Starship Asterisk*

Neufer: I think you have your APOD labels wrong. It should be:

NGC 4676: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020506.html (Mice)

ARP 188: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060108.html (Tadpole)

At least when "I" date myself I do it with astrological precision. :wink: When I think of all the astrological precision ancient civilizations used in their decision making and where it got them, I'm not impressed. But then, astrology is a so much more advanced science than it was in anci...

Sorry, been trying to get back, myself, to no avail.

Yes, but only "old geezers" would think to make that joke. You're dating yourself, Ed. But then, I guess I'm dated, too. I understood it. Maybe I'm a space alien.

Makc, not theory, TRUTH! "It's in the game!" The Linux System Administrator's Gospel.

Pegasus wrote:... I watched from around 9:15 until around 11:00 ...

You should have seen all of totality. According to wikipedia, totality was between 10 and 11 EST.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_2 ... pse#Timing

"One might be capable of making an intelligent guess" is a better answer, IMO. Oh, I agree. We should be able to make an intelligent guess. I believe the probability of other intelligent life even within this galaxy is significant, but still, "I don't know!" Robert G. Ingersoll ...

The Orion Deep Field (APOD 2007 Jan 6) is the same orientation as Orion's Horsehead Nebula (APOD 2008 Feb 21). The belt stars clearly extend up and to the left.

I think the star above the Horsehead may be Sigma Orionis. See Reflections on the Horsehead Nebula (APOD 2005 Nov 30).

Did you see the moon during totality? Toronto was well within the path of totality. A total eclipse looks red because the only light reaching the moon is filtered thru the earths atmosphere, similar to the color of the sun at sunrise or sunset. If you were viewing it before (or after) totality, dire...

I wouldn't think a lack of proof means "NO". We can have two conflicting null hypothesis. 1. Life exists on other planets. - or - 2. Life exists only on Earth. Since neither of these hypothesis can be proven, I don't believe you can say "yes" or "no". But then, I'm agno...

I have a link I use to quickly check for any new posts in any forum since I last logged in. Sometimes some of the other NSL forums show up, but most of the time it's just the Cafe and APOD.

http://asterisk.apod.com/sea ... d=newposts

emc wrote:There is no argument here as to whether there is life on other planets... the answer is no... (since there is no scientific proof).

I think the proper answer is "We don't know!" There is no proof either way.

I believe there is only one belt star, Alnitak (eastern most), to the left of the Horsehead and above the Flame Nebula. I think the next two belt stars to the west, Alnilam and Mintaka, would be off the page to the upper left corner.

Going to miss it here. Supposed to have freezing rain and sleet tonight. Not good viewing conditions for a lunar eclipse or shooting down satellites.

An infinite number of monkeys with typewriters (Monkius typeriterus) is a discovery made in the late 1984 by the famous Guatemalan explorer Cher, after her plane crashed in the New Jersey and she accidentally discovered the gates of hell, which were surrounded by monkeys (it is said that these monk...

FI, I'm willing to listen to anyone's theory with an open mind if they provide me with backing evidence. If your theories were so obvious and self evident, wouldn't you have more believers. Provide the evidence. Don't be a Harry, or worse still, a GOD. :wink: I fully support your right to believe an...

It would be absurd and egotistic to think Earth is the only inhabited planet... This applies to discussing other races and a scientific examination of who or what they are, from their behaviorisms to their biological makeup. Our distant ancestors recorded interactions with different ones with techn...

Right on with the response to FieryIce. Now Google "Arthur Dent". I understand Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Vogons, and Douglas Adams. I've been a Hitchhiker fan since the early '80s PBS airing of the BBC TV series. It's the paraphrase of Ellie Arroway I didn't get. Took some time but I fou...

I'm tempted to reveal the origin of that last quote, but that would spoil the fun. Besides, Neufer included new words in it ("cyber", "prose"). You got me there, I didn't even recognize it as a quote. I was refering to the second post in this stream. Maybe you or neufer can shar...

It would be absurd and egotistic to think Earth is the only inhabited planet. I would put that right up there with quoting literature for posts. I would put it right up there with stating an opinion or observation w/o supporting evidence and then implying others are stupid or ignorant when they ask...

ahh.. this seems to answer my question from another topic about today's APOD image, the red and blue nebulae creating a purplish glow where it mixes. But is that what's really going on in a false-color image? Is red and blue making purple? Would yellow and blue make green? Or are the colors from a ...

I have set Internet Explorer to not run scripts by default in the Internet Zone, and though I have set the APOD site to "Trusted", apparently the Digg It button comes from somewhere else. If you are running scripts from just any Internet site by default you are opening yourself to all kin...

NoelC wrote:Can't say I see any "Digg It" button either. Guess my conservative security settings have paid off again.

It's right above the "Tomorrow's picture:" caption.

Here is an interesting graph that may not shed much light on the last thousand years, or the fact that greenhouse gasses are at their highest levels in over 650,000 years, just for lack of detail but it does take the record back 400,000 years or so based on Antarctic ice core samples. It certainly ...