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Which would you rather see?


Zermelo

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I have seen naked eye comets and plenty of meteors so would have to be a supernova preferably one close by..

Not listed but a large asteroid impact on the Moon would be nice 😀

Alan

Edited by Alien 13
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54 minutes ago, Alien 13 said:

I have seen naked eye comets and plenty of meteors so would have to be a supernova preferably one close by..

Not listed but a large asteroid impact on the Moon would be nice 😀

Alan

oooh now that'd be something but what'd happen if a big chunk broke off and headed our way? 😮 

For me, supernova I think as that's the one on the list yet to be seen.

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I'm torn between the Great Comet and the meteors.

I've never experienced a meteor storm, having been clouded out for the 1999 Leonids, so it would be a unique event for me. I have seen several bright comets over the years, including Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp, so not so unique.

However, I'll opt for the Great Comet anyway, as comets are my favourite astro subject, can offer weeks or months of observing and/or imaging and don't rely on one particular night being clear. The excitement around Neowise was a highlight of 2020, and it was wonderful to see interest from non-astronomer friends and relatives.

As for the supernova, I think I'd be cursing its light pollution after about half an hour! ;)

Regards, Mike.

Edited by mcrowle
typo
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11 hours ago, tomato said:

Undeniable evidence of extra terrestrial intelligent life would be mine, another irrefutable  “wow!” signal would do.

Undeniably an exciting prospect, but one with terrifying possibilities.

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18 minutes ago, Astro Noodles said:

Undeniably an exciting prospect, but one with terrifying possibilities.

Yes, I think Arthur C Clarke got it right when he said both prospects, a universe teeming with intelligent life or we are utterly alone, are equally terrifying.

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1 hour ago, Astro Noodles said:

Undeniably an exciting prospect, but one with terrifying possibilities.

There would be panic and rioting in the streets and claims of FAKE NEWS in equal measure.  Most importantly, toilet roll would disappear of the shop shelves by mid day :) 

Jim 

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13 minutes ago, saac said:

There would be panic and rioting in the streets and claims of FAKE NEWS in equal measure.  Most importantly, toilet roll would disappear of the shop shelves by mid day :) 

Jim 

And also telescopes I would imagine. I can't think of a single thing that would create more of an interest in Astronomy. 

It would be great news for everyone from NASA to FLO. 

After the initial rioting, and every nutter with a transmitter broadcasting drivel into space. - I would hope that calmer heads would prevail.

And then we would all start having to get used to the new reality.

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4 hours ago, Astro Noodles said:

One thing I would very much like to see is a successful SpaceX Starship orbital flight sometime this year.

Yes that would be good to see.  Inspire a whole new generation I'm sure of it. 

Jim 

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2 minutes ago, jjohnson3803 said:

Only until they exterminated humankind.  Meh, win a few, lose a few...

That's a bit pessimistic.

Anyway, if it is a signal, chances are they will still be a couple of hundred light yeas away or further. 

I don't really know about these things from a technical point of view, but it would seem highly unlikely that any extra-terrestrial technologically advanced civilisation would waste the energy broadcasting radio messages. I assume that radio is subject to the same inverse square rule that light is, so the power required to send detectable radio messages over hundreds or thousands of light years would be immense. 'The great silence' may be because everyone is listening, hoping that the other idiots will spend all their energy doing the talking. 🙂

More likely that future Wow! signals will probably also turn out to be someone at Parkes Radio Observatory microwaving a pie.😁

I think that a supernova, great comet or meteor shower may be more likely 

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Maybe the meteor storm from a really dark site, shared with my family.  A great comet would be cool too - really enjoyed seeing Neowise two summers ago:

20200719_075931.thumb.jpg.369266a14332337ec738624a584fe6c2.jpg

Betelgeuse going would certainly be a once in few centuries event - spectacular and would spark widespread interest in our hobby I guess.  If we could watch a new nebula expand over our lifetimes that would be pretty cool.

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I saw Comet McNaught through an office window in Liverpool in December 2006 - It was not very long after Sunset, and the sky was still bright, but McNaught was clearly visible. 

I tried to phone my wife so that she could see it too - but wasn't able to get through, and it was the only cloudfree sunset that we had for about a week in both directions.

For Southern Hemisphere observers, McNaught counted as a 'great comet'; I'm just pleased to be able to say I'd seen it 'before it was great' :) 

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On 03/06/2022 at 20:54, IB20 said:

A daytime supernova would be the bees knees. That or my neighbour’s security light exploding.

Knowing our luck it would happen during the month of June and be between Taurus and Gemini (other months and unsuitable regions of the zodiacal constellations are available).

One thing that was very personal was during the summer of 2021.  I was out with my 'new' refractor looking at M22, while my wife was looking at Steve Tonkin's August Binocular Sky newsletter and very coincidentally also looking at M22.  At the same time as we were both watching, a bright Perseid meteor flew about 1/3 degree from it , so easily viewed by both of us. 

The first time that either of us has seen a meteor through binoculars,

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