NASA Launches a New Earth-like Planet Hunting Telescope Using a Giant Balloon (techcrunch.com) 17
A new telescope will seek out planets that resemble Earth from a height of around 125,000 feet, using special optical technology that will filter out light from the stars they orbit to provide a better view. From a report: The telescope is the product of UMass Lowell, and took off on Tuesday morning from Fort Sumner, New Mexico aboard a helium balloon roughly the size of an entire football field. The balloon had to be that big to carry the telescope, which itself weighs around 1,500 lbs, and measures 14 feet long by 3 feet wide. The so-called 'PICTURE-C' telescope will operate at the edge of the Earth's atmosphere for a clear view, and it's a reusable piece of equipment that will stay aloft for several hours at at time before being decoupled and making its way back via parachute-assisted descent.
who said finite resources are finite? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Exactly what volume are the planar dimensions of a football field?
Re: who said finite resources are finite? (Score:2)
I think the purpose of using artefacts like football fields is to give somebody a relatable impression of size, aka continuity. Same reason England still uses stones to measure weight, and metric still uses the candela to measure luminous intensity.
Re: (Score:2)
England still uses stones to measure weight, and metric still uses the candela to measure luminous intensity.
Some people in England, particularly "older" ones use stones to measure their own weight...
When I left school, (in England) in 1978 at the age of 18, I knew my weight in kilogrammes. If I want to know it in something that would have made sense to people here a century ago, I have an app on my phone. It converts converts sane, metric, units into all sorts of weird things including "acre feet", hogsheads, hands, yards and gallons (US and actual).
I do not know anyone who uses non-metric weights for any other
Re:who said finite resources are finite? (Score:4, Insightful)
Several hours and a football field of helium later...
That's a lot of Helium. I thought there was a shortage.
Re: (Score:2)
Seems like a perfect opportunity to use hydrogen, being an unmanned single-use balloon carrying a parachute-equipped piece of equipment and all.
Re: (Score:2)
And if one is found... (Score:2)
Re: And if one is found... (Score:2)
Then we can go raid it for helium so we can keep searching.
Similarities (Score:3, Funny)
Other than being somewhat spherical in what way is the new telescope 'earth like'. Does it have whales ?
Re: (Score:2)
It uses a giant balloon---probably as an ersatz whale.
that's nice, NASA. (Score:2)
When you get tired of standing around, cooing at blurry pixelated images of a possibly earth-like planet three thousand light-years away... perhaps you could re-purpose those telescopes to look for any incoming CIVILISATION-ENDING ASTEROIDS.
Are you calling humans civil? (Score:2)
All things considered, ending humanity and even 80% of all life would be a net plus for the planet.
Trust me, we won't care. As we won't exist anymore.
Dear English language ... (Score:2)
... your ambiguity is crazy!
So NASA launches a new Earth-like planet.... and that planet hunts Telescope. Apparently, by using a giant balloon. ;)
Get some freaking compound words, at least! Or better: A more nuanced term structuring than just spaces.
We can talk about all-uppercase headlines later.