Starship Asterisk*

A different artist's interpretation...
Rob

I've never heard of software checking in as you describe geck. Maybe this is not something software vendors can do on MacOS. I have some major software that doesn't get used every month, and nothing has failed yet, not for that reason at least. I've got CS3 PS which I use maybe once or twice a year,...

I too threw away my old disks, but not because I now subscribe to software. I just buy it online and download it, and that's where the updates come from too. No way do I want to pay monthly for something as vital as software, since the most likely apocalypse I'll ever face is becoming unable to pay ...

And it's not just the abundance of those few elements that make life based on them very reasonable. It's also the amount of energy required in their various reactions. It's hard to imagine life opting for reactions that require more energy input, no matter what sort of strange environment they might...

I'm curious why this mid-2015 image was chosen for an APOD now. There is a more recent selfie, published in May 2017 -- otherwise similar but taken part way up Mount Sharp -- that I assume could have been used.

Rob

Right to the brightest star on the top right edge of the picture, after clicking on the image, there is an orange structure. What is it ? Pretty much everything we see in this picture that isn't a star (or a distant galaxy) is the result of energy streaming out from stars pushing against the gas an...

Here's a crop of the area, with greatly increased brightness and some contrast increase to make it obvious...
(I couldn't see it at first, on my carefully calibrated screen -- but I keep the brightness turned down a notch because my eyes are sensitive to glare.)

Rob

Tom W. wrote:The bright yellow star under the right edge of the Galaxy in this image, seen up close appears to have a ring of material seen nearly edge-on. If true, could this be pre-planatary material?

Could you do a screen grab and point out on it which star you're referring to?

Rob

HiYoSilver wrote:... Seriously though science should be about investigating .. not following a leader. Suit yourself though.

Following consensus is vastly different from following a leader.

Rob

So... the contrast has been pushed (processed) so far that the noise is highly visible, in order to get a clearer view of the filaments of gas and dust. Fair enough.

Rob

What are we supposed to make of the fine white speckles all over this picture? Surely they are processing artifacts. If so, they destroy any utility the picture may have; if not, what are they?

Rob

Suspect it should have been "twice as close as Mercury," i.e., half the distance as Mercury. Words do matter, especially in science! Well, that would depend on which English you're speaking, Canajun, Merican, Aussy, or Brit. “Half as close as Mercury” seems clear to me, though “half the d...

Well, no. Somebody played with the numbers and made some assumptions that don't seem to be supported by reality. The idea hasn't been confirmed at all. Indeed, the paper is 7 years old and the idea has gone nowhere. Not surprisingly. Yeah, well, sputnik is a legend in his own mind. I thought I reco...

Boomer12k wrote:"It's about time, Its about space... about 2 men in the strangest place"...

Does anyone remember the TV show that is from? ...

Alas, I remember it too. It was a truly dreadful comedy about a couple of time travelling asternuts. Somehow it lasted for 26 episodes in ~1967.

Rob

The simplest way to determine that an incoming object is artificial would be to observe it changing velocity in a way that would be impossible for a 'natural' object. It could, for example, attempt to adjust its trajectory to use the Sun's gravity for a braking maneuver. Or, if braking was impossib...

This event look like, to one of the biggest opportunity, of our History. His trajectory prove this object coming to outside of our solar system. What we dont know, at this time; it is only a lost asteroid or a artificiel object. ... Richard The simplest way to determine that an incoming object is a...

It seems appropriate on Hallowe'en to show that Dark really matters.

Rob

This sort of eye might help... Rob

... The page is really hopelessly dated, especially given that it's one of the most popular sites on the Internet. ... I suppose there will come a day when such an old-fashioned look is suddenly trendy -- everything old is new again -- and APOD will get another award for sticking with it for so lon...

And while they're at it, make it fully compatible with all screen sizes and devices, using either an adaptive or a responsive design. (They're slightly different concepts.). But having said that, you should know that... Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is a website provided by NASA and Michigan T...

An hypothesis (not a theory) is worth paying attention to and expending time, energy and money on testing, if and only if it is published in a peer reviewed journal. If you're self-publishing you won't be taken seriously. That's life.

Rob

... PS: If you don't want kids asking questions, just say so. Don't bust them over the head with 'silly anti spam bot questions' The silly anti spam bot questions are not there to prevent children asking questions. They're there to prevent -- amazing coincidence! -- spam bots from littering the for...

The APOD FaceBook page, at least, has such an announcement...

The APOD for 2017 Oct 16 will be delayed pending an announcement from the NSF and the LIGO and Virgo collaborations at 10 am EDT.

Rob

...cassini space probe should have been recovered and returned to the earth for recycling or held in saturn orbit until such recovery would have been made possible ... Held? How? By magic? Cassini had almost run out of fuel for maintaining its orbit, and used the last of it to set up its plunge int...

I mis-spoke myself, to quote a famous US President. I meant to say "my cursor was not 'grabbed'", of course. I'd edit my post, but then it wouldn't agree with your quote of it, Ann. Oh well.

Rob