Starship Asterisk*

Nitpicker wrote:

RJN wrote:

KiwiBill wrote:The Australian flag does include the Southern Cross among its seven stars. The very similar New Zealand flag features only the four stars of the Southern Cross.

OK OK! The text has now been updated to include New Zealand. Apologies!

- RJN

The citizens of Brazil, Papua New Guinea and Samoa, might also be getting a little restless.

KiwiBill, the reason Epsilson Crucis is not visible on the NZ flag, is only because the flag is too damn dim.

Wikipedia wrote:

Click to view full size image

Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
Photo: Hannes Grobe

Friedensreich Hundertwasser

Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser (December 15, 1928 – February 19, 2000) was an Austrian artist[1] and architect. who worked also in the field of environmental protection. His real name being Stowasser, his pseudonym Hundertwasser (by which he is known worldwide) comes from sto in Slavic languages, meaning "hundred".

He stood out as an opponent of "a straight line" and any standardization, expressing this concept in the field of building design. His best known work is considered Hundertwasserhaus in Vienna, Austria which has become a notable place of interest in the Austrian capital characterized by imaginative vitality and uniqueness.

Artistic style and themes

Hundertwasser's original and unruly artistic vision expressed itself in pictorial art, environmentalism, philosophy, and design of facades, postage stamps, flags, and clothing (among other areas). The common themes in his work utilised bright colours, organic forms, a reconciliation of humans with nature, and a strong individualism, rejecting straight lines.

He remains sui generis, although his architectural work is comparable to Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926) in its use of biomorphic forms and the use of tile. He was also inspired by the art of the Vienna Secession, and by the Austrian painters Egon Schiele (1890–1918) and Gustav Klimt (1862–1918).

He was fascinated by spirals, and called straight lines "godless and immoral" and "something cowardly drawn with a rule, without thought or feeling"[10] He called his theory of art "transautomatism", focusing on the experience of the viewer rather than the artist.[11] This was encapsulated by his design of a new flag for New Zealand, which incorporated the image of the Koru a spiral shape based on the image of a new unfurling silver fern frond and symbolizing new life, growth, strength and peace according to the Māori people.

RJN wrote:

KiwiBill wrote:The Australian flag does include the Southern Cross among its seven stars. The very similar New Zealand flag features only the four stars of the Southern Cross.

OK OK! The text has now been updated to include New Zealand. Apologies!

- RJN

SteveInNZ wrote:

RJN wrote:
OK OK! The text has now been updated to include New Zealand. Apologies! - RJN

In the spirit of "you just can't win", New Zealand voters are about hold a referendum to select a possible replacement flag. Only two of the five new flag contenders include the Southern Cross.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_flag_debate wrote:

[b][color=#0040BF][size=135]Hundertwasser's koru flag represents an uncurling fern frond in the form of a stylised koru, a traditional Māori carving pattern.[/size][/color][/b]

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<<New Zealand has a history of debate about whether the national flag should be changed. For several decades, alternative designs have been proposed - with varying degrees of support. The national flag is too similar to the flag of Australia and the two are often confused. While this is not unique among world flags (e.g. the flags of Romania and Chad, Indonesia and Poland, and Ivory Coast and Ireland are often confused with each other), it is exacerbated by Australia and New Zealand's close ties. For example, in 1984 the Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke was greeted by New Zealand flags when visiting Ottawa, and the current New Zealand prime minister John Key says he has been seated under the Australian flag in several international meetings.>>

neufer wrote:

Ron-Astro Pharmacist wrote:
Do you think [Springfield Heights Institute of Technology] has an on-line degree available?

Sounds like the place for my BS in physics.

• You were Principal Kahoutek's mischievous little boy weren't you.

RJN wrote: OK OK! The text has now been updated to include New Zealand. Apologies!
- RJN

Ron-Astro Pharmacist wrote:
Do you think [Springfield Heights Institute of Technology] has an on-line degree available?

Sounds like the place for my BS in physics.

• You were Principal Kahoutek's mischievous little boy weren't you.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taurus_Poniatovii wrote:

[b][color=#0000FF]Barn[y]ard's star lies somewhere inside the boundaries of Taurus Poniatovii[/color][/b]

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<<Taurus Poniatovii (Latin for Poniatowski's bull) was a constellation created by Marcin Odlanicki Poczobutt in 1777 to honor Stanislaus Poniatowski, king of Poland. It consisted of stars that are today considered part of Ophiuchus and Aquila. It is no longer in use. It was wedged in between Ophiuchus, Aquila and Serpens Cauda.

The stars were picked for the resemblance of their arrangement to the Hyades group which form the "head" of Taurus. Before the definition of Taurus Poniatovii, some of these had been part of the obsolete constellation River Tigris.

The brightest of these stars is 72 Oph (3.7 magnitude) in the "horn" of Taurus Poniatovii. The "face" of Taurus Poniatovii is formed by 67 Oph (4.0), 68 Oph (4.4) and 70 Oph (4.0). The five brightest stars belong to loose open cluster Collinder 359 or Melotte 186. Barnard's star is also inside the boundaries of this former constellation. Some minor stars (5th and 6th magnitude) now in Aquila formed the "rear" of Taurus Poniatovii.>>

neufer wrote:

Ron-Astro Pharmacist wrote:
Where the ancient mariners saw crosses, I wonder what a new age astrographer might see. Constellation "Bart" ?

• Bart already has a Comet named for him.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart's_Comet wrote:
Bart's Comet

<<After Bart sabotages Principal Skinner's weather balloon, Skinner decides to punish him by having him help with his amateur astronomy. Skinner dreams of finding something in the sky and having it named after him. Bart accidentally locates a comet which is named after him.
.......................................................................

[b][color=#0000FF][size=150]The Three Wise Men[/size][/color][/b]

---

SKINNER: You don't need a telescope to enjoy astronomy, Bart. (pointing) There are all the constellations you've heard so much about. There's Orion, the swan, the chariot race...

BART: Why don't they look anything like their names?

SKINNER: Well, you do have to use your imagination. Look, there's the three wise men.

BART: Who names these things anyway?

SKINNER: Whoever discovers them. I've been hoping I could find something that would be named after me.

BART: And you've never found anything?

SKINNER: Once. But by the time I got to the phone, my discovery had already been reported by Principal Kahoutek. I got back at him, though... him and that little boy of his.
.......................................................................
Scientists soon discover that the comet is heading straight for Springfield. Professor Frink plans to launch a missile at the comet, dispelling everyone's fears. However, the missile flies past the comet, instead blowing up the only bridge out of town, dooming the people.

After seeing an issue of Time magazine, which presented the threat of comets hitting Earth on its cover, the writing staff decided to have an episode based on the concept of a comet hitting Springfield. They fleshed out the episode's plot over several days and John Swartzwelder then set about writing the details of the script.

Kent Brockman's list of gay people is composed of the show's production staff, who had to sign legal agreements that they would not sue their own show. As a result, according to Groening, many of the staff appear on lists of gay people on the Internet. The episodes marks the first appearance of Database, a character show creator Matt Groening dislikes if he is used for anything more than one line.>>

Ron-Astro Pharmacist wrote:
Where the ancient mariners saw crosses, I wonder what a new age astrographer might see. Constellation "Bart" ?

• Bart already has a Comet named for him.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart's_Comet wrote:
Bart's Comet

<<After Bart sabotages Principal Skinner's weather balloon, Skinner decides to punish him by having him help with his amateur astronomy. Skinner dreams of finding something in the sky and having it named after him. Bart accidentally locates a comet which is named after him.
.......................................................................

[b][color=#0000FF][size=150]The Three Wise Men[/size][/color][/b]

---

SKINNER: You don't need a telescope to enjoy astronomy, Bart. (pointing) There are all the constellations you've heard so much about. There's Orion, the swan, the chariot race...

BART: Why don't they look anything like their names?

SKINNER: Well, you do have to use your imagination. Look, there's the three wise men.

BART: Who names these things anyway?

SKINNER: Whoever discovers them. I've been hoping I could find something that would be named after me.

BART: And you've never found anything?

SKINNER: Once. But by the time I got to the phone, my discovery had already been reported by Principal Kahoutek. I got back at him, though... him and that little boy of his.
.......................................................................
Scientists soon discover that the comet is heading straight for Springfield. Professor Frink plans to launch a missile at the comet, dispelling everyone's fears. However, the missile flies past the comet, instead blowing up the only bridge out of town, dooming the people.

After seeing an issue of Time magazine, which presented the threat of comets hitting Earth on its cover, the writing staff decided to have an episode based on the concept of a comet hitting Springfield. They fleshed out the episode's plot over several days and John Swartzwelder then set about writing the details of the script.

Kent Brockman's list of gay people is composed of the show's production staff, who had to sign legal agreements that they would not sue their own show. As a result, according to Groening, many of the staff appear on lists of gay people on the Internet. The episodes marks the first appearance of Database, a character show creator Matt Groening dislikes if he is used for anything more than one line.>>

KiwiBill wrote:The Australian flag does include the Southern Cross among its seven stars. The very similar New Zealand flag features only the four stars of the Southern Cross.

neufer wrote:

Chris Peterson wrote: And if there's a supernova a light year away, nobody is going to be worrying about a good view of the asteroids!

• Well...possibly one guy:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor_Frink wrote:

Chris Peterson wrote:
And if there's a supernova a light year away, nobody is going to be worrying about a good view of the asteroids!

• Well...possibly one guy:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor_Frink wrote:
<<Professor John Nerdelbaum Frink, Jr. is Springfield's stereotypical nerdy, mad, and socially inept scientist, inventor, and mathematician. He wears thick glasses, a white lab coat, pink pants, and has buckteeth. Frink is a college professor at Springfield Heights Institute of Technology and runs his own astronomical observatory. He has an IQ of 197 – it was 199 before he sustained a concussion during the collapse of Springfield's brief intellectual junta – and is a member of the Springfield chapter of Mensa. Frink is generally very polite and friendly. He has a trademark mannerism of using Jerry Lewis-style gibberish when excited, such as "HOYVIN-GLAVIN!" and "FLAVIN" and impulsively shouting other words that have no relevance to the situation at hand. He also occasionally refers to the importance of remembering to "carry the one" in various mathematical calculations. When he rambles he often speaks incoherently in run-on sentences without pauses. Frink also has a tendency to over-complicate simple matters and/or invent scientific terminology while expressing various concepts, e.g. "Father and I got along like positrons and antineutrinos!" or, "microcalifragilistics".>>

neufer wrote:

Chris Peterson wrote:

ta152h0 wrote: Yes, I lived under it near Sao Paulo for 18 years. And clear skies. I have a quick question about Eta Carinae . When she blows, is the solar system going to get bathed in a light that allows our telescopes to get a really good look at the asteroid belt ?

Why would it? We already get a good look at the asteroid belt, which is lit more brightly by the Sun by many orders of magnitude than any nearby supernova will manage.

A normal Type Ia supernova is ~5 billion (~71,000²) times brighter than the Sun and thus would appear as bright as the Sun if it were ~71,000 times as far away. Since light-year is ~63,000 AU, an Ia supernova would have to be about a light-year away to be brighter than the Sun for us (or about 7 light-years away to be brighter than the Sun for a Kuiper Belt object).

Chris Peterson wrote:

ta152h0 wrote:
Yes, I lived under it near Sao Paulo for 18 years. And clear skies. I have a quick question about Eta Carinae . When she blows, is the solar system going to get bathed in a light that allows our telescopes to get a really good look at the asteroid belt ?

Why would it? We already get a good look at the asteroid belt, which is lit more brightly by the Sun by many orders of magnitude than any nearby supernova will manage.

ta152h0 wrote:Yes, I lived under it near Sao Paulo for 18 years. And clear skies. I have a quick question about Eta Carinae . When she blows, is the solar system going to get bathed in a light that allows our telescopes to get a really good look at the asteroid belt ?

Ann wrote:

Ingar Clausen wrote:Southern Cross and Carina Nebula.
Watching the photo of today I just wonder that some patters appearing under the Carina Nebula shows vertical like double light points like watching light poles along a highway from the air. The stars appear like :::::::::::::::::::::::::: but vertically, an are visualized by enlarged photo versions. But you must search for patterns to discover them.
HOW COME ?

Ingar Clausen, ingarclausen@gmail.com
Østre Klyveveg 4
N-3919 Porsgrunn Norway

I think you more or less gave us the answer yourself - you must search for patterns to discover them. Human beings are very good at seeing patterns, and in fact, we are so good at it that we sometimes see patterns where there are none.

You are watching a specific photo. It could be that another photo, with a higher resolution, would show you that the pattern isn't really there. Many photographs "enhance" the brightness of stars of certain magnitudes, while "suppressing" stars of other magnitudes, making false patterns appear.

Here is another picture of the same patch of the sky. Do you see the same patterns here?

It is possible - possible, mind you - that we are seeing long lines of stars that formed along a shock front of some sort in the Carina Nebula. But we can't say that for certain unless we know the distances to the stars in the apparent lines. It could well be that some are foreground stars and other background stars, in which case the apparent "lines" become illusions.

Ann

http://mark-twain.classic-literature.co.uk/following-the-equator/ebook-page-27.asp wrote:
Mark Twain: _Following the Equator_ Page 27

<<We are moving steadily southward-getting further and further down under the projecting paunch of the globe. Yesterday evening we saw the Big Dipper and the north star sink below the horizon and disappear from our world. No, not "we," but they. They saw it--somebody saw it--and told me about it. But it is no matter, I was not caring for those things, I am tired of them, any way. I think they are well enough, but one doesn't want them always hanging around. My interest was all in the Southern Cross. I had never seen that. I had heard about it all my life, and it was but natural that I should be burning to see it. No other constellation makes so much talk. I had nothing against the Big Dipper-- and naturally couldn't have anything against it, since it is a citizen of our own sky, and the property of the United States--but I did want it to move out of the way and give this foreigner a chance. Judging by the size of the talk which the Southern Cross had made, I supposed it would need a sky all to itself.

But that was a mistake. We saw the Cross to-night, and it is not large. Not large, and not strikingly bright. But it was low down toward the horizon, and it may improve when it gets up higher in the sky. It is ingeniously named, for it looks just as a cross would look if it looked like something else. But that description does not describe; it is too vague, too general, too indefinite. It does after a fashion suggest a cross across that is out of repair--or out of drawing; not correctly shaped. It is long, with a short cross-bar, and the cross-bar is canted out of the straight line.

---

It consists of four large stars and one little one. The little one is out of line and further damages the shape. It should have been placed at the intersection of the stem and the cross-bar. If you do not draw an imaginary line from star to star it does not suggest a cross--nor anything in particular.

One must ignore the little star, and leave it out of the combination--it confuses everything. If you leave it out, then you can make out of the four stars a sort of cross--out of true; or a sort of kite--out of true; or a sort of coffin-out of true.

Constellations have always been troublesome things to name. If you give one of them a fanciful name, it will always refuse to live up to it; it will always persist in not resembling the thing it has been named for. Ultimately, to satisfy the public, the fanciful name has to be discarded for a common-sense one, a manifestly descriptive one. The Great Bear remained the Great Bear--and unrecognizable as such--for thousands of years; and people complained about it all the time, and quite properly; but as soon as it became the property of the United States, Congress changed it to the Big Dipper, and now every body is satisfied, and there is no more talk about riots. I would not change the Southern Cross to the Southern Coffin, I would change it to the Southern Kite; for up there in the general emptiness is the proper home of a kite, but not for coffins and crosses and dippers. In a little while, now--I cannot tell exactly how long it will be--the globe will belong to the English- speaking race; and of course the skies also. Then the constellations will be re-organized, and polished up, and re-named--the most of them "Victoria," I reckon, but this one will sail thereafter as the Southern Kite, or go out of business.>>

starsurfer wrote:Could a wide angle lens image like this also include Ha exposures as well?

Ingar Clausen wrote:Southern Cross and Carina Nebula.
Watching the photo of today I just wonder that some patters appearing under the Carina Nebula shows vertical like double light points like watching light poles along a highway from the air. The stars appear like :::::::::::::::::::::::::: but vertically, an are visualized by enlarged photo versions. But you must search for patterns to discover them.
HOW COME ?

Ingar Clausen, ingarclausen@gmail.com
Østre Klyveveg 4
N-3919 Porsgrunn Norway