An lowly asternaut

[lbeckham]

I noticed that my default newbie title is "Asternaut". Is that because I am only standing in the line of sight of an astronaut and only appear to next to her even though she is far away?

[geckzilla]

It's because you have less than 10 posts. I sense that you've made a joke and that I haven't gotten it, though.

[lbeckham]

Sorry, this belongs in "Astronomically Bad Jokes". For to explain a joke is a failed joke.

[geckzilla]

The other option is that I'm just being dense. It wouldn't be the first time.

[starsurfer]

Sorry, this belongs in "Astronomically Bad Jokes". For to explain a joke is a failed joke.

I really don't get it?

[Beyond]

Something about a shadow??

[Nitpicker]

According to the rules of this forum:
http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=26696
"A person who posts on the Asterisk* board is immediately considered to be a (virtual) asternaut, as opposed to an astronaut. Asternaut is not misspelled -- it is the diminutive of the word astronaut. Although only a few are selected to become astronauts, anyone with a web browser can become an asternaut. After 10 posts, an asternaut is elevated to become (also) an Ensign, and after 100 posts, a Science Officer. At 500 posts, an asternaut is judged to be legally insane, and is therefore allowed to choose their own rank (within reason)."

I suppose one could also think of an asternaut as one who is involved in the navigation of the Starship Asterisk* forum.

[lbeckham]

The joke is I misread the "aster" in asternaut as in an asterism, not an asterisk. Did ANYBODY get it?

[neufer]

The joke is I misread the "aster" in asternaut as in an asterism, not an asterisk. Did ANYBODY get it?

[url=http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/13-punctuation-marks-that-you-never-knew-existed#.nwvqLree6G][size=150]14 Punctuation Marks That You Never Knew Existed[/size][/url]

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• Does ANYBODY get it now?

<<In typography, an asterism, from the Greek astēr (star), is a rarely used and nearly obsolete symbol consisting of three asterisks placed in a triangle (⁂). It is used to "indicate minor breaks in text," call attention to a passage, or to separate sub-chapters in a book. Asterisms in James Joyce Ulysses, the "Wandering Rocks" chapter, from the 1922 edition. The 1961 edition used a hollow star (☆), the 1984 edition used a dinkus (***).

It can also be used to mean 'untitled' or author or title withheld, for example, some editions of Album for the Young by composer Robert Schumann (no.'s 21, 26, and 30). Besides originating from the same word, "the rarely used asteriscus, which Isidore of Seville says 'is put in place of something that has been omitted so as to call attention to the omission'," also resembles the asterism.

In meteorology, an asterism in a station model indicates moderate snowfall.

[Beyond]

I like this one.

[neufer]

I like this one.

In the midst of the word he was trying to say,
In the midst of his laughter and glee,
He had softly and suddenly vanished away—
For the Snark was a Boojum, you see.[

[Beyond]

Well, it's plain to see that the Snark would have done just as poorly in the "Stump Art" thread.

[lbeckham]

I like this one.

In the midst of the word he was trying to say,
In the midst of his laughter and glee,
He had softly and suddenly vanished away—
For the Snark was a Boojum, you see.[

He quotes the Good Rev. Charles Dodgson! A kindred spirit!

BUT when I search Wikipedia using the Wikipedia search, this comes first:

Asterism (astronomy), a pattern of stars
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterism