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Well put. Obviously and inevitably, given the time, Asteroid mining will be undertaken, as well as other space endeavours for many legitimate and realistic reasons I have gone into before. Many sailors lost there lives for many reasons, one being in isolation, and lack of nutritious food causing the onset of Scurvy and sometimes death. I see asteroid mining happening within the 200 year time frame in actual fact, and of course enthusiastic humans are already looking at preliminary methodology, technology, and eventual commencement. Some will probably die in achieving that, but as technology advances, as methodology improves, in time it will be as achievable as earth based mining.

Only that as yet, we do not really have any real evidence of the Inflationary epoch, other then it does seem to explain some apparent observations that the BB seem to have a problem with...... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation_(cosmology)

Yes it is...a public forum open to any Tom, Dick and Harry and a variety of assorted nuts. While you say you come in friendship, you also appear to come in ignorance of scientific fact and methodology.

Thanks for that. With your last paragraph, probably both.

Asteroid mining, in time, will occur. While technically difficult, it will also have untold advantageous. In the first instance, it will serve possible structures in space and on the Moon, such as out posts etc. http://www.planetaryresources.com/#home-asteroids Nice to see forward looking companies such as Planetary Resources making inroads, albeit small, into this area of space expertise today.

Firstly, personally I resent nothing you say, (afterall why would I: what you say has no effect on me) but I do question what you say. The Universe can be explained scientifically via empirical scientific means up to 10-43 seconds after the BB. (there is no evidence at all that there is any ID aspect behind the existence of the universe) Before that, anything that science claims is speculation, but in many cases speculation based on reasonable current scientific knowledge. eg: https://www.astrosociety.org/publications/a-universe-from-nothing/ In actual fact the universe and everything in it, appears to be one gigantic accident and that includes us. This rather cold, uncaring, lack of purpose, upsets many people and they see the need to invent that purpose, or to explain via magic that which they don't understand, but which has already been explained by science. But hey! whatever floats your boat. Just one question...It has occurred to me many times.Why do so many people of "faith" of whatever persuasion, see the need to come to a science forum, and search for conflict? I mean I'm dropping my Mrs off to church in an hour or so, (yes my wife is religious but also tolerant and does not push her beliefs on a science forum) but I would never follow her into church, walk up to the pulpit and start explaining how science has near eliminated any need for any deity.

While a region that we call the singularity exists at the center of BHs, (where GR breaks down) most physicists do not believe that any mathematical singularity that may lead to infinite quantities exist. GR also tells us that once the Schwarzchild radius is reached, further collapse is compulsory, so we can I believe logically assume that any BH is mostly just critically curved spacetime, with the mass (all the mass) at the core/singularity, in an unknown state. (which is at the quantum/Planck level.

There are many reasons why I see Christ in the biblical sense as just another myth. One being of course the power of scientific explanation/s and the universe, the other being the state of the world today and in the past and how any self respecting God or any form of IDer can leave things continue or even allow the obvious injustices and cruelty.

I once had a Rotty (Rottweiler) who has now passed on at 13.5 years of age. He was a big sook but had the loudest, most ferocious bark you could imagine, and obviously a great watch dog. In our street we often had the Assembly of God, or Seven day adventists making house calls...generally in pairs. One day I noticed a couple doing their house calls but still a few doors up the street. I immediatley brought Rocky inside and sat him at the front security door in full view of the path leading up to it and the street. In time the young couple made their way to my place and started to walk up the path to my front door. Rocky (the dog's name) gave just one of his customary barks and stood up. The couple froze, looked at each other and decided to leave me in peace. Rocky would also have the habit when I was sitting watching the footy having a beer, of laying at my feet, and cleansing/licking between my toes for all the toe jam he could obtain.

It appears it is you going off the deep end, on a science forum no less, running some sort of agenda driven campaign, to brow beat us Heathens and Atheists, that dare confront you with the scientific method, empirical evidence for incumbent scientific theories, while at the same time showing much ignorance in demanding proof, when all you yourself have is empty rhetoric. I'm sure there's a spare pulpit in some church somewhere for you to do your preaching tomorrow. Try looking into a mirror. You asked questions with no intention of accepting any answers. That's preaching and running your crusade and points to an agenda. This isn't a conspiracy forum. And it remains unfalsifiable until we are able to obtain evidence, which won't happen because there isn't any. Why may I ask do you continue showing your ignorance with demanding proof all the time, when you have been told a scientific theory does not deal in proof? And that dear friend is why it remains as the best system we have, despite many thousands of years of ignorantly induced mythical beliefs, in ghosts, goblins, spaghetti monsters and any deity you care to name. Obviously you are pissed off that science over the years has pushed the need for any deity or any ID of any kind back into near oblivion. The universe/spacetime evolved from the BB, matter was created as the Superforce decoupled, our first elements, stars, supernova planets, abiogenisis, evolution and then life. While some of that lacks in detail, the basis is well supported. In fact in essence, there is really no other scientific methodology for how life arose then via abiogenisis. We are an accident, no design, no designer, no spaghetti monster. Take it easy.

Not at all. The problem exists with your fanaticism and extreme unsupported views. Let me state it again...Evolution is as close to being a fact as anyone could wish for, with outstanding amounts of evidence that you will never invalidate. OK, that's nice, you certainly though have an agenda and an axe to grind, for the reasons I have already stated, not to mention your blatant dishonesty in claiming I have, or science is in anyway religious.....Where I come from we call that a cop out.

I'm stating accepted scientific evidence that can easily be found on any reputable link. You have SFA, other then your desire to convert us evil Atheists.

Evolution is a fact. The methodology of how life first arose is not yet known, but evidence does support that the contents that we are made of are simply created in the belly of stars. Life? Abiogenisis although not yet evidenced seems quite likely. Chemical reaction my friend.

Scientific theories do not deal in proof, for the second time, and so far scientific theory has explained the evolution of spacetime the universe from t+10-43 seconds, and has reasonable speculation as to how the universe arose from nothing. Now please support your claims...

You have not supplied one iota of scientific evidence to be refuted, other then the usual hand waving and empty rhetoric, no matter how often you chose to deny that fact. Perhaps since tomorrow is Sunday, you may be believed and accepted in your local church.

Any ID is unscientific and of course any scientific theory does not deal in "proof"' as god botherers are always apt to demand. And your useless, crusade continues.

Crapping on it??? Oh come on, who do you believe you are fooling, other then yourself. The general scientific methodology, the accepted scientific theories and models, still stand unchanged the last time I looked, despite your claims of "crapping on it". This is a science discussion forum, and simply put, you for the reasons I have already stated, see the fanatical need to conduct your obvious crusade against us evil bastards. Oh the shame of it all!

What you erroneously assert, actually defies what is logically defined as religion or science. Any God, and/or existence of some organized consciousness, (which are inherently and logically the same thing) or any belief in the supernatural, is unscientific by definition. The scientific methodology prevails because it is the best system we have, and relies on empirical evidence and data. Supernatural or paranormal beliefs are by definition unscientific and cannot be showed to be valid, one way or the other. No, that's a total furphy, and simply evidence of the evangelistic approach that IDers and other god botherers push quite hypocritically as in essence, it applies to themselves. Obviously the impetus behind these evangelistic hypocritical crusades, stems from the fact that science has driven the myth of any creator, deity or ID, into near oblivion, based on empirical evidence. ID is not any theory to do with science period. It is a non scientific scenario by definition and is logically precluded at least up to t+10-43 seconds, and at best remains speculative beyond that...but a QGT may even remove that faint distant hope in the future. So, now you are playing the victim card? This is afterall, first and foremost a science forum where the scientific methodology, logically takes pride of place. Your censorship was attributed to you ignoring that fact.

I was born an Australian Catholic, although I have not checked in recent times re any possible excommunication. The text in your post I highlighted does though conform with my total way of thinking. I used the analogy the other day in a post, (forget where) like a child refusing to let go of his Teddy bear. My Mrs is a true Christian in every sense of what that should entail...kind, generous, tolerant, (after all she has put up with me for 42 years!) and would give her right arm to help someone in dire need or stress...sometimes to a fault. I never ever attempt to change her mind:she never ever attempts to change mine, although probably once every year at Xmas she will ask me to accompany her to church. My Son, obviously now a full blown adult, is tending to my way of thinking, but like me, tolerates his Mother, and appreciates the extreme goodness in her, despite the crutch she leans on.

Agreed, mostly....likewise one needs to define what nothing means when one speculates a universe arising from. I see the second choice as more applicable. We could also talk about magnetic field lines in the same manner.

Spacetime may not be a physical entity, but that does not mean it is not real. In essence it is as real as a magnetic field. We feel the effects of a magnetic field when it interacts. We also see the evidence for spacetime in gravitational lensing and gravitational waves. Other logical reasons why spacetime is real. (1) It is the unified multi-dimensional framework within which it is possible to locate events and describe the relationships between them in terms of spatial coordinates and time. (2) The concept of spacetime follows from the observation that the speed of light is invariant, i.e. it does not vary with the motion of the emitter or the observer. (3) Spacetime allows a description of reality that is common for all observers in the universe. (4) Intervals of space and time considered separately are not the same for all observers, and in different frames of references. (5) In GR gravity is described in relation to the geometry of spacetime.

There are a few ways we will attempt inter stellar travel, the first and probably the most likely at this time of our understanding would be a generation type of starship. And as I have said many times, economics is a variable, and of course while no one can predict that it will be viable at any particular stage, neither has anyone demonstrated that it can never be. While a certain amount of "devil's advocacy" can certainly be helpful in many respects, it needs to be associated with desire , willingness, and of course a realistic approach to the problem. I can't comment on camels, nor do I see it relevant in any way, but facts are facts....and exploring and going where no man has gone before, is part of the human makeup, and although as I did infer as the least of our reasons for pursuing the inevitable, it i still that part of the human makeup that no one will ever extinguish. But again, only part of the reason we will in time venture out there.

https://phys.org/news/2017-09-interstellar-ice-birth-dna.html Could interstellar ice provide the answer to birth of DNA? September 14, 2017 Researchers at the University of York have shown that molecules brought to earth in meteorite strikes could potentially be converted into the building blocks of DNA. They found that organic compounds, called amino nitriles, the molecular precursors to amino acids, were able to use molecules present in interstellar ice to trigger the formation of the backbone molecule, 2-deoxy-D-ribose, of DNA. https://phys.org/news/2017-09-interstellar-ice-birth-dna.html http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2017/SC/C7SC02210G#!divAbstract Spatially-resolved soft materials for controlled release – hybrid hydrogels combining a robust photo-activated polymer gel with an interactive supramolecular gel Abstract Hybrid hydrogels based on self-assembling low-molecular-weight gelator (LMWG) DBS-CONHNH2 (DBS = 1,3;2,4-dibenzylidene-D-sorbitol) and crosslinked polymer gelator (PG) PEGDM (poly(ethyleneglycol) dimethacrylate) are reported, and an active pharmaceutical ingredient (naproxen, NPX) is incorporated. The use of PEGDM as PG enhances the mechanical stiffness of the hybrid gel (G′ increases from 400 to 4500 Pa) – the LMWG enhances its stability to very high frequency. Use of DBS-CONHNH2 as LMWG enables interactions with NPX and hence allows pH-mediated NPX release – the PG network is largely orthogonal and only interferes to a limited extent. Use of photo-activated PEGDM as PG enables spatially-resolved photo-patterning of robust hybrid gel domains within a preformed LMWG network – the presence of the LMWG enhances the spatial resolution. The photo-patterned multi-domain gel retains pH-mediated NPX release properties and directionally releases NPX into a compartment of higher pH. The two components within these hybrid PG/LMWG hydrogels therefore act largely independently of one another, although they do modify each others properties in subtle ways. Hybrid hydrogels capable of spatially controlled unidirectional release have potential applications in tissue engineering and drug-delivery.

https://phys.org/news/2017-09-hubble-captures-blistering-pitch-black-planet.html Hubble captures blistering pitch-black planet September 14, 2017 This artist’s impression shows the exoplanet WASP-12b — an alien world as black as fresh asphalt, orbiting a star like our Sun. Scientists were able to measure its albedo: the amount of light the planet reflects. The results showed that the planet is extremely dark at optical wavelengths. Credit: NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScI) Astronomers have discovered that the well-studied exoplanet WASP-12b reflects almost no light, making it appear essentially pitch black. This discovery sheds new light on the atmospheric composition of the planet and also refutes previous hypotheses about WASP-12b's atmosphere. The results are also in stark contrast to observations of another similarly sized exoplanet. Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-09-hubble-captures-blistering-pitch-black-planet.html#jCp http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/aa876c/meta;jsessionid=7297EFD3DCA88258551A6777720FBCD2.c2.iopscience.cld.iop.org The Very Low Albedo of WASP-12b from Spectral Eclipse Observations with Hubble: Abstract We present an optical eclipse observation of the hot Jupiter WASP-12b using the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope. These spectra allow us to place an upper limit of (97.5% confidence level) on the planet's white light geometric albedo across 290–570 nm. Using six wavelength bins across the same wavelength range also produces stringent limits on the geometric albedo for all bins. However, our uncertainties in eclipse depth are ~40% greater than the Poisson limit and may be limited by the intrinsic variability of the Sun-like host star—the solar luminosity is known to vary at the 10−4 level on a timescale of minutes. We use our eclipse depth limits to test two previously suggested atmospheric models for this planet: Mie scattering from an aluminum-oxide haze or cloud-free Rayleigh scattering. Our stringent nondetection rules out both models and is consistent with thermal emission plus weak Rayleigh scattering from atomic hydrogen and helium. Our results are in stark contrast with those for the much cooler HD 189733b, the only other hot Jupiter with spectrally resolved reflected light observations; those data showed an increase in albedo with decreasing wavelength. The fact that the first two exoplanets with optical albedo spectra exhibit significant differences demonstrates the importance of spectrally resolved reflected light observations and highlights the great diversity among hot Jupiters.

We have an outstanding amount of observational and experimental evidence validating GR. One anomaly such as "galactic rotational curves" was not going to invalidate such a near certain powerful theory of gravity when other possibilities were possible. DM certainly was a fudge factor, resurrected by Vera Rubin in those early days, but since then, reasonable empirical evidence has been forthcoming, not the least being the Bullet cluster observation... http://chandra.harvard.edu/press/06_releases/press_082106.html I always care about what reasonable, logical, sane people without any underlying agenda think: