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Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Our Busy Solar System

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020724.html]This is so cool...

*Another treasure from the Astropix Archives.  The graph shows the placement of known inner Solar System objects on 20 July 2002.  However, there is a link in the caption -- the very last word -- which shows the current locations of these objects.

I don't recall seeing such a graph before.  "Busy" seems an understatement. 

--Cindy

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Our Busy Solar System

*I had to do a bit of digging around in the 1st link above to find http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/Animatio … l](towards the lower center of this page) an animation of the outer Solar System.  Of course inner and middle Solar System animations are available for viewing as well.

"This animation shows the motions of objects in the outer solar system, beyond the orbit of Jupiter, over a 100-year period at 200-day intervals..."

--Cindy

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

Shaun Barrett

Member

From: Cairns, Queensland, Australia

Registered: 2001-12-28

Posts: 2,843

Re: Our Busy Solar System

"Busy" is a nice bland way to put it.
    How about  .....  S C A R E Y ! ! !         

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The word 'aerobics' came about when the gym instructors got together and said: If we're going to charge $10 an hour, we can't call it Jumping Up and Down.   - Rita Rudner

John Creighton

Member

From: Nova Scotia, Canada

Registered: 2001-09-04

Posts: 2,401

Website

Re: Our Busy Solar System

The red dots indicate asteroids that come within 1.3 Earth-Sun distances (AU) of the Sun

I see alot of red on the plot.

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Dig into the [url=http://child-civilization.blogspot.com/2006/12/political-grab-bag.html]political grab bag[/url] at [url=http://child-civilization.blogspot.com/]Child Civilization[/url]

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Our Busy Solar System

*Hi John:  Yes, I pointed out to someone privately -- shortly after creating this thread -- all the RED dots.  Yipes. 

Also, of course I've known for a heckuva long time that the asteroid belt is dense and huge...but to be honest that looks like a REALLY thick and fat green circle.  Hugging the inner Solar System.  TIGHTLY.  :-\  We're surrounded for sure.

Cool to see all the comet markers, though.  And the Jupiter Trojans.  :up: 

--Cindy 

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

John Creighton

Member

From: Nova Scotia, Canada

Registered: 2001-09-04

Posts: 2,401

Website

Re: Our Busy Solar System

Also, of course I've known for a heckuva long time that the asteroid belt is dense and huge

Of course if the dots were to scale you probably wouldn't see any of them. It would be interesting how many times bigger the dots would have to be then the actual object before they get hard to see. (The big space theory)

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Dig into the [url=http://child-civilization.blogspot.com/2006/12/political-grab-bag.html]political grab bag[/url] at [url=http://child-civilization.blogspot.com/]Child Civilization[/url]

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Our Busy Solar System

Of course if the dots were to scale you probably wouldn't see any of them.

*Well, yes...but I was referring to the area covered (sorry; I should have been more specific).  Seeming too-near the "edge" of the "backside" of Mars' orbit and extending what looks to be halfway to Jupiter.  I've known that as a fact in print...but to -see- an indication of the area covered is an entirely different matter somehow.

It would be interesting how many times bigger the dots would have to be then the actual object before they get hard to see. (The big space theory)

*That does sound interesting.  Wish I could offer an idea or two. 

--Cindy

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

Grypd

Member

From: Scotland, Europe

Registered: 2004-06-07

Posts: 1,879

Re: Our Busy Solar System

I may be slightly mad but I really look at all those dots and think "hmmmm lets mine them to death, starting with those possibly dangerous red ones"

We have always known that a lot more of the mass of the solar system was floating around free than we see in the planets. It kind of hints that the kuiper belt will really be something to explore when we have the capability to go there. I wonder what we will find?

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Chan eil mi aig a bheil ùidh ann an gleidheadh an status quo; Tha mi airson cur às e.

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Our Busy Solar System

And the Jupiter Trojans.  :up:

*And speaking of http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/~sheppard/sat … ml]Jupiter Trojans -- that is a really wonderful resource.  Nice illustration, brief, etc. 

There are 1,063 trojans at Lagrangian point 4  (leading) and 628 of them at L5 (trailing).  Also, check out reference to Jupiter's "Hill sphere."

Also includes link to list of known JT's. 

Would have created a thread for this itself, but as these trojans are part of the original topic matter of this thread, what the heck. 

--Cindy 

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)