LGF

more options

  

Advertisement

God's Sombrero

Thu, Oct 2, 2003 at 5:13:45 pm PDT

NASA has released an awe-inspiring new photograph taken by the Hubble Space Telescope; an image of Messier 104, known as the Sombrero Galaxy.

Advertisement

434 comments

  • Comments are open and unmoderated, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Little Green Footballs.
  • Obscene, abusive, silly, or annoying remarks may be deleted, but the fact that particular comments remain on the site in no way constitutes an endorsement of their views by Little Green Footballs.
  • Posts that contain phone numbers, street addresses, email addresses or other personal information will also be deleted, as will posts that consist only of a variation on the word, "First!"
  • Comments that advocate violence will be cause for immediate banning with no appeal.
  • Disagreement and debate are welcome, but insults and abuse are not, and may cause your account to be blocked.
  • REMEMBER: posting comments at LGF is a privilege, not a right. Abuse that privilege, and your account will be blocked.

Hide comments | Jump to bottom

1 hobgoblin  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:18:27pm

Kudos Charles, on shedding a little light on the beautiful side of this universe amid all the rotten parts of humanity

2 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:19:17pm

BS. Way to flat for a galaxy. Lacking globular clusters.


No halo, no nothin'. This is photoshop.

3 Jheka  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:19:36pm

Messier gets a galaxy? What does Gretzky's look like?

4 reaganite  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:20:49pm

Charles
What better way to show that our earthly woes are, well, insignificant to the universe. It should be a valid point to the L³ that we only have a tiny part of the big picture and that we should worry about the future instead of the most PC current craze.

5 hobgoblin  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:20:54pm

the best repository for these pics is

[Link: antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov...]

Astronomy Picture of the Day

6 Nick  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:22:44pm

Ah, I like the Ringworld photo. Niven would be proud.

7 Tasty Beverage  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:23:06pm

"God's Sombrero"

You know, I've been squinting at it for about a minute, and I still can't see Allah.

8 hobgoblin  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:23:18pm

#3 Jheka

LOL

Messier gets ALL the galaxies (at least those visible with an 1800s telescope). The M designation in front of various astronomical objects refers to Messier's catalogue of "fuzzy stars"---nebulae and comets and galaxies---that he observed back in the day.

9 Targetpractice  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:23:43pm

To see the world in a grain of sand
And heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.

-William Blake

10 ChicagoTex!  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:24:58pm

#2. Er, I received my minor in astronomy, and I can assure you that the Sombrero Galaxy is a well-known galaxy--it just has never been imaged so beautifully.

Here is a link to older images:
Sombrero Galaxy on Google

11 AG in Houston  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:26:25pm

The wonders of G-d's universe.

Amazing shot.

12 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:26:41pm

I'm sorry, this is not a photo of any galaxy.

13 Geepers  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:27:21pm

Wow.

14 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:28:46pm

God help us, this is serious BS.

15 reaganite  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:30:01pm

#12 Yair
You're an expert on galaxies?

16 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:30:28pm

Globular clusters are absent.

17 zulubaby  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:30:39pm

Simply beautiful.

18 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:31:59pm

I'm not an astronomer, Reaganite. I read a great deal of Scientific American.

It is unheard of to have a galaxy without globular clusters.

19 American Infidel[deleted]  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:32:00pm
20 reaganite  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:32:02pm

Yair
Is this "fake" as well? The horse head nebula.

21 andthenblammo!  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:33:57pm

#6 Nick:

The exact same thing went through my mind.

Dyson spheres, anyone?

#15 reaganite:

Hey, I'm an expert on Galaxie 500's, at least I have put shocks and mufflers on a few, and I say it's legit!

22 SoCalJustice  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:34:06pm

(#3) Jheka:

Messier gets a galaxy? What does Gretzky's look like?

You're living in it. At least you were in the 80's and 90's.

Cool pic.

23 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:34:35pm

I love the cosmos. This is pure BS.

24 AG in Houston  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:34:49pm

reaganite

It ain't worth it.

25 Revenge of Chalmers  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:35:02pm

#2

If you have high speed, go to This full res jpeg of the galaxy. (It's 7.12 MB)

26 Let's Roll  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:35:18pm

OT -- I think it's a great idea, personally.

N.Y. Fair to Display Bombed Israeli Bus

New York Fair to Display Israeli Bus Destroyed in Deadly Palestinian Suicide Bombing

JERUSALEM Oct. 2 — A bus destroyed in one of the deadliest Palestinian suicide bombings will be displayed at a New York fair alongside booths promoting Jewish culture and tourism to Israel.

Relatives of the bombing's victims are outraged, and Israeli government officials have quietly questioned the wisdom of the plans by ZAKA Rescue and Recovery, an Israeli disaster response group.

27 Li'l Mamzer  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:35:21pm

Even if it is a photoshop job, how bad could it be?

Wherever it is, there are NO ISLAMO-FASCISTS there.

28 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:35:58pm

Reaganite, there is much cool shit in the universe. Thi9s isn't one of them.

29 andthenblammo!  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:36:39pm

#27 Li'l Mamzer:

They wouldn't count as intelligent life, anyway.

30 Kim Asham  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:37:18pm

OT for Canada bashers.Two Canadians Dead in Afghanistan

On a per capita basis that is the same as nine Americas so I can't say we're doing our share, but it hurts, it really hurts.

31 zulubaby  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:37:38pm

Oh well, Charles, you tried. This had the potential to be a great thread, something peaceful and inspirational for a change, but Yair will insist of fucking everything up. Sorry for the language but I'm absolutely sick of him and his belligerence. Enjoy guys, it should be a blast. reaganite, I know we don't talk but honestly, ignore him. You know the deal...

32 AG in Houston  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:39:03pm

Zulubaby

You can talk to me.

Hey baby, I've got a quarter, can we...uh, uh like amke out or something?

/butthead

33 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:39:14pm

It's BS, Charles, I don't know what else to say. Way too symmetrical. There is amazing stuff out there. Truly. Not this.

34 reaganite  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:39:21pm

#23 Yair
Last time I'll try. I have a picture on my wall of a shot I did in Utah in 1988. When I ask EOD types what size they think the shot is, they respond 20 or 30k pounds, they think the picture was taken from a mile or two away. The actual picture I took was from 9 miles away, it was 500k of high explosives.

You're no expert, think you might be wrong?

35 Geepers  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:39:25pm

zulubaby (#31),

Hear, hear.

36 zulubaby  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:40:27pm

Bad Mamba Jamba (#32)

A whole quarter!? You spoil me ... ;-)

37 andthenblammo!  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:40:57pm

YOU HAVE INCURRED THE WRATH OF ZULUBABY! WOE BE UNTO YOU! YOUR SOUL WILL WRITHE IN ENDLESS TORMENT AFTER SHE CUNNINGLY WORKS THE VERY BONES OF YOUR BODY INTO MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND PLAYS "IN-A-GADDA-DA-VIDA" UPON THEM FOR ALL ETERNITY! WOE, DUDE! BUMMER!

38 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:41:49pm

Zulubaby, the universe is out there. This isn't t it. I'm sorry, I wish it was.

39 zulubaby  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:42:41pm

Yair, can you just let it go? Just this once? We hear you...please?

40 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:42:44pm

"Globular cluster."

41 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:42:47pm

#25 Revenge of the Chalmers

Stunning - - I got it downloading and will save! Thanx.

Hey, Universe they say is about 18 Billion Years Old? Guess how long that's been, given relativity and best estimates of expansion rates - viewed from the theoretical centerpoint of the Big Bang.....?

Ummm....about 5,700 years or so.....

42 AG in Houston  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:43:25pm

Zulubaby

Fitty Cent?

43 rizzo  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:43:38pm

I want thank Arab News for publishing these photos.

44 Blowback  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:43:44pm

I'm an amateur astronomer, and astrophotographer, and that is an awesome M104.

Here is a link to some photos I have taken recently with my lowly 4", APO refractor:

IC434 Horsehead


NGC891

I'm pretty new at this, and could never match the Hubble of course, but I'm proud of my few photos to date.

45 Brownfinger  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:43:53pm

Yair, right or wrong, this is one of those times when it is better to not piss in the Cheerios of others. Just say nice picture and save the arguments for things that matter.

46 Charles  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:44:26pm

Yair: what in the ever-loving hell are you talking about? Did you follow the link? Did you look at the other images, some at very high resolutions?

Are you aware that this photo was released by NASA?

Do you also think the moon landings were faked?

You are really beginning to get on my last nerve.

47 bbmoo  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:44:40pm

The science mags often colorize the cosmos pics. Regardless, it is awe inspiring, humbling and beautiful. Every time I look into the night sky (I'm rural), I am enchanted. Cosmologically speaking... we are blips. Thank G-d we have people like Charles that colorize our bliphood.

48 zulubaby  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:44:51pm

andthenblammo!

Stunning ALL CAPS there -- that'll teach me!

49 zulubaby  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:46:05pm

Brownfinger said it better than I. Why do I always swear? My mama hates it.

Mamba Jamba -- keep going honey.

50 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:46:28pm

It breaks my heart. There are quasars, pulsars, other shit, but this is photoshop.

51 steve miller  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:46:45pm

I'm downloading the FREAKIN' HUGE picture right now.

52 AG in Houston  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:46:52pm

Mr. 187

53 AG in Houston  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:47:51pm

Zulubaby

Maybe I can seranade you...

I ain't got a very swoll bank roll...................... yet.

54 zulubaby  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:48:17pm

Que?

55 AG in Houston  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:49:13pm

the Mr. 187 comment was to our Lizardoid Diety.

56 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:50:05pm

Charles,

I have read the last 2000 sci ams. I'm sorry, I have a problem with this photo. If you wish to ban me, of course, that is your prerogative.

57 steve miller  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:50:49pm

We have GAZE for the trolls.

What do we have for friendly fire? HAZE?

The mind reels...

BTW, more on the Sombrero Galaxy (easy to find on Google)
[Link: antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov...]

[Link: www.eso.org...]

[Link: www.eso.org...]

[Link: users.pandora.be...]

[Link: www.concord-grove.org...]

[Link: burro.astr.cwru.edu...]

58 zulubaby  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:51:19pm

Mamba Jamba, I'd rather be serenaded anytime! Can't sleep with the money and keep the honey in the safe, right? :-)

I'm outta here. I don't usually announce my plans to LGF but I don't want you to think I've run out on you ...

59 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:51:52pm

Before Charles bans my ass, look up "globular clusters", and ask yourselves why they don't exist in this galaxy.

60 Right wing conspirator  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:52:34pm

Yair - here

Both the Sombrero galaxy and the Milky Way have a ‘bulge’, which is made up from globular clusters of stars. The Milky Way is thought to have about 200 globular clusters. Large telescopes on Earth have found several hundred globular clusters in the Sombrero galaxy.

History of the Sombrero Galaxy.

61 steve miller  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:52:41pm

And if you get a chance to download the FREAKIN' HUGE picture, take a look at the details - there are these faint but recognizable spiral galaxies and nebulae scattered all through the picture - huge islands that barely register on the Hubble pix.

Fascinating!

62 zulubaby  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:52:45pm

Yair, chill, please. I don't want to see you banned. Go have a drink or something. C'mon!

63 Brownfinger  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:52:49pm

Sorry but OT:

Did anyone else catch the brief mention on Fox News about the WMD smuggling in Kuwait? They ran through very quickly without elaborating much for some reason, but it was there. Does Fox use the 48 hour rule as well?

64 reaganite  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:52:56pm

Yair
Give it a rest.

65 Blowback  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:53:53pm

#56 It's a mosaic. Maybe that's why it seems surreal to you?

I have seen many amateur photos of M104. They are not like this photo of course, but believe me M104 is a real galaxy.

66 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:54:04pm

Is a certain excitable person suggesting that this is perhaps remains of a supernova? Why the obvious rotation then? Is it being suggested that it's not really there?

Anyone care to comment on the Age of the Universe, "Subjectively" speaking (see post #41)?

67 steve miller  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:54:39pm

Now, getting a pix of the Sombrero Galaxy is truly the LARGEST hat tip one could hope for!

(ducking and rolling)

68 AG in Houston  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:55:37pm

Laila Tov Zulubaby.

Yair,

Just stop being a bitch. It is utterly irritating to have a someone constantly nag.

69 Let's Roll  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:56:16pm

#63   Brownfinger

Really? Wow, I can't believe, if it's true, that it's not HUGE news. WTF?

70 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:56:31pm

#61 Steve Miller

Exactly. It's very clear in the large picture!

71 reaganite  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:56:52pm

#25 Revenge of Chalmers
Thanks for that! What a picture!

72 steve miller  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:57:37pm

If that's Photoshopped, G-d's got one FREAKIN' HUGE display monitor - I can't even imagine the color depth!

73 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:58:13pm

Ok, I will have a drinnk. One last word. Globular clusters.

74 Model4  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:58:19pm

Yair: Whether your statement is right or wrong, what does it do for anyone to have you repeat it ad nauseum? If you have nothing to add (inshallah) let something go.

The Hubble is a wonder, I'm truly awed by our nation and our Western civilization for such wonders, and the drive we've instilled in ourselves to see even more.

Geeky question, but this is highly over-exposed, right? I mean, if a person were an equivalent distance away the galaxy wouldn't look like this in real time, or would it?

75 Paladin  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:58:20pm

Yair

Just because you can't see something doesn't mean it's not there. (Think wind)
Besides, If God decided to make a galaxy without globular clusters, what's that to you?

76 reaganite  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:58:40pm

That pic is now my desktop background.

77 Evil Otto  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:58:59pm

Jeezus H. Christ on a pogo stick, Yair! You repeating how this is a fake over and over and over and over again does not make it so. The fact that you read a lot of Scientific American does NOT make you an expert. Are you implying that the scientists using the Hubble are FAKING PICTURES? A simple Google search shows thousands of hits of this fairly well-known, much-photographed galaxy, including this one. But, hey, what do those guys know? I mean, they're probably in on the conspiracy to create a fake galaxy and distribute pictures of it across the internet in their mad scheme to... to... well, I don't know, but their scheme must be truly sinister whatever it is.

(While you check out that last link , please note the words "Close inspection of the bulge in the above photograph shows many points of light that are actually globular clusters.")

Get it? YOU. ARE. WRONG. Accept it.

Geez!

78 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 3:59:55pm

#76 reaganite

Great Idea!

79 Geepers  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:00:20pm

Scientific American

Description: Monthly magazine of science.

Yair

I have read the last 2000 sci ams.

Impressive: 166 years worth.

80 Right wing conspirator  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:00:21pm

#73 Yair

Guess you missed this, see #60.

Large telescopes on Earth have found several hundred globular clusters in the Sombrero galaxy.

81 steve miller  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:01:45pm

I don't know if it's over exposed. Every pix of the Sombrero Galaxy I've seen has shown the same hazy globe. While I am not an astronomer, I believe the haze is the gas and dust surrounding the galaxy that is lit by individual stars as well as the light of the galaxy itself.

The technology surrounding the Hubble does a good job of eliminating the over-exposure - they do lots of separate types of pix (e.g., helium, hydrogen, other gasses; emission types, temperature, and so on) & merge them to get the clearest shots.

82 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:01:51pm

Model 4

I dunno, but why so? You'd be looking through vacuum, why would it not be as clear and bright? The colours though, I think that's boosted for depth of field or something...Anyone?

83 reaganite  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:02:43pm

#78 Tiburon
I don't often change my desktop, this was worth it!

84 Revenge of Chalmers  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:02:45pm

#71, ET AL.
No problem. I don't have the patience to download the tiff fileyet (I'll use my office T3 line for that tomorrow), but the huge jpeg is still quite a sight.

BTW, In Photoshop I magnified it all the way, and there's absolutely no evidence of alteration.

85 Right wing conspirator  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:03:22pm

Now, keeping up with Scientific American magazine is one thing. But you can't be an expert on something without the hand on experience. Unless of course you stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

86 steve miller  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:03:43pm

As someone else pointed out, [Link: antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov...] is a fab place to check daily.

87 Model4  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:03:49pm

#67 steve miller: Bwahahahahha!

I remember one picture in particular that was released by NASA with dozens of galaxies visible in the frame, in pretty good detail too. It was truly breathtaking. I'd love it so if after "all this" we get to tour at will.

88 steve miller  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:05:21pm

It's a very cool pic. If you look for the Sombrero Galaxy at the APOD site, you can find a lot more information on why it looks so hazy.

89 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:05:37pm

Somebody look up galaxy's minus globular clusters.

90 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:05:39pm

#87 Model 4

well, maybe some....says in Midrash I guess, somewhere anyway - that the Righteous are given 310 worlds!

91 Promethea  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:06:26pm

As far as I know, astronomical photos are generally "colorized" because they show objects in many wavelengths that the human eye doesn't record. Since we're not seeing the actual object, it's just a matter of judgment as to how much color should be assigned to various wavelengths. I know that NASA tries to make its pix gorgeous, but it's not rearranging matter for the sake of artistic pix.

92 Blowback  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:07:28pm

#74 Model4

M104 is visible to the naked eye in really dark skys, but it just looks like a smudge of light, or a small patchy cloud.

The problem in photographing M104 is that its core is very bright as opposed to the fringes. So, before all the detail in the fringes can be captured, the central part of the photo gets washed out.

There are ways to combat this, but at the end of the day, this is probably about the best you can do.

It's an awesome photo. Never have I seen M104 like this, in all its glory. The dust lane through the center of it is just awesome, and the fantastic detail in this photo is amazing.

Here's a link to an Earthbound astrophotographer's M104:

M104

93 Paladin  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:08:34pm

#89

I looked up Little Green Footballs without Yair--it was beautiful and peaceful.

94 Model4  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:08:40pm

#82 Tiburon: Well, because if the whole thing were that bright, it would seem that our night sky would be much different from the light from our own galaxy. Like I said, geeky question though.

95 Geepers  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:09:07pm

Does anyone else remember when WarMongeringInfidel tried and tried to see just how big an ass you had to be to get banned?

96 steve miller  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:09:31pm

The awe-inspiring thing is to see so many galaxys (and the implicit structure of super-galaxy groups) just scattered across the sky like jewels on velvet. Here you can see a faint spiral galaxy with billions of stars, far beyond the Sombrero Galaxy - and to think that this entire FREAKIN' galaxy - as well as every other - will never have any contact with us. It's like seeing islands in the ocean, but knowing you could never swim, sail, or fly to them. They're just laying out there, beautiful but unapproachable.

No wonder aliens seethe and whine...

97 Promethea  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:10:16pm

Do we think that countries under sharia will publish such photos on the internet?

98 RIP Ford  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:10:16pm

#93 Paladin

Quitely LOL.
I feel like I'm in an art gallery and must keep it hushed for some reason.

99 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:10:32pm
I looked up Little Green Footballs without Yair--it was beautiful and peaceful.

But so untruthful.

100 steve miller  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:11:05pm

HAZE

101 Paladin  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:12:14pm

#98 RIP Ford

I feel the same way looking at the wonder and beauty of God's creation.

102 Cybrludite  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:12:35pm

Two words: ROAD TRIP!!!!!!!

103 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:13:42pm

It is truly a shame that there is so much beauty in the universe, yet we do no appreciate it.

104 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:14:07pm

#96 steve miller

No wonder aliens seethe and whine...


heh!

#94 Model 4...certainly not geeky, but I"m not sure I get you - I think it would look like this, roughly, minus some colour (without some really cool 'shades'), if you were at a point outside M104?

105 Blowback  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:14:12pm

#94

The camera that the Hubble uses is much more sensitive to light than the human eye.

Even in the vacum of space, M104 would not look like that to your unaided eye.

Plus, the Hubble records information from wavelengths of light, that are not even visible to the human eye.

In a nutshell, using different filters, the Hubble gathers information about the amount of light that is being emitted at different wavelengths, and then it is all merged back together, by technicians on the ground, to form a composite image.

106 Evil Otto  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:15:00pm

I think Yair must be screwing with us at this point. Either that, or he's not actually bothering to read what people post.

107 Paladin  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:15:10pm

#103 Yair

Yeah, we are always whining about a lack of globular clusters!

108 AG in Houston  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:15:30pm

I am picturing the beauty of my size 11 foot in your narrow ass.

But, alas, there will be no one to photoshop it.

109 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:17:26pm

You guys have to get real. Even Gordon is copping on. I'm just a dude who comments upon facts that float his way.

That is all!

110 Tasty Beverage  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:17:36pm

OT Charles, I just saw the new banner:

lgf: to Morlocks as Morlocks are to Eloi

That's cool.

111 Model4  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:18:24pm

Thanks for the info guys. Here's one of those deep field pics (sorry if it was included in the links above). Here. Amazing. Thanks for the picture and the thread Charles.

112 Targetpractice  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:18:29pm

Charles, is this topic's name by any chance a reference to Denis Leary's joke about the Catholic church?

113 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:18:47pm

Guys! Stop yelling at ye old unpopular jackass! There are no, NO, globular clusters in this galaxy!

114 Evil Otto  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:18:57pm

Yair,

Whatever. GAZE.

115 reaganite  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:19:59pm

Yair
In the past I've given you the benefit of the doubt, but will you please just fuck off and let us enjoy this?

116 Cybrludite  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:20:10pm

And, Yair, who lit the goddamn fuse on your tampon? Several other folks have linked to stories that point out the gobular clusters. For disrupting a thread like this, I hearby sentence you to having to feltch Chairman Arafish for all eternity.

117 NTropy  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:20:31pm

#40   Yair

I'm going to tell you something I rarely tell anybody, especially here.

You are a DICK

118 Paladin  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:21:17pm

#113 Yair

Does that mean civilization will disappear tomorrow?

I fear the other globular clusters are polluting what's left of your alleged mind.

119 Mr Pol  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:22:14pm

So, that's what G-d uses as a kippa?

120 Q  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:22:26pm

Tiburon:

Anyone care to comment on the Age of the Universe, "Subjectively" speaking (see post #41)?

I'm not quite sure what you want to say, but I'll bite nonetheless. When religion (or some adherents of it) stupidly and stubbornly attacks the well-established scientific truths (witness the whole "creationism" imbecility)-- or even the concept of science itself -- it only discredits itself and invites well-deserved ridicule. Which is completely avoidable, if it is content with staying on its own playing field and not trying to usurp the objective truth and bend it to its dogma.

121 Blowback  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:23:11pm

There is no Yair in this thread!

Would someone please do a google on +Yair +LGF?

See?

There in Yair in this thread or LGF.

2000 copies of ScfAmcn over 166 years can't be wrong can it?

122 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:23:45pm

Guys! There is so much to wonder at in the universe. Why spend your time bitching at me!

123 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:24:34pm

So, guys, what is a globular cluster?

124 Targetpractice  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:25:13pm

Space...the final frontier...

125 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:25:18pm

Why am I a dick, Ntropy?

126 Connecticut Yankee  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:26:42pm

"I saw Eternity the other night
Like a great ring of pure and endless light.
All calm, as it was bright..."

Henry Vaughn (1622-1695), "The World."


Charles, thank you for posting this JPEG.

127 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:26:44pm

Guy's, you know I'm not a troll. Stop the BS.

128 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:27:28pm

#120 Q

Ahhh! Q! I'm glad it's you. You're rigourous and rational.
No, I wasn't speculating here. This is hard astrophysics I'm talking here, not apologetics for the Creation story.

Seems to be, that from the standpoint of a 'Watcher' at the theoretical point of the Big Bang - round about 5500 to 6000 years - Earth time - have passed. For us out here, it's been between 16-18 Billion Years - (though of course the Earth itself has only been around for about 3 or 4 Billion of that....

129 Right wing conspirator  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:28:16pm

Hmmmm, lets compare shall we

Yairs equipment
vs.
NASA equipment

My money is on NASA.

130 AG in Houston  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:28:38pm

Q

Neither the age of the Universe nor the existence of G-d has been proven or disproven.

Using one to discredit the other only serves to seperate the final reality (in my opinion) that science cannot exist without G-d and G-d cannot exist without science.

The are mutually inclusive.

And I say this as a man of faith, that no matter how old the universe is in reality or whatever one perceives it to be, there had to be a spark to light the fire.

131 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:29:42pm

Q
This is from a Mainline very recognized astrophysicist at Bar Ilan, btw....I'm wracking my brain but sorry, his name escapes me - read one of his books, he's written several....Anyone?

132 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:30:07pm

Your money is on the money. I say what comes to my mind. You should try it sometime.

133 AG in Houston  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:30:12pm

#129

Brilliant!

134 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:30:55pm

WHAT IS A GLOVULAR CLUSTER?

135 Geepers  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:31:38pm

Right wing conspirator (#129),

LOL!

136 Mr Pol  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:32:11pm

#130 AG in Houston

Neither the age of the Universe nor the existence of G-d has been proven or disproven.

Note also that neither the age of G-d nor the existence of the Universe have been proven of disproven.

/joke

137 AG in Houston  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:32:45pm

Mr Pol

Erev Tov.

Very good.

138 Jonny  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:32:50pm

If the galaxy is 28 million light years from earth, then this picture is what the galaxy looked like 28 million years ago.

139 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:33:02pm

Why does this galaxy lack globular clusters?

140 JM  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:33:09pm

This is obviously a fake picture, doctored by the Americans and their Israeli pupper masters. It's shaped like a matzah in order to brainwash the few people left in the world who aren't in on the Zionist conspiracy to rule the world.

141 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:33:18pm

#129 RWC

ROTFLAMAO!!!!!!

we musn't laugh though...I suspect a certain person is feeling very uncomfortable because of the Days of Awe, and it would be just so totally UNCOOL to Believe in THAT!!!!

142 Mr Pol  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:33:59pm

#140 JM

The world? We already rule the world. The current conspiration is aimed at ruling the Universe.

143 katie  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:34:08pm

Yair-A Cluster of Globs? You sound like my fourteen year old daughter trying to argue with me that Jane Goodall is a Republican! ie.. you are not making any sense.

144 Q  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:36:06pm

Tiburon (#128):

Well, in that case: curious.

My turf is not astrophysics, so I can't authoritatively comment on this (without a good helping of whatever Yair is huffing, anyway -- though I have to admit the pic looked a bit too pretty and glossy to me at the first glance). I was making a general point.

And thanks for "rigourous and rational."

145 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:36:45pm

I know, I don't make sense. I'm just asking a simple question: Why does this galazy lack globular clusters?

146 Brownfinger  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:38:14pm

Maybe it had a vasectomy?

147 AG in Houston  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:38:31pm

I am going to bed.

I cannot handle this globular cluster question any longer.

148 Right wing conspirator  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:39:07pm

#145 - Yair

Did you bother to read the link that I posted for you? Think it was about #60. Or are all the European scientists lying?

149 Q  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:39:38pm

AG (#130):

My point too, actually:

Using one to discredit the other only serves to seperate the final reality --

-- whatever it may turn out to be.

150 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:39:55pm

Q! AG in Houston! Found it!

Gerry Schroeder, Phd astrophysicist

151 Mr Pol  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:39:57pm

#145

From the link Charles posted:

Hubble easily resolves M104's rich system of globular clusters, estimated to be nearly 2,000 in number — 10 times as many as orbit our Milky Way galaxy.

Now will you shut the fuck up?

152 Brownfinger  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:40:03pm

I heard globular clusters are painful and debilitating.

153 Model4  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:40:06pm

#128 Tiburon: I don't think it quite works like that, though I'm far from an authority. For those that buy into the "Let there be light" Big Bang theory, it's not so much an explosion radiating out into space, but an explosion of space itself, which didn't exist before the event.

The problem I have with current astronomy and cosmology is that there is a lot of speculation and estimation that is used to form or support further speculation and estimation. Well, that in itself isn't bad, but it often gets reported as "hard fact." Like in the last year or two where mainstream publications proclaimed we "know" that the universe will continue to expand, only to have "proof" that it won't come out within months. Or when we found a planetary system billions of years of a couple of thousand light years away. But... the story is that however far away something is, is also it's age, which doesn't jibe.

I love the science, the exploration, the sense of wonder. But it seems we really risk yanking the rug of public support out from underneath when there isn't discpline and credible spokesmen for what we've discovered and are discovering.

154 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:40:17pm

Why AG? Why can't you handle it?

155 mickthemick  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:40:54pm

#139 Yair

Why does this galaxy lack globular clusters?

What is a globular cluster? I'm unfamiliar with the term. Who knows how old the light is that was used to create the image. We could be looking at a galaxy in a certain formative age. Besides, aren't there different kind of galaxies?

156 Right wing conspirator  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:42:10pm

#152 brownfinger

Only when your sitting down.

***Ba-dum Ching***

157 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:42:36pm
I heard globular clusters are painful and debilitating.

No, they are enlightening. Very!

158 SoCalJustice  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:43:21pm

Late to the thread, haven't read all the posts.

But has anyone noticed the surprising lack of globular clusters in the photo?

/sarcasm. What a waste of bandwith.

159 storkdoc  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:43:35pm

#128 Tiburon

I am just an beginner in Astronomy, OB/GYN being my thing, but there is no center to the universe, no point where the big bang originated. It's hard to understand but it happened everywhere in the universe at the same time. That's why everything is receeding from everything else...the best analogy I ever read was to imagine that you are sitting in a theater and all the seats suddenly moved one spot away from the seats next to them. Everyone would think that they were in the center of the seat explosion,but you'd notice that the further away from you a seat was the faster it seemed to be moving away from you.

So there is no "center" of the universe, no spot at which the big bang happened, it happened everwhere at once.... believe it or NOT....

160 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:43:45pm

What is a universe without globular clusters?

161 reaganite  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:44:33pm

Well, I have the .jpg. I've had enough of anal globular clusters. And I thought VFI and Gordon were good at fucking up a thread, Yair, you're on par with them.

162 Brownfinger  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:44:42pm

How long does it take to pass a globular cluster or do they have to be surgically removed?

163 RIP Ford  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:44:50pm
Globular clusters are gravitationally bound concentrations of approximately ten thousand to one million stars, spread over a volume of several tens to about 200 light years in diameter.


This galaxy (ME104 ed.) is of type Sa-Sb, with both a big bright core, and as one can see in shorter exposures, also well-defined spiral arms. It also has an unusually pronounced bulge with an extended and richly populated globular cluster system - several hundred can be counted in long exposures from big telescopes.
164 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:45:00pm

Why is everyone so pissed off by me? What did I say?

165 Devon Hill  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:45:14pm

In the Beginning...........

Absolutely awe inspiring photo Charles....Thank you for posting this............. a nice change from all the bad news out there.............


Devon Hill

166 RIP Ford  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:45:55pm

Sorry, here is the site where I got that info.

cheers y'all.

167 Mr Pol  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:46:11pm

#161 reaganite

...only when LGF has a bad Yair day. Which is getting more and more frequent lately.

168 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:46:29pm

#153 - Model 4...yes yes, of course you're correct - but check the link #150...The guy is no flake, he's mainstream scientist...
It was "Science of God" that I read by him...it was very good, very very careful in it's statements, and more so in it's speculation. He walks the reader through the science - - it sort of floored me when he reached the point of the Universe being roughly as old as Torah says - leastways from the theoretical "Beginning"...

169 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:47:10pm

He was first to admit that there were unresolved questions, and he outlined them as well.

170 Brownfinger  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:47:35pm

Wouldn't it be great if this was the worst issue we had to discuss?

171 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:47:38pm

This thread is an insult to the beauty of space,

172 AG in Houston  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:48:40pm

Tiburon

I just ordered the book. Many thanks and much appreciation.

Yair,

I cannot understand why you insist on being a pest. Are you not getting the message that you aren't only getting on the LGF's last nerve, but everyone else's, as well?

It isn't what you talk about, it's just the way you are.

Laila Tov Yair.

Grow up.

173 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:48:45pm

Photoshop.

174 K.  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:48:51pm

#145 Yair

I know, I don't make sense. I'm just asking a simple question: Why does this galazy lack globular clusters?

It doesn't. It's just hard to distinguish them on this picture. Find a picture with higher resolution.

Funny, I know a guy who acts just like you , Yair. He's a post doc at UC Berkeley, a physicist. Smart guy, but impossible to converse with.

175 RIP Ford  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:49:54pm

#170 Brownfinger

Wouldn't it be great if this was the worst issue we had to discuss?

it would do my wonders for my blood pressure.

176 Model4  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:50:25pm

"God's Sombrero" Hmm. Maybe it was "Heyzoos" all along.

177 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:50:27pm

AG, I just say what I think is the truth. Sue me. Ban me. What can I do?

178 iagofest  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:50:59pm

Reading Scientific American does not an astrophysicist make.

179 Mr Pol  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:51:45pm

#172 AG in Houston

Forget it. We tried, he doesn't care. Let the obnoxious prick be banned.

180 RIP Ford  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:52:23pm

Why is everyone so pissed off by me? What did I say?

You, good sir, are acting like an ill mannered parrot.

181 storkdoc  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:52:49pm

#173

Yair--- photoshop

actually

Yair is photostupid

182 K.  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:52:53pm

Yair: Why is everyone so pissed off by me?

Because you're saying it over and over. You could have limited yourself to #173 to get your point across. Now stfu.

183 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:53:25pm

Ok, Charles, Mr. Pol wants me banned. Time to do the deed. Get rid of Mr. Unpopular. Do it.

184 Eric Sivula  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:53:32pm

#177 Yair

Considering you made your point about 25 posts ago, have you considered letting all of us who know squat about astronomy look at the pretty picture in peace?

185 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:54:40pm

#159 storkdoc

yes, I "know" - - it's not a three dimensional origin point - how could it be - space, dimensions, didn't exist before... That's not at all what Schroeder is saying in his book...

Look, in the Holy Zohar, they describe what was happening back to the absolute "Aleph" - the Unknowable - How the Universe emerged cascading down through series of supernal contractions, eventually reaching the matter/energy matrix that...

Oh man, I'm way unqualified to discuss this on a thread...I"d have to sit and compose something, dig out books and references, make it accurate and right - to begin to treat the subject fairly....

My point is, that this physicist guy, Schroeder, and he's not the only one - does the math, does the extrapolations - there's no difference between what he's saying and what Hawkins is saying, only Hawkins doesn't really care about whether the Universe's History has any congruence with the Torah - it's not his interest..

186 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:55:17pm

Jeez. I just thought this photo lacked a large number of globular clusters.

187 Mr Pol  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:55:43pm

#183 Obnoxious prick

Ok, Charles, Mr. Pol wants me banned. Time to do the deed. Get rid of Mr. Unpopular. Do it.

Check #46.

Idiot.

188 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:56:37pm

184 Eric Sivula

It's not about space. It's about the truth.

189 Model4  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:57:18pm

Yair: Charles is really generous with his bandwidth, but I do hope you've hit the tip jar mightily for abusing it so. I've posted my share of antagonism and nonsense, but the intent wasn't to be antagonistic or nonsensical. Even VFI tries to make it look like she's somewhat engaged in the conversation and trying to move it forward. That in this regard you've sunk beneath her, should give you pause. I'm done with you.

190 Jonny  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:57:19pm

#105 Blowback,

doesn't the telescope measure absorption data.

191 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:58:27pm

Well, I made my pont 25 points ago, but nobody seems to get it.

192 Dom  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 4:59:21pm

This f***ing stupid galaxy doesn't even have any trees or animals! I know, I've seen trees and animals throughout my life and the one in that picture doesn't have any!! Have you ever been to a galaxy that didn't have trees? >I have lived in a galaxy since I was born,/i> trust me, it doesn't happen often. Oh, hang on. Suddenly I'm not sure.

193 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:00:03pm

Model4, I am being honest. I think the photo is BS. That is all.

194 fiery celt  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:01:30pm

Only slightly O/T

What is the nature of the universe; What is G-D???

...something to think about

Did God create evil?

At a certain college, there was a professor with a reputation for being tough on Christians. At the first class every semester, he asked if anyone was a Christian and proceeded to degrade and mock their statement of faith.

One semester, he asked the question and a young man raised his hand when asked if anyone was a Christian.


The professor asked, "Did G-d make everything, young man?"


"Yes he did, sir," the young man replied.


The professor responded, "If G-d made everything, then G-d made evil, and if we can only create from within ourselves, then G-d is evil."


The student didn't have a response and the professor was happy to have once again proved the Christian faith to be a myth.


Then another man raised his hand and asked, "May I ask you something, sir?"


"Yes you may," responded the professor.


The young man stood up and said, "Sir, is there such thing as cold?"

"Of course there is, what kind of a question is that? Haven't you ever been cold?"


The young man replied, "Actually, sir, cold does not exist. What we consider to be cold, is really only the absence of heat. Absolute zero is when there is absolutely no heat, but cold does not really exist. We have only created that term to describe how we feel when heat is not there."


The young man continued, "Sir, is there such thing as dark?"


Once again, the professor responded "Of course there is."


And once again, the student replied "Actually, sir, darkness does not exist. Darkness is really only the absence of light. Darkness is only a term man developed to describe what happens when there is no light present."


Finally, the young man asked, "Sir, is there such thing as evil?"


The professor responded, "Of course. We have rapes, and murders and violence everywhere in the world, those things are evil."

The student replied, "Actually, sir, evil does not exist. Evil is simply the absence of G-d. Evil is a term man developed to describe the absence of G-d. G-d
did not create evil. It isn't like truth, or love, which exist as virtues like heat and light. Evil is simply the state where G-d is not present, like cold without heat or darkness without light."


The professor had nothing to say.

195 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:02:39pm

God created globular clusters.

196 Model4  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:02:49pm

#185 Tiburon: It's interesting, for sure. Another take, of course, is picturing how you or I might explain something exceedingly complex to a child. Myself, I still crack up at not being allowed to measure both subatomic position and momentum at the same time. "OK, that's enough reliance on Newton. Put down the microscope and get back to the real world!"

197 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:03:33pm

yair...given you are certainly Jewish, certainly born of a Jewish Mother, certainly of some (often "evilly twisted") intelligence....

Why do you hate Jews, practicing Jews, so much? Why won't you just try getting ready for the Day?

Will it be pork roast, dafka? Do you really think He doesn't know that in your neshama you Love Him? And need Him?

Y'know, people would like you here, if you'd just be yourself - not this clownish characture....(and your sometimes gross abuse of others is also comical, btw - it is, after all, the internet!) However, sometimes you really do hurt others who are trying to be sincere...Do you really want to be someone like that? I've met folks like that - you'll need a lot of practice, my friend.

198 Jonny  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:04:28pm

#139 Yair

Why does this galaxy lack globular clusters?

Shut up idiot.

199 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:05:44pm

#192 Dom - LOL :-)

200 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:06:09pm

Somebody, anybody, answer me: What the hell is a globular cluser?

201 Blowback  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:06:10pm

#152

It's worse than passing a kidney stone...

Trust me, I know!

Oy! The troubles I've seen!

202 Sean  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:06:24pm

Beautiful. I could look at Hubble shots for hours & hours.

Here's a link for the Tinfoil Hat Brigade. Nasa's been in the hoax bidness a lonnnnnnnnggg time!

It's a one stop shop for all you conspiracy buffs!

203 andthenblammo!  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:06:49pm

I think we've seen the thread version of a splodeydope.
And a mighty sad thing to see, indeed.

P.S. Charles: It is a magnificent picture, and I appreciated you showing it. Thanks.

204 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:08:12pm

Tiburon,

Fight the power!

205 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:08:44pm

#194 fiery celt

Hi! :-) Well,.....Very Nice!

206 SoCalJustice  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:08:58pm

All your globular clusters are belong to us!

207 Jonny  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:10:02pm

#155 mickthemick

the galaxy is 28 million light years away, I dont' think 28 million years is very long in terms of galaxy formation.

208 Charles  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:10:26pm

Keep asking me to ban you, Yair. When it happens, don't pretend to be surprised, and don't email me.

209 andthenblammo!  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:10:32pm

You want globular clusters? I got your globular clusters
RIGHT HERE!

210 mickthemick  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:12:56pm

#207 Jonny
Thanks. After I posted I went in and read the article and learned the age. And no, 28 million years is not very long at all in galaxy years.

211 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:13:01pm

I hereby challenge anybody here to define "globular cluster".

212 Jim  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:13:59pm

Nice, Charles! Have you see Hubble galaxy cluster pics, such as this?

Think about it - clusters of galaxies. And there are lots of clusters out there. Head spin time.

213 Blowback  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:14:10pm

#190 Jonny

Don't know for sure, but it would not surprise me if that was the case.

214 Sean  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:14:15pm
Well, I made my pont 25 points ago, but nobody seems to get it.

Everyone gets the premise. We just don't agree with you. Do you think we have to? It appears so.

215 Jonny  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:14:33pm

Yair,

The Lizardoids stole the globular clusters and they're taking them to your mommas house.

216 selpaw theHeadKnocker  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:14:34pm

Hey, no one likes a good fight more than I do but to do so over something as splendid and majestic as this photo of Sombrero Galaxy makes me sad. Looking at this heavenly wonder, contemplating it's presence should make us awestruck and speechless. (ha ha! ; - )

Reminds me of a visit to the Grand Canyon having to knock a few heads together to stop the inane bickering long enough to inhale the beauty of where we were.

Lyla Tov! Pleasant dreams!

*Peace and sweetness to you all in the New Year*

217 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:14:47pm

#204 Yair

ya ya - - harder u resist, the bigger the love, my friend. "Know that I, even I, am He, and there is no G-d with Me, I kill and I make alive, I Destroy and I Create, and there is none that can Deliver out of My Hand"

218 RIP Ford  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:16:04pm

Charles,
Is this really Yair, and not someone like a pissed off Edward? It is just hard to believe that someone that has been around here this long could be so dense.

219 BC  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:16:28pm
The great shofar will be sounded and a still, thin sound will be heard. Angels will hasten, a trembling and terror will seize them - and they will say, 'Behold, it is the Day of Judgment, to muster the heavenly host for judgment!'

- Yom Kippur liturgy

I don't know how this is relevant to the Sombrero Galaxy. Seeing the picture just made me think of those lines for some reason.

Maybe the connection is that, no matter how unimaginably big the universe is, the basic principles of justice still apply, everywhere. Somewhere in one of the globular clusters of the Sombrero Galaxy, someone is seeking justice.

220 grendel  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:16:32pm

Charles...

what do you think about mod'ing the page to allow people to ignore quotes by certain people? A little tag on each message the the user could click to delete the anno-yair-ancing dweebs?

Seems like a pretty simple thing to do via cookies.

221 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:16:38pm

Charles, what did I say wrong? Hmmm?

Ban me and make the masses happy. The truth will come your way someday. If the coward's can't handle it, what can I do?

222 storkdoc  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:18:04pm

definition of globular clusters for mr dimYair....Galactic globular clusters, which are ancient building blocks of our Galaxy, represent a very interesting family of stellar systems in which some fundamental dynamical processes have taken place on time scales shorter than the age of the universe. In contrast with galaxies, these clusters represent unique laboratories for learning about two-body relaxation, mass segregation from equipartition of energy, stellar collisions, stellar mergers, and core collapse. In the present review, we summarize the tremendous developments, as much theoretical as observational, that have taken place during the last two decades, and which have led to a quantum jump in our understanding of these beautiful dynamical systems.

223 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:19:20pm

So, before Charles bans me: what is a globular cluster?

224 Jonny  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:19:35pm

#213 Blowback,

When I was taking relativity my lecturer was getting time on the hubble telescope. All the physicists (who have a project) meet up and the person whose proposal is under discussion has to leave the room, this is basically how you get allocated time on the telescope.

I remember I asked to see some data, and I was quite dissapointed cause I thought I was gonna see some photographs. He told me that photographs were more for popular consumption and that the absorption spectra was what he was interested.

225 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:19:49pm

#196 Model 4

ya, that and the dead/undead cat.... ;-)


To Charles for this (unfortunately a little to raucous) break from the 'news' - a beautiful photo and many good links harvested... - Many Thanks...

(that's it for me, too - lila tov, shaina m'tukah l'kulam)

226 Tasty Beverage  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:20:28pm

#223 yair

a densely populated spheroidal star cluster with the highest concentration of stars near its centre, found in the galactic halo

WILL YOU SHUT the FUCK UP NOW?

227 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:20:52pm

So what do you make of a galaxy that doesn't have GB's?

228 andthenblammo!  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:21:30pm

#218 RIP Ford:

Charles can read the HTML of your soul, so faking your dharma is RIGHT OUT!

Hey, RIP Ford Galaxie! HaHaHaHaHaHa(blam).

229 Sean  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:21:51pm
Globular clusters are gravitationally bound concentrations of approximately ten thousand to one million stars, spread over a volume of several tens to about 200 light years in diameter.

From:http://www.seds.org/messier/glob.html

That's within the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) website.

Do not attempt to engage me in debate. I just want you to get over yourself.

230 Model4  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:22:39pm
unique laboratories for learning about two-body relaxation

Hey! This is a family site!

231 Blowback  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:22:56pm

#211 Yair

Globular Cluster - def. a series of comments, by Yair, in a single thread on LGF, that repeats the same thing, so many times, that they form their own gravitational field, that draws in more posts from Yair, until the whole thread becomes a black-hole, whose gravitational force sucks any meaning out of the original intent of the post by Charles.

I'm a lurker at worst, and an occasional poster at best, but Yair, even to someone like me, who is just here to learn from the awesome FACTS the LGF readers present daily, your observations, comments, and participation have always defied any sensible logic and frankly, I have no idea why you are here.

Healthy discourse and disagreement is one thing, and it's a great way to broaden one's horizons, but you are simply obsessed from what I have been able to tell, with your own superiority complex.

232 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:23:17pm

So why does this photo lack globular clusters?

233 Patrick  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:23:31pm

Galactic globular clusters, which are ancient building blocks of our Galaxy, represent a very interesting family of stellar systems in which some fundamental dynamical processes have taken place on time scales shorter than the age of the universe. In contrast with galaxies, these clusters represent unique laboratories for learning about two-body relaxation, mass segregation from equipartition of energy, stellar collisions, stellar mergers, and core collapse. In the present review, we summarize the tremendous developments, as much theoretical as observational, that have taken place during the last two decades, and which have led to a quantum jump in our understanding of these beautiful dynamical systems.

Globular Clusters

234 Maine's Michael  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:24:21pm

Yair,

I'm late to this thread, but it sounds like you've got a broom stuck up Uranus.

235 Dom  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:24:23pm

Yair, maybe you could represent Adobe Systems. Something to do.

236 Tasty Beverage  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:24:31pm

#227 Yair

So what do you make of a galaxy that doesn't have GB's?

That's not what you asked. You went on and on about how nobody would tell what a fucking globular cluster is. So we answered. That's it.

237 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:24:34pm

OK, Charles. Ban me. I give up.

238 andthenblammo!  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:24:47pm

Forget the globular clusters, who blowed up the owl?

who handed me the pliers to crush the dwarf?

who(injection takes effect)ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

239 BigFire  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:25:18pm

Re: #227

You're sounding like a broken record.

Paragraph 3 of the article:

Hubble easily resolves M104's rich system of globular clusters, estimated to be nearly 2,000 in number — 10 times as many as orbit our Milky Way galaxy. The ages of the clusters are similar to the clusters in the Milky Way, ranging from 10-15 billion years old. Embedded in the bright core of M104 is a smaller disk, which is tilted relative to the large disk. X-ray emission suggests that there is material falling into the compact core, where a 1-billion-solar-mass black hole resides.
240 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:26:02pm

#219 BC

Y'shChoach! VERY Nice! Thanks. :-) It's said the Shofar's sound is the cry of Israel to HaShem...I feel it to be "in unity"....

We shall see, we all. Just a few days now. G'mar Hatima Tova, gum keyn l'kulam....

241 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:26:34pm
Yair, maybe you could represent Adobe Systems. Something to do.

You work for ADOBE? Hell, I already have a job. Good luck, great company, BTW.

242 Dom  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:27:40pm

Is this thread about a new type of chocolate? Is this a collaboration?

243 Blowback  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:28:08pm

#224 Jonny

I'm definitely an "amateur" astronomer.

My interests are more in just being familiar with the night-sky, a little bit about cosmology, and visual astronomy as well as astrophotography.

I have no doubt, that your academic experiences with astronomy are the norm and not the exception.

244 Jonny  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:29:06pm

Yair

I think one of the globular cluster came out my nose the last time I sneezed.

245 NTropy  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:29:40pm

#125   Yair

Because you won't let it drop. People don't want to hear it and you continue. You're not an expert yet you inisist on pretending to be one here. Stay at the Holiday Inn Express did you? I'll be magnanimous and narrow my accusation to this thread.

#151   Mr Pol

Well said sir! Would you mind repeating yourself just once. You know, to balance the 30 or 40 of Yair's about globular clusters

#194   fiery celt

Thank you thank you thank you thank you! I used to have that way back and lost it in an OS upgrade and have been looking for it ever since.

246 RIP Ford  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:29:43pm

#228 andthenblammo!

if the nick were a reference to the Ford Galaxy, I most definitely would not be firing on all cylinders, have a nasty habit of leaving puddles of fluid wherever I sat, infrequently ran and would be belching out smoke from the rear end.....wait, maybe that is an appropriate moniker.

247 Claire  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:30:28pm
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy....
248 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:32:31pm

Why does that photograph show a dearth of globular clusters? Why should I care?

249 angry planet  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:32:54pm

Geez, Yair...

Take the time to download the large version of the picture, and enlarge it in your browser by clicking on it. Find the brightest star in the top half of the photo. Scroll straight up to the halo of the galaxy. There are three globulars clearly visible there. Scroll around the top half of the halo to the left of the screen. There are easily another dozen globulars you could find if you would just shut your damn mouth and do a minutes worth of investigation.

Admittedly, I haven't read the last 166 years of Scientific American, but I did almost major in astrophysics.

This thread is why I have started to loathe the internet even though it pays my bills.

250 andthenblammo!  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:33:21pm

RIP Ford:

F**ked On a Raw Deal.
Fix Or Repair Daily.
Found On Road Dead.

Please do not take this personally.

251 RIP Ford  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:34:49pm

#250 andthenblammo!

Please do not take this personally.

Not. At. All. I don't care for Ford products.

252 Iron Fist  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:35:48pm

#211 Yair,

Wow. Next you are going to ask me to kick you in the balls.

Consider it done :-)

Globular Clusters.


GLOBULAR CLUSTERS are very dense spherical groups of stars. They can contain from 100 thousand to 1 million stars.

I could have done it off the top of my head, but I figured you'd ask for a cite.

I suspect that you are basing your "It's photoshopped" argument on this:


Another interesting particularity of globular clusters is that they are not restricted to the galactic plane.


Based on our rather limited knowledge, when this article was written.

Have you been to the ends of the Universe? Have you even been to another world (other than the soap opera)?

Please.

Our scientists have made a lot of progress. but we're still really just cavemen holding up a torch.

And claiming that we see everything that exists.

Alternate hypothesis: this is an ancient galaxy (28 million light-years from Earth). What we are really seeing is the birth of a galaxy.

Or it's death throes.

Sounds a lot more believable than the NASA-lied conspiracy theory you are parroting here.

253 PatrickM  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:36:36pm

#232 Yair

So why does this photo lack globular clusters?

Because its a high-resolution photo that's been compacted down to thumbnail size! God, did you even follow the link? If you want a high-rez photo that'll show you the damn globular cluster and you have the patience for a 200+ meg download, go to the link and get it!

254 412 Inc.  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:37:25pm

Yair,

You remind me of my kids when they were little: "But whyyyyyyyyyyy?"

Hint - wears real thin real quick.

255 NTropy  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:37:40pm

#231   Blowback

ROFLM(T /ploome)O

256 andthenblammo!  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:40:04pm

Yair:

Get your motor running.

Head out on the highway.

Looking for globular clusters.

Wherever they might be.

steppenwolf off/

257 T. Jefferson  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:40:04pm

Why do Children Misbehave?

Each child is different, but four basic reasons have been defined that explain why children misbehave. Discipline is the process of shaping and teaching a child to understand limits. Here are explanations of the reasons children misbehave with examples of possible discipline choices for parents:

Attention: Children think they 'belong' only when they are noticed or are the center of attention.

Power: Children think that they 'belong' when they are in control or can prove that no on can 'boss them around'.

Revenge: Children think that they 'belong' only by hurting others when they are hurt.

Inadequacy: Children think they 'belong' only when they can convince others not to expect too much from them since they feel 'helpless'.

258 Brownfinger  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:40:04pm

I had nut clusters for breakfast. Raisins and nuts and stuff yum.

259 Michael Demmons  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:40:48pm

That is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen.

Of course, the naming is obviously part of a vast Hispanic conspiracy to control the universe.

260 Bleeding heart conservative  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:41:33pm

Charles this is an uplifting image. Thanks for the break from the depressing and enraging news we see so often.

Check's in the mail.


Yair. You can't say something 100 times and make your proposition more credible thereby. The bulletin board is for the exchange of ideas. You presented your opinion. It is unfair to us to do so over and over. Your intent seems to be to be proven right, to justify yourself, to "win." It won't happen. Accept it. You just don't have the credibility considering the source of the photo.

The effect of such tedium is to alienate us. Repetition is in vain, offends and repels.

Thin about it. If you had presented one conicse post, with a lengthy galactic analysis supported by data and sources, we would have at least gotten the idea, and allowed for some doubt (which seems to be what you're after).
To spout forth with so many posts just proffering identical assertions (which are not evidence), shows that you have no exit strategy for assenters: you've engaged in a tactic of attrition. To what end?

Do you want us to be your friend, or do you want to be a curious amalgam of Mr Spock and Eric Cartman?

261 andthenblammo!  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:42:32pm

Screw you guys, I'm going home!

262 andthenblammo!  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:44:42pm

#258 Brownfinger:

Nut clusters? that explains the screen name, fella.

Please don't take this personally.

263 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:45:45pm

Alright, I obviously am not around people who appreciate the universe. God help you.

264 PatrickM  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:46:34pm

Anyway, this is a very lovely picture, to say the least. Say, has anyone ever wondered that, perhaps somewhere in that galaxy, there's somebody looking at a picture of our Milky Way and wondering "Wow, that's gorgeous! I wonder if anyone lives there?"

I know, kind of strange and semi-incoherent, but it was just on my mind.

265 K.  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:47:32pm

Charles, your patience is amazing.

266 Dom  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:47:46pm

Michael Demmons, lol.

267 Q  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:48:29pm

fc (#194):

The story: cute, but obviously apocryphal.

The bigger question: we have a rational mind. If it was him who endowed us with it, he also obviously chose NOT to provide a shred of evidence in favor of his own existence, a shred that our rational mind can accept.

The so-called "holy" texts are all too clearly -- when accessed with that rational mind of ours -- human concoctions, with all human flaws and follies sticking out like so many sore thumbs/donkey's ears/throbbing uncircumcised phalli etc. Even if they were "divinely inspired", they definitely got corrupted in the process, and therefore the last thing one should do is to take every single letter there as the literal word from above.

As John F. Shade (kudos to those who recognize the name) put it, regarding "God's will" : "I cannot disobey that which I don't know and the existence of which I have every concievable reason to doubt."

Once again, he chose not to give us any real pointers. Therefore, we are entitled to live our lives as our minds, emotions etc.(installed by him?) tell us to.

And regarding evil. The evil commited by men, can be rationalized away. The sheer pain of existence, of disease and decay, cannot. If he is the author of all that pain and pus, fuck him. If not -- then there is nothing but blind chance.

268 someone  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:48:31pm

What a globular clusterfuck.

Why hasn't this dolt been banned?

269 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:50:09pm

Charles, your patience is so amazing!

270 Jolly Roger  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:51:27pm

Yair's smoking crack while posting...again.

271 NTropy  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:51:51pm

#263  Yair

No, Yair, we appreciate the universe just fine. It's your actions here (in particular) that we don't appreciate. The good Lord has helped us - be as patient with you as we have.

BTW why are you practically begging to be banned? To whom will you run seething and whining about the injustice?

272 CC Señor  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:53:16pm

Yair's hung up on globular clusters and I'm still trying to figure out why every time I google "red giants and white dwarfs" I get Mao Tse Tung and Grumpy.

273 NTropy  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:54:44pm

#267   Q

To coin a phrase - nice! Quick to dismiss His existance unless He's the reason things are a mess. How very generous.

274 Brownfinger  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:54:58pm

262 andthenblammo! 10/2/2003 07:44PM PST

#258 Brownfinger:

Nut clusters? that explains the screen name, fella.

Please don't take this personally.


ROTFLMAO Fiber is a good thing, but use 2-ply.

275 Geepers  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:55:06pm

RIP Ford (#218),

Is this really Yair, and not someone like a pissed off Edward? It is just hard to believe that someone that has been around here this long could be so dense.

Yup it's really Yair.

Check this thread where he asks this: "So I reiterate, how does money get to Hamas" over and over and over again.

Well at least he's not insulting everyone this time.

276 andthenblammo!  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:55:10pm

This is like watching World War II newsreel, as the Kamikazi dives in against the Bofors tracer....boomboomboomboomlayboom!Yairrrrrrrrrrrrr rrrrrrrrrrrrrboom!

Okay, I'll go to my room now.

277 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:55:14pm

God this crack is good. Mmmmm.

278 PatrickM  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:55:48pm

#271 NTrophy

To whom will you run seething and whining about the injustice?

Indymedia, most likely...

279 andthenblammo!  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 5:58:55pm

#274 Brownfinger:

2 ply? Buddy, with nut clusters, try Kevlar.

280 Brownfinger  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:02:38pm

I'ts late here, and I'm giggling like a goofball. I better go to bed. Cheers!

281 Q  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:04:07pm

NTropy (#273):

Generous, you say? Well, maybe he simply couldn't do any better -- then he is himself flawed. But in that case, what right does he have to demand absolute obedience and sit in absolute judgement?

282 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:05:10pm

#267 Q

'K....you caught me lurking ;-)

Your challenge, IMHO, (should you choose to accept it! LOL!) is to shift your ontological paradigm, Q.

You have the mirror reversed. He did not Create the Universe to be known! - He already is quite aware of Who He Is. He Created the Universe to Bestow His Good on Another!

Once an individual, you f'r instance, begins to view Creation from this perspective - - The Universe is nothing BUT pointers!

Of COURSE the Universe can be viewed in mirror image, empty of Meaning! How else could FREE CHOICE EXIST!

anyway....we'll take this up, G-d Willing, on another thread, after the HolyDays...(ya, I'm hit&run posting! - gotta be up early - but couldn't resist the second last word ;-))

283 Steve in BDA  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:09:27pm

What the hell? Why hasn't Yair been banned? Has it been making significant contributions to other threads that I've been missing? Please, get rid of it -- it's one of the most obnoxious trolls I've ever seen on here.

284 Bleeding heart conservative  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:12:31pm

Q

The impossible argument. No one can convince you.

Where I see order I deduce an order behind it.

You know the clockmaker's paradox, so I won't repeat it.

285 Paul  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:13:02pm

Galaxies:

Galaxies come in many shapes, sizes, and densities. There are two major types of galaxies: ellipticals and spirals. Ellipticals are massive blobs of older, red stars with very little free dust and gas and very little ongoing star formation. Spirals are disk-like structures with lots of gas, dust, and new-bright-blue stars which populate spiral arms, which are not believed to be stable structures but instead the consequence of density waves that trigger star formation, lighting up the spiral arms with the new-bright-blue stars. Spirals often have a core and an extended halo of old, red stars that are the staple of the ellipticals.

Stars can be by their lonesome, but they tend to be congregated in groups. Star formation in spirals gives rise to galactic or open cluster -- like the Pleiades. These clusters are small, and as they age they tend to disperse. Stars can also be bunched together into massive behives called globular clusters. The Milky Way has globular clusters, but ellipticals have globular clusters in abundance, only they are hard to see in photos of distant galaxies because they are just pin points on most photographs. The globular clusters are made up of old, red stars, and because they are so dense, they tend to hang together gravitationally for long periods of time -- the globulars of the Milky Way are old, perhaps the oldest objects in the Universe while the Magellenic Clouds have much younger globulars.

The globular is a different beast than the galactic cluster, just like the elliptical is different than the spiral galaxy. We can see galactic clusters in the process of formation, but how globulars form, and they are believed to form by a different process, is a mystery. It is believed that while galactic clusters are formed in the density waves that concentrate star-forming dust and gas in the spiral arms of a spiral galaxy as part of an ongoing process, globulars are formed in massive star bursts. It is theorized that globular formation and perhaps the formation of the larger elliptical galaxies is the result of massive collisions between galaxies, where all the dust and gas is used up in massive star bursts leaving quiescent and featureless elliptical galaxies behind.

The Sombrero Galaxy is a platypus of galaxies in that it kind of looks like an elliptical but it has that dust lane that is the sombrero rim. What is amazing about the Hubble picture is that it shows that the dust lane is part of a proper spiral galaxy embedded in a particularly dense halo. So this platypus is not a bird or a reptile but is a proper mammal (spiral galaxy) afterall. Simply amazing image.

286 Tatterdemalian  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:14:01pm

Yair reminds me of the professors at the University of Padua, who were so educated and so intelligent that they wouldn't fall for the trickery played by Galileo's telescope, instead proclaiming that Galileo and his telescope must both be posessed by demons.

ESO web page on the Sombrero Galaxy

287 NTropy  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:14:49pm

#281   Q

The only flaw I see is in your reasoning but hey, that's nothing new for me. You see things your way and I see things mine. We differ. Oh well.

Throbert McGee used to use Occam's Razor to explain why he was an agnostic. To him, the simpler explanation was to believe that life the universe and everything was some colossal accident rather than the creation of God.

It always amuses me, though, to see how comfortable people are in their disbelief til things go sideways. Then of course it's all God's fault.

288 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:14:51pm

#283 steve in BDA

i think it's 'cause it's believed he's building to an 'epiphany' of sorts, and we all wanna watch....

like watching a pretty butterfly emerge from an ugly slimy greasy cocoon....

289 Q  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:15:25pm

Will somebody tell me who is glo..., I mean, John Francis Shade?

290 William  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:16:49pm

Personally, I wrote Yair off a few weeks ago after the comment "We get the New York Times every day, aside from the bias, they get the facts straight."

Looks like his true colors came out in this thread.

Oh, and by the way, from Charles' original link:

"Hubble easily resolves M104's rich system of globular clusters, estimated to be nearly 2,000 in number -- 10 times as many as orbit our Milky Way galaxy."

[Link: hubblesite.org...]


On topic, were it not for America and the rest of the civilized world, no Muslim on Earth would ever know what a Sombrero Galaxy was, or what it actually looked like.

Kudos to civilization.
 

291 Kylaer  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:17:45pm

Yair: Shut up. Your question as to what globular clusters are has been answered, not once but multiple times. Your question as to why they "aren't there" has also been answered multiple times - they are there, but this photo has been shrunk to the point where they can't be seen properly, and you can see them in the giant version.

As for why everyone hates you, it's because a new thread is created, everyone starts ooh'ing and aah'ing over the impressive photo, and along you come in the second ####ing post and start saying "It's a fake, it's a fake," as if NASA itself would release a faked image. You then proceed to ignore everyones' responses and derail the thread for close to 300 posts.

As for you being banned, I'm in favor of it, simply because you're acting like an absolute asshole.

292 andthenblammo!  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:19:33pm

Billions and billions of light-yairs away.......

Carl Sagan off/

293 NTropy  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:21:24pm

Q

Best I could do so far was here.

294 Cybrludite  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:21:30pm

GAZEing's too good for him. Banning's too good for him he should be RIPPED INTO ITSY-BITSY PIECES AND BURIED ALIVE!!!!

/Hannover Fisk

295 NTropy  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:23:52pm

Q

Pale Fire

I've not read it though.

296 andthenblammo!  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:24:41pm

Seriously, I remember an article in the WSJ where the intrepid reporter asked a student in an Iranian sharia school about the Moon landings......the reply, "this is impossible to happen according to Islam".

Good grief, reminds me of the Thermos joke, it keeps hot stuff hot, and cold stuff cold....how do it know?

297 Jonny  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:25:16pm

#258 Brownfinger,

Have you ever had banana nut muslix? Yum, they are full of gobular clusters of yummy toasted granola.

298 Q  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:25:23pm

NTropy:

Kudos to you! (and google).

299 NTropy  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:26:13pm

Q

Last one…

[Link: www.libraries.psu.edu...]

300 Bleeding heart conservative  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:28:40pm

#296 whoa. For real?

301 andthenblammo!  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:28:58pm

#291 Kylaer:

You, sir, summed it all up. Well done.

302 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:30:43pm

Q

'K - I'm intrigued. The "parallels" to certain other works of what you would term 'fiction' are too enticing. "Pale Fire" - Nabokov. So the final line of the cantos is us?

I hear that in the REAL world, there are something like 46 (?) dimensions...we're just aware of 4.

Me? I'm trying to apply the KISS rule. It's a Moral Universe.

303 Brenda  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:40:45pm

Phew, talk about you blogular clusterfuck. Or clogular blusterfuck.

304 andthenblammo!  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:43:06pm

#300 bleeding heart conservative:

Which one, the moon landing or the Thermos?

305 Comrade  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:45:24pm

Globular clusters, LOL!

Is Yair for real? Did Rip Ford #163 with the definition and explanation get missed?

"Globular clusters are gravitationally bound concentrations of approximately ten thousand to one million stars, spread over a volume of several tens to about 200 light years in diameter."

I thought it was a nice thread as well.

306 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:46:42pm

Solipsistic Synchronicity...it's a lovely power ride, power glide...Celestine Prophecy on Acid...and a sweet skate away from any personal responsibility/culpability...

No one, save the truly schizophrenic, can live in this state... But of course, reading RD Laing, maybe that's as it should be?

Did you ever come across the novel - Martin Amis' "Time's Arrow"?

307 Bleeding heart conservative  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:51:34pm

304 either. Was this a college educated Iranian? Or a villager?

308 Q  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 6:56:47pm

Tiburon (#302):

That's a very interesting interpretation, actually. Nabokov viewed himself as an almighty dominus of the worlds and characters he created. Some of them (Kinbote including) do glimpse the truth that they are, in fact, fictional characters, that they are invented.

Nabokov himself was a spiritual, but defintely not religious in a conventional sense, man. The closest he comes to espousing any actual doctrine is Invitation to a Beheading, which is very much influenced by Gnosticism. According to Nabokov, the "otherworld", by its very nature, cannot be known. It can only be intuited, or deduced from occasional clues. And that's pretty much how I see it, too. Autocratic God is too much of an anthropomorphism in this light.

And regarding the 1000th line: Kinbote asserts that it is the same as the 1st one; that the poem is, thus, an ouroboros of sorts. But then again, what does he know?

309 andthenblammo!  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 7:06:33pm

#307 Bleeding Heart Conservative:

It was some poor 12 year oldish kid, and it might have been a madrassah in Pakistan or Iran; I do not subscribe to WSJ online, so I can't provide a link; but I remember the denial of the miracle of July, 1969.

What circle in Hell will suffice for people who knowingly deprive the young of the knowledge that they live in the era of space travel?

310 Amy  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 7:07:39pm

Yair -

SHUT UP!

SHUT UP!

SHUT UP!

SHUT UP!

SHUT UP!

SHUT UP!

SHUT UP!

See, I can repeat myself ad nauseum, too.

Cool pix. It's on my desktop, too.

311 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 7:09:00pm

Q - Ah. The worm turns! :-) I'm sorry though, my friend - I guess your on Pacific Time...I gotta crash this side of the limb. (i keep saying that, of course...)

"Autocratic" was never my take either - what seems real to me is the aspect of Infinite Kindness-and-Mercy - and the aspect i'm trying to fathom - now - of Judgement (it's said every morning, right after hand washing: - Raishit Chochmah Yirat HaShem - "The Beginning of Wisdom is Fear of G-d"...

Love, and Fear. Powerful, very "human" stuff - but then, it's also Written, that we are Created in His Image.

I think this may be more literal than we can possibly imagine, on this side of "the veil"...

anyway - g'nite for real now, Q - I really DO look forward to this again!

312 andthenblammo!  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 7:12:29pm

Jeez, I just looked in the bathroom mirror......ever see the "Man with the XRay Eyes"? Eyes red like a stoplight.

Nighty-Night!

And it was SO a great picture!

313 Tasty Beverage  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 7:12:29pm

Tiburon, Q, NTropy

A lot of fun (and enlightenment, or just pause for thought) can be gained on the topic of "does God exist" by doing some research into the terms "phi" "fibonacci sequence" "golden ratio" "1.618".

There's some good weirdness there.

314 Tiburon  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 7:20:29pm

#313 Tasty Beverage

Do you have Golden Braids?

315 pattycake  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 7:25:55pm

Waiter, there's a Yair in my soup!

Oh wait, it's just a globular cluster..........

316 andthenblammo!  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 7:26:52pm

Mmmmmmmmm, clusters.........

317 geezer  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 7:27:16pm

if everthing is running away from everthing else how the hell can you have a black hole

318 california kid  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 7:28:58pm

Yair, get a life beyond lgf.

319 Frank IBC  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 7:31:33pm
320 andthenblammo!  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 7:33:29pm

#319 Frank IBC:

That'll leave a mark!

321 Frank IBC  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 7:36:12pm

BTW, my Time-Life book "The Universe" has a picture of the Sombrero Galaxy - published 40 years ago. This version of course is much more (naturally) beautiful.

What next, a galaxy composed primarily of green giants, rectangular in shape, and called "The Green Card"? :)

But seriously Charles, thanks for this amazingly beautiful picture, beautiful in spite of the static.

322 Tasty Beverage  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 7:36:28pm

#314 Tiburon

No, I never heard of it. I just added it to my Wish List. I learned about the Fibonacci sequence, and it's appearance in nature, music, architecture, etc. in highschool and was blown away. Kind of creepy, but in a Good way.

323 KC  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 7:46:39pm

I'm kind of new around here, but has anyone else noticed a seemingly strange lack of globular clusters in this picture? I mean look at it. It is as obvious as the nose on your face.

324 GoatWorship  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 7:53:48pm

Yair: Nominee for "biggest douche-bag in the universe" award.

325 zulubaby  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 7:54:53pm

Did he leave yet? Is it safe to come back? Sheesh!

326 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 7:55:48pm

Mmmm. Crack Cocaine. Mmmmm. Globular Clusters. Mmmmm.

327 Tasty Beverage  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 7:56:50pm

#325 zulubaby

I think he passed out. I know he drove me to down a few.

328 Tasty Beverage  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 7:57:27pm

FUCK I was wrong.

BEGONE SATAN

329 zulubaby  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 7:57:52pm

Apparently not.

Yair, it's late for you, no? Beddy-byes.

330 zulubaby  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:00:12pm

Tasty Beverage, LOL! I think I may have to have one myself. I left hours ago and come back to find that almost the entire thread is about Yair! (he's gorging himself on attention here).

331 KC  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:02:47pm

Seriously, Yair has apparently been around here for quite some time as you all seem to know him/her. What's the deal? Is this an act? This all reminds me of the Monty Python sketch where the guy purchases an argument. Sorry for the long quote. If you hate Monty Python (and many do) just skip the rest.

M= Man looking for an argument
R= Receptionist
Q= Abuser
A= Arguer
C= Complainer
H= Head Hitter


M: Ah. I'd like to have an argument, please.
R: Certainly sir. Have you been here before?
M: No, I haven't, this is my first time.
R: I see. Well, do you want to have just one argument, or were you thinking of taking a course?
M: Well, what is the cost?
R: Well, It's one pound for a five minute argument, but only eight pounds for a course of ten.
M: Well, I think it would be best if I perhaps started off with just the one and then see how it goes.
R: Fine. Well, I'll see who's free at the moment.

Pause

R: Mr. DeBakey's free, but he's a little bit conciliatory.
Ahh yes, Try Mr. Barnard; room 12.
M: Thank you.

(Walks down the hall. Opens door.)

Q: WHAT DO YOU WANT?
M: Well, I was told outside that...
Q: Don't give me that, you snotty-faced heap of parrot droppings!
M: What?
Q: Shut your festering gob, you tit! Your type really makes me puke, you vacuous, coffee-nosed, maloderous, pervert!!!
M: Look, I CAME HERE FOR AN ARGUMENT, I'm not going to just stand...!!
Q: OH, oh I'm sorry, but this is abuse.
M: Oh, I see, well, that explains it.
Q: Ah yes, you want room 12A, Just along the corridor.
M: Oh, Thank you very much. Sorry.
Q: Not at all.
M: Thank You. (Under his breath) Stupid git!!

(Walk down the corridor)

M: (Knock)
A: Come in.
M: Ah, Is this the right room for an argument?
A: I told you once.
M: No you haven't.
A: Yes I have.
M: When?
A: Just now.
M: No you didn't.
A: Yes I did.
M: You didn't
A: I did!
M: You didn't!
A: I'm telling you I did!
M: You did not!!
A: Oh, I'm sorry, just one moment. Is this a five minute argument or the full half hour?
M: Oh, just the five minutes.
A: Ah, thank you. Anyway, I did.
M: You most certainly did not.
A: Look, let's get this thing clear; I quite definitely told you.
M: No you did not.
A: Yes I did.
M: No you didn't.
A: Yes I did.
M: No you didn't.
A: Yes I did.
M: No you didn't.
A: Yes I did.
M: You didn't.
A: Did.
M: Oh look, this isn't an argument.
A: Yes it is.
M: No it isn't. It's just contradiction.
A: No it isn't.
M: It is!
A: It is not.
M: Look, you just contradicted me.
A: I did not.
M: Oh you did!!
A: No, no, no.
M: You did just then.
A: Nonsense!
M: Oh, this is futile!
A: No it isn't.
M: I came here for a good argument.
A: No you didn't; no, you came here for an argument.
M: An argument isn't just contradiction.
A: It can be.
M: No it can't. An argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a proposition.
A: No it isn't.
M: Yes it is! It's not just contradiction.
A: Look, if I argue with you, I must take up a contrary position.
M: Yes, but that's not just saying 'No it isn't.'
A: Yes it is!
M: No it isn't!
M: Argument is an intellectual process. Contradiction is just the automatic gainsaying of any statement the other person makes.

(short pause)

A: No it isn't.
M: It is.
A: Not at all.
M: Now look.
A: (Rings bell) Good Morning.
M: What?
A: That's it. Good morning.
M: I was just getting interested.
A: Sorry, the five minutes is up.
M: That was never five minutes!
A: I'm afraid it was.
M: It wasn't.

Pause

A: I'm sorry, but I'm not allowed to argue anymore.
M: What?!
A: If you want me to go on arguing, you'll have to pay for another five minutes.
M: Yes, but that was never five minutes, just now. Oh come on!
A: (Hums)
M: Look, this is ridiculous.
A: I'm sorry, but I'm not allowed to argue unless you've paid!
M: Oh, all right. (pays money)
A: Thank you.

short pause

M: Well?
A: Well what?
M: That wasn't really five minutes, just now.
A: I told you, I'm not allowed to argue unless you've paid.
M: I just paid!
A: No you didn't.
M: I DID!
A: No you didn't.
M: Look, I don't want to argue about that.
A: Well, you didn't pay.
M: Aha. If I didn't pay, why are you arguing? I Got you!
A: No you haven't.
M: Yes I have. If you're arguing, I must have paid.
A: Not necessarily. I could be arguing in my spare time.
M: Oh I've had enough of this.
A: No you haven't.
M: Oh Shut up.

332 fiery celt  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:03:18pm

Q,

Look around...Everything , everywhere...Now look again,....This was no accident. We are no random acts of nature. There is love, light and a grand design to everything. We are only a small part of the design in all of time and space, but we are a part of the divine design none the less. How would a pixel know the picture?....

The fact that there is existence is proof of His existence.

We have rational minds to help us discern the outer universe, but we have our soul to help us navigate and understand the inner universe.

There is obviously a challenge for power in the external universe. Chaos versus Order, Creation vs. Entropy, Darkness and cold vs. Light and warmth...

The inner universe, the soul, another battle is being waged. Hatred vs. Love, Compassion vs. Indifference, In essence the battle is Good vs. Evil.

Just as we have rational minds, to cope with this current manifestation of physical reality, we also have divine inspiration to assist spiritual journey. Empathy, love, and faith guide all our souls....Also an inner sense of right and wrong...The divine guidance....., our conscience.

We have free will to choose.....We have been given the tools...We must find the answer within and with out ourselves.

But have no doubt, we are all a part of divine creation...We are part of a grand plan...We are made to recognize the divineness of creation and life, and to assist in it's perpetuation...Or we can turn our backs on the plan, and choose to perpetuate hatred, disease and decay...

A Universe without G-D, is dark and cold and without form.

Without the divine light, there is death, decay, chaos, and a vacuum of decay and despair which manifests itself both spiritually and physically.

Presently, we are all apart of and epic battle between the forces of Good and Evil...The manifestations of evil.... hatred, rage, and destruction are gaining ascendancy.

It is fast becoming time to choose...

This one can accept on faith....

333 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:04:29pm

And people accuse ME of wasting bandwidth?

334 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:05:49pm

#328 Tasty Beverage

No, no! You have to do a little dance, make a little love!

335 KC  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:10:10pm

Yair: You have hijacked this thread and rendered it in its entirety as a waste of bandwidth. That you don't seem to get that shows you to be an idiot, a prick, or both.

336 Yair  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:11:36pm

Why does this galaxy show a distinct lack of globular clusters?

Damn hijacker!

337 El Rayra  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:13:21pm

p>

#259 Michael Demmons 10/2/2003 07:40PM PST
Of course, the naming is obviously part of a vast Hispanic conspiracy to control the universe.


We prefer the term 'MECHa-verse'.


#294 Cybrludite 10/2/2003 08:21PM PST
GAZEing's too good for him. Banning's too good for him he should be RIPPED INTO ITSY-BITSY PIECES AND BURIED ALIVE!!!!
/Hannover Fisk


LOL. "Sterrrrn!"
Chock full'o Inside Jokes. Nuts? Globular Clusters?

Yair banned yet?

338 K.  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:14:06pm

#323 KC

Why yes, the exiguousness of globular clusters is quite troubling.

339 KC  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:14:46pm

Yair: Why won't you respond to the dozens of posts that tried to engage your seemingly inane question with a factual response . . . e.g. those that provided numerous links that explained that it does, in fact, have globular clusters. Instead, because you don't recognize them in this photo, you insist that they don't exist.

Respond to those posts. Then I'll respond to you.

340 KC  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:16:37pm

K. #338

Phew. For a minute there I thought is was just me.

341 Charles  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:20:00pm

Yair is banned.

342 American Infidel[deleted]  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:20:36pm
343 zulubaby  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:22:01pm

Thank you G-d. Or is that you, Charles? ;-)

344 Wave  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:25:25pm

Thanks Charles. You were patient enough. Great photo- it's a keeper.

345 KC  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:27:08pm

Perhaps a more appropriate Monty Python quote. Certainly a shorter one.

[After slicing one of the Black Knights arms off]
King Arthur: There I've won.
Black Knight: 'Tis but a scratch.
King Arthur: What are you talking about, your arm's off.
Black Knight: No it isn't.
King Arthur: What do you call that then?
Black night: (Pauses) I've had worse!
King Arthur: You liar!
Black Knight: Come on ya pansy!


Black Knight: Have at you!
King Arthur: You are indeed brave, sir knight, but the fight is mine.
Black Knight: Oh, had enough eh?
King Arthur: Look, you stupid ba****. You've got no arms left!
Black Knight: Yes I have.
King Arthur: Look!
Black Knight: Just a flesh wound!


The Black Knight continues to threaten Arthur despite getting both his arms cut off
King Arthur: What are you gonna do, bleed on me?

Black Knight: I am invincible!
King Arthur: You're a loony

346 Q  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:27:46pm

fc (#332):

Death and decay are the phenomena of nature. And according to all theolatries, it is him who's pulling the strings. The conclusion is obvious.

347 K.  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:27:50pm

And that's the end of that chapter

/Homer Simpson

348 Tasty Beverage  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:35:06pm

Shit I missed all the fun while playing on the other threads. I missed Charles smashing down the righteous fist of justice on Yair.

HAIL MING!!!!

349 zulubaby  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:35:31pm

How do I save this image as my desktop picture?

350 Q  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:37:52pm

zulubabe:

Right click - select "save as desktop item".

351 Q  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:38:34pm

I mean, "set as background".

352 Steve in BDA  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:40:12pm

OK, I nominate "globular cluster" for the LGF hall of phrases. I guess it would have to mean a troll who endlessly repeats himself without either expanding on his initial post, or responding to anything that anyone else posts in reply. Any other ideas?

353 zulubaby  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:42:21pm

Q, that didn't work for me :-(

354 KC  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:43:41pm

My nomination is that the phrase "globular cluster" be employed against a troll who stubbornly refuses to accept or even acknowledge the facts presented to refute their position.

355 BH  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:44:31pm

"Yee-hah! Great shot, kid! That was one in a million!"

356 kc  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:44:55pm

z-babe

Mac? Windows? versions?

357 Q  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:46:59pm

zulubaby:

You can try saving the image on your HD (by right-clicking), then going to start--settings---control panel--display--backround, and select the saved image as the backround.

358 zulubaby  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:54:25pm

Windows 2000. It didn't work. I don't know what I did wrong. I'm going to try again.

359 zulubaby  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:55:38pm

Okay, it worked this time, thanks! :-)

360 fiery celt  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:56:12pm

Death and decay as a part of the cycle of life and regeneration , is a part of nature.

But wanton death and destruction is not...
Death and destruction based on hatred, bigotry, and indifference is a choice.

The decay if morals and values are not...
The decay of the soul is not...
The decay of society is not...
The decay of civilization is not...

Death, decay and destruction that originates with us, as a result of our choices, is not from G-D, but from our choosing to turn away from G-D.

361 blogaddict  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:56:36pm

The poster (now banned) named Yair,
Repetitively asked, with a sneer,
And obnoxious bluster,
"Why no globular cluster?"
Becoming a pain in the rear.

362 blogaddict  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 8:59:53pm

#352 Steve in BDA and #354 KC:

Great minds think alike.

It's weird how often that happens--two people who don't even know each other having the same thought simultaneously. Does this have something to do with Schrodinger's cat?

363 Q  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 9:10:21pm

fc (#360):

It's logically impossible to "turn away" from an entity which doesn't manifest its existence in any conclusive way.

364 Tasty Beverage  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 9:11:40pm

#361 bogaddict

GROAN *burp*

I liked it. Actually I'm going to miss Yair, when he wasn't wired on coke he sometimes brought up good points.

*sob*

our ranks have thinned.

365 fiery celt  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 9:23:47pm

Again I reiterate, that fact that we have existence, and are aware of existence is proof of His existence.

This existence is no random set of events...
Our existence is no mere accidental chance aggregation of molecules.

The divine design is in us, all around us, and a part of everything.
We are made in His image...We are a part of everything.

Again, it's a question of faith...

366 meg  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 10:10:33pm

Having had class all day, I've only just now caught up with all the posts. I'm sad to see Yair banned, in that he's made some good arguments on other posts, but damn he was annoying. He seriously had to be on something; I can't think of why he'd be so consistently annoying and taking up space despite well over a dozen attempts to answer his question/debate his position.

367 Egrow  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 10:21:15pm

Charles,

A very inspiring post, I now, see that you see what is at stake and what can be lost to such an thing. Pure evil is any idealogy which puts mans existance second to our own true needs and purpose.

If we follow Islam or any other subserviant idealogy then humanity will be lost in the one fell swoop. If we follow our natural course then we will survive. We have only begun to scratch the surface of the human potential. Help humanity survive that which is an eventuality. The aging and destruction of our sun and earth. Believe in yourself and the worth of men at all costs. Then we will, one day, visit such places. This is not a matter of self sacrifice just a matter of pure honesty of what and who we are by nature. Faith in ourselves and not as slaves.

We are unique, there are no other creatures here like us. This is our world and we are alive. We must continue to survive with all of our ability and intellect just as such as any other life form must survive to the best of it's ability. We are unique in that we are actualy a danger to ourselves if we loose faith and understanding in what men are capable off. If there is god this is what he would want us to do to make make his creation and effort worth while. God would not want us cower to him or dought our mastery of material and worthyness but to exceed it and fly away as a mother is proud of a baby birds first flight. We must master ourselves and all material and knowledge.

After we survive this evil, we shall never again dought our place in the universe. ever. Countries, borders, and politics and betrayal of your own true self will have no place in our far future. We must not let this thing which makes religions like Islam possible to exist dominate our logic and natural abilities. Never put your true self second and yourself second to anyone or anything. There can never be a we without I and would only result in just them and our destruction.

Two towers. Two worlds. One world believes such towers are worthy of men and errect them. The other worlds judges men worthless and wreck them. Which world do you live in?

Ayn Rand.. She's pretty close to right

368 papertiger  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 10:34:47pm

Yair - I count 34 Globular clusters in this photo.
The star at 12 o'clock directly above the nucleus has a string of seven Globular clusters directly below it in a fairly straight line parallel to the disk. Your thinking of our Galaxy's globulars and are expecting the Sombrero's clusters to be resolvable into individual stars.
M 104 is at a distance of 40 million light years. Too far for that.
William Herchel was the first to discover the dark band traversing the equator. He discribed it "A faint diffused oval light all about it; almost positive that there is a dark interval or stratum separating the nucleus and the general mass of the nebula from the light above it..." [remember that Herchel observed with a reflecting telescope so his view was inversed to this picture]
The Sombrero was instrumental in the discovery by Edwin Hubble of the "red shift" and the mystery of the expanding universe. The radial velocity ie; speed toward or away from us, of the Sombrero was measured as 700miles per second away from us or red shifted. This enormous velocity, which exceeded anything known in 1912, when it was measured, made it unlikely that this "nebula" was a local gas cloud in the Milky Way system, and offered strong support for the "Island Universe" theory. In 1923 Hubbel found cephid variable stars in the Andromeda Galaxy and settled once and for all that the Sombrero and it's like were external galaxies.(Cephid Variables are stars that pulsate in a regular pattern in respect to their brightness)

I's sure if you look at the picture again and just look for very faint knots of brightness amoung the Halo you will be able to count more then 34 globulars. Give it a try.

369 Shira  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 10:38:29pm

Wow. "How manifold are Your works, O God. ..."

370 Egfrow  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 11:13:00pm

#368 papertiger

Yair? Yair Who? ........[sound of crickets]

371 Egfrow  Thu, Oct 2, 2003 11:24:45pm

Yair,

I know you can't post right now but your mind has now offcially been warped into the same type of mind that allows Islam to spread so quickly. If you don't know what I'm talking about then you will be sorrily missed.

You should really be apologizing to everyone here who has patiently read through this thread and suffered from your angst and self-rightious moment of ignorance.

You should not be asking us whether we believe or disbelieve your theory. What you really should be doing is asking the NASA engineers to explain this for you. You attacked this thread hijacked it original intent because of your own personal dought. You should have consulted with Nasa before you called us all idiots and infidels. I have written NASA several times with questions such as yours. And Guess What? They actually reply back to you! with answers. Give it a try. You might save us from your next dought spasm attack if you are ever let back in.

372 Egfrow  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 12:19:24am

Ingroe my tpyos in proveius psot.

373 Tiburon  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 1:18:21am

#363 Q

Good Morning!

I think it's also "spiritually" impossible, to "turn away", Q. That is, its' only an illusion that we can do so, and illusion that He Allows to reinforce our perception of Free Choice...
After all, (and here we may return to logic), He is All, as you've admitted is the predicant of Monotheistic 'religious' belief, and therefore he is also us, or rather 'we are Him' - whether we are running from Him, fighting against His Law, or submitting to His Kingship....
Which leads us pretty directly to the Question of Reward and Punishment (be it integral with the Universe's structure, or malleable from without (by Him), or both. Do I intuit wrongly in saying this is the "sticking point" for you? It does seem so unfair at times, ...that we can't just 'get our way' in the world, without effort, compromise, accomodation, - ultimately, respect for "the Other"....(and of course galling (gauling? :-)) that quite nasty people oft seem to profit 'unpunished')
I find that when I examine the particulars of any 'particular' case, though - that the focus resolves, and a pattern emerges wherein evidence of 'balance', retribution and the like, appears. Unfortunately, usually in 20-20 hindsight, as my brain can't remotely get around the full gamut of 'situations' we meet in the every day.
I find it helps then, if I just submit to faith, and try to build towards a sincere trust in His Purpose. ("to bestow His Good to Another")

374 john  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 1:25:36am
OK, Charles. Ban me. I give up.

Yair is an absolute tit.

Please Charles, I don't often call on your powers, nor even post that much.

Please.

Ban this globular fool.

375 MakeMyDay  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 1:29:15am

Lovely photo. Yair seems to have another fit of Jekyll and Hyde disorder. Perhaps the ban on him could be lifted after a while? He might reform yet.

376 lmg  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 2:10:44am

Hey folks, I've been into astronomy since I was tall enough to look out a window at the night sky. This is definitely M104.

This is a reasonably good representation of what you would see if you were there on the spot, though it would not appear so bright.

The glow you see is not gas, it is stars - the glow of billions of unresolved stars.

Yair: The reason this picture appears to lack globular clusters is that it is a short exposure, taken to show the dust disk and the inner regions of the galaxy. In much longer exposures, the large central glow would be burned in solid white, and you would see the globulars buzzing around the periphery like bees around a hive. I've seen older pictures like that, but I don't have a handy link for you.

It's a trade-off; longer exposures reveal different features, but obscure other features. One picture can't show you everything because the range of brightness is too great. As others have pointed out, some globulars can be seen in this picture, but you really need a longer exposure to bring them out.

In all honesty, it was a legitimate question.

Incidentally, this is the same reason you cannot see stars in pictures of the astronauts walking on the moon. Those pictures were short, daytime exposures - the moon is basically a rock lit by the daytime sun - maybe 1/250 or 1/500 second. Go out at night with a camera and snap a 1/250 second photo and see for yourself - no stars. You need to expose for several seconds at least to record stars, but if you do that under daylight conditions, your picture will be totally overexposed. The range of brightness is just too great to record in one picture.

377 AG in Houston  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 3:11:55am

Good Morning!

378 Eric  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 3:16:39am

How often do we meet someone like Yair? This is the kind of person who could get hit on by a supermodel and still find something to bitch about. You should be severely beaten until you acknowledge how truly beautiful this is.

379 Tiburon  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 4:09:15am

#308 Q
I am very dissatisfied with my comment last night in post #282 that HaShem “knows” Who He is, therefore implying He is ‘indifferent’ to our recognition. While this post must needs be a little long – well, the Universe is Long! (and Wide, and Deep ;-)), and I feel compelled towards accuracy and clarity.
And apologies to readers who are disinterested in Questions about the Divine, and the Created Universe (which is hardly OT though, you must admit!) Just skip over…. ;-)
This is abridged commentary on the Shemona Esrei (18 Blessings – Core of the prayer service) by Rav Ezra Bick of the Yeshivat Har Etzion in Israel – discussing the 1st Blessing – “Shield of Abraham”

1. "Who repays great acts of kindness, and has made everything..."

The Hebrew word translated here as "repays" is "gomel." In many contexts, this word means to give back, to pay, or to return. If that is the meaning here, then the "great acts of kindness" are not the acts of God, but actions to which He is responding. These would have to be the acts of the avot. {The Fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel))
The problem with this interpretation is that this is the meaning of another, later phrase in this berakha - "and remembers the kindness of the avot." What is more, it is out of place here, sandwiched between "Kel Elyon" (The Supreme Being – To Whom ALL Humanity have a relationship}, and "creator of all," which, as we have seen, are one continuous expression in the speech of Malki-Tzedek and Abraham.

[[Prayer is first and foremost an expression of our being human, created in the image of God. The first step in prayer is not that of a Jew, rooted in Torah, in commandment and obligation, but that of Malki-Tzedek, the image of the righteous human. The Sages state that Malki-Tzedek was Shem the son of Noah. He represents the righteous gentile. He taught Abraham to appeal to "Kel Elyon," God the most high. If, as I explained in the previous shiur, you are defined by the God to whom you turn, then by turning first of all to Kel Elyon, we define ourselves as human, even before we define ourselves as Jews. In other words, to put it simply, if you cannot pray as a man, you cannot pray as a Jew.]]{Genesis 14, 18-23}

The usual explanation of this phrase is that "gomel" means to pay out, to provide, but not necessarily in response to a previous action. The acts of kindness are the acts of God. God "performs great acts of kindness." In fact, in context, these acts are acts of kindness, "chesed," precisely because they are NOT in response to anything, as the actions in question are the acts of creation - hence the complete phrase "performs great acts of kindness and creates all." In other words, we are turning to God, who is creator and owner of all - which, as I have repeatedly stressed is the essential element in the service of God, the realization that He is the source and owner of everything for me - and stressing that the creation of the world is itself an act of enormous chesed, kindness, on the part of God.
What does this mean? The Sages cite the verse, "the world is built with chesed (Psalms 89,3)" in this context, taking it to mean that the world was created out of pure chesed. Why? Simply, other actions of God are engendered by some previous state of affairs. God acts because He has promised (for instance, the promises made to the avot), or because the principle of Justice requires Him to do so. But the creation of the world itself was in response to nothing, since nothing existed. This was pure GIVING on the part of God, pure chesed, granting to the world an existence to which it could have no claim whatsoever.
By adding this phrase to "Kel Elyon, creator of Heaven and earth," the Sages have effected a subtle change in the original meaning, one which is especially appropriate to tefila. {prayer) When Malki-Tzedek blessed Kel Elyon, he was expressing thanks to God, He who owns everything and is above all, for His abundant goodness in giving victory to Abraham. Gratitude is of course an essential emotion for a servant of God, but it is not the essence of the service of God, as we have seen. Specifically, in the Shemona Esrei, gratitude will appear at the END, in the 17th berakha. Malki-Tzedek is saying: God owns everything, it is all His. In the Shemona Esrei, by adding the explanation that He is performing an act of chesed, we are saying that the world which is all His is itself the greatest testimony to His kindness, His giving. We have no claim, no rights, to demand this chesed, but we have a basis for our requests, since His ownership of everything is at the same time a proof that He is infinitely generous. God's entire relationship with the world is based on the fact that He gives and we receive, and not the other way around.

2. "...and remembers the kindness of the fathers, and brings a redeemer to the children of their children, for the sake of His name, with love."
Our relationship with the avot {The Fathers} is not only one of followers, or imitators. The avot have not only taught us how to pray, but they have also opened for us, as Jews, a door of chesed, because God remembers the chesed of the fathers when he relates to the children. What is the chesed of the avot? I explained that chesed is what is done not out of obligation, to pay a debt, but freely, an act of giving. The avot performed an act of chesed for God, by proclaiming His name in a world that knew Him not. In a striking metaphor, the Sages say about Abraham that "he mended the tear" (Bereishit Raba 39,3). He restored, or at least began the restoration, of the world to God. Hence, God will bring a redeemer for the children, because His name in this world is now inextricably woven into the fabric of Jewish existence. One of the great principles of Jewish thought is hinted at here - God's presence in the world is part and parcel of the existence of Israel. The Jewish people ARE God's presence in the world.

3. "...with love."

I would like to conclude with an explanation of this word that I heard, in a different context, from my master the Rav zt"l, Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik. In the Shemona Esrei of Rosh HaShana, we state, "and also Noah You remembered with love." The Rav explained that God saved Noah from the flood for two reasons. Firstly, this was necessary for humanity - someone had to be saved to continue the human race. This was a cosmic-historical reason. But secondly, God saved Noah because of His love for Noah the individual. This is a personal reason. That is the meaning of "with love" - God saved Noah not only to further the Divine plan, as part of a cosmic design, as a continuation of human history, but with love, out of personal concern for one man and his relationship with God.
I think that that is the explanation here as well. God remembers the chesed of the avot for the children as I explained, for His name is upon us and we continue the kindness of the avot. This is a cosmic, historical factor. But at the same time, this "memory" of God is the basis for His love, an individual personal relationship, with the children's children, with no matter how many generations, just as He had a personal relationship with the avot before there was a Jewish people. We are part of the collective who have a special relationship with God, who are sure of redemption, but this relationship is one of "love," one that engulfs each "child's child" with the personal concern and individual care of God for that singular individual. In the end, our God - my God - is the shield of Abraham, God who "helps, saves, and protects."

380 axiom  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 4:50:08am

That's just an amazing photo. I wonder if they have their own Islamist problem in the Sombrero Galaxy. :)

381 SoCalJustice  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 4:50:30am

Morning AG in H-Town.

It's a beautiful fall day up here in the nation's capital. The sun is shining, the air is crisp, and not a single globular cluster clogging up the beltway.

382 Frank IBC  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 4:52:10am

Someone (I think it was on LGF) once told me about a little old lady whose sole form of human contact was to walk out into the street, wherever and whenever, just to hear the sound of screeching tires and drivers screaming at her.

Her luck ran out eventually, of course.

Some people, not able to have good interactions with other people, would rather have bad interactions than none at all. It's a losing proposition, of course.

383 Dom  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 4:53:13am

Tiburon, Sh'Koach. Your beautiful message to Yair implying he's using his cosmos cod-science as an allegory for his blockading the heavens just before Yom Kippur, hit me late.

384 Jim in Virginia  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 4:57:33am

So Cal Justice- the sun is shining, the air is crisp, the power is on and the Wilson Bridge is open. What more can you ask?
(well, besides an end to lll lunacy)

385 Austin  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 5:03:43am

Shame...shame on you all !!


You created this disaster...learn from your mistakes...

I come into work this morning and see this beautiful picture.....see how many posts and I am excited to read ...

Then I see you allowed Yair to destroy this thread....

I beseech you, before this happens again, please look in the mirror. Say your daily affirmation..

"Lord, grant me the serenity to ignore the trolls,
the courage to debate with honest opponents,
and the wisdom to know the difference."

While ,he who will not be mentioned, was the match... we as a group provided the kindling....

So please remember what Smokey the Bear say's

"Please remember to put out your Troll Fires" and GAZE

Austin

386 SoCalJustice  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 5:08:55am

(#384) Jim in Virginia:

What more can you ask?

Some locals would say a Redskins victory over the Eagles on Sunday.

Spurrier's only 1-6 vs. division opponents since taking over. With McNabb in the center of a media storm, it looks to be even more of an intriguing matchup than usual.

387 Frank IBC  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 5:14:39am

Following up on Austin's post:

Don't let other people push YOUR buttons.

Don't let other people make YOU angry.

Anger is contagious.

388 Frank IBC  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 5:16:43am

Get hit on by a supermodel and still find something to bitch about.

I might bitch about the fact that she doesn't have a p***s...but that's just me.

:)

389 Andjam  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 5:17:21am

It looks like there was recently an explosion in the middle, sort of like what was thought to start off the solar system.

I bet the mullahs in Iran are wondering where they can get a device that would be able to create that kind of explosion ...

390 Paganinfidel  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 6:45:38am

Applauding the Yair ban. (I'm remembering my first posting here and him calling me a troll) Thank you Charles, I bow down before your greatness..

391 lurker  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 7:04:51am

#378
She'd better have some globular clusters, that's all I got to say.

392 ric  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 7:13:17am

#331 KC

All that pain with y**r resulted in someone delivering me, entire, that lovely Monty Python Routine that I'd been searching for for ages....

it wasn't a waste after all!

Thank You, KC!

Great exchange, Q & Tiburon, et al. I wish there was a single, wonderful argument to settle this question, but then we'd not be free to willingly turn to Him Who Loved Us... We'd have no choice: be raped instead of wooed...

The basic question, as I see it, is "How big is your God?" If He has something important to tell us, don't you think he can preserve that information if He wants to? If he's God, and not "a" god, that's a given.

In the Gospel of John, "God was "logos" and became flesh." (1:14) This is interesting. God brought His Information into our world, because, by definition, He is outside of it, and unknowable by us. I see the Bible as a self-correcting mechanism, or a hologram, if you will. Despite scratches on the surface of the medium (and I think the reports of these "contradictions" are overblown, Q) The information embedded within can still be readable. Even if it is broken, and you only have a piece, you can still get an image out of a holographic plate; it may be blurry, but you can see the shape... (this is only an analogy...your mileage may vary)

Contrast the Bible with any other religious tome, and factor in the effort that has been made to discredit and stamp it out, and you have a truly unique Book. Some of the inconsistencies" just might be the result of trying to describe something in human terms that is supra human. (e.g. particles & waves...)

(You know, if you zoom really close in on that dust band, in the lower left corner, you can see "Made by Y*W*H, 6004 BC" - but you have to invert the image, because it's written in Hebrew ;)

And thank you Charles! from a long-time lurker

393 Smit  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 7:16:17am

#392 ric

(You know, if you zoom really close in on that dust band, in the lower left corner, you can see "Made by Y*W*H, 6004 BC" - but you have to invert the image, because it's written in Hebrew ;)

LOL!

[although I thought it was 4000 & some BC]

:)

394 ric  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 7:24:27am

#393 Smit

sorry, my bad. ;)

Some people ask how could God have made the world in only 6 days? ... I ask, "what took Him so long?"

395 Smit  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 7:32:25am

# ric I always wonder how the 'He made it in 6, 24 hour days' creationists resolve the fact that God didn't make the Sun & Moon until 'day' three.

verses 14 - 19

Anyhoo, will the 'God's Sombrero, Yair's Tombstone' thread make 400?

396 ric  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 7:39:40am

#395 Smit

I'll do my part... I have this image of Danny Devito saying "I gotcher globula clusters right heere!

Genesis says "He made it", not "these are the engineering flow charts of how he made it"

The old saw that says "Palestinian terrorists in a watch factory will never create a rolex" is valid...

397 T. Jefferson  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 8:00:55am

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
3 There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
Psalm 19

398 ric  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 8:02:03am

...that is to say, just adding energy to a system will not bring order. The highly complex processes and systems that our conciousness depends on implies intelligent design.

...and, blaming it on ancient astronauts, or a cycling universe just postpones the inevitable...
my $.02

399 ric  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 8:12:25am

Amen, #397 T. J.

The Bible claims authority for itself, and doesn't argue the point of God's existence. Indeed:
see here. Nothing personal, and this does not imply that Christians judge themselves particularly wise. Indeed...

400 ric  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 8:14:09am

...hey, this is fun! (Shutting up now.)

401 Smit  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 8:14:20am

ric

Genesis says "He made it", not "these are the engineering flow charts of how he made it"

So true, just depends on how literally you read it.

Psalm 19 is great. My favourite is Psalm 103 - It's off topic, I just think it's beautiful.

Psalm 103

402 ric  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 8:26:04am

apropos of: #87 Model4:

I'd love it so if after "all this" we get to tour at will.


I'm looking forward to the Grand Tour. Here's my itinerary See it before it "waxes old like a garment"!

403 hobgoblin  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 8:31:26am

I posted first, and I'm sure this won't be the last, but at least it wasn't me to derail this bloody thread.

And Frank, as an Asperger's case myself (very mild and it actually helps with my job) allow me to take massive umbrage at being compared to RIAY the clusterfuck.

404 Astrogal  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 8:33:46am

Sheesh--I can't believe I'm even getting involved here.

I AM an astrophysicist and I worked at the Space Telescope Science Institute for three years. I am quite familiar with how the these public release pictures are created. That having been said, let me make a few points:

Globular clusters are very dense agglomerations of stars. When viewed from a distance of 28 million lightyears (distance to the Sombrero) they will look like points, with perhaps a slight fuzziness to differentiate them from foreground stars. The Hubble press relase states that this image covers 82,000 lightyears across the galaxy. The typical globular cluster has a diameter of 200 lightyears, so a single globular cluster on this image will be 1/400th of the image size.

I downloaded the full image (and that takes a while!) and I have no trouble picking out globular clusters. The press release Q&A states, in fact:

"The Hubble telescope also shows that the glowing central bulge of stars harbors nearly 2,000 globular clusters of stars, 10 times as many as orbit our Milky Way galaxy."

I write this not to convince Yair (what's the point?), but to clear up any confusion her comments may have left.

This image was taken with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS); the pics that have come down since this instrument was installed have been unprecedented, amazing. Anyone with the bandwidth and the curiosity should download the full picture here (or try the Tadpole Galaxy) and see the astonishing resolution on background galaxies caught in the images, or the stars shining through the dust lanes in the Sombrero disk:

[Link: hubblesite.org...]

405 T. Jefferson  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 8:38:21am

ric:

You know, if you zoom really close in on that dust band, in the lower left corner, you can see "Made by Y*W*H, 6004 BC" - but you have to invert the image, because it's written in Hebrew


LOL. Pretty good. Here is the gospel according to TJ:


1. God is intelligent.
2. God chose faith as the only way to know him.
3. The bible is a book of principles.
4. Whatever principle you find clearly taught in several places in the bible is true.
5. Many times people are unwilling to see God because they know there are things in their lives which are displeasing to God.
6. The real question – is a person willing to be honest with himself?

406 Jonny  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 8:52:09am

Ok Guys! Its time to own up. Who has the globular clusters?

407 Gaze From America, AKA Frank IBC  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 9:00:31am

Hobgoblin -

Re my #319, uh, I wasn't uh, aiming that remark at anyone in particular, I was...just, uh, providing that website as a public service. Yeah, that's it... :)

-The globular clusters are buried in a secret site near Diwaniyah, next to the Iraqi calutrons. :)

408 hobgoblin  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 9:03:19am

Frank

LOL

Re: your comment about the supermodel, Is this better?

[Link: www.sfgate.com...]

409 Dom  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 9:09:48am

#406 Me for one, usually only on Friday nights and when I've been drinking.

410 zulubaby  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 9:15:13am

hobgoblin (#403)

I knew you were quirky! ;-)

411 Frank IBC  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 9:22:38am

Hobgoblin -

Maybe Arnie can do penance for his alleged mistreatment of women, by eating Nao B.'s burrito?

:)

412 therien  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 9:35:21am

By the way--there is no such thing as gravity.

The earth just sucks.

Did you know that it's shaped like a burrito?

413 hobgoblin  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 9:36:27am

410 zulubaby

Thanks, kiddo.

; )

I know my strengths and my limitations

[Link: littlegreenfootballs.com...]

414 hobgoblin  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 9:38:27am

#411 & #412

LOL

Oh, shit, this thread is going downhill fast...

not another thread about nothing, I'm too busy at work...

415 hobgoblin  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 9:43:32am

#411 Frank

As my wife said, "What woman would mind? I mean really? It's Arnold!"

And "How does he get a hand inside her shirt to her tit from behind without her letting him?"

This from a woman I know to be the most faithful and loving of all women. Even she'd let a grab-ass or two from Arnie go unmentioned.

I'd even let it slide if I saw it (maybe, depends on how far my MK40 was from my hand I guess...).

416 therien  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 9:47:58am

#414 heh heh, sorry, just thought I'd throw a little earth sciences humor into the mix.

417 zulubaby  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 10:07:13am

hobgoblin (#413)

I know my strengths and my limitations

Heh. You know something ... I was going to comment on exactly that and I was going to link to that comment, but decided it wasn't necessary. I think that's very true of you :-)

418 Steve  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 10:14:06am
BS. Way to flat for a galaxy. Lacking globular clusters.

I'm sure others have pointed this out, Yair, but there is indeed a halo.

See it here

M104 is a galaxy. It was catalogued by Messier in 1871.

You see but you do not believe. What more proof do you want from us?

419 Ariel  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 10:15:50am

Charles - Thanks for posting this.

And for banning Yair.

420 ploome  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 10:42:47am

404 Astrogal

you are one of the reasons LGF is the best blog on the web.....

post often..:-)

421 Paul  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 10:46:54am

#404 Astrogal

Thanks for the information. The Hubble Space Telescope is one of the best investments in astonomy ever made. Question for anyone: what is the expected life of the Hubble and are there any plans for a replacement?

422 Thom  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 12:23:37pm

Watching Yair's latest meltdown was very sad. I hope he gets his stuff in a pile soon.


Anyhoo ... This picture was amazing. But my favorite Hubble image is still of the Pillars of Creation.

423 AG in Houston  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 12:24:47pm

Paul

I wouldn't wait for Yair to answer, he is no longer on the team.

424 Steve  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 12:50:38pm

#404 astrogal --

Bravo! Thank you for that, and for your work. I worked on the Gamma Ray Observatory (its attitude control system, not any of the research done by it).

425 Astrogal  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 2:08:03pm

#420,424 Thanks for the kind comments. I would post more often, but my home service is through speakeasy.net, which Charles keeps blocking. I must have some ill-behaved fellow customers.

#421 The future of Hubble is the subject of much discussion/political manuevering right now. See the Space Telescope Transitionplan report if you're really interested:

[Link: www.nasa.gov...]

Basically, there is a replacement planned, the James Webb Space Telescope, but Hubble won't last until JWST is ready unless it is serviced (attitude gyros need replacing and it has to be boosted to correct for orbit decay). That requires a space shuttle, so there is a whole other can of worms. I think NASA is committed to servicing Hubble at least once more --- I sure hope so, as I'm working on one of the new instruments scheduled for installation --- so it should be around for at least 5 -- 7 years.

#422 Pillars of Creation is pretty cool, but it's been used as the obligatory sci-fi background screen on so many shows in the past several years that I'm kind of sick of it. (Cut to Captain Janeway talking--there's that damned Eagle Nebula pic in the background again.)

426 no daft  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 3:42:55pm

Yair really used a Globular Cluster Bomb on this thread.

Bad joke.

Very bad joke.

I love astronomy,have since i was a kid.

I never miss the B.B.C. show Sky at Night,it is the longest running show in the world.
46 YEARS.
The host Sir Patrick Moore is Known for giving lefties a really harsh time.

427 papertiger  Fri, Oct 3, 2003 4:38:01pm

Astrogal
Is 28 million the Hyparcos revised estimate? Burnham's has 40 million but it was written in the sixties.
Naming a Space Telescope after James Webb is an awful idea. Think about it.

428 Astrogal  Sat, Oct 4, 2003 12:43:27am

"Is 28 million the Hyparcos revised estimate? Burnham's has 40 million but it was written in the sixties."

I pulled the 28 mill off the Hubble press release page, so it should be the most recent estimate. Hipparcos has revised the distances to many nearby objects, but the change in the galaxy distance is mostly due (I'd guess without looking) to the improved determination of the Hubble constant (how fast the universe is expanding).

429 MysticMonist  Sat, Oct 4, 2003 1:09:23am

#404 Astrogal

Thanks for the information Astrogal. Like you I took the time to download the hi-res image and I had little trouble identifying dozens of likely globular clusters.

The biggest problem I had was viewing this huge image file. My normal image handling software - Microsoft Photo Editor - choked on it after reporting 11471 x 6428 pixels!!!

Ended up using Internet Explorer to view it, but without all the nice image manipulating features of PE. Also very slow scrolling. I really will have to upgrade my Pentium II (350MHz) soon.

A particular thank you to all the more experienced astronomers and astrophysicists who took the time to post on this thread and clarify the issues.

430 MysticMonist  Sat, Oct 4, 2003 1:41:54am

#427 papertiger

Why not James Webb?

431 papertiger  Sat, Oct 4, 2003 1:56:13am

MysticMonist

You say Hubble to someone , they know your talking about the space telescope. If you say "did you see the new pictures from the Webb?" people will think your talking about the internet. Webb is taken. It's meaning is already set. No offence to James Webb.

432 MysticMonist  Sat, Oct 4, 2003 2:42:51am

Hmm. I see what you mean. Then we'll have pictures from the Webb posted on the Web.

Tricky.

I guess we'll have to rely on context.

Fortunately the web is mainly a text-based medium so we'll be able to count the b's.

433 Marianne  Sat, Oct 4, 2003 5:08:24am

A few resources for those interested in the issue of inferring the existence of God from design, or, the issue of creationism and evolution.

The cover photo, alone, on each of these two books is worth a thousand words:

By Design: Science and the Search for God, by Larry Witham

God and Design: The Teleological Argument and Modern Science, by Neil A. Manson (editor), Julia Stone
__________________________

The December 2002 issue of Commentary magazine [www.commentary.org] included an article by David Berlinski titled "Has Darwin Met His Match?" (Vol. 114, No. 5) The introductory paragraph says: "A new generation of scientific critics purports to be able to account for the 'marks of design' in nature."

The March 2003 issue of Commentary featured a "Controversy," that is, a number of letters to the editor concerning Berlinski's article and his responses, subtitled "Darwinism Versus Intelligent Design." (Vol. 115, No. 3)

The July-August issue featured another "Controversy" subtitled, "A Scientific Scandal? David Berlinsky & Critics." (Vol. 116, No. 1)

_____________________________

John Updike's short story "Pigeon Feathers" is about a young boy, just beginning to question whether there is a God. The boy's mother believes in God, his father does not, and the boy only becomes more confused and upset, listening to their bitter arguments. The boy sees a lot of suffering too, like his grandmother's hands deformed by arthritis, which also bothers him; although he is too young to articulate it, he is beginning to perceive the age-old question, if God is infinitely powerful and infinitely good, then why does he allow us to suffer? At the end of the story, he makes up his own mind about whether God exists, but I won't spoil the story by telling you what he decides.
_____________________________

Our local pastor used to say, we are taught all about the miracle of the wine (Jesus turning the water into wine at the wedding), but we forget to appreciate the miracle of the grape (the miracle within even the most mundane aspects of Nature).

434 papertiger  Mon, Oct 6, 2003 2:01:49am

Astrogal

Im sure your right about the Hubble constant.

I was wondering what you think of the Setiathome project? It sounds nice, using millions of home computers to sift through cosmic radio noise to find intelligent signals, but I have always had the nagging suspicion that an artificial signal would be under the threshold of the background.
What would be the absolute minimum signal strength that could be detected by the Aracibo telescope from say the distance of 4.5 lightyears? How much power would be needed to send that signal? Would it be reasonable to assume that a technological species simular to us living on a planet around Alpha Centarus will be sending a signal of this strength? What do you think?

If you don't work on these sorts of questions would you know someone to refer me to? I really would like to know if I'm wasting time with Setiathome or not.

Cool Job you have. I am very jellous.
Papertiger


This entry has been archived.
Comments are closed.

^ back to top ^

log in
Name:
Pass:

Register Forgot Your Password? My Account Re-send Confirmation (To log in, cookies must be enabled in your browser!)

► LGF Headlines

► Top 10 Comments

► Bottom Comments

► Recent Comments

► Tools/Info

► LGF Hits

► Slideshows

► Resources

► Never Forget

► Statistics

► Tag Cloud

► Contact

You must have Javascript enabled to use the contact form.
Your email:

Subject:

Message:


Messages may be published in our weblog, unless you request otherwise.
Tech Note:
Using the Contact Form

► News/Opinion

Apple iTunes
More Partners

Compare Electricity Prices in your area. Texas Electricity is deregulated; you have the right to choose Texas Electric Rates from among many Texas Electric Companies.

The banana peel of creativity.