h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This morning I started the second to last roll from AS16. The last roll was excellent with good detail through the whole roll and nearly 80 of 90 frames good enough that the software was able to "stitch" them together. That's after so many months of washed out, featureless, white frames.

Now, within just two frames of starting this morning, I'm seeing big black gaps in some frames where the moons surface is entirely in shadow. That's as black as it gets. I can't tell the image from the frame edges. Obviously neither can the software. So, I'll be back to looking for dust tomorrow.

Hmmm... That's interesting...


This conversation has alerted me to an "Issue". Take a look at this page of the image.

http://wms.lroc.asu.edu/apollo/browse?camera=P&mission=16&page=27

Notice how they change in tone.

I'm OK with most of the ones on that page. But numbers 4910 and 4911 are a problem. If you look at 4910 and 4905, they should be nearly identical as they're the same territory and the same lighting. It seems that maybe someone changed the default corrections to accommodate the shaded images following. But what's really bad is they never changed them back. Every flat, bright image to follow has those over-corrections.

It might be an interesting few weeks.

Oops.

Here's a brilliant idea long overdue. Incorporated packaging. Products without added packaging.

This is so doable for so many things.

http://www.wired.com/design/2013/02/packages-without-packaging/?cid=co5833934&pid=2208&viewall=true

Here's an amazing and beautiful solar flare. You might not think that you'd want to watch 4+ minutes of a solar flare, but you will. You'll watch it all and you'll like it.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/02/21/coronal_rain_streams_of_ionized_gas_rain_on_sun_after_a_solar_flare.html

I never get tired of watching footage of the sun

Here's another compilation of astronaut Don Pettit's imagery. This one also features a lecture by Pettit on the subject.

It's 16 minutes that are absolutely worth it.

Share & Enjoy

http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/03/11/time_lapse_video_incredible_video_of_earth_seen_from_the_space_station.html

http://news.discovery.com/tech/robotics/ocean-array-7-million-tons-plastic-130326.htm#mkcpgn=twdsc2

This needs to happen now and be improved on constantly.

Another trip to the Total Perspective Vortex.

This week, the miniature travel version.


How far is it to Mars?

http://www.distancetomars.com/

My brane just asploded

On a related note, Pluto hasn't yet made 1/3rd of an orbit since it was discovered 83 Earth years ago.

This Pluto is very small. That Pluto is far away

Sorry, slight error. It HAS just completed 1/3 of an orbit.


Yeah, on that graphic, I wonder how few pixels Pluto would be?

...


Apparently 18 pixels.

Tis true: 83/246 = 0.3374

OK... Last night on Mythbusters, the gang revisited their Original urban legend, the one that they started with 10 years ago, the JATO Rocket Car.

You all know the story. Rocket car flies off a road into a cliff.

Well, back before the Mythbusters first aired, Wired Magazine had a very interesting story about a guy who claims he, most likely, started the legend. I managed to track the story back down and have spent all morning rereading it. It's long, but it's quite an interesting read. It also sounds very plausible.

Here is his story from the magazine


And here it is from his own site with a few pencil sketches and a little more info, mostly concerning the HMS Beagle.

http://www.the-clearing.org/Jato/rockit.htm



TL;DR

The car never flew, no one was in the car, but it did end up in a cliff side and it WAS a Chevy Impala.

Perview is yoru fiend.

Here's the Wired link: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.08/rocketcar.html

Ya know those "Perspective" thingies I post occasionally...

Well here's another.

http://i.imgur.com/wjkio24.jpg

Ooh look, we really are at the unfashionable end of the westerns spiral arm of the Galaxy

THIS http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/fit-to-print/2012/06/13/subgenius-discovery/ is exciting news.

Well, it is to me at least.

Praise BoB! The Proto-BoB has been found!

PLACE YOUR BETS!

Which scifi spacecraft is the 'fastest'?

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/map_of_the_week/2013/05/star_trek_enterprise_vs_star_wars_millennium_falcon_which_ship_is_fastest.html