Comments on: Astronomy Pictures

Astronomy Pictures

homunculus — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:34:33 -0800

Bad Astronomy's Top Ten Astronomy Pictures of 2007.

By: inconsequentialist

inconsequentialist — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:40:53 -0800

Most of those were great. This one, however, shouldn't count.

By: weapons-grade pandemonium

weapons-grade pandemonium — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:46:42 -0800

Always amazing, and the more you know, the bigger it gets out there. Number seven is my number one.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:48:03 -0800

I got dem ol' cosmic blues again.

By: misha

misha — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:49:52 -0800

Very, very cool. I agree with inconsequentialist about the lightning storm. I see stuff like that every day during the season in the Thunderstorm capital of the world and, besides, it doesn't seem, you know...spacey enough. The Hubble "embracing galaxies" shots, as well as the comet pics and the video of the eclipse, though--really, they were just amazing. Thanks for the thread.

By: Artw

Artw — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:50:08 -0800

Nice. Thanks!

By: QIbHom

QIbHom — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:51:20 -0800

That Sky Factory site has some amazing pics.

By: yhbc

yhbc — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:53:18 -0800

Time to go eat a carton of ice cream in the closet again. It's a BIG universe.

By: hjo3

hjo3 — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:07:20 -0800

This one, however, shouldn't count. Because it doesn't load?

By: lekvar

lekvar — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:19:17 -0800

Epic fail. Not a single one of those photos shows anything resembling "bad astronomy." Where are the skyfish? The paper-plate UFOs? The "that's no moon, that's your thumb on the lens" shots? Every one of those images were a pean to the vast majesty of the cosmos. The blogger obviously isn't even trying. Humbug.

By: localroger

localroger — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:25:46 -0800

OK, that was definitely "best of the web."

By: rooftop secrets

rooftop secrets — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:29:49 -0800

Couldn't you just save this great link for a follow-up in someone else's astronomy post, homunculus?

By: Slack-a-gogo

Slack-a-gogo — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:35:13 -0800

Fantastic. I somehow missed the whole "Black Hole on Mars" thing. inconsequentialist: This one, however, shouldn't count. Becasue it's too awesome? Actually, I see think I your point.

By: Slack-a-gogo

Slack-a-gogo — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:36:21 -0800

Actually, I see think I your point. I'm not sure what just happened there. "Actually I think I see your point."

By: loquacious

loquacious — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:48:07 -0800

Damnit, I need to start posting my bookmarks sooner. Thanks homunculus.

By: Dillonlikescookies

Dillonlikescookies — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:54:24 -0800

google ads on one of the links: Meaning of Life Explained A Plausible Theory for Our Universe Science Based and Logical The Theory of Everything Some physicists think the mind is at the heart of modern physics. Lesbian Fiction At SCP Find Great Lesbian Books At SCP Free Shipping on Orders of $45+ huh? also. great link :)

By: puke & cry

puke & cry — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:55:48 -0800

Space scares the shit out of me.

By: Devils Rancher

Devils Rancher — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 17:05:07 -0800

That pit on Mars really gets my blood pumping. Now, when stupid people ask if all caves are underground, I can say, no, some are a good 36 million miles above ground!

By: daq

daq — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 17:13:34 -0800

*dons space helmet and grabs keys for rocket* Screw this, I'm gonna go see what they're doing in Andromeda.

By: DenOfSizer

DenOfSizer — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 17:13:38 -0800

Motherfucking snakes in a motherfucking cave on Mars!

By: pjern

pjern — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 17:39:53 -0800

That move of the solar eclipse gave me goosebumps.

By: cgc373

cgc373 — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 17:47:31 -0800

Seconding solopsist! The eight-second YouTube clip is really, really awesome, once you realize it's footage, not a dumb special effect. It's the Moon passing in front of the Sun. Just craziness.

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 18:20:37 -0800

Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.

By: ErWenn

ErWenn — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 18:40:14 -0800

I'm with you, Lekvar. Despite the name of the blog entry, "Top Ten Astronomy Pictures of 2007", I was irrationally expecting to see the worst ten astronomy pictures of 2007. I was very disappointed. These pictures are cool too, though. It was just a bit like biting into an éclair thinking it was a corndog.

By: trip and a half

trip and a half — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 18:58:30 -0800

Thanks for the post. Beautiful, awe-inspiring images. Space is the one reason I want to believe in reincarnation, 'cuz it doesn't look like I'm gonna make it out there this time around.

By: tellurian

tellurian — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 19:42:18 -0800

Great pictures. Nice Adams, kirkaracha, but "Space isn't remote at all. It's only an hour's drive away if your car could go straight upwards."

By: rokusan

rokusan — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 20:16:45 -0800

What's so hard to understand, Dillon? The meaning of life is lesbians. All. The. Way. Down.

By: Quietgal

Quietgal — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 21:31:21 -0800

You and me both, trip and a half. Thanks, homunculus, for linking to the stuff of dreams!

By: rtha

rtha — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 21:46:47 -0800

Wow.

By: Goofyy

Goofyy — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 01:15:55 -0800

I want a planet situated just far enough over a spiral galaxy so that the view of the galaxy takes up about half the sky. I think that would be awesome. Any property agents having such properties are invited to email me. Space boggles me. I have this possibly irrational idea that, no matter how far the distance, the very fact we can name that distance means there must be some way to traverse it in a meaningful amount of time. I refuse to take 'no' for an answer! The contrary is that the universe is a big tease. But one thing I'd like to understand about photos of galaxies: How much of the visible image is glowing gas, and how much is the billions of stars? Or do we even know with any degree of certainty?

By: Skorgu

Skorgu — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 04:26:34 -0800

Io is the next great vacation spot in case you missed it in the article. That's the one that really blew my mind.

By: localroger

localroger — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 05:20:38 -0800

Goofyy, it's pretty much all stars. Gas that isn't being compressed to the point of fusion doesn't generally glow. I know, crazy, it's really like a gas made up of stars.

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 06:50:59 -0800

My god, it's full of stars.

By: TedW

TedW — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 06:59:18 -0800

Great post and comments! Unfortunately the IT department here has crippled this computer in a way such that I cannot favorite anything, or else I would definitely be handing some out.

By: Koko

Koko — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 07:37:31 -0800

Gravity twists and pulls at the galaxies as they dance past each other. And, as if they resist the inevitable recession of their partner, they reach out to one another in what looks like a tender embrace, but is in reality a stark (if lovely) portent of the destruction wrought on both galaxies. [the two galaxies] passed each other ... 200 million years ago. The gravity of B ... drew out a long tentacle from the much larger A ..., and it appears as if the passage also wrapped the tendril around B, perhaps more than once ... and we can (just barely) tell that B is looking a little disturbed. Will the two galaxies continue to separate, or will gravity eventually win, drawing them together? Perhaps the latter ... And while this may look like a totally alien tableau, keep in mind that the Milky Way Galaxy has suffered through such collisions in the past... and will again. So have I, honey, so have I. *bursts into tears*

By: shmegegge

shmegegge — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 08:24:33 -0800

that was unbelievably neat.

By: ersatz

ersatz — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 08:46:25 -0800

Galaxies seem like immutable giants of the cosmos; serene, majestic, and unmoving. But that's an illusion. Everything in space is in motion, including galaxies. As you can imagine, when you take a collection of several hundred billion stars and set it in motion, it can be pretty hard to stop it. Galaxies move through space at numbing speeds, and the forces built up are mighty. The next supervillain who uses toys like planet weapons will lose my respect immediately. Galactic weapons or nothing at all! I also have this SF urge right now. And I'm not a man of SF, normally.