Recent comments in /f/space

Anonymous-USA t1_j66vbvj wrote

Reply to comment by Ghostsarepeopletoo in If you could instantaneously place a space telescope at any desired distance (LYs), from any planet/galaxy etc., where would it be and what would you be documenting? And for what purpose? by kennyarsen

The observable universe is 45B ly in all directions only because the objects we see now in almost 14B years have moved 45B ly away by now.

The universe has an observable event horizon about 16B light years away. Any light leaving now from that distance may be observed (in 16B light years). But beyond that the expansion of space exceeds light speed and we will never see that light. Or hypothetical telescope signal.

So don’t put your telescope 90B ly away. Or 45B. Or 16B. No one will ever observe it.

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VulpesIncendium t1_j66s76g wrote

Reply to comment by AirierWitch1066 in Sending a signal faster than light is time travel? by KingOfTNT10

I actually thought about mentioning this, since it's the same exact sci-fi technology they use in the Mass Effect game series to explain instantaneous communication across the galaxy. It's an interesting idea, but I just dismissed it as impossible sci-fi magic. But, who knows? Maybe one day it could be the basis for some real world technology.

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momolamomo t1_j66oi26 wrote

Reply to If you could instantaneously place a space telescope at any desired distance (LYs), from any planet/galaxy etc., where would it be and what would you be documenting? And for what purpose? by kennyarsen

I’d put it at the nearest planet we think is hospitable and aim it at earth. Get top scientist who don’t know it’s earth, get them to analyse the data and cross check it with data we are certain are true. That will teach us so much on how to recalibrate our interpretation of data and the assumptions we make about how planets are based on their signatures

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cousgoose t1_j66ep3o wrote

Reply to comment by WictImov in If you could instantaneously place a space telescope at any desired distance (LYs), from any planet/galaxy etc., where would it be and what would you be documenting? And for what purpose? by kennyarsen

Hmm I swear I read a thing or two about the concept! The idea being if you were at a certain distance away, the BH could capture and 'focus' light emitted behind it, such that the image would be in finer detail? Unless I misunderstood. And I briefly tried searching the web for answers, but could only find articles about basic concepts of lensing. I'll keep looking!

My thinking was, if this were indeed possible, you could maybe rotate around the BH to get many clearer images of many different objects

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CastokYeti t1_j66dh6h wrote

Reply to If you could instantaneously place a space telescope at any desired distance (LYs), from any planet/galaxy etc., where would it be and what would you be documenting? And for what purpose? by kennyarsen

I think people are thinking too small with placing the telescope next to a nearby solar system with possible life — while it might take us a few dozen decades we’ll eventually get there soon enough anyways. Plus we don’t really gain much information looking at a new solar system with just a single space telescope, we’ll need a proper full-decked out station and everything.

Rather, this telescope (assuming it can’t be placed on Earth and deconstructed to understand the technology of a magical FTL communication and transportation) should be used to actually advance our understanding of the universe in a way we will unlikely see anytime soon in the next hundreds and thousands of years.

Next to / in black holes, at galactic centers, above a galactic plane, and at the edge of the universe are all excellent choices.

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AirierWitch1066 t1_j66buzv wrote

Reply to comment by VulpesIncendium in Sending a signal faster than light is time travel? by KingOfTNT10

This supposes that the signal must be “sent.”

Orson Scott Card in Ender’s Game came up with an Ansible which worked via two entangled particles - you could spin one and the other would spin the same no matter how far away it was.

This probably isn’t actually possible, but I think in our hypotheticals it’s fair to consider a form of communication in which the information doesn’t travel faster than light, because it doesn’t travel at all, it simply exists at both ends.

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HilaryClintonsEmails t1_j66b79p wrote

Reply to If you could instantaneously place a space telescope at any desired distance (LYs), from any planet/galaxy etc., where would it be and what would you be documenting? And for what purpose? by kennyarsen

I would place a space telescope at a distance of approximately 4.5 billion light years from Earth, in the direction of the galaxy cluster known as the "Cosmic Evolution Survey" (COSMOS) field. This location would provide an unparalleled view of the early universe, allowing us to document and study the formation and evolution of galaxies, stars, and other celestial objects.

The main purpose of this observation would be to gain a deeper understanding of the physical processes that shape the universe, such as the role of dark matter and dark energy, and to study the properties of the first galaxies that formed after the Big Bang. Additionally, this telescope would also be able to detect and study distant supernovae,which would provide valuable information about the expansion rate of the universe and the properties of dark energy.

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