closeencountersofthethirdkind

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The Milky Way Glows Over the Devil's Tower
The Composers That Make Space Adventures Epic
UFO Sightings in Arizona Can Be Traced Back to "Close Encounters" Footage
Spielberg Gets Locked Into Underground Vault
Top Six SciFi DVD Sets of the Season
Indiana Jones and the Jumping of the Shark
Must See: Close Encounters Of The Third Kind

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phoenix
07/29/09

In reply to The Milky Way Glows Over the Devil's Tower
Hah! That Devil's Tower picture was today's APOD!

I already saved it to my wallpaper rotation, it really is a gorgeous photo. I wish I lived somewhere where I could actually see the Milky Way. Too much damned light pollution.
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fyngyrz
07/30/09

@phoenix:

This is what it looks like from my place:
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phoenix
07/30/09

@fyngyrz: You're very very lucky to live somewhere where the real sky is so visible!
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Chip Overclock
07/29/09

In reply to The Milky Way Glows Over the Devil's Tower
A few years ago I was at Devil's Tower on a motorcycle trip. My buddy and I hiked all round it. I was so disillusioned to realize there was no place where the aliens could have landed.

That was the same trip we stopped to see Mount Rushmore, and I was once again saddened to find out there was no vacation home on top.
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Rincewind
07/29/09

@Chip Overclock:
Coincidentally, there's a Mt. Rushmore picture on APOD from July 4th.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0907/Rushmore-Pan-c03-850wp.jpg

Looks pretty neat.
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Chip Overclock
07/30/09

@Rincewind: That is an awesome photograph.
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♠ Final ♠
07/29/09

In reply to The Milky Way Glows Over the Devil's Tower
I never understood why my father retired out to Walsenburg, CO until I went out there one summer night and then looked up. It really is that beautiful down there and the altitude, lack of smog and streetlights help so much.
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Dr.Quatermass: I have to say Dr. You are once again spot on with that oberservation and anything I am about to say that contradicts this statement is strictly for humor sake.
07/29/09

In reply to The Milky Way Glows Over the Devil's Tower
These space porn installments are confusing me and my sexuality. I can't get anything done without thinking about stars now.

www.dutchwest.tv/videos/82/galaxy-sex

Kind of like that. Except serious.
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Bill-Lee
07/29/09

@Dr.Quatermass: Well as Carl Sagan pointed out, "We are all star stuff." So it is only natural to be attracted to stars...
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Belabras: now with Kung Fu grip!
07/29/09

In reply to The Milky Way Glows Over the Devil's Tower
As no one else has done it yet...

This means something!
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RoboBagins
07/29/09

In reply to The Milky Way Glows Over the Devil's Tower
I've never seen the milky way with my own eyes. Sure, I've gazed out into a clear and beautiful sky full of stars, but never the milky way. Just clouds, sometimes moving a quite a pace too.
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Roklimber
07/29/09

In reply to The Milky Way Glows Over the Devil's Tower
The milky way from most places I lived just looked very sour.
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Meirelle
07/29/09

In reply to The Milky Way Glows Over the Devil's Tower
That's kind of awesome. The milky way from my back yard is just kind of a blurry cloud. :(
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Ruthless, If you let me
07/29/09

@Meirelle: Decepticon: The Milky Way from my backyard/balcony is really just a blackish/grayish haze of nothing that blends in with everying else in the sky. I can usually see major stars, like Polaris, but living in Los Angeles has it's drawbacks.
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Edited by Ruthless, If you let me at 07/29/09 1:41 PM

Annalee Newitz
07/29/09

@Meirelle: Decepticon: The best view of the Milky Way I ever saw was in Tisdale, Saskatchewan, in the dead of winter. Yes it was way below freezing outside, and we had to peer at the stars through layers and layers of toques and scarves and jackets, but it really was worth it. Just breathtaking.
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tuacker
07/29/09

@Meirelle: Decepticon: Is this picture somehow enhanced or are there places where the Milky Way looks this awesome to the naked eye?
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Meirelle
07/29/09

@tuacker: I've personally never seen it look THIS awesome, but about a month ago, I was in the middle of bumfuck Ohio on the shores of Erie, and the milky way was pretty damned awesome-looking. And that was with the glare of Sandusky lights on the horizon. So I'm guessing if you're really in the middle of nowhere-- I mean, REALLY-- and there's no towns around, and it's not very humid, I'm kind of thinking that the milky way just might look as awesome as that picture. And if not that awesome, then pretty damn close.
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tuacker
07/29/09

@Meirelle: Decepticon: Now I'm desperately looking for a global milky-way fan-site which points out awesome locations for milky-way gazing.
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Dr.Quatermass: I have to say Dr. You are once again spot on with that oberservation and anything I am about to say that contradicts this statement is strictly for humor sake.
07/29/09

@Meirelle: Decepticon: The town I grew up in is right in the heart of California so you would think there would be a lot of light pollution. Thankfully no. On a night with no visible Moon, the arms of the Milky Way are astounding. What was even brighter though, was the the Southern Cross region. The center of our galaxy is crazy bright.
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Indigen
07/29/09

@Meirelle: Decepticon: No. This is a long, wide exposure on a camera and probably then tinkered with as well. For reference - it's taken at night. Looks like it's sundown? That's just the fact that to the camera, there's a giant burning ball of gas on the other side of the planet it's stood on. Our eyes can't capture a sight like this. They'd have to be so sensitive, moonlight would blind us.
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Roklimber
07/29/09

@tuacker: In March of 2005, I was driving back to California at night, from Arizona, and stopped to get some sleep at one of those rest areas. I took a step out of my car to stretch my legs, looked up, and was astounded. The sky looked almost as nice as in this picture.
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Roklimber
07/29/09

@Dr.Quatermass: Southern Cross, in the northern hemisphere? I think you're mistaking something.
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Dr.Quatermass: I have to say Dr. You are once again spot on with that oberservation and anything I am about to say that contradicts this statement is strictly for humor sake.
07/29/09

@Roklimber: And that would be because I left something out. It's been a long day. My father took me to Sydney when I was 13 and we went star gazing out in the country. It was insane. Why I left that out, I have no idea. :)
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Edited by Dr.Quatermass: I have to say Dr. You are once again spot on with that oberservation and anything I am about to say that contradicts this statement is strictly for humor sake. at 07/29/09 3:49 PM

SteveReed
07/29/09

@Annalee Newitz: We may not have much up here in Saskatchewan, but stars? We got that. Aurora? Uh-huh. And a synchrotron. Does Tisdale still have the giant bee statue or that sign that welcomes you to "the land of rape and honey"?
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Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.
07/29/09

@Roklimber: That happened to me when we pulled over on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere in Nevada. Not even a rest stop. 3 AM.

High desert, no clouds, no lights. It was chilly, but we stared as long as we could (and then slept till dawn).
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Meirelle
07/29/09

@Dr.Quatermass: I want to visit the southern hemisphere just so I can stargaze there.
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Meirelle
07/29/09

@Indigen: Yeah, I kind of figured it was a long exposure. (Didn't think it was HOURS long, though.) I did, however, think it was taken right after sunset. But now I know.
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Roklimber
07/29/09

@Meirelle: Decepticon: Ok, this is a cheap shot but... in the absence of traveling to the southern hemisphere, you can look at the Brazilian flag. That will give you an idea of the southern sky.

grrr... the picture format can't be svg.. Ok, here goes the link then:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Brazil.svg
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Edited by Roklimber at 07/29/09 7:04 PM Roklimber was starred Roklimber was unstarred

Alessar
06/12/09

In reply to The Composers That Make Space Adventures Epic
Where is Klaus Badelt?? Equilibrium, The Time Machine, Pirates of the Carribean WITH Hans Zimmer, Ultraviolet, Poseidon, many others!
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Elizabeth Weinbloom
06/12/09

@Alessar: Pirates is a phenomenal score. I basically spent the third movie just closing my eyes and listening to the music. Of course, that had a lot to do with how shitty the third movie was...
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NotChoinski
06/11/09

In reply to The Composers That Make Space Adventures Epic
No love for Éric Serra, of the Fifth Element?
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Convair 990A
06/11/09

In reply to The Composers That Make Space Adventures Epic
I've got to throw a vote in for Stu Phillips. C'mon, the man did Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. That's got to count for something!

(Says the proud owner of several versions of the aforementioned albums...)
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Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.
06/11/09

@Convair 990A: Old school BSG music was good stuff. I have it on LP!
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Erinaceus
06/11/09

In reply to The Composers That Make Space Adventures Epic
I'm aware that I will probably get a lotta flack for this, but...

...

... I kinda like the syrupy goo that is Titanic's music.

Also, Jerry Goldsmith's son Joel is a pretty decent composer too,
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Elizabeth Weinbloom
06/11/09

@Erinaceus: No flack here. Fine score.
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Squirminator2k
06/11/09

In reply to The Composers That Make Space Adventures Epic
The omission of Murray Gold, who's responsible for the marvelous score in the revived Doctor Who, is quite disappointing.
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Elizabeth Weinbloom
06/11/09

@Squirminator2k: Agreed. While you could argue that some things have been over-scored, the sheer range of music for a tv series is incredible. So many episodes have their own completely distinct sound (ie, Girl in the Fireplace, Father's Day)
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Elizabeth Weinbloom
06/11/09

In reply to The Composers That Make Space Adventures Epic
There was a time - approximately February 2005 - when I would have found this list very, very useful. Therefore, I shall annotate it for pops orchestra managers stumbling across this page in google searches, seeking rep for your space or sci-fi themed concerts:

[all regular people can move right along to your regularly scheduled commenting]

You probably already own the Star Wars suite. If you don't, you should. The E.T. suite is also great. Harry Potter, an arrangement's good enough. Jurassic Park, ditto. Catch with Williams is most of them are only available as either crappy arrangements, or the full suites which are great but like $400.

Back to the Future is only available in a three minute rental, which is better than nothing, but unsatisfyingly short and annoyingly expensive.

There's actually a fairly decent medley of Star Trek themes out there, for cheap, at Luck's I think. There's some "wtf is this" stuff in the middle but it starts with TOS and ends with TNG, as it should.

also worth noting: Also Sprach Zarathustra is in the public domain. As is Holst's Planets.

/ servicey-ness
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eviladrian
06/11/09

@Elizabeth Weinbloom: Even if Holst didn't actually score any movies, "Mars" would have to be the seminal epic sci-fi theme. Without Mars I don't think we'd have John Williams.
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Elizabeth Weinbloom
06/12/09

@eviladrian: There's no doubt to it! And in fact, one generally shouldn't program Mars and Star Wars on the same half of a program. John Williams ends up looking a bit silly...

In more ways than just influence-on-theme-tunes, Star Wars is Holst, and Star Trek is Mahler.
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Sanriostar
06/11/09

In reply to The Composers That Make Space Adventures Epic
Ummm...

Akira Ifukube?

He created the G-man's roar for cryin' out loud!

If you can look past Horner and Vangelis' non-SF stuff, then surely he passes muster as well.

DA DA DA DAAAAAAAAAAAA!

DA DA DA DAAAAAAAAAAAA!
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scroggzilla raids again
06/12/09

@Sanriostar: Seconded on Ifukube.

+ Watch video

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