"Chasing the Moon" highlights the bravery of astronauts and the groundbreaking technology that enabled lunar missions. The Apollo onboard computers, which are significantly less advanced than today's technology, played a crucial role in these historic flights. The discussion references an article comparing the Apollo Guidance Computer to modern systems, illustrating the evolution of aerospace technology. Scott Manley contributes insights on the capabilities of the Apollo computers, emphasizing their importance in space exploration. The series serves as a reminder of the remarkable achievements in both human courage and technological innovation during the Apollo missions.
I've seen Chasing the Moon several times but it's on a PBS TV channel now and I'm watching it again. It's just amazing how brave those astronauts were and the technology that got them there.
Is a homemade radio telescope realistic?
There seems to be a confluence of multiple technologies that makes the situation better than when I was a wee lad: software-defined radio (SDR), the easy availability of satellite dishes, surveillance drives, and fast CPUs.
Let's take a step back - it is trivial to see the sun in radio. An old analog TV, a set of "rabbit ears" antenna, and you're good to go. Point the antenna at the sun (i.e. the ears are perpendicular to it) and there is...
3I/ATLAS, also known as C/2025 N1 (ATLAS) and formerly designated as A11pl3Z, is an iinterstellar comet. It was discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) station at Río Hurtado, Chile on 1 July 2025.
Note: it was mentioned (as A11pl3Z) by DaveE in a new member's introductory thread.
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/brian-cox-lead-me-here.1081670/post-7274146
https://earthsky.org/space/new-interstellar-object-candidate-heading-toward-the-sun-a11pl3z/
One...
Partial solar eclipse from Twizel, South Isl., New Zealand ...
almost missed it due to cloud, didnt see max at 0710 NZST as it went back into cloud.
20250922, 0701NZST
Canon 6D II 70-200mm @200mm,
F4, 100th sec, 1600ISO
Makeshift solar filter made out of solar eclipse sunglasses