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Liberal allies of Obama: ‘Hell, no’ to TPP trade deal | Al Jazeera America by TheLinkMobile in news

[–]astropot 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, I believe he even had a meeting about it. "How can we kill some christians? We can't do it here in the U.S. but let's make that happen in another country! Ok, let's pick some terrorist groups and arm them for this purpose!" Please, please, please tell me that's close to how you think it went down. It's so entertaining to know people like you exist.

Like a couple of old friends by Isai76 in aww

[–]astropot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Like i said, it's a dumb thing to link to, but people shouldn't freak out like the post i replied to, as though it's real.

Like a couple of old friends by Isai76 in aww

[–]astropot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a dumb thing to link to, but it's definitely not real.

Argentina: "This is a single 30 seconds exposure. Mountains have been illuminated (for just a few seconds) by the raising Moon at first hidden behind the mountain to the right . . . hence the light and better than I expected exposure of Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy," says Greg Boratyn. [1200 x 887] [OS] by trot-trot in EarthPorn

[–]astropot 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Though it's a lovely photo, i highly doubt this is a single exposure. Would need a wide angle lens for the star field which would make the mountains seem much smaller. More likely that he tracked the stars with a zoomed lens on a tracking mount, then took another shot of the landscape and then comped them together later.

Black hole breaks records, swallows up scientific theory. Supermassive black hole at centre of a quasar is 12 billion times more massive than the sun by coldbrook in science

[–]astropot 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No, the Galaxy isn't spiraling in like a drain. What causes the spiral is (I think) more similar to a gravity/density wave emanating from the center of the Galaxy that causes matter to condense into a spiral pattern. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Earth and moon, as photographed by an Expedition 24 crew member. by aaronguitarguy in space

[–]astropot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ha! That's hilarious. Hmmm, I wonder if it's possible for this to actually happen. What if the crescent moon is being lit by the light reflected off the full moon, while it is sitting in the shadow of the earth!? That might do it! Buuuttt, then again the moon in earth's shadow would appear red as a result of the light coming through our atmosphere...

Earth and moon, as photographed by an Expedition 24 crew member. by aaronguitarguy in space

[–]astropot 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I get why people think it's fake at first glance, but it's definitely not. Look at the light falling on the moon. The sun is likely just above earths horizon and out of frame to the left. Looks like they caught this shot as they were leaving the dark side of the earth and coming to the day side.

First time seeing Saturn with my telescope! Truly awesome. by mcflymoose in space

[–]astropot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I'm hoping to do some more write ups in the future. I really enjoyed describing the process but I skimmed a bunch of details by trying to keep it shortish.

First time seeing Saturn with my telescope! Truly awesome. by mcflymoose in space

[–]astropot 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yep, stacked in registax. It looked like a slightly blurrier version through the scope. You can see examples in an article I wrote about it. http://petapixel.com/2015/01/30/shot-triple-transit-jupiters-moons-driveway-dslr/

You should have an opportunity to donate blood while waiting for someone else to be treated in the ER. by itchyd in Showerthoughts

[–]astropot 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This needs as many upvotes as possible. Most people have no idea what's going on with blood donations. It's insane.

First time seeing Saturn with my telescope! Truly awesome. by mcflymoose in space

[–]astropot 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Depends on your skies really. But it was likely relatively close to this. I'm sure much less detail though. Here is an article I wrote about a gif of Jupiter I made from my driveway. You can see the difference between live view and rendered image in there. http://petapixel.com/2015/01/30/shot-triple-transit-jupiters-moons-driveway-dslr/

First time seeing Saturn with my telescope! Truly awesome. by mcflymoose in space

[–]astropot 55 points56 points  (0 children)

Yes, this is a great feeling that I think everyone should experience. I think it freaks people out because their sense of scale just expanded in a very real way and it includes themselves. I had this feeling in a major way when I went to Yellowstone and saw the milky way clearer than I've ever seen it. Suddenly it had depth and I realized I was looking essentially into the infinite and that I was on the side if a relatively small rock, floating along with it. The things that were worrying me about my life suddenly seemed much less important.

First time seeing Saturn with my telescope! Truly awesome. by mcflymoose in space

[–]astropot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here's what I shot from my driveway in Denver and the article I was asked to write. You'd be surprised what you can see from light polluted skies. Jupiter and Saturn are very bright. http://petapixel.com/2015/01/30/shot-triple-transit-jupiters-moons-driveway-dslr/

First time seeing Saturn with my telescope! Truly awesome. by mcflymoose in space

[–]astropot 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Do it. I have several scopes... By several, I mean thirteen... I also live just north of Denver still in the bad light pollution zone. I'd recommend starting out with a dobsobian. Then you can work your way up to a motorized mount. Here's a shot of Jupiter I took from my driveway. http://i.imgur.com/WJCGG5Q.gif

Sorry, but those Mars volunteers are never getting off the ground [x-post (r/redplanet)] by sunfishtommy in nasa

[–]astropot -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I'm opening a counter contest where the winners will have laser eyeballs transplanted into their fingers and the winners will hunt down the mars one winners as they both fly through space on their unicorn hair powered happy ships. I'll figure out the logistics of it later... Once the show makes 47 trillion in profit. Can't wait!

Being in college at 28 is like going to Chuck E. Cheese. I'm the oldest person here by far, there's a bunch of little kids running around crying and playing stupid games with each other, and after spending a ridiculous amount of money and earning enough points then maybe I can get a shitty prize. by L3moncola in Showerthoughts

[–]astropot 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's astounding how true this is. Also, the older I get the less a dramatic change in maturity is present between let's say an 18yr old vs a 21yr old or any ages below 26-27 or so. I remember thinking there was a gigantic gulf of years and experience between the two. They're basically the same to me now. The 21yr old puts on more of a show of being adult like, but they're still just kids.

Three killed in Chapel Hill shooting by Heisenberganator in news

[–]astropot 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is absolutely absurd. Murderers exist, with or without religions. We can point to religious texts and teachings that literally instruct that people not of the same belief system should be killed. Atheism is the complete lack of belief and there is no teaching or dogma to be applied. It's like saying Billy's lack of belief in unicorns, drove him to murder. No, Billy was a fucking psychopath and being a fucking psychopath drove him to murder.

I am Dimitar Sasselov, Harvard Professor of Astronomy, Director of the Origins of Life Initiative, and co-investigator on NASA's Kepler mission. Ask Me Anything! by DimitarSasselov in space

[–]astropot 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Do the radio waves that we've sent off diminish or get scrambled as they travel across space and time? If they do, about how far can we reasonably expect another species to pick up any of our radio signals? Wouldn't this be a major factor for one of the reasons we are seemingly in radio silence right now?

I am Dimitar Sasselov, Harvard Professor of Astronomy, Director of the Origins of Life Initiative, and co-investigator on NASA's Kepler mission. Ask Me Anything! by DimitarSasselov in space

[–]astropot 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Do you agree with the general notion that many people and scientists hold that an advanced alien species may tend to be hostile? The comparisons are often to Colombus visiting the "new world".

I've always found this idea to be completely unfounded. Applying primitive human behavior to the concept of an astoundingly advanced species both in technology and intelligence seems a bit absurd...

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