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NASA To Determine Hubble's Fate

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the you-can-store-it-on-my-lawn dept.

clickclickdrone writes "According to the BBC NASA is debating whether or not to send astronauts in to space to service the Hubble telescope. Without intervention it is thought to be good for another 24-36months. Given the quality of images and data it has produced since it's launch, it sounds like a no brainer to me but the people who hold the purse strings are rarely predictable when it comes to spending money."

3 of 192 comments (clear)

  1. Get their attention... by Otter+Escaping+North · · Score: 5, Funny

    Tell them Hubble might have found oil on a distant planet, and that we need to take another look.

    --
    Running Windows^H^H^H^H^H^H^H OSX and Linux in the home. (I don't have time for Solitaire any more.)
    1. Re:Get their attention... by roystgnr · · Score: 5, Informative

      Of course the presence of oil on another body would show that life once existed there. What book have you read that said that oil can be created in any manner other than through decomposing biological material?

      How about "Dissociation of Methane into Hydrocarbons at. Extreme (Planetary) Pressure and Temperature.", by F. Ancilotto, G. L. Chiarotti, S. Scandolo, and E. Tosatti, in the February 28, 1997 issue of Science? Their molecular dynamics simulations show that methane is likely to breakdown into a mixture including ethane, butane, and even alkanes (i.e. oil) at the high pressures and temperatures found deep within the interiors of Neptune and Uranus. No living organisms involved.

      Let me guess, you probably think that oil is an infinite resource that magically renews itself.

      Even when you feel certain that you're right, you should try to be more polite about it just in case you're wrong. Otherwise people may end up giving your opinions the same disdain you've shown to others.

      It sounds like you saw the topic, immediately thought "abiotic oil nutjob", and hurried to wail on him. However, just because you recognize the biological history of oil on Earth doesn't mean you have to jump to the conclusion that no other processes operate elsewhere. Take that attitude too far and you'll end up trying to find the alien messages in pulsars.

  2. Re:Auction Hubble by Chosen+Reject · · Score: 5, Informative

    Because of how the Hubble Telescope works, it would do a very crummy job of imaging Earth.

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