Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
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By PeteSpencer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1827342
Spellbinding edge of the seat stuff. Kudos to NASA for doing it live in front of the world ( but I suspect a teensy delay in broadcast)
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By Dave W
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1827346
Image

Well, Mars-shattering. ;)

Seriously, that was just magnificent.

The confidence and sheer chutzpah of that landing method still astounds me, even though it's a repeat of a previous success with Curiosity in 2012. All those things that could fault or fail. :shock:
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By lobstaboy
#1827507
leiafee wrote:
lobstaboy wrote:I feel it's specially cool that Mars is currently a very easy spot in the sky from southern UK - west-ish about 30 degrees above the horizon.


Yeah, I went outside and gave them a wave!


I do seriously get a buzz from the thought, "The photons entering my eye were last reflected by the surface of Mars."
It's not the same using cameras or CCD stuff attached to the scope because they are different photons. It shouldn't matter, but it does.
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By Miscellaneous
#1827522
lobstaboy wrote:I do seriously get a buzz from the thought, "The photons entering my eye were last reflected by the surface of Mars."

It's the photons from the stars that overload my processor in this regard, not so much from the fact that they left the star, but the reality that they left the star 100s, 1000s, millions of years before I existed. Seeing in to history. :? :thumright:
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By lobstaboy
#1827605
Weirdly, since photons travel at the speed of light they do not experience time passing (relativity and time dilatation and all that stuff) so to them the journey over hundreds of light years is instantaneous, and they don't 'travel' at all they are just there.
Very odd...
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By Miscellaneous
#1827613
lobstaboy wrote:...and they don't 'travel' at all they are just there. Very odd...

I'll have to give that some thought lobsta, I've thought about them being the only particles able to travel at the speed of light due to being massless. Never really thought of them in terms of 'entanglement'. :scratch:

Anyway, what's the verdict? Will Perseverance find evidence of life? The very thought it may, excites. :bounce: :-D
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