Astronomy 2010-2020

[Dryden88]

Hello,

The next decade in astronomy should be one of the greatest in history in my opinion.

New Space Telescopes
Sattelites and probes testing new propulsion technologies
New giant earthbond telescopes with viewing better then the hubble
Private Space Firms coming together with there own launch vehicles and programs
Soon the will be a planet finding boom due to new techniques and Kepler Space Telescope.

I am extremly excited.

What do you think?

 

[Boris_Badenov]

Someone said recently that we are in the Golden Age of Astronomy & I agree completely. I'm also still a big supporter of a Lunar Observatory with both optical & radio receivers.

 

[MeteorWayne]

I agree, but it's also been true for every decade for more than a century.

Back when I went to school, there were about two dozen known planetary moons, no exoplanets, no CMBR, No Van Allen Belts, no artificial satellites, no spaceflight, no KBO's, no impact craters on the moon, etc,etc,etc.

I wish I could live another 50 years to see what more we learn.

 

[drwayne]

I wish I could be optimistic. Given the world economic troubles, that could get significantly worse,
I am afraid that cuts in funding for science could be draconian.

Let's hope my crystal ball has a software error...

 

[3488]

Someone said recently that we are in the Golden Age of Astronomy & I agree completely. I'm also still a big supporter of a Lunar Observatory with both optical & radio receivers.

Hi Boris,

I agree completely. I too am a huge fan of the far side Lunar observatory, multispectral including radio, etc. Imagine something several times the size of the KECK, would certainly be possible with the one sixth gravity & a gigantic array of radio dishes.

Such an observatory need not be attended, as contact & instuctions, observations, etc could be relayed though a series of satellites, though having astronomers on site as well as lunar explorers would be better still.

Andrew Brown.

 

[3488]

I wish I could be optimistic. Given the world economic troubles, that could get significantly worse,
I am afraid that cuts in funding for science could be draconian.

Let's hope my crystal ball has a software error...

Hi Dr Wayne,

I really hope, as yourself that your crystal ball has a software error.

It is not only the economic crunch that poses a major threat to science, but also the fact science has been dumbed down so much in educational establishments. Many colleges & universities here in Britain, have either scaled back or closed science courses in many disciplines, with Physics, Chemistry, Applied Sciences taking the biggest hits. Of course other sciences, Astronomy, Geosciences, Meteorology, etc are also taking massive hits.

Students view these as 'uncool' & 'too difficult' & instead would rather study 'trendy' subjects that contribute absolutely nothing to the long term investment of the human race. It is a potential tragedy unfolding, but hopefully the success of of the MERs, Phoenix, Cassini, MESSENGER, New Horizons, Hubble, the ISS with full crew, etc will reverse this devastating trend.

The economic climate certainly will also impact, but science MUST NOT be made to suffer because of it. Science including Space Exploration is FAR TOO important to be cut back, far too important IMHO.

Andrew Brown.

 

[3488]

I agree, but it's also been true for every decade for more than a century.

Back when I went to school, there were about two dozen known planetary moons, no exoplanets, no CMBR, No Van Allen Belts, no artificial satellites, no spaceflight, no KBO's, no impact craters on the moon, etc,etc,etc.

I wish I could live another 50 years to see what more we learn.

Very true Wayne. I think even the next five years is going to blow our socks off. But yes, I certainly see where you are coming from, I too wish I could be around in many decades to come to see what else will be found.

Andrew Brown.

 

[Dryden88]

You know the one thing I never like about politics?

When the governements have aproblem with cash flow what are the first things they go for?

Schools, Police, and Fire? Really? Thats the first thing you go for. The things the citizens need the most?

We couldn't cut the politicians pay? Or, god forbide Governement programs that are better run by the public sector.

Cut the fat out of the Governement and watch the money flow freely to the programs we all want and need.

I also say return the administratation of the schools to the cities and districts instead of being run by a giant state and National organization that takes forever to make a decision on anything.