News Briefs: Astronomy, Astophysics & Space Exploration

A well known polymath whose published works range far and wide, including (but not limited to) Archaeology, Paleontology, Astronomy, Space Propulsion systems, and Science Fiction.

Official Website: http://www.charlespellegrino.com

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Darb
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Post by Darb »

/me coughs.

Interesting article.
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Post by Aunflin »

Very interesting.

However, I would not enjoy living any place where there is constant sunlight beating down on me...
"A writer's chosen task is to write well and professionally. If you can't keep doing it, then you're no longer a professional, but a gifted amateur." L. E. Modessit, jr.
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Post by Darb »

I apologize for falling behind in my Mars & Saturn updates ... been busy.

Mars:
* One of the rovers is currently stuck in a sand dune, and has been for 2 weeks ... but the other is still going strong.
* One of the rovers actually located, and photographed, an iron meteorite (the first ever found on another planet). I'll try to locate a photo for that. [Edit: done - see below]

Saturn:
I'll ping Charlie for some captions, to which I'll add photo links.
Last edited by Darb on Wed May 18, 2005 6:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Darb »

Ok, some interesting Mars photos:

Earth, as seen by one of the Mars rovers:

Image

366k image {zoomable}
Last edited by Darb on Wed May 18, 2005 6:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by Darb »

Here's the meteorite:

Image

Better images of the above:

66k image (zoomable)

200k image (zoomable)
Last edited by Darb on Wed May 18, 2005 6:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Darb »

Here's a geologically interesting cliff panorama:

Image

115k image {zoomable}
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Post by Bozola »

Let us not forget this :

Image


Mars Odyssey as seen by Mars Global Surveyor in Martian orbit.


Image
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Post by wolfspirit »

Bozola wrote:Let us not forget this :

Image


Mars Odyssey as seen by Mars Global Surveyor in Martian orbit.
Now that is cool.

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Post by Darb »

magicfan241 wrote:Now that is cool.
Now THAT is an ironic first !

Did anyone else besides me get a good belly laugh at the incongruity of a camera in Martian orbit taking a picture of a UFO from Earth ? :slap: :lol:
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Post by Bozola »

Brad wrote:
magicfan241 wrote:Now that is cool.
Now THAT is an ironic first !

Did anyone else besides me get a good belly laugh at the incongruity of a camera in Martian orbit taking a picture of a UFO from Earth ? :slap: :lol:
"Alien" spacecraft, yes, UFO, no.

It is not a Unidentified Flying Object; It is neither undentified, nor flying. The likeliest candadate is Viking 2 in orbit., and since it is not of Martian manufacture, it is an alien spacecraft.
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Post by Echus Cthulhu Mythos »

You just got told, Brad. :P
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Post by Darb »

Bozola: That was a perfectly good joke you just shot down. Shame on you. :P
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Post by Bozola »

Brad wrote:Bozola: That was a perfectly good joke you just shot down. Shame on you. :P
Ooops. Sorry, I was in "zombie" mode and missed it.
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Post by Darb »

[Mock Rant]

I spent hundreds of millions of imaginary taxpayer dollars, and thousands of imaginary man-years of labor, getting that joke into near martian orbit, only to have it shot down. Well, at least it wasnt another one of those pesky English-Metric conversion errors like the one that cause us the Climate Orbiter back in 1999 ... that would have been truly embarassing. :P

[/Mock Rant]
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Post by Kvetch »

One must ask: What is an 'English-metric conversion'? (Imperial-metric would make sense, but English-metric? And yes, I know of the incident to which you refer)
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Post by Darb »

The article I linked above explains it a bit. ;)
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Post by Bozola »

The funny thing about english distance units is that they have been redefined based on the metric - an international inch is exactly 25.4mm. This is to say that "english" system of distance is now no more than a bunch of really obscure and nonsensical metric units.

;)
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Post by Darb »

Remember the good old biblical days when we could do things like define a 'cubit' as the distance from the tip of one's elbow to the tip of one's middle finger ?

/me demonstrates

Ooops ... sorry about that. :oops: :lol:

The need for standardization and precision, while improving technology and science by leaps and bounds, has also taken all the poetic fun out of things. ;)
Last edited by Darb on Mon May 23, 2005 5:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by wolfspirit »

Brad wrote:Remember the good old biblical days when we could do things like define a 'cubit' as the distance from the tip of one's elbow to the tip of one's middle finger ?

/me demonstrates

Ooops ... sorry about that. :oops: :lol:
ROFL

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Post by Darb »

That's the actual definition of a biblical cubit, BTW (roughly 18-22 inches).

Back then, 'flipping the burd' didn't have the same meaning it does today. ;)
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Post by Bozola »

Brad wrote:Remember the good old biblical days when we could do things like define a 'cubit' as the distance from the tip of one's elbow to the tip of one's middle finger ?

/me demonstrates

Ooops ... sorry about that. :oops: :lol:

The need for standardization and precision, while improving technology and science by leaps and bounds, has also taken all the poetic fun out of things. ;)
Too true!

The cubit is far from dead; I see it used every day, usually on the freeway, nicely displayed with a perfectly vertical forearm and middle finger at full extension. I can tell from the intensity of the glares and raised voices of the various drivers that they are very serious about their biblical units of measurements.

Some standards never are fully retired.

;)
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Darb
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Post by Darb »

:clap:

Ok, ok, I suppose we should probably do a course correction burn, and try to veer back on topic. ;)

Anyone see any interesting Cassini photos ?

I've fallen behind and haven't checked in a while.
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Post by Bozola »

Image

Wavemaker. Ain't gravity grand?
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Post by Bozola »

Image

Dustdevil on Mars. Spirit, Sol 446.
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