Astronomy

[Danik 2016]

Tardigrades are tiny, under 0.5 of a millimetre long: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade. They are very tough, so they can likely survive anywhere. How much wiser would we be if their presence were confirmed on other planets/moons? Unless also other animals were discovered there as well...

I think they are more developed forms of life than bacterias:

"Tardigrades are strangely adorable microscopic creatures that are capable of withstanding some of the worst that nature can throw at them. Classified as “extremophiles,” they can survive freezing, total dehydration, radiation, and even the vacuum of space. Tardigrades are an ancient species that diverged from ancestral animals back in the pre-Cambrian period (~600 million years ago), and likely evolved their own unique genes over a protracted period of time.

Earlier this year, scientists successfully revived a tardigrade that had been frozen solid for more than three decades—a new record for this durable species. Needless to say, scientists are understandably curious about tardigrades; research into these ancient creatures could tell us something about alien life on other planets, and how we might be able to leverage tardigrade biology in medicine and genetics."

https://gizmodo.com/genes-hold-the-k...ity-1786814698

[Dreamwoven]

Yes, but is not that very point we are discussing? Yes, if there are more developed species also in those waters but not otherwise.

[Danik 2016]

What I mean is that the tardigrades,even if they are small, are complex organisms. I suppose the initial expectation of the scientists is to discover more simple forms of life. But in fact one doesn´t have any idea, what forms of life may be discovered.

[Dreamwoven]

No, I guess that is so. Looking at specific examples, where would the best place to look be? Saturn is a bit far away, but Enceladus is one moon that is promising. I believe there are plans to return there and investigate. Otherwise there are planets and moons around Jupiter: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_(moon)#Exploration.

Plans are in a very preliminary phase, so that limits discussion of them. What ideas do you have for future exploration?

[Danik 2016]

I don´t know, as you say, we are still in a very preliminary phase, with researches heading in several directions. I think the scientists themselves will probably surprised with unexpected findings but when and where is difficult to predict.

[Dreamwoven]

There is really very little new in astronomy. According to EarthSky it should be possible to see the planet Saturn near the horizon. Its been overcast for more than week, so I can't check that out.

[Danik 2016]

I have no idea what Saturn looks like or I would check from my location, in spite of all the sky scrapers that surround me.

Now this must be of global interest:

An all-new weather prediction system is on its way
"NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have teamed up to increase the accuracy of weather forecasts down on Earth.
The Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1), the first of the series to be launched, was sent into space at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on November 18, 2017. After it completes a three-month period of polar orbiting and the advanced instruments are confirmed to be fully functional, the satellite will be ready for weather prediction.

JPSS-1, which will share an orbit with the joint National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite, has the potential to increase reporting accuracy of upcoming atmospheric events. Its instruments will be able to observe and collect weather pattern data, such as sea-ice cover, fire detection, volcanic ash, and atmospheric temperature. The satellite is also designed to capture post-storm imagery, including storm damage extent and power loss, which could prove beneficial for storm damage recovery efforts."
http://www.astronomy.com/news/2017/1...-is-on-its-way

[Dreamwoven]

Its still overcast here, so still can't check anything. You won't see Saturn's rings, just a star in the sky that does not blink, a point of light.

[Dreamwoven]

I've just been reading about pulsars: http://earthsky.org/space/2017-marks...ere-discovered. Weird!

[Dreamwoven]

Here is something else http://earthsky.org/space/small-mage...tomic-hydrogen

I have to admit I don't really understand this one.

[Dreamwoven]

Astronomers at Australian National University (ANU) said on November 28, 2017 that they’ve created the most detailed radio image yet of the Small Magellanic Cloud, a famous sky-sight from Earth’s Southern Hemisphere and a dwarf galaxy orbiting our home galaxy, the Milky Way. The image shows the galaxy not in terms of its stars and dust, as optical images do, but in terms of its hydrogen gas. ANU astronomer Naomi McClure-Griffiths, who co-led the study, said:

Hydrogen is the fundamental building block of all galaxies and shows off the more extended structure of a galaxy than its stars and dust.

She said the image reveals distortions to the Small Magellanic Cloud, which likely occurred because of its interactions with the larger galaxies and because of its own star explosions that push gas out of the galaxy:

The outlook for this dwarf galaxy is not good, as it’s likely to eventually be gobbled up by our Milky Way.

Together, the [Large and Small] Magellanic Clouds are characterised by their distorted structures, a bridge of material that connects them, and an enormous stream of hydrogen gas that trails behind their orbit – a bit like a comet.

[Dreamwoven]

Well, I guess this was not so bad as an explanation.

[Danik 2016]

Here is something else http://earthsky.org/space/small-mage...tomic-hydrogen

I have to admit I don't really understand this one.

Indeed!
Did you notice there is quite a vocabulary of recent astronomy:
exoplanet
Kuiper belt
Red dwarf
White dwarf
Magellanic Cloud
Pulsar
Oort Cloud
Hot Jupiter
etc.

[Danik 2016]

Well, I guess this was not so bad as an explanation.

It´s ok. A lot of new informations.

[Dreamwoven]

Yes, it fine. There are other as well, like Oort Cloud, and Hot Jupiters.