Milky Way Transit Authority
January 8, 2009 3:29 PM   Subscribe

 
It took me a minute to figure out that the map is upside-down compared to the picture.
posted by Stylus Happenstance at 3:48 PM on January 8, 2009


Yeah, you can tell when you compare the map to this one.
posted by homunculus at 4:02 PM on January 8, 2009


I would be so mad if I was trying to get from M13 to Andromeda Customs.
posted by debbie_ann at 4:22 PM on January 8, 2009


Now you tell me. This bloody busker is getting really annoying.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 4:26 PM on January 8, 2009


Omega Centauri is visible within Centaurus. (hence the name) Given the positions of these two features relative to Sol on the tube map, the two would be in nearly opposite portions of the sky for us Earthlings. Any amateur (or professional) astronomers out there who might clear this up? Am I missing something, or is this an error in positioning? And where do I get a day pass?
posted by Avelwood at 4:35 PM on January 8, 2009


Paging Cory Doctorow.
posted by proj at 5:00 PM on January 8, 2009


This needs a link to the Space Tourism Society
posted by flipyourwig at 5:04 PM on January 8, 2009 [1 favorite]


Three transfers to get to the Hamptons? With the rent we're paying?

No wonder we're trashing the place.
posted by PlusDistance at 5:28 PM on January 8, 2009


Good perspective on Our Sun's location relative to the rest of the Local Galaxy. Shows that we're not really in the "boondocks" of the Milky Way, but in the suburbs. The Galactic equivalent of the San Fernando Valley. Still, we really need a direct line to the Crab Nebula (or is that a bus route?)
posted by wendell at 5:30 PM on January 8, 2009


I thought M13 was a galaxy. 25k lightyears away. Oh, but Andromeda is 2.5 million ly, so I guess the scale is right.
posted by DU at 5:53 PM on January 8, 2009


This needs a link to the Space Tourism Society

Don't forget to stock up on Black Hole Starter Kits at the Greenwood Space Travel Supply Company. "Experienced space travelers agree: a lack of preperation is a prescription for mishaps."
posted by Staggering Jack at 6:10 PM on January 8, 2009 [1 favorite]


Just make sure you have your towel on you at all times and she'll be right.
posted by Talez at 7:17 PM on January 8, 2009


The Galactic equivalent of the San Fernando Valley.

So we're the porn capital of the Galaxy?
posted by homunculus at 7:26 PM on January 8, 2009


So we're the porn capital of the Galaxy?

Yes, but not how we think. Our IKEA books and chemical supply catalouges are legendary.
posted by The Whelk at 7:30 PM on January 8, 2009 [1 favorite]


A typical waste of tax dollars. I live near Sol, I work near Sol -- come to think of it, all of my friends and family live more or less in the direct neighborhood. Call me homely, but I don't see why I would ever get on one of them smelly trains for a long-ass journey to some place in the sticks where they don't even serve a decent burger.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:18 PM on January 8, 2009


lol @ Levittown
posted by Eideteker at 11:03 PM on January 8, 2009


I thought M13 was a galaxy.

Nope, it's a globular cluster. Globular clusters are similar to galaxies, in that they're gravitationally-bound groupings of stars, but there's a huge difference in scale. Globular clusters usually have a few hundred thousand stars, while galaxies have on the order of billions of stars -- several orders of magnitude difference.

Maybe you were thinking of M31, which is a galaxy, often called the Andromeda Galaxy, which you alluded to. (It's inaccurate to call it "Andromeda", however, since that's a constellation and it's misleading to talk about how far away constellations are.)
posted by jiawen at 2:49 AM on January 9, 2009




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