Telescopes 'worthless' by 2050

[blackparticle]

Without a rapid move towards hydrogen as a fuel, there won't be any cheap air-travel in 15 years time, never mind 50.

The emissions from hydrogen jet-engines still form contrails though.

[Superewza]

So why don't we start a guerilla campaign and set off tons of volcanoes?

[Flying Eye]

Maybe in 50 years time the recession will be over and cheap air travel will once again be back with us....or maybe not.

I'd love to find out if you are right, but I sadly have a prior appointment which will prevent this!

[Reggie]

but we're shifting our cars to electric, won't this cut down on emmisions or do they not expect us to curtail emmissions in the next 50 years? If wind and solar energy become efficient enough to be economically viable, that will also cut the emmissions, or are the airlines exempt from emmission targets?

[JamesF]

Airlines have thus far been exempted from some of the "environmental taxes". There's a fuss going on at the moment about whether Europe can unilaterally enforce such charges on US airlines.

Somehow I find it hard to imagine hydrogen-fuelled aircraft ever taking off (as it were). I reckon you'd need too much fuel and too much mass to store it for realistic long-distance flight.

Perhaps people will start travelling by nuclear-powered ship instead? All the romance of post-Victorian era travel with the benefit of lobsters with a claw for everyone

James

[cantab]

Somehow I find it hard to imagine hydrogen-fuelled aircraft ever taking off (as it were). I reckon you'd need too much fuel and too much mass to store it for realistic long-distance flight.

The Space Shuttle flew

On the original post (donkeys years ago), by 2050 ground-based telescopes may cease being cutting edge for research even WITHOUT any climatic changes, if it becomes much cheaper to put things into space.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

The Space Shuttle flew

On the original post (donkeys years ago), by 2050 ground-based telescopes may cease being cutting edge for research even WITHOUT any climatic changes, if it becomes much cheaper to put things into space.

The space shuttle flew, but the price of a ticket was rather steep . I don't think jettisoning a fuel tank every flight will be that acceptable, especially in land0licked airports

The developments over the last decades (since the launch of Hubble really), convince many astronomers that space telescopes are rather too cost-ineffective, except for those wavelengths that are absorbed by the atmosphere. Just look at the successes of VLT and Keck and that generation of scopes.

Hubble is great of course, but for sheer flux collection the Kecks and VLTs of the world have it beaten by miles.

[faulksy]

The one thing I have against this article (other than it's unsubstantiated fiction) is that surely, his basing his judgements on todays technology, in 50 years, who knows what ground-based scope technology we will have? Imagine how far we've come in the last 50 years. Obviously, that isn't a substitute for ensuring we have clear skies, but, all of these articles lately about how many planes will be flying and how many journeys will be made a day in the future, don't people realise, oil is running out, oil is getting more expensive, therefore, flights will get alot more expensive, people won't be able to afford to make as many flights so there is a case to be made for there being less flights in the future, or am I missing something?

Hmmm, imagine a pedal aeroplane Would stop the Deep vein thrombosis...

Anyways, maybe I'm missing somethign :insects1:

also the fact that in 50 years they could use alternative fuels that wont deplete the ozone

[Shibby]

In case anyone is interested or didn't know, they settled on a 39.3 m design in the end for the E-ELT, based in Chile it will be (by far) the biggest optical telescope in the world. The secondary mirror alone is 4.2m across! The first construction work will start this year!

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

In case anyone is interested or didn't know, they settled on a 39.3 m design in the end for the E-ELT, based in Chile it will be (by far) the biggest optical telescope in the world. The secondary mirror alone is 4.2m across! The first construction work will start this year!

Is that Extremely Expensive Large Telescope?

Cool stuff: a secondary mirror nearly as large as the Hale telescope's primary.

[scogyrd]

Why will it be any worse for us astronomers than it was 150 years ago when the skies were full of soot and smoke and the black country was indeed black?

Were people unable to observe back then?

[mindburner]

geez it will take me that long to payoff my credit card bills for my astro stuff. The article does seem to assume quite a bit, but it is a bit worrying non the less.

[Superewza]

but we're shifting our cars to electric, won't this cut down on emmisions or do they not expect us to curtail emmissions in the next 50 years? If wind and solar energy become efficient enough to be economically viable, that will also cut the emmissions, or are the airlines exempt from emmission targets?

If we actually want to do anything about it then we need to have drastically reduced our emissions about ten years ago. We didn't. And despite all our "efforts" (lol) the rate at which the emissions are increasing is itself increasing, it's exponential.

Electric cars don't cut down on emissions so much as move where the emissions are coming from - that being the power station. There's something to be said for a centralized source being more efficient, but then the transmission of power over distance may be enough to negate that.

However you look at it it's not enough.