Eggs standing straight up... (APOD 21 Sep 2008)

[craterchains]

Well, at least he closed the fridge door.

[emc]

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080921.html

The eggs are OK (could have been more equally spaced though). I mostly like the multi-colored alphabet letters near the bottom of the refrigerator. The longer I looked at them the more I was reminded of globular clusters, particle collisions and art.

http://astronomy.byu.edu/sdb/Mnemonic.html

O B A F G K M

. This is the Harvard Spectral Classification System for the stars. Each letter corresponds to a certain type of spectrum, and therefore color, of a star. The letters also correspond roughly to the temperatures, with O, the bluest, being the hottest. Why aren't the letters in alphabetical order? Well, they started out in order, according to the strength of the Balmer lines in the spectra, but then some of the letters turned out to be equivalent, so they dropped those. Then the order was rearranged according to temperature. Rather than rename the spectral types, they simply placed them in the correct order, and so we have OBAFGKM. To remember this order, we like to invent mnemonics. The most common one is:

. Oh, Be A Fine Girl, Kiss Me

. There are three more types of stars, that are mixed in with the M giants. These are R, N, and S. So, adding these letters to the mnemonic we can have:

. "Oh, Be A Fine Girl, Kiss Me Right Now...Smack!"

. Here's a list of some other mnemonics I have collected. If you come up with any, with or without the RNS, please send it in. I'll give you credit for it.

. Note: Recently two more types of stars have been added to the sequence, cooler even than the M stars (that is, less hot than M stars). These have been named L and T stars. I still don't have many mnemonics for this sequence, so if you know any more, please send them in!

O B A F G K M L T :

. Oh Be A Fine Girl Kiss My Lips Tonight
. --Submitted by Steffen Knollmann

. Oh Brilliant And Fiery Geminids, Kindle My Lamp Tonight --Newly added
. --Submitted by Richard Stratford

. Officially, Bill Always Felt Guilty Kissing Monica Lewinsky Tenderly
..........................................
O B A F G K M :

. Only Boys Accepting Feminism Get Kissed Meaningfully
. --unknown

. Optical Binary Affairs Fundamentally Generate Keplerian Marriages
. --"Introductory Astronomy and Astrophysics" (Zeilik * Gregory)

. Only Bold Astronomers Forge Great Knowledgeable Minds
. --"Introductory Astronomy and Astrophysics" (Zeilik * Gregory)

. Occasional Banter And Feghoots Graciously Kill Monotony
. --SummerDale Beckstrand (This one's for Dr. Taylor, the king of Feghootry)

. Orange Banana Apple Fig Grape Kiwi Mango
. --J. Snedeker

. Orion, Badly Armored, Faught Gargantuan's Killing Machine
. --David Carroll

. October Babies Always Find Great Kostume Masks
. --Oblivion

. Odin Bityi Anglichanin Finiki Geval Kak Morkov'
. --km (from Russian: one beaten English chews dates like a carrot)

. Only Bored Astronomers Find Gratification Knowing Mnemonics
. --Taken from Answers.com

. Omnivorous Butchers Always Find Good Kangaroo Meat
. --Dr. Matt Adams
..........................................
O B A F G K M (R N S):

. Orbiting Bodies Always Follow Gravitational Kinetic Modes (Round Nearest Star) --Newly added
. --the bert

. Out Beyond Andromeda Fiery Gases Keep Making Really Nifty Stars
. --unknown

. Overseas Broadcast: A Flash Godzilla Kills Mothra (Rodan Named Successor)
. --unknown

. Octopus Brains, A Fine Gastronomical Kitchen Menu, Require No Sauce
. --unknown

. Oh, Be A Fine Guy, Kill My Roommate Now, Sweetie
. --Gary Fouts

. O Belli Astri, Forma Gloriaque Kanatis. Me, Reges Noctis, Serenatis.
. --SummerDale Beckstrand *Kanatis is really spelled "Canatis", but as there are no "K"s in Latin, I had to make do with a "C"

. Ordinary, But Awesome, Far-reaching Gases Kindly Make Regal New Stars
. --SummerDale Beckstrand

. Oh, Beautiful Angels Fly Gracefully, Kneel Mercifully, Reviving Needy Souls
. --SummerDale Beckstrand

. Only Big Astronomy Federal Grants Keep Money. Research Needs Support!
. --Taken from Answers.com

. Oh, Boy! Another Failing Grade Keeps Me Reconsidering Night School!
. --Dr. Taylor

Thanks for the link/lesson! Art

O B A F G K M R N S

For golfers interested in astronomy...

Old Balls And Fairway Greens Kill My Remaining Nerve Synapses

<<"How do you tell the difference between a golfer and a skydiver...

The golfer goes... whack... oh no!
The skydiver goes... oh no!... whack!>>"

[Tilt]

How's about a pic of the two shuttles at pads 39A & B?

Asterisk: Submit Pictures to APOD: Two Shuttles at the Same Time

Cool ---- thanks! New background.


About The Good Doctor ----

I still think it was strange that Phil chose to dig in his heels and not correct
the demonstrable error. Here are the links again:

http://www.bautforum.com/bad-astronomy- ... ntact.html

http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/movies/contact.html


I sent him an email some time ago and the reply was to the effect that ‘normal people don’t view meteor showers with telescopes’.

Wha-? normal? I guess abnormal people do, LOL


More Egghead Trivia…

his henchman: the rotten eggs: ‘Benedict’ & ‘Foo Yung’
his hideout… The Ghoti-Oeufs Caviar Company
his ‘chick’….. ‘Miss Bacon’
his ally…...... ‘Chief Screaming Chicken’ (Edward Everett Horton)

I do miss Vincent Price. "Doctor Phibes" is also a longtime favorite.