Comments on: Dune Mars http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/08/dune-mars/ I am an astronomer, writer, and skeptic. I likes reality the way it is, and I aims to keep it that way. My real name is Phil Plait, and I run the Bad Astronomy blog. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:52:03 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: ABR http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/08/dune-mars/comment-page-1/#comment-25100 ABR Wed, 13 Dec 2006 07:06:18 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/08/dune-mars/#comment-25100 Stevo, You may want to pull out your copy of Dune. The names "Dune" and "Arrakis" are synonymous and refer to the third planet of Canopus. On another note, I live in envy of you and all Southern Hemisphere citizens -- I've never seen the Southern Cross or the Magellanic Clouds! Stevo,

You may want to pull out your copy of Dune. The names “Dune” and “Arrakis” are synonymous and refer to the third planet of Canopus.

On another note, I live in envy of you and all Southern Hemisphere citizens — I’ve never seen the Southern Cross or the Magellanic Clouds!

]]> By: Stevo http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/08/dune-mars/comment-page-1/#comment-25099 Stevo Wed, 13 Dec 2006 03:51:39 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/08/dune-mars/#comment-25099 Reminds me of the Mundrabilla meteorite they've got in the entrance lobby to the South Australian museum. Similar texture that looks all fluid. Every time I visit there I touch it just to have tactile contact with an object that orbited our Sun independently for aeons before falling through our atmosphere, glowing red-hot, the edges sizzling and becoming molten from the re-entry heat. It blows me away every time. :-) 'Seitch' I think meant village as much as cavern in 'Dune' - tehfRemen were descendents froma ZenSunni (or was it Zen Sufi) diaspora which I take it means some sort of confluence / symbiosis of "Zen" (buddhist philosophy) and "Sunni" the mainstream version of Islam. An interesting fusion of religions. A lot of the terms used by "Fremen" (ie. 'Free men') were adopted I think from Arabic which make sense considering the environment. ;-) Oh, & the star "Dune" orbited was Arrakis which is the old Arabic name for Nu Draconis, visible to you Northern hemisphere-ers as a circumpolar star (spectral type A I think ie like Sirius, Vega and Altair) near the north celstial pole (UrsaMinor -lil' dipper & polaris) Which means, of course, that here in Adelaide, South Oz, I can't see it. Still I'd take having the Southern Cross, Magellanic Clouds, the two best globular clusters and Eta Carinae in my skies over Draco, Polaris and the two Bears (Ursa's major & minor) anyday! Hope that's interesting / amusing /enlightening / fun for y'all.. Reminds me of the Mundrabilla meteorite they’ve got in the entrance lobby to the South Australian museum. Similar texture that looks all fluid. Every time I visit there I touch it just to have tactile contact with an object that orbited our Sun independently for aeons before falling through our atmosphere, glowing red-hot, the edges sizzling and becoming molten from the re-entry heat. It blows me away every time. :-)

‘Seitch’ I think meant village as much as cavern in ‘Dune’ – tehfRemen were descendents froma ZenSunni (or was it Zen Sufi) diaspora which I take it means some sort of confluence / symbiosis of “Zen” (buddhist philosophy) and “Sunni” the mainstream version of Islam. An interesting fusion of religions. A lot of the terms used by “Fremen” (ie. ‘Free men’) were adopted I think from Arabic which make sense considering the environment. ;-)

Oh, & the star “Dune” orbited was Arrakis which is the old Arabic name for Nu Draconis, visible to you Northern hemisphere-ers as a circumpolar star (spectral type A I think ie like Sirius, Vega and Altair) near the north celstial pole (UrsaMinor -lil’ dipper & polaris) Which means, of course, that here in Adelaide, South Oz, I can’t see it. Still I’d take having the Southern Cross, Magellanic Clouds, the two best globular clusters and Eta Carinae
in my skies over Draco, Polaris and the two Bears (Ursa’s major & minor) anyday!

Hope that’s interesting / amusing /enlightening / fun for y’all..

]]> By: Astrogirl http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/08/dune-mars/comment-page-1/#comment-25098 Astrogirl Mon, 11 Dec 2006 22:47:53 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/08/dune-mars/#comment-25098 Those pictures are beautiful, as are all the other Mars pictures that have been on here lately. Yes, keep them coming. It's so nice to catch up on science news quickly by coming to the BA website. I often forward links of these pictures (of Mars, Saturn, etc.) to friends at work and fellow-astronomy club members. It's one of the more successful ways to get others interested in astronomy (or to keep fellow astronomy geeks happy). Thanks for the pictures, and keep showing us more! Astrogirl Those pictures are beautiful, as are all the other Mars pictures that have been on here lately. Yes, keep them coming. It’s so nice to catch up on science news quickly by coming to the BA website. I often forward links of these pictures (of Mars, Saturn, etc.) to friends at work and fellow-astronomy club members. It’s one of the more successful ways to get others interested in astronomy (or to keep fellow astronomy geeks happy).

Thanks for the pictures, and keep showing us more!

Astrogirl

]]> By: Johnny Vector http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/08/dune-mars/comment-page-1/#comment-25097 Johnny Vector Mon, 11 Dec 2006 19:02:58 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/08/dune-mars/#comment-25097 Nice photo! Appropriately rotated and scaled, it's my new desktop background. (Replacing <a href="http://olduvaigeorge.com/2006/12/01/march-of-the-hippoartiowhales/" rel="nofollow">Ambulocetus</a>, but only because it's more abstract and thus less distracting for those rare moments when my screen isn't covered in windows.) Nice photo! Appropriately rotated and scaled, it’s my new desktop background. (Replacing Ambulocetus, but only because it’s more abstract and thus less distracting for those rare moments when my screen isn’t covered in windows.)

]]> By: Liam http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/08/dune-mars/comment-page-1/#comment-25096 Liam Mon, 11 Dec 2006 18:03:30 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/08/dune-mars/#comment-25096 Puts me in mind of Salvador Dali http://www.dali-gallery.com/images/works/1981_01.jpg Puts me in mind of Salvador Dali
http://www.dali-gallery.com/images/works/1981_01.jpg

]]> By: John Phillips http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/08/dune-mars/comment-page-1/#comment-25095 John Phillips Sun, 10 Dec 2006 19:39:29 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/08/dune-mars/#comment-25095 For those running Windows who don't want to download the viewer mentioned in the previous posting abut Hires Mars images the full blown .JP2 images can be viewed in Irfanview as long as its plugins pack is installed. And, oh wow, they do look even more amazing when you zoom in on different areas. For those running Windows who don’t want to download the viewer mentioned in the previous posting abut Hires Mars images the full blown .JP2 images can be viewed in Irfanview as long as its plugins pack is installed. And, oh wow, they do look even more amazing when you zoom in on different areas.

]]> By: Foreign Kid http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/08/dune-mars/comment-page-1/#comment-25094 Foreign Kid Sun, 10 Dec 2006 15:19:41 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/08/dune-mars/#comment-25094 I bet there are giant worms living under those dunes, much like (duh) the books "Dune." I bet there are giant worms living under those dunes, much like (duh) the books “Dune.”

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