... would a humungous space telescope on the far side of the moon have a clear enough view and be far enough out that we could better resolve the atmospheres of exoplanets?
I know astronomers must get bored with laypersons being so focused on "earth like" exoplanets ... there is a lot of diversity in stars and moons and black holes and so much to see. But, I think about what's out there every single day!
There could be space ants.
THAT is what matters most.
https://sauropods.win/@futurebird/113659064489601104
@futurebird I think it would be a bit like operating a remote telescope on Earth, except that there's no atmosphere in the way, you'd use it in a 2 week on/2 week off pattern and obviously it […]
@futurebird
(Okay, I know the ants in the 1954 classic "THEM!" were just Earth ants enlarged by radiation, but I could think of any giant space ants off the top of my head.)
@futurebird
You would need an even BIGGER telescope to see space ants on exoplanets!
Or not...
@futurebird There are definite advantages to putting radio telescopes on the far side of the Moon, where they would be shielded from interference by humanity's radio emissions. Or at least they […]
@futurebird
Plot twist - they are pharaoh ants.
@futurebird NASA have taken the potential of a giant lunar telescope at least seriously enough to run this study:
nasa.gov/solar-system/lunar-cr…
The 1 km+ diameter LCRT is for capturing large […]
@futurebird
Maybe it's because I've been playing No Man's Sky, but I want to know about the strangest planets out there.
@futurebird
Just a guess, but if you have to loft a telescope up into space to begin with, you probably prefer to keep it in space, not land it on the moon.
In space you have no gravity*, no […]
@futurebird For dark sky work, I can't think of an advantage to putting a telescope on the far side of the moon that isn't beaten by having one at the L2 lagrange point, so the earth is always […]
2024-12-15 michael_w_busch ┃ edited
@futurebird
There is a shortage of materials to build telescopes out of on the Moon.
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