Chapter 481 Looking up at the Stars From the Ground
The diameter of this optical astronomical telescope is not large.
The distance that can be clearly observed is not as exaggerated as those of optical telescopes with a diameter of ten meters.
After Professor Yu obtained the right to use this optical astronomical telescope for a short period of time,
With the help of the observatory staff, the astronomical telescope was first adjusted to a specific parameter position.
A blurry outline is displayed on the corresponding instrument screen.
Although this is the first time in this life that I have come into contact with an astronomical telescope,
But this type of equipment is actually not unfamiliar to Mo Dao.
In the previous life, there were such observation equipment on the near-Earth space platform, on the lunar surface, and even on the final Star.
However, this is the first time I have seen the images observed by astronomical equipment during this time period.
It may not meet many people’s expectations,
The picture observed through the astronomical telescope is not that shocking.
The target star displayed on the screen was very blurry, and not much color could be seen.
It's like a vague thing with a little light in the darkness.
Without sufficient basic knowledge, it is almost impossible to distinguish much information from this monotonous and blurry picture.
The shock brought by this kind of observation is more of a spiritual level.
Through this astronomical optical telescope, you can see any exoplanets, which are extremely remote places that you cannot reach in your lifetime.
"This is the first previously unrecorded exoplanet that I have discovered since I started studying astronomy."
"This is a red giant star, about 482 light-years away from the earth. It is already in the later years of a red giant star. It may actually be a white dwarf star now, but we haven't observed it yet."
From an astronomical point of view, the record of this red giant star does not have much value.
But for Professor Yu, this red giant star is obviously special.
With a smile, Professor Yu described all the known information about this red giant star to Mo Dao like a treasure trove.
At the end of the sentence, Professor Yu patted Mo Dao on the shoulder.
"Just wait, it won't be long before you can find a star that belongs to you."
Professor Yu said with a smile,
This is almost inevitable,
Discovering a valuable star and planetary system is an uncertain matter,
But discovering an unrecorded star is inevitable.
Even within the Milky Way, stars are counted in units of billions or even larger.
Even if all the astronomers and astronomy enthusiasts from all over the world combined, they would not be able to record these stars in their lifetime.
Mo Dao nodded and smiled.
Looking at the not-so-clear image of the red giant star 482 light-years away from the earth that was displayed on the instrument,
Even though the picture itself was not that shocking, Mo Dao still paused for a while.
Proxima Centauri, which is only more than 3 light-years away from the solar system, has been trapped in Mo Dao's life and cannot be reached for many lifetimes.
This red giant star 438 light-years away is even more of a natural chasm.
Even Mo Dao dared not say that he could reach this place.
Such a distance,
Across distances measured in light years, the only way humans and the Earth can communicate with these exoplanets is
It is through observation methods similar to optical or other types of astronomical telescopes.
However, apart from 'visibility', there is almost no way for humans to have any contact with such a star.
To a certain extent, this is also cruel.
Next to him, following Mo Dao's paused gaze, Professor Yu also looked at this picture that he had seen many times, and gradually became lost in thought.
Even though he was extremely familiar with the image of the red giant star he had discovered,
In order to write a thesis, and out of pure curiosity, he calculated all the information he observed, hoping to speculate on the appearance of the galaxy where the star is located.
But at this moment, he was still curious about what kind of world there was where the star was.
…
20 years,
After four years of studying for a master's degree and a Ph.D., Mo Dao wrote a paper in the field of astrophysics related to astronomy.
As a doctoral thesis.
While submitting his manuscript to the journal, Professor Yu also took the paper sent by Mo Dao and read it from beginning to end.
Then there were some natural emotions,
"...Sometimes I wonder if your coming to engage in astrophysics and astronomy-related research has delayed you."
"In other fields of physics, maybe you can play a greater role."
"In this life, I am still more interested in astronomy."
Mo Dao smiled and responded to Professor Yu's words.
…
In this life, because I am walking aimlessly on the road of life,
Mo Dao's life in this life can be considered relatively ordinary.
Although, in the eyes of others, he is still regarded as excellent or even outstanding,
But for Mo Dao, he did not achieve any special achievements in this life.
In four years,
Mo Dao indeed found the first star that had not been observed before.
It is 324 light years away from the solar system.
Compared to other stars, it looks nothing special.
In addition to being numbered according to general rules, this star was also named "Huai Shi" by the discoverer Mo Dao.
After that, there were the second and third stars... Mo Dao didn't spend much time observing extrasolar stars.
But in the vastness of space, there are indeed enough stars that have not been definitely observed.
Most of the time, this kind of work has no special meaning;
Unless there is something special about that star, for example, it is similar to the solar system and has an environment where extraterrestrial life is possible.
In addition, most astronomical researchers prefer to observe more distant places.
To search for information about the early stages of the evolution of the universe and see the scene of a more primitive universe.
…
In 20 years, after Mo Dao graduated with a doctorate,
Relying on the top-ranked article after my doctoral degree and the recommendation of other astronomy professors, I successfully stayed at the school as an associate professor of astronomy.
But no more observatories were added.
For Mo Dao, instead of using the observatory’s astronomical equipment to observe extraterrestrial bodies,
It's better to build a large astronomical telescope yourself.
Withdraw a sum of money from the ATM machine of the world,
On a mountain near the capital, a private, large-scale optical astronomical telescope and infrared astronomical telescope were built.
This astronomical telescope was built during Mo Dao's graduate school years.
It was not completed until 22 years.
If the speed were compared to the previous life, it would have been a bit slow.
But in this life, Mo Dao didn't care too much about when it would be completed.
And after it's done,
Mo Dao didn't pay much attention to using this astronomical telescope with a diameter of more than twelve meters to explore the scene at the edge of the universe and study the nature of the universe.
Mo Dao simply wanted to take a look at a world outside the solar system that he had never seen before.
When I occasionally remembered it, I wrote two papers on astrophysics and published them based on some existing observational data.
but,
Mo Dao, such observation has advantages and disadvantages.
The advantage is that
He did see many sights that he had never seen before in all his previous lives.
The downside is that it will make him see less and less sights.
It's like,
In this life,
Mo Dao married Qin Huaishi in 20 years, after graduating with a doctorate.
After marriage, in his spare time from Qin Huaishi's research work,
The two of them went to many more places than in the previous life.
However, this also makes Mo Dao have fewer places in this world that he has never been to on earth.
These worlds that have never been visited or seen before,
For Mo Dao, a person trapped in a certain period of time,
It's like the candy in a child's hand, one is eaten and one is lost.