Starship Asterisk*

Is there a follow-on vehicle in the plans yet? Or is NASA just dropping the ball and walking away from the game? There is the Crew Exploration Vehicle to replace the shuttle and ISS escape vehicle. Orion is primarily a lunar exploration vehicle. Correction, it seems the CEV is the Orion. Except for...

Dr. Skeptic wrote:Trivia Statement:

For those of you that haven't heard this.

Funny, but not true. http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/hoaxes/moon.asp

By the way, does anyone know if the individual frames for this kind of image are available online? I'd like to try to see if I could do a better job of stitching than has been done on this image. Try http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/spirit.html . Don't know if this is what you need or not...

Yep, and all the "Moon walks" were filmed on a sound stage in Hollywood.

What you refer to as pavement tiles and fire hydrants are parts of the rover.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080129.html

West Valley Panorama from the Spirit Rover on Mars (APOD 2008 Jan 29)

sinpix wrote:I was wondering why the focus was set on mars desert for exploration? IO the jupiter moon seem to have a interesting volcanic activity and the cost is probably the same.

Due to the difference in the distance from Earth to Io and Mars, missions to Io would be significantly more expensive.

:lol: No, but wouldn't that be fun. I could even do it in my car, even though it's not a DeLorean. Maybe you think I'm nitpicking, but c is the speed of light in a vacuum not the speed of light . Light, and its speed, is affected by the medium through which it passes. If this wasn't so, we wouldn't ...

Dr. Skeptic wrote:Do you know what NASA is an acronym for?

National Aeronautics and Space Administration ?and your point is?

I also applaud Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell and all the other folks at APOD. It's the first site I visit when I start my desktop. Thanks.

No, you said the speed of light is constant. My point was that the speed of light is only constant in a vacuum. Since there is no complete vacuum in our material universe, the speed of light varies. Granted, that variance may be too small for us to measure, but it's there. c is the defined constant ...

You're in luck. It's already been done.

http://nightskylive.net/software/apod/

RJN, don't apologize! You're doing an excellent job. I don't always like the postings, but you can't expect to please everyone all of the time.

It is ironic that today's apod is an epod, and today's epod is an apod. Still, it is an interesting picture, and I enjoy atmospheric phenomena.

FieryIce wrote:Thank you bystander, yes one does become sensitized with constant exposure and can spot bull$$** a mile away.

Whoosh! Right over the top. Guess I aimed too high.

And your answer to this, makc? Physicists Slow Speed of Light The speed of light in a vacuum is an important physical constant denoted by the letter c for constant or for the Latin celeritas ("swiftness"). It is the speed of all electromagnetic radiation, including visible light, in a vacu...

What makes you think that a megalomaniac who postures himself as "god" and never gives a direct answer to questions posed deserves the courtesy of having his questions answered?

I was watching a NOVA program on "Absolute Zero" and they mentioned Bose-Einstein condensates that slow down light as it enters the condensate and allow it to speed back up as it leaves with any intelligence still attached. Obviously the speed of light can be manipulated by matter (and gra...

FieryIce wrote:aaACHEW!...oh goodness excuse me, guess I'm allergic to bull$$**.

Well, they do say that constant exposure to a particular allergen will cause one to become sensitized.

Sorry, presented with such an easy target, I couldn't resist. I'm sure others will appreciate the humor.

My question is this: if various nations go back too soon, will there been an all-to-familiar brand of "international relations?" What happens if and when countries start claiming regions of the moon and disputing those claims? There are times when I am glad we haven't moved into space too...

So now I'm wondering about the images included in this calendar that NoelC and bystander referred to: are they all the images from 2007? Or even years prior to that? Or are they going to be what we see here on APoD proper this year? RJN , do you wish to answer this? I know on CFHT's Hawaiian Starli...

That's the spirit CC. Rather than enlightening those of us who are so misinformed and answer the questions posed, lash out with derogatory remarks. I'm sure you attract a lot of adherents to your philosophies with those methods. BTW, where does petroleum come from? Not the Milky Way, I'm guessing. :...

http://www.galacticmessenger.com/gblog/?page_id=148 "A great revelation given in the Everlasting Gospel is that a catastrophe happened long ago in this solar system . . . which has been the cause of all the satanic negativity and duality that the people here have been dealing with in this spac...

I repeat, the inability to place an upper bound on the size of the universe does not preclude the possibility the universe is expanding (or even contracting). It does not require the universe to be in a steady state. While we can place bounds on the size of the observable universe (even those bounds...

You're probably right considering that cover says 365 days and 2008 is a leap year.

The Universe: 365 Days 2008 Box Calendar http://www.amazon.com/Universe-Days-2008-Calendar-Page/dp/0810988631/ I think this is the calendar RJN is referring to. I think Amazon has the title wrong since there are 366 days in 2008. The cover has it right: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/08109...

Because you were told "Jupiter's ring was discovered by Voyager 1", how did the science team of the Voyager 1 know to look for a ring system? It just does not add up. You don't have to know the rings exist before you look for them. Looking for the unknown is the way a lot of discoveries a...

FieryIce wrote:Yes it is Noel and no it is not "pretty clear we're in the Milky Way".

It's not clear to who? Where do you think we are? and what scientific basis do you have for that?

FieryIce wrote:So you are saying that in this train of particles the caboose is catching up with the engine. That does not add up.

Sure it does. Happens all the time in train wrecks. Slow down or stop the front of the train, and the rear will catch up.