bornagainathiest Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/stunningly-beautiful-images-show-off-the-milky-ways-swirling-magnetic-field/41174/ Stunningly beautiful images show off The Milky Way's swirling magnetic field Please check out the ESA vid! Thanks, BAA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 I watched the video, and I found it to be simply stunning. Space exploration is one of the few things that I get really excited about in life. Thanks for posting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fweethawt Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 That's crazy... What other observational units are out there that nobody hears about until information gets sent back? This stuff drives me nuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bornagainathiest Posted December 8, 2014 Author Share Posted December 8, 2014 Sorry, Fwee...! But that's often the way they do things, when it comes to long-term projects that handle BIG DATA. The most extreme example is the European Space Agency's Gaia mission. Launched: 12/19/2013, but planning started in 2000. Mission Duration: At least five years and perhaps more, to allow for technical glitches, lost data, solar flares, etc. Data Reduction: After the observing phase of the mission ends (2018/2019) the data will have to be processed and reduced, before it's released to the scientific community. This is anticipated to take at least 2/3 years, so we're looking at 2022/23 before any science can be performed on the complete data set. Earlier data releases will happen along the way, but these won't comprise the full package. Eye-Watering Factoid: Michael Perryman, Gaia's lead optical scientist (head honcho of the on-board telescope) started laying the groundwork for this project in... ...1982! . . . BAA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fweethawt Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Wow... That's crazy. I never knew it took so much planning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bornagainathiest Posted December 8, 2014 Author Share Posted December 8, 2014 Yeah. But at least Perryman actually got his gizmo into space. His decades of work could have ended up like this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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