mazatlan, Mexico, to where it leaves the North American continent, near Rivière-au-Portage, New Brunswick, Canada, as 4,530 km (metric system!), or 2,815 miles. The time it takes to cross that distance is 1 hour, 27 minutes, 33 seconds. Doing the arithmetic that results in a speed of 3,105 km per hour, or 1,929 miles per hour. Translating that into a mach number we get mach 2.51. The Concorde's maximum speed was mach 2.04. The SR-71 has a maximum speed of mach 3.2, so an SR-71 could in fact keep up with the moon's shadow.
The other question is why eclipses near the equator can last more than 7 minutes while ours are much shorter up here in North America, at around 4 and a half minutes? Apparently the answer to this question is very similar to the supersonic airplane question. The moon's shadow moves from west to east during an eclipse, and the earth itself rotates from west to east as well, in the same direction -- this is why the sun rises in the east. So, the closer you are to the equator during an eclipse, the more the rotation of the earth itself mimics the movement of the supersonic airplane and elongates the eclipse.
Scientists discover cause of brightest-ever burst of light | BBC News
https://www.vedicastronomy.net/stars_appendix.htm
#PurvaBhadrapada #precession #nakshatra
#Vedic #Astronomy
Gargya Rishi! Nakshatrani Devata! Trishtup-Bhurik Chandaha!
Chitrani sakam divi rochanani sarisrupani bhuvanejavani
turmisham sumatimichaamaano ahaani geerbhi saparyami nakam!1!
suhavamagne krittika rohini chaastu bhadram mrigashirah Sham aardhrah !
punarvasu soonruta chaaru pushyo Bhaanur aslesha ayanam magha mey !2!
punyam poorva Phalguni chottra hasta schittra shiva swaati sukho mey astu!
raadhe vishaakhe suhav anooradha jyeshta sunakshatramarishta moolam !3!
annam poorva raasataam aashadha oorja devy uttaraa aavahantu!
abhijinma raasataam punyameva shravanah shravishtaah kurvatam supushtim!4!
Aa mey maha chatabhishagam vareeya Aa mey dvaya proshtapadaa susharma!
Aa reyvato chashvayujow bhagam ma Aa mey rayim Bharanya aavahantu!5!
This Sookta dedicated to Nakshatra's was recorded (Drashtaara) by Gargya #Rishi. The Sookta describes both astronomical and astrological elements. Twenty eight Nakshatras are identified starting with #Krittika and reference is made to Ayanam occurring in Maghaa. A nakshatra Abhijit is shown between Uttarashadha and Shravana. Its use has been discontinued in the Jyotishya with only twenty seven identified currently. The authenticity of the Athrarvana texts is well accepted, by the very reverence shown towards precise learning. Hundreds of generations of Shrotreeya's have carried veda's down to us in its original language using oral traditions of Krama, Pada, Jatha, and Ghana Paatha so that distortions are nonexistent. Two major astronomical time markers are evident and implicit in the Sooktha. They are,
- Rishi Gargya starts the list of twenty seven nakshatra's starting with Krittika. Choice of Krittika as the first of twenty-seven is very significant. In contrast Jyotishya Shaastra uses Ashwini as the first star. The choice of first Nakshatra must correspond to a logically first day of a solar year, which dictates the weather cycles. Which is the year’s first day? Astronomically speaking, the spring Equinox day in Northern Hemisphere temperate zone is a logical one. It heralds the arrival of the spring, in temperate zone of northern hemisphere of the earth. Vasantha ritu, the spring has always been considered as beginning of a year from Rig-vedic times. Hence, the first observation implicit in Rishi Gargya's sooktha is that on spring Equinox day, Sun was at Krittika Nakshatra. Figure 13 shows Sun location on March 21, 2400 BC from Load Star Pro. The Sun is on equator and is pointing to Krittika nakshatra.
