Comments on: New Moon from a new moon

By: Solius

Solius — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 03:51:53 +0000

Wow, any mention of “that skep-apparatchich” won’t get published on this weblog.
saved to pastebin

By: Brian Too

Brian Too — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 23:25:19 +0000

@11. E,

Space stations, methinks!

By: mike burkhart

mike burkhart — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 17:57:17 +0000

This is a good picture lets see the Moon formed 4 billon years ago and the ISS formed 20 years ago.Off Topic: I was reading Phils Bad Astronomy book the other day, on the subject of combat in outer space there is a video game that acurately simulates it. Ace Combat 3 is the 3rd chapter of the Ace Combat series, in witch yoou play a fighter pilot , this one includes a mission in space in witch you are launced into space to destory laser armed satelites. Heres an Example of space combat according to exerts on the subject: I am in one craft launced from the US my adversery the target form another, now in space neather of us can do high speed menovers like Imalin loops or split s s like we could if we were flying in the air ,nor could we destory the other with projectile wepons like guns or missles . In space the two of us could only fly in a stright line ,head to head at each other and once in range (using a energy wepon like a laser or particle beam) hope to blast the other on the frist pass , normaly in air combat ,one plane tries to get on the others tail to shot him down in space if we both miss it would be impossable to sundely turn to get on the others tail , because frist I would take to munch time to slow down and reverse direction that I would never get in range chaseing him we would have to wate for another pass to try again. Not like Star Wars is it.

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 15:18:40 +0000

to Messier Tidy Upper:

I still think my title is better.

By: Neil Haggath

Neil Haggath — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 11:38:58 +0000

#5 Levi:
“It is amazing to be alive at the time that humanity is beginning to explore this new frontier.”

It was even more amazing, to be alive when humanity was really beginning to explore the new frontier, over 40 years ago!

By: Solius

Solius — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 08:36:12 +0000

Well, that went into moderation… without links, no less. I’ll be curious if he accepts my argument, or continues with the hypocrisy and gender specific insults.

By: Messier Tidy Upper

Messier Tidy Upper — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 05:35:57 +0000

@11. E wrote : “That’s no moon; it’s a space station.”

Actually E there’s both there ! (Cap’n Obvious.)

@1. Mike : ” Shouldn’t your title have been, “New man from a new moon?”

I think the BA is playing on the sense of an artificial moon – i.e. satellite – being the vantage point for seeing the New Moon phase of Earth’s natural satellite!

@4. Chris :

Not to be a “dickish commentarian”, but if that is a new moon, why can you see it illuminated by the sun? Isn’t more of a waxing crescent?

Not necessarily no. It looks like the traditional “new moon in the old moons arms” with some Earthshine on a new crescent to me. Could be the orientated the reverse of your expectations based on the camera / scope technology used or because of the hemisphere reversal ie Southern versus northern hemisphere vantage point?

******

Great image BA.

I hope I haven’t been one of the too dickish commentariat driving you to looking at it so regularly! If so, well my apologies.

By: James Evans

James Evans — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 00:41:27 +0000

That URL must get a lot of hits from your IP, Phil, because even if you posted an announcement that NASA found indisputable evidence for life on Mars, there’s a select few here, who, rather than celebrate, would complain that you foolishly failed to recognize the import of the 1927 publication of an obscure scientific treatise by a little-known German astronomer named Sandor von Kriegenhoffer, in which it was clearly explained how interplanetary cross-contamination would one day provide numerous astrobiological false positives due to the porous nature of rocketry metal and the interrelated prevention of proper, pre-launch UV-sterilization, and how some cheap but inadvisable propellants would provide not only the proper environment for yet-to-be-discovered extremophiles to flourish, but also the right chemical mix for providing their unusual food supply, given orbital dynamics and the interactivity of cosmic rays with some isotopes of likely booster housing polymers, and blah, blah, blah.

By: Nic

Nic — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 20:28:41 +0000

Lovely shot. Like it..

Those of us born in the sixties (myself Aug 66) kind of expected footprints on Mars in maybe the 80′s.
I don’t remember Apollo 11 specifically, but I do remember it seeming commonplace to have guys walking around on the Moon.

Certainly what I didn’t appreciate at the time – and what people miss to this day, is Apollo cost fully 4% of the US federal budget (or was it GNP) in 66.

That was politically necessary at the time but also why nothing on that scale will happen for a LONG time.

That is why Bush and Obama couldn’t fund Constellation, and why, what we mostly see is pretty artwork. For manned stuff.

BUT – look at the incredible stuff we have – the Voyagers are still going, we have Opportunity on Mars, Curiosity after an incredible landing, Dawn has just left Vesta heading to Ceres, Cassini is still out there, New Horizons heading to Pluto, numerous telescopes in orbit (SOHO is still there, STEREO, Swift), WOW is there some kit up there!!

And you know what? (Brit speaking) – it’s largely American. SOHO with ESA, Huygens was ESA. Hubble I think with ESA, correct me if anyone knows different.

So you Americans out there, before you dis your government, please think before you suggest you’re losing a new space race. Because no-one else is anywhere near close.
And – if we go back to manned – you are the only country to put anyone beyond low-earth-orbit. AND then go into Lunar Orbit AND then land on the Moon. And rather important get back. SIX times to the lunar surface and and and further 3 (Apollo 8, 10, 13) which were up there but didn’t land.

Don’t get down about it. It costs money, especially manned. And that won’t happen again soon, and that’s sad, but 4% of budget is a lot of hospitals.

It’ll happen again. But maybe not in my time.

Did I wander off topic? Sorry Phil! Love your blog.

By: E

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 18:17:08 +0000

That’s no moon; it’s a space station.