STOP PRESS!
As this micro blog goes to press, Space X made history today by launching the Falcon 9 rocket to restock the ISS and then landing the first stage booster with pinpoint accuracy on a barge / 'droneship' in the Atlantic !
History is made !
Meantime, the Dragon craft is docking with the ISS to replenish supplies , and deliver an inflatable extension !
It is a piece of history now, and surely the first step in a new, commercial, space race.
The image below appeared on my FB feed as a timely reminder that we see everything from a human scale, but in the grand scheme of things, we really are miniscule. Further feelings of insignificance came with the announcement of the discovery of a supermassive black hole in an otherwise empty corner of the universe.
The very phrase ' empty corner of the universe' is surely a euphemism...
I find it tempting to laugh at the ludicrous terminology - 'Supermassive', not just ' large' .
'Supermassive' black hole applies to anything over the size of ten billion* suns.
This one is the size of seventeen billion suns, so it's quite big, then.
but not the biggest.
This led me to wonder how they classify black holes , but I confess I'm none the wiser ...apparently the naming convention is ' primordial, stellar and supermassive' .
If you want to ponder, the link is here.
If you just want to see some great images from our solar system , the link is here, with thanks to The Atlantic.com
The giant listening 'ears' of SETI are being redirected.
The latest thinking is that intelligent life, should it exist, is more likely to be found in the habitable, or 'goldilocks' zones of planets in a tight orbit around red dwarf suns.
This information was gathered by the Keppler mission, and given that three quarters of the stars in our own Milky Way are red dwarf stars, that makes them much more practical (i.e. closer to home).
I laughed when I read the phrase 'They are the dim bulbs of the universe'.
This made me sit up, though - why so many red dwarf stars in our galaxy ?
Are we a dying galaxy ?
Anyway, I hope the revised SETI search produces results - although I prefer another theory which states that our reliance on radio waves as a communication carrier might itself be at fault.
I also hold the belief that advanced alien civilisations might be hiding rather than attempting to communicate.
Who can blame them ?
MEANWHILE , BACK ON EARTH...
Apparently the new, more energised world of the Large Hadron Collider leaves us open to dangerous possibilities .
Even Pope Francis has spoken out, saying " Scientists risk opening the gates to hell ".
If you ask me (or any old gamer) it sounds like a script for Doom .
Either way, there's no denying that with increased power available, the world of the LHC is necessarily getting stranger.
Which makes me wonder -
Is there a global strangeness index ?
Personally, I reckon the world is a lot stranger than it was , but my Googling of the term ' Global Weirdness' only turned up a slew of Climate Change info, which is a frightening reality , but not 'weird '.
IN OTHER NEWS...
NVIDIA are developing supercomputers capable of intricate 'Deep Learn' style Artificial Intelligence.
The aim of this is to develop a system which approaches problems from a variety of angles, much as we humans do.
I only hope the resultant Artificial Intelligence doesn't decide to wipe us out and reboot...which brings us to the title of this post .
Apparently we are living in the Anthropocene era, when our impact on the Earth is unavoidably altering it - and not for the better.
As well as the obvious Climate Change, the search for rare earth elements is a potential eco-disaster.
These rare substances are essential components in smartphones and all things tech,, but do not exist in sufficient quantities to mine , except on the sea - bed.
The caveat is that wholesale destruction of fragile marine ecosystems is necessary to procure enough of them.
Of course, it's possible that many asteroids contain abundant 'rare-Earth' minerals - which, along with todays successful landing by Space-X, tells us that the new 'Space Race' is on - hopefully without the political edge...
* NASA claim that anything over 4 million suns is supermassive
As this micro blog goes to press, Space X made history today by launching the Falcon 9 rocket to restock the ISS and then landing the first stage booster with pinpoint accuracy on a barge / 'droneship' in the Atlantic !
History is made !
Meantime, the Dragon craft is docking with the ISS to replenish supplies , and deliver an inflatable extension !
 |
| The West Coast droneship used for the landing |
The image below appeared on my FB feed as a timely reminder that we see everything from a human scale, but in the grand scheme of things, we really are miniscule. Further feelings of insignificance came with the announcement of the discovery of a supermassive black hole in an otherwise empty corner of the universe.
The very phrase ' empty corner of the universe' is surely a euphemism...
 |
| Endeavour leaves Earth for the final time. Pic NASA |
'Supermassive' black hole applies to anything over the size of ten billion* suns.
This one is the size of seventeen billion suns, so it's quite big, then.
but not the biggest.
This led me to wonder how they classify black holes , but I confess I'm none the wiser ...apparently the naming convention is ' primordial, stellar and supermassive' .
If you want to ponder, the link is here.
If you just want to see some great images from our solar system , the link is here, with thanks to The Atlantic.com
The giant listening 'ears' of SETI are being redirected.
The latest thinking is that intelligent life, should it exist, is more likely to be found in the habitable, or 'goldilocks' zones of planets in a tight orbit around red dwarf suns.
This information was gathered by the Keppler mission, and given that three quarters of the stars in our own Milky Way are red dwarf stars, that makes them much more practical (i.e. closer to home).
I laughed when I read the phrase 'They are the dim bulbs of the universe'.
This made me sit up, though - why so many red dwarf stars in our galaxy ?
Are we a dying galaxy ?
Anyway, I hope the revised SETI search produces results - although I prefer another theory which states that our reliance on radio waves as a communication carrier might itself be at fault.
I also hold the belief that advanced alien civilisations might be hiding rather than attempting to communicate.
Who can blame them ?
MEANWHILE , BACK ON EARTH...
Apparently the new, more energised world of the Large Hadron Collider leaves us open to dangerous possibilities .
Even Pope Francis has spoken out, saying " Scientists risk opening the gates to hell ".
If you ask me (or any old gamer) it sounds like a script for Doom .
 |
| In which science unleashes the hordes of hell... |
Which makes me wonder -
Is there a global strangeness index ?
Personally, I reckon the world is a lot stranger than it was , but my Googling of the term ' Global Weirdness' only turned up a slew of Climate Change info, which is a frightening reality , but not 'weird '.
IN OTHER NEWS...
The aim of this is to develop a system which approaches problems from a variety of angles, much as we humans do.
I only hope the resultant Artificial Intelligence doesn't decide to wipe us out and reboot...which brings us to the title of this post .
Apparently we are living in the Anthropocene era, when our impact on the Earth is unavoidably altering it - and not for the better.
As well as the obvious Climate Change, the search for rare earth elements is a potential eco-disaster.
These rare substances are essential components in smartphones and all things tech,, but do not exist in sufficient quantities to mine , except on the sea - bed.
The caveat is that wholesale destruction of fragile marine ecosystems is necessary to procure enough of them.
Of course, it's possible that many asteroids contain abundant 'rare-Earth' minerals - which, along with todays successful landing by Space-X, tells us that the new 'Space Race' is on - hopefully without the political edge...
* NASA claim that anything over 4 million suns is supermassive
