Recent content by Cerenkov

Thanks for the information, ioannisakousoulakos. But my bad for not making my point clearer. I was interested to know if there's any data on the volatility of the host star in terms of flaring. We already know that M-class stars are prone to flaring and that over millions and billions of...

My first question concerning this planet wouldn't be about the planet itself. It would be about the host star. It's listed as a K3.5V. But is it a flare star? Or, if it isn't, is it still much more active than our Sun. Is there any data on that? The way I see it is that if the host star...

You've just reminded of something I read a long time ago about the chips used in NASA space probes, Alex. Can't quite recall the details, but it went something like this. A NASA spokesman commented on the kind of chips put aboard long-duration probes like Pioneer and Voyager, citing the power...

Yes, I'm there too Alex. If I had to pick one mission that interests me most it would be this. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psyche_(spacecraft) Ok, I'll have to wait until 2029, but I think it'll be worth it. If the theories are right about the asteroid it'll be the metallic core of what...

I can see that now thanks. I therefore plot Pioneer 10's heading to be within the borders of Hercules (red symbol) and Pioneer 11's to be within Eridanus (green symbol).

Hello Alex, Phyzguy was right. It's the headings I'm interested in. From the popular-level reading I've done on this subject I do understand that there are a great many unknowns involved in the positions, motions and masses of stars. I suppose it's a bit like weather forecasting...

This is great Phyzguy. Thanks very much. Voyager 1 is heading towards a region of space in the lower corner of Gemini, close to where it abuts Orion. When the winter constellations become visible here in the UK I'll be able to look up and know that it's out there. Which will be very...

I reckon so, FactChecker. If we turned the whole idea around and one of these probes were an envoy from an intelligent alien civilisation passing through OUR solar system, just think how much that would mean to us. Even if the species that made it had long become extinct it would still tell us...

Well, for me it's not just about the data these probes can give us, FactChecker. I believe that it was Carl Sagan who said that images like the Pale Blue Dot didn't provide a great deal of scientific information but did tell us (the human race) something about ourselves and our place in the...

Thank you for these links, phyzguy. I can grasp the LSR information better because it is couched in a sufficiently simple way and also includes an analogy that I can easily understand. The other one... Transforming Positions and Velocities to and from a Galactocentric Frame ...is beyond me...

Yes, I agree and can see what you're saying, Dave. 1I Oumuamua zipped quickly across most of that map but then receded in the general direction of a given constellation. In this case, Pegasus. So I'm not really asking what the constellations themselves might do over large timescales. It's...

Thank you Filip, I suspected as much but wanted to get some expert advice on the matter. Cerenkov.

Hi Dave! I really am just guessing here but perhaps we could roughly compare the trajectory of the Voyager and Pioneer probes to the path computed for 1I Oumuamua? After all both types of objects, natural and artificial, are heading away from the Sun. So perhaps something like this...

Thanks for this Andy. I concur. When I put the numbers into the SIMBAD basic query box, this was the answer. Identifier not found in the database : Gaia DR2 4544730574956793856 The same seemed to be true of VizieR. Perhaps the DR2 data hasn't been properly integrated these databases...

Hello, I've been looking at this paper... https://arxiv.org/pdf/1912.03503 Future Stellar Flybys of the Voyager and Pioneer Spacecraft ...to get a better handle on where these four probes are heading, at a basic level as an amateur astronomer. Its been very helpful. I'm trying to visualise...