Starship Asterisk*

MargaritaMc wrote:The link from the text of today's Apod (to http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/CMB.html)

Visible in all directions, this cosmic microwave background is a complex tapestry

gets a 404 Not Found notice.

I just clicked on the link in your post here, Margarita, and it works just fine. Sometimes if you wait a while, 404's will clear up. Could be it was just down for maintainence or something simple.

MargaritaMc wrote:The link from the text of today's Apod (to http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/CMB.html)

Visible in all directions, this cosmic microwave background is a complex tapestry

gets a 404 Not Found notice.

Hmm, works for me, too. Try it again.

Ok - sorry about that. It's now working for me, too. Yesterday, I tried it several times over a half-hour period as usually that is enough to clear a 404 when it's just maintenance. But clearly I needed to allow longer. Will do if/when it happens in future.
M

The site was down for a number of hours Mar 31/Apr 1, and since it came back, I've received no email notifications for my watched topics, even though my profile still shows them subscribed. I don't know if this is just something I'm seeing, or if everyone is affected, but something is broken.

Yeah, Marg sent me a PM about it and sometimes mail() is finicky for whatever reason. I asked RJN to update the support ticket from the recent outage to see if they see anything wrong.

For me, it was the forums part. I could get the APOD by going to through the NASA url, but once there, couldn't get anything else.

The two servers are unrelated, Beyond. When one goes down it does not affect the other.

Looks like notifications are back... and all retroactive.

geckzilla wrote:
Looks like notifications are back... and all retroactive.

Yes! I have so many that I'm glad that I now know scientific notation...
Glad to have them back, tho' - even tho I'd been watching the board a couple of times a day I still missed some posts in threads that I'm watching.
M

today's APOD has one typo - thought you'd want to know....says "das and dust" instead of "gas and dust" in galaxy collision video explanation. I LOVE APOD AND SELDOM MISS. I DO NASA AND ASTRAL ART...some is posted the newer better ones , not yet. Long delay.

Hello,

wouldn't it be great if there was a "random"-button/link on the APOD site, linking to a random picture in the archive?

Best regards
Dominik

dhighst wrote:Hello,

wouldn't it be great if there was a "random"-button/link on the APOD site, linking to a random picture in the archive?

Best regards
Dominik

Maybe a little like this? http://asterisk.apod.com/random_apod.php

HEY!! That's really cool!! The little green strikes again!

Now... where to put it

I deleted the APOD "program" thats loads the current APOD picture (long story), but i don't see a link to "reload" the APOD program... Where would I find it? I don't see it on the APOD or NASA website.

It's a third party program (I think there is more than one, actually) and unofficial, written by a fan. This might have been the one you had: https://sites.google.com/site/apodwallp ... stallation

Thanks! It worked, but I don't see the explanation in the upper RH corner like before.
Didn't there used to be a download link on the APOD site itself ?

I've never used the program myself. You might have had a different one.

The 'avatar' functionality which APOD made available to accompany my username has been disabled for some considerable time and I am beginning to wonder "Why Is It So?" (with fond thoughts for the late Julius Sumner Miller). Is this just an unusually long hiccup or is there a more pertinent reason I need to be aware of? With thanks in anticipation that someone will be good enough to explain to me just exactly what is going on with this anomaly. Cheers.

It's disabled for new users (< 10 posts) because of spammers and possibly abusive users. However, you are neither (most people aren't. the few spoil it for the many.) so I can just remove you from the new users group.

Thankyou geckzilla...much appreciated.

It seems the RSS server is down. Can anyone confirm?

There won't be an RSS feed from apod.nasa.gov until the government shutdown ends.

Hi, I'm a member and received an e-mail alerting me to a new message in this topic -- as usual. However, when I clicked on the link to see the new message it took me to the Board index page showing a message to the effect that I am not authorized to view this forum. I've been a member for some years, have followed new messages when alerted, etc. This could have been a one-time glitch, but I'd appreciate it if you could check my status and ensure that my access to this forum/topic has not been compromised. TIA.

ekaim wrote:Hi, I'm a member and received an e-mail alerting me to a new message in this topic -- as usual. However, when I clicked on the link to see the new message it took me to the Board index page showing a message to the effect that I am not authorized to view this forum. I've been a member for some years, have followed new messages when alerted, etc. This could have been a one-time glitch, but I'd appreciate it if you could check my status and ensure that my access to this forum/topic has not been compromised. TIA.

This happens when a moderator deletes (or hides) the post before you get to it. The value in the link then becomes invalid, and this is the message you get. It just means somebody spammed the topic (or posted something in the wrong place, and it was moved). Nothing to worry about.

Could you copy and paste the link in your email that gives you the error?

Nevermind, I see it now. Chris is correct. A spammer posted a reply to this thread and the response was removed because we hate spam.

It's so nice to find an actual explanation for a problem like this! Thanks to you both for your prompt attention and replies.

BTW, I haven't noticed any comments about the resumption of automatic refreshing of the APOD since the Great Government Shutdown. I am enjoying my new daily APOD wallpaper even more now. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.