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The Nuclear Furnace at the Center of Our Solar System

Science | Sat, Oct 18, 2008 at 6:49:46 pm PDT

The Sun, as you’ve never seen it before.

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268 comments

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1 pleaseandthankyou  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:50:28pm

wow!

2 redshirt  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:50:39pm

No wonder the planet is so hot! Look at that thing burn!

3 JammieWearingFool  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:50:54pm

Feels hot in here.

4 Maui Girl  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:51:10pm

WOW was my first word, too!

5 ACJohn  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:51:39pm

Awe inspiring images

6 mitthrawnurdo  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:51:57pm

Damn, that looks cool.

/However, that furnace has zero effect on the Earth's climate and to say the opposite is racist!

7 Ringo the Gringo  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:52:43pm

Fuck!

8 winston06  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:53:30pm

yum

9 Vet_Missing_Parts (1LT, Ret)  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:54:02pm

How come when I stare at it I never see that...

...my eyes just burn.

10 Ringo the Gringo  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:54:15pm

Excuse my language.

...please.

11 ClosetConservative  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:54:20pm

The sun's heat is clearly caused by humans.

Duh.

12 jaunte  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:54:20pm

There used to be a (highly filtered) telescope at Griffith Park observatory trained on the sun, and visitors could watch the surface activity in real time.
/ Blinky

13 Sharmuta  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:54:35pm

Wow! Every picture was just amazing. I loved #11.

14 Pvt Bin Jammin  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:54:50pm

Rushing to get my sunscreen on.

Beautiful pic, Charles.

15 esch  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:55:03pm

That's begging for a zer0 pshop.

I mean it already has the ears...

16 arethusa  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:55:13pm

Wait...isn't that a picture of the Young Sun God, aka Obama?/

17 Killgore Trout  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:56:06pm

Wow.

18 mitthrawnurdo  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:56:14pm

re: #16 arethusa

Ra has nothing on Obama...

/Could Ra control the seas?

19 RoughRider  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:57:03pm

re: #12 jaunte

There used to be a (highly filtered) telescope at Griffith Park observatory trained on the sun, and visitors could watch the surface activity in real time.

Real time minus about 8-1/2 minutes, IIRC.

20 shaner5000  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:57:05pm

Since the beginning of time, man has yearned to destroy the sun. I shall do the next best thing: block it out.

21 Mosse  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:57:10pm

Thanks, Charles.

22 Dar ul Harb  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:58:04pm

re: #7 Ringo the Gringo

A coronal mass expletive ejection.

23 Sharmuta  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:58:07pm

Oh star, the fairest one in sight
We grant your loftiness the right
To some obscurity of cloud
It will not do to say of night,
Since dark is what brings out your light.
Some mystery becomes the proud.
But to be wholly taciturn
In your reserve is not allowed.
Say something to us we can learn
By heart and when alone repeat.
Say something! And it says, 'I burn.'
But say with what degree of heat.
Talk Fahrenheit, talk Centigrade.
Use language we can comprehend.
Tell us what elements you blend.
It gives us strangely little aid,
But does tell something in the end.
And steadfast as Keats' Eremite,
Not even stooping from it's sphere,
It asks a little of us here.
It asks of us a certain height,
So when at times the mob is swayed
To carry praise or blame to far,
We may choose something like a star
To stay our minds on and be staid.

- Robert Frost

24 Palandine  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:58:10pm

The sun is a mass
Of incandescent gas,
A gigantic nuclear furnace
Where hydrogen is built into helium
At a temperature of millions of degrees.

Everything I know about science I learned from They Might Be Giants

25 MandyManners  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:59:23pm

That'll roast your acorns.

26 neomexicon  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:59:35pm

this is the earth in 50 years because
of global warming according to my good friend al gore.

you can blame the evil oil companies for this.

27 WindHorse  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:59:38pm

These photos are courtesy of the Iranian Space program..... right?

-what? huh.... they aren't?

what?

wait a minute.....

really? Iran couldn't engineer themselves out of a wet paper bag? huh?

damn....

28 USCMSNE  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 6:59:42pm

No Nukes! No Nukes! No Nukes! No Nukes!

/Oh the irony.

29 Bobibutu  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:00:08pm

None of us is getting out of this alive - so in the words of Meher Baba - "Don't worry, be happy"

30 Dar ul Harb  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:00:17pm

#16 I had seen before, and I thought it looked like a vista of Hell.

31 Attaboid  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:00:21pm

That's my Mother.
*sigh*

32 bolivar  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:01:13pm

This is magnificent! Now with Charles's eagle eye for bugs and other beasties AND the new Firefox 3.1 beta 1 I am just smokin!

This is REAL fast. Now if my darn fingers would work that fast.... oh well must take our goodies when we can right?

33 Idle Drifter  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:01:37pm

I can understand why the ancients worshiped the Sun. Sol.

34 Intrepid  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:01:47pm

Betcha that baby could roast a hotdog pretty damned fast.

heh.

35 Dar ul Harb  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:02:06pm

Here comes the sun
it's all right
so long as you're
93,000,000 mi away.

36 Sharmuta  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:02:31pm

This one reminded me of the Eye of Sauron

37 Cartman  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:03:17pm

Those pictures and animations are incredibly awesome.

38 HelloDare  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:03:21pm

I'm kinda thinkin' that the sun's temperature just might have something to do with the climate here on earth.

39 WindHorse  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:03:34pm

re: #36 Sharmuta

I thought that one was a plate full of Iranian caviar....

(not meaning to fan the flames or anything)

40 MandyManners  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:03:55pm

re: #36 Sharmuta

This one reminded me of the Eye of Sauron

That's freakin' spooky.

41 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:04:05pm

"That's hot."
-Paris Hilton

42 Outrider  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:04:31pm

#20 makes a pretty good screen saver.

43 saberry0530  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:04:56pm

Please remember to slather on the zinc oxide before venturing out into that sun!

44 arethusa  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:04:58pm

These are very, very cool, but my favorite space picture is still The Pillars of Creation from the Hubble.

45 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:05:02pm

Yesterday my life was filled with rain
You smiled at me and really eased the pain

46 Sharmuta  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:05:15pm

I would like to give thanks to the Six Numbers, for making our Sun possible, and therefore life as we know it.

47 jorline  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:05:15pm

cough...cough...hey buddy, got a light?

Great pics...thanks, Charles.

48 Ozark Mountain Daredevil  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:05:48pm

/Solar system warming!

49 Idle Drifter  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:05:54pm

re: #38 HelloDare

I'm kinda thinkin' that the sun's temperature just might have something to do with the climate here on earth.

Given enough time perhaps a billion years or so the Sun will expand into a Red Giant that'll boil off the Earth's oceans and detroy everything. Nothing will survive yet the Greenie Weenies will still say it's man made global warming.

50 quickjustice  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:06:08pm

Nuclear fusion, the ultimate form of limitless solar energy. And now about thirty years away.

51 mitthrawnurdo  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:06:17pm

Great, now all I need is a Klingon bird of prey and a crew to fly around that thing to go back in time. I'd either fix some mistake in my past or in US's past...

/Probably only to find a world probably much worse then when I left. Remember the Simpson's episode where Homer kept screwing up his world by crushing insects in prehistoric times?

52 sngnsgt  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:06:29pm

re: #35 Dar ul Harb

Here Comes the Sun

53 Ozark Mountain Daredevil  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:06:37pm

re: #36 Sharmuta

This one reminded me of the Eye of Sauron

What is that? is that the Sun?

54 itellu3times  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:06:43pm

Doesn't it burn the turtles it's resting on?

55 Dar ul Harb  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:06:56pm

re: #34 Intrepid

Betcha that baby could roast a hotdog pretty damned fast.

heh.

Just make you a half-cylinder curved aluminum foil reflector, stick the hot dog on a skewer at the focus, point the reflector at the sun, and rotate the skewer slowly. Be sure to bring an umbrella to shade yourself so that you don't get cooked along with the hot dog.

56 HelloDare  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:07:03pm

Sure it looks impressive all fiery and hot but everybody knows it's CO2 that drives the earth's climate.

Nothing to see here. Move along.

57 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:07:08pm

Hey, anybody seen James T. Kirk lately?

58 Inquisitive  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:07:39pm

re: #1 pleaseandthankyou

wow!


You took the words right out of my mouth......well said!

59 mitthrawnurdo  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:07:48pm

re: #50 quickjustice

If the jihadists don't nuke us all first.

60 Metal Man  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:08:12pm

Will Obama make the people that can come up with the tools to make these images spread their intellectual wealth around? I know I benefit from their accomplishments but it's not fair that I can't understand it as well as they can.

61 Sharmuta  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:08:26pm

re: #53 Ozark Mountain Daredevil

Click the link at the top of this thread.

62 Bobibutu  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:08:29pm

re: #52 sngnsgt

Here Comes the Sun

Thank you ...

63 mitthrawnurdo  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:08:48pm

re: #57 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

He's back in time trying to get 2 humpback whales to save the Earth from an evil alien probe.

/I hated the plot of Star Trek IV, but Star Trek V was even worse.

64 WindHorse  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:08:54pm

alright, I've figured it out..... if these had truly been Iranian photos, there would have been six suns....

my bad.

65 elevenbravo1969  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:09:31pm

We'd better hope that the scientists know what they're talking about when they tell us the sun will continue in more or less its present state for another some billions of years. Consider this: the sun converts 600 million tons of hydrogen to helium every second.

66 Ozark Mountain Daredevil  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:10:34pm

re: #61 Sharmuta

Click the link at the top of this thread.

Duh! Sorry, I swear, I'm not voting for Obama.

67 poopeedoo  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:10:40pm

Where are the s'mores?

68 itellu3times  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:11:18pm

Don't worry, it's only for peaceful purposes.

69 Attaboid  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:11:19pm
IA. Analysis of Solar Active Regions and Activity from 17/2100Z
to 18/2100Z: Solar activity was very low. An A9 X-ray flare occurred
at 18/1200Z with no obvious optical flare association. The visible
disk was spotless. Region 1006 (N26W91) rotated out of view during
the period.


Here

70 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:11:34pm

re: #65 elevenbravo1969

So people on the sun speak with very high munchkin type voices?

71 Killgore Trout  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:11:55pm

re: #57 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

It's been a while.

72 gop_patriot  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:11:55pm

Cool, cool, cool. Absolutely amazing!

73 Ozark Mountain Daredevil  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:11:57pm

Great RNC ad just ran here showing the Oval office and talking about Obama's inexperience.

74 Idle Drifter  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:12:42pm

Muppet Beaker sings Yellow by Coldplay

Good Night All, going for a dinner and a movie. "Body of Lies"

75 Ozark Mountain Daredevil  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:12:56pm

re: #57 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Hey, anybody seen James T. Kirk lately?

You can search to see when anyone last commented.

76 snowcrash  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:12:59pm

solar viewing music from Ramsey Lewis (no video just audio)

77 Bobibutu  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:13:17pm

re: #65 elevenbravo1969

We'd better hope that the scientists know what they're talking about when they tell us the sun will continue in more or less its present state for another some billions of years. Consider this: the sun converts 600 million tons of hydrogen to helium every second.

WTF - live every moment, as if, the grim reaper is there, every time you look over your shoulder.

78 Inquisitive  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:13:22pm

I would love to have those pictures...... to hang around house......

79 Dar ul Harb  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:13:27pm

Well that's a pretty inventive solution to the solar hot dog cooker.

Recycled materials, no less...

80 Ozark Mountain Daredevil  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:13:28pm

re: #74 Idle Drifter

Muppet Beaker sings Yellow by Coldplay

Good Night All, going for a dinner and a movie. "Body of Lies"

Not "W"?

/

81 HelloDare  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:14:20pm

I saw two interesting Obamanations today. The license plate 4BARACK. And a woman with a T-shirt that had a picture of Obama ripping off his shirt exposing an a Superman suit -- except instead of an S on the chest there was a big O.

Saw the woman while shopping. She was opening packages and sampling food.

82 jorline  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:14:25pm

The world according to Barack Obama;

Potus of the United States of America
Supreme Leader of the World
Master of the Universe

To Infinity...and Beyond!

*spit*

83 Killgore Trout  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:14:40pm

re: #74 Idle Drifter

Champagne Supernova

84 pat  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:14:48pm

But that can't cause Global Warming> Everyone know that.

85 Sharmuta  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:15:04pm

I still haven't forgotten that line from The Great Global Warming Swindle where one of the scientists said, that if we could view the sun with x-ray eyes, we would see the sun as a tiger lashing out. Some of these pictures are exactly what he was talking about. Amazing beast, our Sun.

86 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:15:57pm
87 WindHorse  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:16:26pm

re: #46 Sharmuta

"I'd like to follow this next number with a song...."

(anyone remember who said that at a concert?)

88 Ozark Mountain Daredevil  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:16:29pm

re: #76 snowcrash

solar viewing music from Ramsey Lewis (no video just audio)

BTW way, speaking of Ramsey Lewis:

Get well wishes to Chicago jazz great Ramsey Lewis, who's recuperating from surgery. Until further notice, he's at home taking time off as morning host at Clear Channel Radio smooth jazz WNUA-FM (95.5).

89 Killgore Trout  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:17:28pm
90 alien_mind  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:17:36pm

simply incredible images.

91 Killgore Trout  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:17:49pm

re: #86 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Ha!

92 arethusa  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:18:14pm

Appropriately, the RAYS have just tied it up. 2-2.

93 Cartman  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:18:21pm

re: #81 HelloDare


Saw the woman while shopping. She was opening packages and sampling food.

I'm sure she was just practicing for the day when "free stuff" will be the norm.

94 BakaRanger  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:18:31pm

Iran will send the first manned mission to the sun...they will land at night when it is a lot cooler.

95 sngnsgt  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:18:38pm

re: #86 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

That was released the same year I was hatched born!

/feels old

96 neocon hippie  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:19:04pm

Beckett just gave up a solo home run, so it's a 2-2 ballgame at the end of the 5th. Oh well...

However, a TB baserunner had just been thrown out attempting to steal seocnd, so it could have been worse.

97 TheMatrix31  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:19:36pm

I don't understand this new Obama commercial attacking McCain for voting 90% of the time with President Bush. What the hell does that even matter? Does this mean that every Republican is like President Bush?

98 Pvt Bin Jammin  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:19:56pm

re: #94 BakaRanger

Iran will send the first manned mission to the sun...they will land at night when it is a lot cooler.

Very good. LOL I was just thinking of posting a variation of that joke.

99 Ozark Mountain Daredevil  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:20:00pm

re: #92 arethusa

Appropriately, the RAYS have just tied it up. 2-2.

Except they're named after String Rays. : )

100 TheMatrix31  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:20:08pm

re: #97 TheMatrix31

I don't understand this new Obama commercial attacking McCain for voting 90% of the time with President Bush. What the hell does that even matter? Does this mean that every Republican is like President Bush?

McCain should come out and say "Well, at least I VOTED on things, instead of voted present most of the time."

101 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:20:08pm

re: #96 neocon hippie

Stealing is wrong. Sharia Law, all the quick baseball players would have their hands cut off.

102 sattv4u2  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:20:32pm

If we all stop driving our SUV's, and turn our thermostats at home off, the SUN will cool off !

MOONBATS ,,,, GLOBAL WARMING IS CAUSED BY A HOTTER SUN
THE ICECAPS ON MARS ARE ALSO MELTING

MY FORD EXPORER HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT

103 Cartman  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:20:50pm

Texas is just spankin' Mizzou all over the field. So much for my pre-season predictions.

104 HelloDare  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:21:08pm

Biden organized a senate junket to the sun to see if it really is the cause of climate change.

He planned the trip for the middle of the night so nobody would get burned.

105 BakaRanger  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:21:20pm

re: #98 Pvt Bin Jammin

Very good. LOL I was just thinking of posting a variation of that joke.

It is an old joke but it still works.

106 Ruthless  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:22:22pm

OK, who forgot to bring the marshmallows?

107 sattv4u2  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:22:56pm

re: #104 HelloDare

Biden organized a senate junket to the sun to see if it really is the cause of climate change.

He planned the trip for the middle of the night so nobody would get burned.

The original trip was to circumnavigate Al Gores ass, but the Sun trip will be shorter

108 jamgarr  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:23:00pm

re: #63 mitthrawnurdo

He's back in time trying to get 2 humpback whales to save the Earth from an evil alien probe.

/I hated the plot of Star Trek IV, but Star Trek V was even worse.

Which one was it that had a twenty-foot solid fuel rocket reach a planet's sun from a planet in about 30 seconds?

109 PETN Sandwich  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:23:10pm

We are gonna DIE!

Ohhh, wait...

From Man Made Global Warming!

110 MandyManners  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:23:18pm

I can't believe no one's posted this already.

111 arethusa  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:23:23pm

re: #99 Ozark Mountain Daredevil

Except they're named after String Rays. : )

They officially dropped the "Devil" from their name, though! Guess they felt cursed.

112 Ruthless  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:23:24pm

re: #97 TheMatrix31

I don't understand this new Obama commercial attacking McCain for voting 90% of the time with President Bush. What the hell does that even matter? Does this mean that every Republican is like President Bush?

And so when did President Bush vote? Umm, never?

113 itellu3times  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:23:27pm

re: #78 Inquisitive

I would love to have those pictures...... to hang around house......

Check out APOD.

If you actually want the pics, well, you can download them from wherever and have them printed big at your local Kinkos. Is anybody doing this as a business? Have to clear the rights, of course. I can find a few prints for sale, but there are many many more excellent pictures available.

114 Bobibutu  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:23:36pm

re: #81 HelloDare

I saw two interesting Obamanations today. The license plate 4BARACK. And a woman with a T-shirt that had a picture of Obama ripping off his shirt exposing an a Superman suit -- except instead of an S on the chest there was a big O.

Saw the woman while shopping. She was opening packages and sampling food.

I saw a BIG McCain - Paulin sign on I-680 NB about 1 mile south of Plesanton (CA) - so I started looking for what was out there as we are in the belly of the beast here ... no 0bama signs. Well OK the guy had to be a rancher ... no more signs for Feds. And while there are 0bama bumper stickers around - I think the silent majority will speak up .. even from here.

115 Palandine  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:23:53pm

re: #97 TheMatrix31

I don't understand this new Obama commercial attacking McCain for voting 90% of the time with President Bush. What the hell does that even matter? Does this mean that every Republican is like President Bush?

Obama voted with the President (whatever that means, since the President doesn't vote) 49% of the time, FWIW

116 mattm  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:23:56pm

Wow.

117 Pvt Bin Jammin  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:24:43pm

re: #105 BakaRanger

Indeed it does. #104's version is great too.

118 sattv4u2  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:24:44pm

TEK TEK TEK TEK

RED SOX 3-2

119 neocon hippie  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:25:06pm

Holy crap! Jason Varitek, of all people, just hit a home run. 3-2 Sox.

120 itellu3times  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:25:13pm

The Iron Sun.

/don't go all bruce banner on us!

121 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:25:29pm

re: #110 MandyManners

I can't believe no one's posted this already.

Or this...

122 bolivar  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:25:35pm

re: #97 TheMatrix31

I don't understand this new Obama commercial attacking McCain for voting 90% of the time with President Bush. What the hell does that even matter? Does this mean that every Republican is like President Bush?

Obfuscate and divert attention - that is all they can do. Most of what they are spewing is either partly true or just doesn't mean sh!% So why waste the money to spew it? It is the only thing they got left. They cannot tell the truth about themselves so they try to confuse the idiot.


Varitek just got a homer! Way to be Jason!

123 Dar ul Harb  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:25:50pm
I believe that a solar eclipse is a beautiful and rare experience, while an eclipse of the moon is a cheap and common spectacle.
--Steve Martin
124 mattm  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:25:50pm

re: #97 TheMatrix31

I don't understand this new Obama commercial attacking McCain for voting 90% of the time with President Bush. What the hell does that even matter? Does this mean that every Republican is like President Bush?

Me thinks The One is desperate.

125 poopeedoo  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:25:53pm

re: #102 sattv4u2

If we all stop driving our SUV's, and turn our thermostats at home off, the SUN will cool off !

MOONBATS ,,,, GLOBAL WARMING IS CAUSED BY A HOTTER SUN
THE ICECAPS ON MARS ARE ALSO MELTING

MY FORD EXPORER HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT

Global Warming ~ UGH! I have to de-program my kids when they come home from school. Especially when they read a load of crap in "Time For Kids".

126 Killgore Trout  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:26:04pm

Jesus loves fags......
Hell to Pay: Equality for All main event

Liberals are taking over your country and your religion. I'm hard pressed to endorse anything from Dkos but that video is pretty damn good. It's a message that just might catch on.
/Commence with the sticks, stones, etc.

127 Yankee Division Son  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:26:15pm

That's Hot.

128 Oldasdirt  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:26:52pm

John McCain's campaign is expressing outrage over a New York Times story that focuses on Cindy McCain's marriage to the Arizona senator, including her miscarriages, her past addiction to painkillers and her failure in Washington to fit in.
This was known about 20 years ago,the New York slime rides again.
A quote from McCain's legal team.
"You have not tried to find Barack Obama's drug dealer that he wrote about in his book, 'Dreams of My Father,'" he continued. "Nor have you interviewed his poor relatives in Kenya and determined why Barack Obama has not rescued them. Thus there is a terrific lack of balance here."

129 snowcrash  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:26:52pm

Anyone link to that awful "Seasons in the Sun" song from the 70's? I won't either.

130 oh_dude  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:27:14pm
Oh my god - the sun!

What is it Simon?

A big fiery ball in the center of our solar system, but that's not important right now, we're headed straight towards it.

/Channeling Airplane!

131 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:27:15pm
132 Outrider  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:27:27pm

re: #78 Inquisitive

I would love to have those pictures...... to hang around house......

You can use them for a screen saver

133 Inquisitive  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:27:41pm

re: #113 itellu3times

Check out APOD.

If you actually want the pics, well, you can download them from wherever and have them printed big at your local Kinkos. Is anybody doing this as a business? Have to clear the rights, of course. I can find a few prints for sale, but there are many many more excellent pictures available.

THANK YOU!

134 sattv4u2  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:28:08pm

re: #125 poopeedoo

Global Warming ~ UGH! I have to de-program my kids when they come home from school. Especially when they read a load of crap in "Time For Kids".

I let my son keep his bedroom windows open with the A/C on just to piss off the WingNut neighbor

135 livetotell  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:28:33pm

Every bodies laughing , every bodies happy ! Here comes the Sun King .

136 spirochete  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:28:38pm

re: #125 poopeedoo

Global Warming ~ UGH! I have to de-program my kids when they come home from school. Especially when they read a load of crap in "Time For Kids".

My little ten year old already has the tools for reason. She told her teacher a few days ago not to believe everything he reads, as Global Warming isn't proven, it's just a theory.

Hope the teaching doesn't backfire in six or seven years!

137 Killgore Trout  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:29:04pm

re: #129 snowcrash

The prize goes to #86.

138 Bobibutu  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:29:10pm

[Link: www.sonnerasmussen.dk...]

For those who wish to plow deep.

David Gordon and Marybeth Meyers-Anderson are two of the big dogs.

Both SF Bay Area ...

139 itellu3times  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:29:21pm

re: #133 Inquisitive

Your tax dollars at work, for the most part. See, some government spending is justified! Likely enough, just the part the Obamanation will cut.

140 Killgore Trout  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:29:26pm

re: #135 livetotell
Good one.

141 JohnAdams  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:29:58pm

In the proximity of such a violent and unpredictable energy, the fact that we are living here at all is a virtual impossibility of good fortune. Either that, or there is a God.

As a scientist once explained, as he was trying to answer a particularly difficult philosophical question: "We live on a great blue ball flying through an endless black void."

142 jorline  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:30:23pm

What's a little sun without Richie.

143 esch  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:30:23pm

re: #55 Dar ul Harb

Just make you a half-cylinder curved aluminum foil reflector, stick the hot dog...

Along those lines, a quick excerpt from one of my favorite authors(I don't vouch for it's veracity, it's just cool):

"Taylor had what I would call a unique mind. One day, as he was waiting with his colleagues for a bomb known as Scorpion to be detonated, he noticed a discarded parabolic reflector lying on the ground. An idea came to him. He set it up facing Ground Zero, and used some stiff wire to hold a Pall Mall cigarette at its focal point. A few minutes later, Scorpion exploded. The Sun came down to Earth; there was a blast of searing heat; the air split with thunder; the terrible toadstool climbed to the heavens; scientists drew in their breath in awe. And Ted Taylor reached down, plucked the Pall Mall from the reflector, and took a puff.
"He had become the first man in history to light a cigarette with an atom bomb."

144 Gang of One  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:30:25pm

re: #74 Idle Drifter

Muppet Beaker sings Yellow by Coldplay

Good Night All, going for a dinner and a movie. "Body of Lies"

Why does Coldplay make me think Shakira meets Joy Division?

145 HelloDare  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:30:25pm

All this talk about the Bradley Factor is dumb.
I suppose Truman won because Dewey was black.

146 Ozark Mountain Daredevil  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:30:51pm

re: #81 HelloDare

I saw two interesting Obamanations today. The license plate 4BARACK. And a woman with a T-shirt that had a picture of Obama ripping off his shirt exposing an a Superman suit -- except instead of an S on the chest there was a big O.

Saw the woman while shopping. She was opening packages and sampling food.

Yep, the prototypical Obama supporter- Looking for free stuff, even if it doesn't belong to her, and doesn't mind taking (stealing) it from the people who actually made it.

147 poopeedoo  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:30:56pm

re: #129 snowcrash

Anyone link to that awful "Seasons in the Sun" song from the 70's? I won't either.

Weren't the words, "Goodbe Michelle my little one... You gave me joy and helped me find The One (um, I mean the sun)". :0

148 arethusa  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:31:11pm

major Tampa Bay errors...

149 sattv4u2  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:31:51pm

re: #148 arethusa

major Tampa Bay errors...

nerves ,,,, 1st time on the big stage

150 HelloDare  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:32:21pm

re: #49 Idle Drifter

Given enough time perhaps a billion years or so the Sun will expand into a Red Giant that'll boil off the Earth's oceans and detroy everything. Nothing will survive yet the Greenie Weenies will still say it's man made global warming.

Obama ego will survive and eclipse the expanding Red Giant. Oh ye of little faith.

151 zombie  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:32:50pm

Charles, if you are reading this, check your email.

152 itellu3times  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:33:00pm

re: #141 JohnAdams

In the proximity of such a violent and unpredictable energy, the fact that we are living here at all is a virtual impossibility of good fortune. Either that, or there is a God.

No sir, our sun is a quiet and well-behaved ball of nuclear fire, as such things go.

Pity the poor planets within many light years of some of the badly behaved ones, there may be entire galaxies were life like ours is not possible. Then again, there may be entire galaxies where life like ours is possible, and going on right now! Doesn't exactly answer the question about God, except to point out the real size of the job!

153 bolivar  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:33:34pm

Thank you Papi! 4-2 Sox

154 JohnAdams  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:33:39pm

re: #102 sattv4u2

If we all stop driving our SUV's, and turn our thermostats at home off, the SUN will cool off !

MOONBATS ,,,, GLOBAL WARMING IS CAUSED BY A HOTTER SUN
THE ICECAPS ON MARS ARE ALSO MELTING

MY FORD EXPORER HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT

In a relatively small window of geological time, human civilization has thrived in a short thaw between ice ages. Another one is coming. We are a tickle on the nose, at best, in response to which the Earth will have a little sneeze.

155 TheMatrix31  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:33:48pm

Boy I hate the Red Sox.

156 jorline  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:33:52pm

That link sucked...let's try this one.

157 Gang of One  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:34:20pm

I just noticed that Mandy has more posts than does Zombie.

/bored -- is this the SNDT?

158 ACJohn  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:34:23pm

Alaska Ice Growth

[Link: wattsupwiththat.com...]

159 notutopia  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:34:28pm

re: #97 TheMatrix31

I don't understand Obama voting "PRESENT"

160 coquimbojoe  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:35:04pm

I am Joe....

161 sattv4u2  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:35:10pm

re: #154 JohnAdams

In a relatively small window of geological time, human civilization has thrived in a short thaw between ice ages. Another one is coming. We are a tickle on the nose, at best, in response to which the Earth will have a little sneeze.

I thought the earth was only 6000 years old, and man walked with the dino's just a decade or so before christ!

(ggeeez ,, and here, I have to go to church in the morning!)

162 sattv4u2  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:35:43pm

re: #157 Gang of One

I just noticed that Mandy has more posts than does Zombie.

/bored -- is this the SNDT?

Zombie has a LIFE ,, Mandy ,, not so much!

DUCKIN!

163 zombie  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:36:01pm

New at zomblog:

Barack Obama’s review of William Ayers' book

With a big, juicy photo!

This is brand new, so everyone -- spread that photo around! Make sure everyone in the US sees it before election day.

There are no known photos of Obama and Ayers together, so this is the next best thing.

As I say in the post,

I find it very hard — no, make that impossible to believe that Barack Obama had “no idea” who William Ayers really was or that he had a past as a notorious domestic terrorist (as Obama’s campaign has claimed) while serving on panels with Ayers and simultaneously praising Ayers’ book in a major newspaper.
164 sngnsgt  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:36:13pm
165 Gang of One  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:36:33pm

re: #162 sattv4u2

Zombie has a LIFE ,, Mandy ,, not so much!

DUCKIN!

*WHACK*
/Mandy

166 Honorary Yooper  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:36:33pm

re: #155 TheMatrix31

Boy I hate the Red Sox.

Don't care. As far as I'm concerned, without the Tigers in it, baseball season is over. It's hockey season now!

Go Wings!

167 sattv4u2  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:36:36pm

re: #159 notutopia

I don't understand Obama voting "PRESENT"

easier and cheaper to vote PRESENT than to give some to your daughters on Christmas

168 Geepers  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:36:44pm

That's crazy.

We need to do something!

Help stop solar warming.

169 HelloDare  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:37:02pm

re: #114 Bobibutu

I saw a BIG McCain - Paulin sign on I-680 NB about 1 mile south of Plesanton (CA) - so I started looking for what was out there as we are in the belly of the beast here ... no 0bama signs. Well OK the guy had to be a rancher ... no more signs for Feds. And while there are 0bama bumper stickers around - I think the silent majority will speak up .. even from here.

The only way I'd put up a McCain sign around here is if I had a surveillance camera and an armed guard hidden in the bushes.

170 bolivar  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:37:03pm

re: #159 notutopia

I don't understand Obama voting "PRESENT"

Neither do I - after all he was elected to actually DO something - not just pussyfoot. He is a coward, unwilling to take a risk for FEAR of making a mistake that would haunt him or besmirch his "stellar" career. The guy has never done anything worthwhile in his life. I seriously wonder why anybody has any faith in the O.

171 El Lizardo mejicano  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:37:05pm

The SUN creates life and makes everything grow, including "global warming" as the Goracle would say..

Amazing pictures...

172 TheMatrix31  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:37:22pm

re: #164 sngnsgt

Phoenix Suns

I've been a Suns fan since I was 5 years old.

GO SUNS!

173 esch  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:37:37pm

re: #162 sattv4u2

Zombie has a LIFE

Beautiful irony there. Rotating title nomination?

174 Metal Man  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:37:55pm

Black Sabbath Under the Sun.

175 Killgore Trout  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:37:56pm

re: #163 zombie

Ha!

176 Gang of One  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:38:09pm

re: #173 esch

Beautiful irony there. Rotating title nomination?

Not without Mandy's OK.

177 saberry0530  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:38:27pm

re: #163 zombie

New at zomblog:

Barack Obama’s review of William Ayers' book

With a big, juicy photo!

This is brand new, so everyone -- spread that photo around! Make sure everyone in the US sees it before election day.

There are no known photos of Obama and Ayers together, so this is the next best thing.

As I say in the post,

Rove , You magnifi... oh wait, its you Zombie! Good job!

178 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:38:37pm

re: #163 zombie

Uh. Killa!

179 jorline  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:38:43pm

re: #171 El Lizardo mejicano

The SUN creates life and makes everything grow, including "global warming" as the Goracle would say..

Amazing pictures...

Good evening, Lizardo...good to see you again.

180 JohnAdams  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:39:12pm

re: #144 Gang of One

Why does Coldplay make me think Shakira meets Joy Division?

Was gonna make a crack about Madonna divorcing that guy, but then I realized it's Nicole Kidman who is married to the Coldplay guy, but they are both Brits with tousled hair and three-day beards and, oh....hell what difference does it make?

181 Inquisitive  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:39:21pm

re: #132 Outrider

You can use them for a screen saver


THANK YOU.

182 Gang of One  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:39:50pm

re: #171 El Lizardo mejicano

The SUN creates life and makes everything grow, including "global warming" as the Goracle would say..

Amazing pictures...

Q hubole, carnal?

183 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:40:02pm

re: #180 JohnAdams

Was gonna make a crack about Madonna divorcing that guy, but then I realized it's Nicole Kidman who is married to the Coldplay guy, but they are both Brits with tousled hair and three-day beards and, oh....hell what difference does it make?

Not Nicole Kidman either. Sheesh.

184 Inquisitive  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:40:48pm

re: #113 itellu3times

Check out APOD.

If you actually want the pics, well, you can download them from wherever and have them printed big at your local Kinkos. Is anybody doing this as a business? Have to clear the rights, of course. I can find a few prints for sale, but there are many many more excellent pictures available.

This site does have some really good pictures....thanks again....have been looking at them and have already picked out a few to print.

185 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:40:52pm

re: #180 JohnAdams

Paltrow

186 sngnsgt  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:41:06pm

re: #177 saberry0530

Yea but, Obama was only there for the cookies and Kool-Aid.

187 notutopia  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:41:09pm

re: #177 saberry0530

Has Obama had a nose job? Look at that snoz.

188 Neo Con since 9-11  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:41:11pm

re: #163 zombie

Excellent find! Could be this years throbbing memo.

189 zombie  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:41:16pm

Remember this:

I am no one special. I have no special position, or wealth, or education. I'm just a person doing my best to make a difference in this campaign. Everyone here could do exactly what I'm doing. And if we all did, we'd have the Obamatons on the run.

I just got the idea to track down this review -- anyone could have done it, really.

I only wish I lived in Illinois -- I'd be digging dirt on Obama all day long.

Do you live in Illinois? Or anywhere?

Don't praise me -- emulate me!

190 DisgustingOratory  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:41:38pm

re: #97 TheMatrix31

In Colorado we have a commercial for Udall on the radio that says "We all know the real reason behind the current economic crisis- George Bush's tax cuts for the rich". I'm not joking- it could be a Rush parody if it weren't already beyond parody.

191 goddessoftheclassroom  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:41:42pm

re: #177 saberry0530

Rove , You magnifi... oh wait, its you Zombie! Good job!

Has anyone ever seen the two together...?

192 Gang of One  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:42:03pm

re: #180 JohnAdams

Was gonna make a crack about Madonna divorcing that guy, but then I realized it's Nicole Kidman who is married to the Coldplay guy, but they are both Brits with tousled hair and three-day beards and, oh....hell what difference does it make?

I think that was Reese Witherspoon.

193 JohnAdams  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:42:26pm

re: #152 itellu3times

No sir, our sun is a quiet and well-behaved ball of nuclear fire, as such things go.

Pity the poor planets within many light years of some of the badly behaved ones, there may be entire galaxies were life like ours is not possible. Then again, there may be entire galaxies where life like ours is possible, and going on right now! Doesn't exactly answer the question about God, except to point out the real size of the job!

Good points, all. I guess my comment is that I find comfort in the enormity and complexity of it all, and in our growing capacity as a people to comprehend it (and to comprehend that we cannot possibly comprehend it) through science.

194 philly_being_philly  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:42:33pm

re: #24 Palandine

The sun is a mass
Of incandescent gas,
A gigantic nuclear furnace
Where hydrogen is built into helium
At a temperature of millions of degrees.

Everything I know about science I learned from They Might Be Giants

..is this also from the Giants?

"Yo ho it's hot,
the sun is not
the place for you and me.

But here on Earth,
right from our birth,
we need its' energy.

195 Gang of One  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:42:53pm

re: #185 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Paltrow

Right.

196 Dark_Falcon  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:42:59pm

re: #189 zombie

Remember this:

I am no one special. I have no special position, or wealth, or education. I'm just a person doing my best to make a difference in this campaign. Everyone here could do exactly what I'm doing. And if we all did, we'd have the Obamatons on the run.

I just got the idea to track down this review -- anyone could have done it, really.

I only wish I lived in Illinois -- I'd be digging dirt on Obama all day long.

Do you live in Illinois? Or anywhere?

Don't praise me -- emulate me!

I live here, but how do you dig dirt? I'm not asking for advanced lessons, just for a few pointers to start out.

197 itellu3times  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:43:04pm

re: #189 zombie

I don't want to be you, though I'm glad you are.

I want to be 10,000,000 people paying attention to you!

198 notutopia  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:43:16pm

re: #189 zombie

Have you sent this on to Fox or Glenn Beck?

199 esch  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:43:28pm

re: #177 saberry0530

Rove , You magnifi... oh wait, its you Zombie! Good job!

If it actually affected the polls(unlikely), would we call that Necrotic Decay?

200 Dark_Falcon  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:43:30pm

re: #196 Dark_Falcon

I meant to say that I live in Illinois.

201 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:44:16pm

Zombie, I will begin spreading that around in the AM, as for now..

Keep on the sunny side
Always on the sunny side
Keep on the sunny side of life
It will help us every day it will brighten all our way
If we keep on the sunny side of life

Goodnight Folks!

202 JohnAdams  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:45:24pm

re: #161 sattv4u2

I thought the earth was only 6000 years old, and man walked with the dino's just a decade or so before christ!

(ggeeez ,, and here, I have to go to church in the morning!)

I never have trouble justifying science with Christianity. Faith sometimes is believing what you don't see.

203 Gang of One  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:46:06pm

re: #191 goddessoftheclassroom

Has anyone ever seen the two together...?

Cheney did survive a shotgun to the face ...

204 Pvt Bin Jammin  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:47:02pm

re: #163 zombie

That will be all over Tennessee, Texas and California by tomorrow if my friends pass it on. Hubby is having me print it so we can show it to a couple of our Obama leaning friends this evening. Great find.

205 JohnAdams  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:47:03pm

re: #170 bolivar

I see Obama as very calculating.

206 Syrah  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:47:05pm

I remember first hearing about the Pegasus rockets back back in the early '90s.

It looks like they have a launch coming up.

Ibex will be launched on the 19th,

207 Gang of One  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:47:33pm

re: #203 Gang of One

Cheney did survive a shotgun to the face ...

No wait, he shot the sheriff, no wait ...

/DRINK!
\I'd better shut up and writ my unit plans. I'm getting observed Monday

208 JohnAdams  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:49:09pm

re: #185 Fat Vegetarian

Right! But as I said, what difference does it make....?

209 Optimizer  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:50:01pm

re: #145 HelloDare

All this talk about the Bradley Factor is dumb.
I suppose Truman won because Dewey was black.

It's more complicated than that:

[Link: www.zombietime.com...]

210 Sparkizzy  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:50:43pm

Where does the "magnificent bastard" line come from anyway?

211 Gang of One  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:53:47pm

re: #210 Sparkizzy

Where does the "magnificent bastard" line come from anyway?

From the 1971 movie 'Patton' with George C. Scott as Patton. There is a scene after the battle of Tunis[?] where Patton is surveying the battle, and remarks about Field marshal Irwin Rommel's tactics -- he says: "Rommel, I read your book, you magnificent bastard!"

212 Sparkizzy  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:54:53pm

re: #211 Gang of One

Thanks.

213 Optimizer  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:55:50pm

The REAL star of our world!

/sorry, Barack! (OK, so I'm not really sorry...)

214 BakaRanger  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:58:43pm

This just in...The Islamic Jihad Space Ministry just announced that their first manned space craft "The Sword of Allah One" failed to explode on launch..stay tuned for details.

215 JeremyR  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 7:59:55pm

re: #189 zombie

Just watch out for the 360deg coverage.

216 Bobibutu  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 8:01:13pm

re: #169 HelloDare

The only way I'd put up a McCain sign around here is if I had a surveillance camera and an armed guard hidden in the bushes.

I don't display more than an American flag - don't want to go thru the hassle with my ins co.

But my vote will count and all those who I come in contact get a dose of what we learn here. Sometimes it knocks they're socks off - the hard core I just pass.

217 Throbert McGee  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 8:09:07pm

The animation of a comet literally getting its tailed knocked off by a "wave" of ejected matter from the sun was really cool -- and immediately reminded me of a beachgoer losing his swim trunks in the surf!

(Note, by the way, that contrary to the popular image, a comet's tail doesn't necessarily follow behind it like a jet's contrail -- here it's streaming at a right angle to the comet's direction of motion. Since the tail is caused by "solar wind," it only streams behind the comet when the comet is moving towards the sun.)

218 Optimizer  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 8:11:07pm

re: #163 zombie

Somebody else says:

"For a smug thug like this, Sen. Obama – unbelievably – did the favor of writing a dust-jacket blurb for Mr. Ayers' 2001 book, 'Fugitive Days'.

Is he confusing the 1997 book with the 2001 one? Or did BHO really write two blurbs for this "guy in his neighborhood"?

[Link: www.postchronicle.com...]

219 lostlakehiker  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 8:11:26pm

re: #6 mitthrawnurdo

Damn, that looks cool.

/However, that furnace has zero effect on the Earth's climate and to say the opposite is racist!

Oh puhleeze. Global warming alarmists, global warming realists, and global warming deniers all understand that if not for the sun, the earth would be bitterly cold...on the surface, like Pluto is now. Below the surface, there's a little heat coming off radioactive decay, but still.

When the fireplace is emitting a nice even flow, if a room gets hot, you check if a door is closed that lets some of the heat pass across into the next room.

The sun's output is variable on the long term. It's steadily rising. If we don't swing some really cool engineering marvels such as running an asteroid in a finely calculated orbit past earth, Jupiter, earth, Jupiter..., transferring energy from Jupiter to ourselves and pushing our own orbit further from the sun, some hundreds of millions of years down the road, the earth will be so hot that weathering will go faster, chemicals in bedrock will mate with atmospheric CO2 faster, and global CO2 levels will drop below what's needed to sustain most plant life.

But maybe you're not much concerned about the situation 200 million years down the road. Me either. Future generations will have their chance. Right now, the problem is that world CO2 levels are rising sharply because of industrial and transportation consumption of fossil fuel. Coal and oil are the main sources.

The sun's output wiggles in the short term, granted. We can have fairly significant swings of temperature as a result. Witness the so-called Maunder Minimum, when the earth was noticeably cooler than its average for the past few thousand years. On the other hand, CO2 IS a greenhouse gas. All else held equal, an earth with higher CO2 levels figures to be warmer than it would otherwise be. Since we're pushing the upper edge of temperatures that serve human comfort and economic needs, why would we want to close the door that lets heat out of our room? [By pumping the atmosphere fuller of CO2].

If and when glaciers begin to advance out of the Rockies onto the plains of Montana and join up with glaciers coming off Hudson bay, it will be time to worry about global cooling. We could then reopen old coal mines, generate methane from natural gas and vent it into the atmosphere, breed cows that fart more...

A response to global warming that seeks to move our energy economy to nuclear, wind, solar, conservation, tidal, geothermal, biomass, and so on, and away from coal and oil, would have the handy side effect of giving us geopolitical breathing room. We'd not be stuck paying the oil barons of the world a yearly King's ransom. The trick is to make the move in the least disruptive way. Cap and trade schemes are a bad approach. Empty promises like Kyoto Accord goals are another bad approach. Bjorn Lomborg has pointed out that trying to head off all global warming will likely be more expensive than just coping with some of it and heading off only the worst.

There's room for debate on the particulars. But the broad outlines are pretty clear: global warming is real. In our era, the cause is partly human, and we would be wise to rein it in some. We can do it without vastly disruptive cost if we give ourselves time and get the R&D going now. If we don't, we might find that a crash program later is expensive but less expensive than bearing the consequences of unchecked global warming or the consequences of drastically scaling back our industrial society.

220 Devolving One  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 8:12:45pm

People of the earth can you hear me
Came the voice from the sky on that magical night..

Billy Thorpe, Children of the Sun

221 Archimedes  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 8:15:40pm

The sun is *hot*!

222 Optimizer  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 8:25:47pm

re: #219 lostlakehiker


Right now, the problem is that world CO2 levels are rising sharply because of industrial and transportation consumption of fossil fuel. Coal and oil are the main sources. ...

A response to global warming that seeks to move our energy economy to nuclear, wind, solar, conservation, tidal, geothermal, biomass, and so on, and away from coal and oil, would have the handy side effect of giving us geopolitical breathing room. ...

There's room for debate on the particulars. But the broad outlines are pretty clear: global warming is real. In our era, the cause is partly human, and we would be wise to rein it in some. We can do it without vastly disruptive cost if we give ourselves time and get the R&D going now. If we don't, we might find that a crash program later is expensive but less expensive than bearing the consequences of unchecked global warming or the consequences of drastically scaling back our industrial society.

The cause may be partly human, but it is almost certainly insignificant, as the fact the Earth has not warmed in this decade attests.

We have astounding amounts of coal in the US - all the "geopolitical breathing room", as you put it, that we could possibly need. The longer we delay in converting from coal to oil (using nuclear for electricity), the more damage we cause the entire world's economy, which depends heavily on energy (which is exactly why the eco-fascists seek to control it).

223 Ojoe  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 8:38:19pm

Wow look at that energy ball!

To think that enough hydrogen in one place would do that! Who would guess it?

And solar energy is the way to go —

1. We'll never run out
2. It falls on all alike, and cannot be monopolized
3. If you have a sun spill, the haz mat people do not have to come.

224 El Lizardo mejicano  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 8:54:26pm

re: #179 jorline

Good evening, Lizardo...good to see you again.

Buenas Noches amigo, just watched Palin on SNL and she looks great as usual.

225 El Lizardo mejicano  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 8:56:10pm

re: #182 Gang of One

Q hubole, carnal?

Lol, I have not heard that word"carnal" in a long time amigo, you know the lingo well.

226 Paul  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 8:56:29pm

The Sun is my favorite star, it's been our friend and benefactor for four and a half billion years.

227 shaner5000  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 9:00:01pm

See that little black spot? It's my soul up there.

228 gunjam  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 9:11:18pm

14And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

15And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

16And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

17And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

18And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

19And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Genesis 1:14-19

229 Marvo76  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 9:13:07pm

re: #38 HelloDare

Heresy! Heresy, Blasphemer, a curse be upon you from St. Al of the ten and sea.....

230 Marvo76  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 9:15:12pm

re: #50 quickjustice
Or a little over 8 minutes.....as the cosmic rays go......a little longer for a good coronal mass ejection.

231 David IV of Georgia  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 9:20:20pm

re: #129 snowcrash

Anyone link to that awful "Seasons in the Sun" song from the 70's? I won't either.

We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the Sun, but the hills that we climbed were just seasons out of time... -Terry Jacks /mean streak

I think there is an oil tanker in the fifth (or sixth?) photo. Upper left, approximately 1/10000 of a pixel long.

232 ShanghaiRay  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 9:47:35pm

I'm in no position to do so and I apologize in advance for being anal about this but...could we please ban all proponents of global warming caused by human activity from the site? I mean really, we have a short respite from the incessant b.s. from the MSM because it doesn't fit their agenda at the moment, but trust me as soon as this election is over..whammy it will be back big time. Littlegreen is one of the very few bastions of common sense and conservatism that we can all go to for some fresh air. Sorry, global warming proponents, nothing personal, but there are hundreds it not thousands of other sites you can spew your b.s. on. Thanks for your undertanding.
/rant off/

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

233 Jimmah  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 9:50:40pm

Amazing pictures. The sun looks disturbingly dynamic up close.

234 ShanghaiRay  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 9:55:56pm

Oh yeah..sorry and one more thing...only a complete idiot or troll could look at those awesome photos and see the infinite power of the sun and then still spew global warming rhertoric based not on the Sun's activity/inactivity but from humans doing something as insignificant as a tailpipe on a car...LOL

235 Jimmah  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 10:16:17pm

re: #234 ShanghaiRay

Oh yeah..sorry and one more thing...only a complete idiot or troll could look at those awesome photos and see the infinite power of the sun and then still spew global warming rhertoric based not on the Sun's activity/inactivity but from humans doing something as insignificant as a tailpipe on a car...LOL

Sorry, I'm no fan of Al Gore and his distortions and exaggerations, but only an idiot would take the above to be a valid and conclusive argument.

236 wordwarp  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 10:18:49pm

No offense, Charles, but some of us were pointing out the odd Sun = Hot correlation years ago...

Fantastic NASA slo-mo footage of the sun. I recommend dropping at least one hit of acid before viewing, dude, because, like, it is intense.

237 wordwarp  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 10:20:08pm

PS: I used some of that footage when doing the launch of "Heroes," if it seems familiar too you

/secret Hollywood conservative
//FOA member
///Jon Voight for President

238 sadhu  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 10:21:16pm

Solar Ray!

239 Jimmah  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 10:22:01pm

re: #236 wordwarp

No offense, Charles, but some of us were pointing out the odd Sun = Hot correlation years ago...

Fantastic NASA slo-mo footage of the sun. I recommend dropping at least one hit of acid before viewing, dude, because, like, it is intense.

LOL... first came the drinking threads...

240 davinvalkri  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 10:45:44pm

A giant fusion reactor held together by the gravity of its own mass...

doesn't change the absolute awesomeness of this image one bit.

241 stevieray  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 10:51:10pm

re: #237 wordwarp

You used to comment here more... where have you been hiding?

242 Gozer the Carpathian  Sat, Oct 18, 2008 11:13:58pm

W00t! It's always good to see some of the images I downloaded enjoyed by all. My station tracks SOHO pretty much every day of the week, and STEREO a few other times as well. SST seems like an orbital bird so not one I track.

Always good to hear science apreciated by the masses. :)

243 leftover54  Sun, Oct 19, 2008 12:19:20am

Very nice ! "And it makes me wonder..."
Hey, no globular clusters ?
WTF ?

I enjoyed reading through most of the 400+ comments almost as much as the pix. Didn't take long though for the "GREAT DEBATE" to begin - and then it was off to the races. But one comment really stood out -
post #363:

"But here is you visit in Belgorode. And extract from belly through mouth kilogram foods on rails at hour of the nights."

See for yourself !

Yeah, and "all your base are belongs to me" too !

244 daRKSTER2400  Sun, Oct 19, 2008 12:35:55am

awesome and humbling.....

245 wordwarp  Sun, Oct 19, 2008 12:45:27am

re: #241 stevieray

My life got busier, and the threads got so impossibly long and confusing, and then came family medical stuff and other things... but some extremely good things happening these days.

got a call from Jon Voight and had a drink with Bill Whittle on tuesday at our FOA meeting. Some aspects of living in LA and working for commies doesn't suck....

thanks for noticing my absense - quite a compliment in a weird way.

(looks down, shuffles feet around)

246 ice-9  Sun, Oct 19, 2008 6:08:11am

Right, like that's the sun. From the Lie-beral Boston Globe, no less. Nice try, M$M!

247 Perplexed  Sun, Oct 19, 2008 6:21:00am

re: #94 BakaRanger

Iran will send the first manned mission to the sun...they will land at night when it is a lot cooler.

The gravity of the situation would crush them into their shoes.

Once worked on a program called SEON (solar electrical/optical network) that monitored the sun for solar flares. Was pretty good when we updated the cameras from vidicon to solid state, peltier cooled, cameras. The whole principle of the project was that you could see the solar flares and the radio signal magnitude determined the strength of the solar flare while giving you a few minutes to act before the damaging heavy particles hit the earth and orbiting satellites.

248 Perplexed  Sun, Oct 19, 2008 6:24:57am

re: #236 wordwarp

No offense, Charles, but some of us were pointing out the odd Sun = Hot correlation years ago...

Fantastic NASA slo-mo footage of the sun. I recommend dropping at least one hit of acid before viewing, dude, because, like, it is intense.

Ever been through a total eclipse of the sun? When the moon blocks the sun the temperatures noticeably drop.

249 Optimizer  Sun, Oct 19, 2008 7:35:16am

re: #228 gunjam

14And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

15And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

16And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

17And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

18And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

19And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Genesis 1:14-19

It's interesting to review the primitive mythology in the context of the modern advances in scientific understanding. Clearly, the concept of the Sun existing in vast void, with the Earth revolving around it, on a tilted axis, and with an atmosphere, is absent. Also, the Moon is described as one of the two "great lights" - while we now know that the Moon simply reflects light from the Sun.

The last verse is indicative of some poor physical understanding as well. Day and night (light and dark) are said to have been created on the first day, but the Sun, where the Earth get virtually all it's light, doesn't make an appearance in the story until Day 4. The idea of the Sun being used to establish a calender appears several days after the calendar is already being used.

250 Annar  Sun, Oct 19, 2008 8:02:37am

The radiation off The Dear One's angelic face has reflected back to the sun starting an irreversible heating loop and this is man's contribution to global warming. It is currently unknown whether or not this cycle can be broken. If not, a large section of the planet will fall into a political singularity eventually disappearing completely as history is rewritten.

251 Walk Not So Softly  Sun, Oct 19, 2008 8:21:04am

Thanks for the new background. 8)

252 taxfreekiller[deleted]  Sun, Oct 19, 2008 8:46:58am
253 taxfreekiller[deleted]  Sun, Oct 19, 2008 8:48:59am
254 lostlakehiker  Sun, Oct 19, 2008 9:40:42am

re: #222 Optimizer

The cause may be partly human, but it is almost certainly insignificant, as the fact the Earth has not warmed in this decade attests.

We have astounding amounts of coal in the US - all the "geopolitical breathing room", as you put it, that we could possibly need. The longer we delay in converting from coal to oil (using nuclear for electricity), the more damage we cause the entire world's economy, which depends heavily on energy (which is exactly why the eco-fascists seek to control it).

Actually, the global warming alarmists complicate my task of arguing that global warming is real and our own contribution not insignificant. The alarmists insist that NOTHING else has any effect.

But there are other influences on the climate. El Nino cycles, for instance. Wiggles in solar output. Stuff we don't begin to understand, and are forced to lay at the door of pure chance.

The long term warming trend we see, and would expect to see as a result of increasing CO2, is going to be interrupted from time to time by these chance events. They don't disprove the reality of global warming. They just disprove the alarmist exaggerations.

As to coal, yes, we have a lot of it. As to eco-fascists, yes, they exist and they're a pain. But we can have our industrial civilization, free and mighty, and it doesn't have to be carbon intensive, long term. It can't be, if global warming is a real problem, because there isn't any good place to put the CO2. It doesn't need to be, because we have good alternatives. With a reasonable amount of further technical progress, we'll be in a position to get energy from these other sources much more cheaply than we do from oil, and competitive with coal. In the meantime, while we get our new ducks in a row, we'll have to go on burning coal and natural gas, and even some oil. And if we need to convert coal to oil because oil from the ground becomes too expensive, fine, let's do that. We can't build a future low-carbon energy infrastructure without today's industry, and today's industry runs on fossil fuels.

255 klywood  Sun, Oct 19, 2008 9:45:58am

Those pictures are about as badass as it gets.

256 taxfreekiller[deleted]  Sun, Oct 19, 2008 9:47:25am
257 taxfreekiller[deleted]  Sun, Oct 19, 2008 9:48:41am
258 taxfreekiller[deleted]  Sun, Oct 19, 2008 9:51:51am
259 Cutty Sark  Sun, Oct 19, 2008 11:05:06am

Take 2 aspirins , calm down and go see a dctor in the morning tax free killer - you got issues .

It's a picture of the Sun , an ordinary yellow star .

And guess what ! ...it's neither "demoncrap or repubislicum " .

Man , you are zoned out big time .

260 Zimriel  Sun, Oct 19, 2008 1:31:41pm

re: #247 Perplexed

Once worked on a program called SEON (solar electrical/optical network) that monitored the sun for solar flares. ...

Perplexed, there a reason you dinged down Optimizer's #249? You seem like a pro-science hoopy sort of frood; I couldn't see where #249 said anything that might offend...

261 Zimriel  Sun, Oct 19, 2008 1:35:44pm

re: #249 Optimizer

It's interesting to review the primitive mythology in the context of the modern advances in scientific understanding. Clearly, the concept of the Sun existing in vast void, with the Earth revolving around it, on a tilted axis, and with an atmosphere, is absent. Also, the Moon is described as one of the two "great lights" - while we now know that the Moon simply reflects light from the Sun.

The last verse is indicative of some poor physical understanding as well. Day and night (light and dark) are said to have been created on the first day, but the Sun, where the Earth get virtually all it's light, doesn't make an appearance in the story until Day 4. The idea of the Sun being used to establish a calender appears several days after the calendar is already being used.

Genesis 1 is considered a "Priestly" portion of Genesis; more geared around setting up a seven-day division of time than around cosmology.

For the skinny on how Temple-era Jews really viewed the heavens, there's the "astronomical book" portion of Enoch: chapters 72–82 in Ethiopic translation, 4Qenastr. a-d. ar (=4Q208–211) in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

262 Zimriel  Sun, Oct 19, 2008 1:50:52pm

According to 1 Enoch 72 - The sun is a "luminary... totally filled with light and heat".

The sun comes in from "an opening of heaven in the east" and exits back to heaven in the west. The prophetic narrator (later associated with Enoch) alleged that the angel Uriel showed him twelve of these openings in the celestial firmament; six in, six out. (The moon also went in and out of these same rifts in reality.) All twelve rifts are arranged "in a constant order".

The rifts (I think) are pegged to the stars (the Ethiopic seems garbled here). The sun (and moon) itself is pulled in a sort of transom (translated "chariot") in a course affected by the, um, wind.

This seems to be a Babylonian, at any rate VERY pre-Ptolemaic vision of the heavens.

Note that the earlier parts of Enoch rightfully belong in the Old Testament for Christians; as Enoch 1-36 is cited in Jude, and also Daniel which counts as a prophetic book for Christians.

263 Perplexed  Sun, Oct 19, 2008 2:22:01pm

re: #260 Zimriel

Perplexed, there a reason you dinged down Optimizer's #249? You seem like a pro-science hoopy sort of frood; I couldn't see where #249 said anything that might offend...

Yep, there is a reason. Quite frankly I'm getting sick and tired of Christianity getting crapped on. Christians are expected to take any insult hurled at them and to not fight back when either the Bible or G_d gets slammed.

I'm expected to deal with people I whose actions I find offensive, walk on egg shells around them and their beliefs while taking whatever they want to hurl back at me with an idiotic smile. It won't happen any more.

That's why I dinged it down.

264 Optimizer  Sun, Oct 19, 2008 2:28:09pm

re: #254 lostlakehiker

Actually, the global warming alarmists complicate my task of arguing that global warming is real and our own contribution not insignificant. The alarmists insist that NOTHING else has any effect.

...

The long term warming trend we see, and would expect to see as a result of increasing CO2, is going to be interrupted from time to time by these chance events. They don't disprove the reality of global warming. They just disprove the alarmist exaggerations.
...

Another thing that "complicates your task" is the fact that the only argument FOR human-induced global warming are computer models that have not been validated. I appreciate your lack of eco-fascism, but your belief in this stuff is quasi-religious. We haven't seen warming since '98, and the historical (and current) trends indicate we're probably in for some cooling for many years to come.

The models said that the temperature was supposed to climb, climb, climb. It hasn't, and it's not just a spurious few months, or years. So the models are wrong. That's the way science is supposed to work. You don't throw out unspecified "random factors" and claim that you were right anyway. One can scarcely believe somebody could be serious about this!

265 Optimizer  Sun, Oct 19, 2008 2:30:13pm

re: #261 Zimriel

Genesis 1 is considered a "Priestly" portion of Genesis; more geared around setting up a seven-day division of time than around cosmology.

For the skinny on how Temple-era Jews really viewed the heavens, there's the "astronomical book" portion of Enoch: chapters 72–82 in Ethiopic translation, 4Qenastr. a-d. ar (=4Q208–211) in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

How does it differ? And why would it differ?

266 Zimriel  Mon, Oct 20, 2008 6:49:30pm

Okay, Perplexed, thank you for making your opinions clear.

Optimizer did NOT "crap on" Christianity. He did a little freelance investigation of Genesis 1, as did I. Genesis 1 is not important to Christianity; it is far more important to Judaism with its Sabbath on the seventh day (and as for Jews, even most conservative ones don't take it literally anymore).

Saint Paul was far more interested in the other creation account - that of Genesis 2, which claimed a "fall" of all humanity descended from Eve. Nothing Optimizer said has any bearing on whether Christianity (Pauline or not) is true, false, good, or bad.

You have been tremendously unfair to Optimizer, and by extension to me.

267 Zimriel  Mon, Oct 20, 2008 6:56:04pm

re: #265 Optimizer

How does it differ? And why would it differ?

Genesis and Enoch differ in intent. In content, Enoch 72-79 details the nature of the heavens as they are (if you're a fifth-century-BC Babylonian Jew) rather than on the means of the heavens' creation as does Genesis 1.

As for the relation between Genesis 1 and Enoch 72-79; or for that matter Genesis 5-6 and Enoch 6-11, or even Enoch 2-5 and Enoch 72-79 ... if you find any biblical scholars who agree on how they are all related, let me know :^)

268 Perplexed  Mon, Oct 20, 2008 9:32:44pm

re: #266 Zimriel

Okay, Perplexed, thank you for making your opinions clear.

Optimizer did NOT "crap on" Christianity. He did a little freelance investigation of Genesis 1, as did I. Genesis 1 is not important to Christianity; it is far more important to Judaism with its Sabbath on the seventh day (and as for Jews, even most conservative ones don't take it literally anymore).

Saint Paul was far more interested in the other creation account - that of Genesis 2, which claimed a "fall" of all humanity descended from Eve. Nothing Optimizer said has any bearing on whether Christianity (Pauline or not) is true, false, good, or bad.

You have been tremendously unfair to Optimizer, and by extension to me.

Hmmm, I down dinged, left no comment either good, indifferent, or bad. You asked why I down dinged and I told you. So somehow this becomes unfair to you? Sorry, but I don't know whether I should either laugh or cry over this outrageous example of being unfair to you, a person who stuck his/her/its nose into something that really didn't concern them.

I've learned that you can rub some people the wrong way regardless of what you have to say or how you say it. So until you asked it was just a 'why did it happen moment' and in the great scheme of things is pretty insignificant.

A couple quotes come to mind:
"Well excuuuuuuuuuuse me." Steve Martin
"Sorrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyy" Teenage daughter


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