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San Francisco, 3:02 AM
Thu Nov 26
21 posts in the last 24 hours

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    Welcome Back Sunspots With The Many Colors Of Solar Pop Art

    Other Suns and Planets May Provide Better Conditions for Life than Our Own

    The Sun Will Not Warn Us Before It Erupts

    Is This Shockwave Our Only Warning Of A "Solar Katrina"?

    Pack Your SPF-5 Billion: We're Going To The Sun!

    Magnetic Structures Larger Than the Sun

    Overpopulated Floating Cities Threaten To Obliterate The Sun

    Everything You Need to Know About "Lost: Missing Pieces" Mobisodes

    Sunshine Should Be Burning Up the Oscars

    Solar Eruptions Captured By DiY Astronomer
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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of Insomnia Bob Insomnia Bob
    09/27/09

    In reply to Welcome Back Sunspots With The Many Colors Of Solar Pop Art
    One of these suns gives me super powers. The other, renders me a helpless mortal, like all the rest of you.
    The question is... WHICH ONE?
     Reply
    Insomnia Bob was starred Insomnia Bob was unstarred
    Image of RandomFrequentFlierDent RandomFrequentFlierDent
    09/26/09

    In reply to Welcome Back Sunspots With The Many Colors Of Solar Pop Art
    Mmmm, they look delicious.
     Reply
    Edited by RandomFrequentFlierDent at 09/26/09 7:28 AM RandomFrequentFlierDent was starred RandomFrequentFlierDent was unstarred
    Image of joetato joetato
    09/25/09

    In reply to Welcome Back Sunspots With The Many Colors Of Solar Pop Art
    Does Andy Warhol have anything to do with this? Hmmmmmm. If these were done by him in 3-D, we could call them Warholograms!
     Reply
    joetato was starred joetato was unstarred
    Image of NerD: Blattella NerD: Blattella
    09/25/09

    In reply to Welcome Back Sunspots With The Many Colors Of Solar Pop Art
    NASA is the worlds most expensive computer monitor background producer.
     Reply
    NerD: Blattella was starred NerD: Blattella was unstarred
    Image of Ruthless, If you let me Ruthless, If you let me
    09/25/09

    In reply to Welcome Back Sunspots With The Many Colors Of Solar Pop Art
    Anekanta's avatar multiplied!

    NASA gives us such nice pictures.
     Reply
    Edited by Ruthless, If you let me at 09/25/09 2:51 PM Ruthless, If you let me was starred Ruthless, If you let me was unstarred
    Image of Anekanta - killed by a cacodemon Anekanta - killed by a cacodemon
    09/25/09

    @Ruthless, If you let me: Heehee :) I just updated it, too! Hopefully the new image will appear soon.
     Reply
    Edited by Anekanta - killed by a cacodemon at 09/25/09 3:17 PM Anekanta - killed by a cacodemon was starred Anekanta - killed by a cacodemon was unstarred
    Image of Pessimippopotamus Pessimippopotamus
    09/25/09

    @Ruthless, If you let me: You paid for it.

    ...unless you don't live in the US, then you are a thief! A common thief!
     Reply
    Pessimippopotamus was starred Pessimippopotamus was unstarred
    Image of Ruthless, If you let me Ruthless, If you let me
    09/25/09

    @Pessimippopotamus: No thief here! I am glad I paid for it; how else would I get my space pr0n? ;)
     Reply
    Edited by Ruthless, If you let me at 09/25/09 4:40 PM Ruthless, If you let me was starred Ruthless, If you let me was unstarred
    Image of twophrasebark twophrasebark
    08/13/09

    In reply to Other Suns and Planets May Provide Better Conditions for Life than Our Own
    It's true there aren't a lot of bids for Earth on GalaxyBay. The Osoob just bought the planet for about 7 Jeorbs.

    They'll be here next Tuesday.
     Reply
    twophrasebark was starred twophrasebark was unstarred
    Image of Cory Gross Cory Gross
    08/13/09

    In reply to Other Suns and Planets May Provide Better Conditions for Life than Our Own
    I'm fascinated by the philosophical transition here... It used to be that life in the universe was so improbable that Earth was the only possible place it could be. Now, life in the universe is so probable that it's making life on Earth look more and more impossible. Of course, I say this is all philosophical because, regardless of your speculations, Earth is still the only place we know of with life.
     Reply
    Cory Gross was starred Cory Gross was unstarred
    Image of Blue_Thark Blue_Thark
    08/13/09

    @Cory Gross: Yeah, it's sounding like instead of a "Goldilocks Zone" we're in more of a "Rumpelstiltzkin" situation... Locked in a tiny room, a power-mad king (hot sun) breathing down our necks, trying to spin straw into gold while tiny dwarf-creatures mock us from afar.

    The dwarves, of course, are aliens who evolved in much higher gravity-- hence their short stature.
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. promoted this comment Blue_Thark was starred Blue_Thark was unstarred
    Image of brentbent: C.O.C.K.R.O.A.C.H. )for all the queer super villians out there( brentbent: C.O.C.K.R.O.A.C.H. )for all the queer super villians out there(
    08/13/09

    @Cory Gross: What's this we you talk about human?
     Reply
    Cory Gross promoted this comment brentbent: C.O.C.K.R.O.A.C.H. )for all the queer super villians out there( was starred brentbent: C.O.C.K.R.O.A.C.H. )for all the queer super villians out there( was unstarred
    Image of j.blo j.blo
    08/13/09

    In reply to Other Suns and Planets May Provide Better Conditions for Life than Our Own
    Am I really going to be the first person to point out that the dude talking about stars is named Guinan? On this site?
     Reply
    j.blo was starred j.blo was unstarred
    Image of Blue_Thark Blue_Thark
    08/13/09

    @j.blo: Well clearly he's been alive for centuries, and/or is from the future... Otherwise how else would he know so much about alien worlds?
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. promoted this comment Blue_Thark was starred Blue_Thark was unstarred
    Image of kolacek kolacek
    08/13/09

    In reply to Other Suns and Planets May Provide Better Conditions for Life than Our Own
    Look, honestly? With lip service and apologies to all of the experts we hear from every week:

    Given the immense frigging size of this universe we live in, I would not be surprised...no, actually let me rephrase that: I will bet cash freaking money on the fact that there is a damn-near-duplicate copy of this rock we live on with people who look exactly like us.

    Write a "1" on a billboard sized piece of paper and then start writing zeros next to it for about 3 or 4 months. Look at that number. That probably doesn't cover the number of planets out there. How could it not be possible?
     Reply
    kolacek was starred kolacek was unstarred
    Image of Moonlighter Moonlighter
    08/13/09

    @kolacek: Actually, A more recent estimate of the number of stars in the universe has it around 7*10^22 ([www.space.com]). If our solar system is average in having 8 or 9 planets but only one or two of which may be in a 'habitable zone' you're still only looking at somewhere around 10^23 potentially habitable planets in the universe. The number is absolutely gigantic, but not as long to write out as you make it seem. Here, let me do it for you: 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. Even if we turn out to be a small-ish solar system and most had far more planets than ours, or larger habitable zones, it's unlikely we'd see any number larger than adding one more zero to that figure.
     Reply
    Communist Pope promoted this comment Moonlighter was starred Moonlighter was unstarred
    Image of Blue_Thark Blue_Thark
    08/13/09

    In reply to Other Suns and Planets May Provide Better Conditions for Life than Our Own
    More radiation = better for life... how?

    Oh I think i get it. Life, like super powers, can only arise from the primordial ooze due to the side effects of a Cold War. If those stars hadn't been competing against one another for universal supremacy we wouldn't even be here.
     Reply
    Blue_Thark was starred Blue_Thark was unstarred
    Image of ParryLost ParryLost
    08/13/09

    @Blue_Thark: I'm not sure, but I seem to recall radiation being important in the early stages of evolution or some such. >_>
     Reply
    Bill-Lee promoted this comment ParryLost was starred ParryLost was unstarred
    Image of Bill-Lee Bill-Lee
    08/13/09

    @ParryLost: Radiation causes mutations. If the mutation is a benefit (helps the organism out compete its neighbors in finding food or other resources), the individual with that mutation lives to pass the mutation on to its offspring.
     Reply
    Bill-Lee was starred Bill-Lee was unstarred
    Image of simonbarsinister simonbarsinister
    08/13/09

    In reply to Other Suns and Planets May Provide Better Conditions for Life than Our Own
    How ridiculous.

    All of the actual evidence we have says that RIGHT HERE is the best possible world for life. It's the ONLY EXAMPLE we have that has worked.

    Go back to your ivory tower until you have a second sample to base your ideas on.
     Reply
    simonbarsinister was starred simonbarsinister was unstarred
    Image of L3G10N L3G10N
    08/13/09

    @simonbarsinister: How dare Scientists make assumptions about life on other planets! The fact is we have have not even scrathed the surface of understanding the universe, all we they have is speculation.

    Let's see here, "The Sun does not SEEM like the perfect star for a system where life might arise. Although it is hard to argue with the Sun's ‘success' as it so far is the only star known to host a planet with life...."

    Also "Jean-Mathias Grießmeier of ASTRON's research similarly suggests that the Earth may not be an ideal planet for the formation and development of life. Grießmeier examined planetary magnetic fields, finding that a planet with a stronger magnetic field is less likely to have its atmosphere blown away..."

    Those are two examples, did you not read the article?? Ivory Tower, really? When you get your PhD in Astronomy or AstroPhysics Let's hear what ideas you come up with.
     Reply
    Cory Gross promoted this comment L3G10N was starred L3G10N was unstarred
    Image of ilves ilves
    08/13/09

    @simonbarsinister:

    Ivory tower? It seems to be you're on a much higher tower than they are. Why are you so upset about speculation that other types of suns might be more conducive to producing life than ours? Is that somehow offensive to you?
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. promoted this comment ilves was starred ilves was unstarred
    Image of Cory Gross Cory Gross
    08/13/09

    @L3G10N: I think simon is simply noting the disconnect between the hypothesis that the Sun is a relatively poor and unlikely sustainer of life compared to other types of stars and the observed fact that the Sun is the only star we know of to have sustained life. Until we have enough samples to calculate probability based on observed fact, this sort of hypothesizing comes across as angels dancing on the head of a pin.
     Reply
    Cory Gross was starred Cory Gross was unstarred
    Image of braak: You are, as usual, completely correct. braak: You are, as usual, completely correct.
    08/13/09

    @simonbarsinister: The ivory tower of "positing theories that can then be tested" you mean?
     Reply
    braak: You are, as usual, completely correct. was starred braak: You are, as usual, completely correct. was unstarred
    Image of SnehalMarten SnehalMarten
    08/13/09

    In reply to Other Suns and Planets May Provide Better Conditions for Life than Our Own
    It's quite possible that the laws of physics simply won't allow the human race practical large scale interstellar technological means of transportation. The Speed of Light limit will never be broken and that is the biggest problem,
     Reply
    tetracycloide promoted this comment SnehalMarten was starred SnehalMarten was unstarred
    Image of postretro postretro
    08/13/09

    Small scale interstellar travel would suffice.

    But really though, if you believe you will never do something than you most definitely never will.
     Reply
    tetracycloide promoted this comment postretro was starred postretro was unstarred
    Image of transbastard transbastard
    08/13/09

    @SnehalMarten: Faster than Light travel is not a necessity for interstellar exploration. Two alternative possibilities are cryogenics or simply artificially enhanced life spans. A less relevant alternative, at least in my opinion, are generation ships.
     Reply
    tetracycloide promoted this comment transbastard was starred transbastard was unstarred
    Image of tetracycloide tetracycloide
    08/13/09

    @SnehalMarten: perhaps the aliens with faster than light travel have evolved different theories?
     Reply
    tetracycloide was starred tetracycloide was unstarred
    Image of 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. 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.
    08/13/09

    @SnehalMarten: It is quite possible that interstellar travel will not be done in a physical way. The Speed of Light applies only to things with mass. So sidestep mass. You're not thinking with portals.
     Reply
    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. was starred 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. was unstarred
    Image of brentbent: C.O.C.K.R.O.A.C.H. )for all the queer super villians out there( brentbent: C.O.C.K.R.O.A.C.H. )for all the queer super villians out there(
    08/13/09

    @SnehalMarten: Physical matter cannot break the speed of light rule but information can and does. The universe can instantly transmit information across the universe regardless of distances involved. All we have to do is translate our physical selves into information and then we can be sent anywhere in the universe where the technology exists to reassemble the information. This is a fact proved by experiments and not some wild eyed speculation. I can't remember all the details, but the experiment involved splitting a particle (or something) in half, which caused those two new particles to move away from one another on a mirrored path and, here's the cool part, if one particle is influenced by a gravitational force that alters its trajectory the other particle immediately corrects its course so their trajectories remain mirrored. That can only happen if the information itself wasn't localized and not limited by the restraints of time and space.
     Reply
    Dr.Quatermass promoted this comment brentbent: C.O.C.K.R.O.A.C.H. )for all the queer super villians out there( was starred brentbent: C.O.C.K.R.O.A.C.H. )for all the queer super villians out there( was unstarred
    Image of Ben Babcock Ben Babcock
    08/13/09

    In reply to Other Suns and Planets May Provide Better Conditions for Life than Our Own
    "...leading to a runaway greenhouse effect in less than 2 billion years."
    There you have it, proof that global warming isn't caused by humans and that there's nothing we can do about it! No use going "green" if it's futile in the long run.

    /sarcasm.
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. promoted this comment Edited by Ben Babcock at 08/13/09 7:54 AM Ben Babcock was starred Ben Babcock was unstarred
    Image of The Curse of Millhaven The Curse of Millhaven
    08/13/09

    In reply to Other Suns and Planets May Provide Better Conditions for Life than Our Own
    So, we are not the best of all possible worlds? Then again, for intelligent life as we know it there may be other factors. For instance, some kind of closed circulatory system may be needed (some kind of blood, rather than the open system of insects). Higher gravity might make that harder to achieve. Or maybe a better magnetic field slows down the mutation rate. If I could learn things from the future, the laws of xenobiology would come a close second to the fate of humanity in general.
     Reply
    The Curse of Millhaven was starred The Curse of Millhaven was unstarred
    Image of Mathmos Mathmos
    08/13/09

    @The Curse of Millhaven: Of course this is the best of all possible universes, Candide. We just need to cultivate our garden.
    Actually you have a good point. Lauren's story discusses conditions favoring development of life but not those favoring development of complex or intelligent life. Certainly gravity is more of a problem for larger life forms and land dwellers.
     Reply
    Mathmos was starred Mathmos was unstarred
    Image of Shokract Shokract
    08/13/09

    @The Curse of Millhaven: Hehe, I like your Leibniz reference (Best of All Possible Worlds.) I myself can not help but to drop the reference "we are not unique snowflakes" from the movie Fight Club.
     Reply
    The Curse of Millhaven promoted this comment Shokract was starred Shokract was unstarred
    Image of Gann Gann
    08/13/09

    In reply to Other Suns and Planets May Provide Better Conditions for Life than Our Own
    The earth's not perfect, but its not a bad starter planet. We're still young. When we're all grown up we'll move into a nicer solar system in one of the good parts of the galaxy.
     Reply
    Gann was starred Gann was unstarred
    Image of ♠ Final ♠ ♠ Final ♠
    08/13/09

    @Gann: But what do we do when Lizardmen try gentrifying the neighborhood?
     Reply
    ♠ Final ♠ was starred ♠ Final ♠ was unstarred
    Image of johnnyichiban johnnyichiban
    08/13/09

    @♠ Final ♠: We'll pop a cap in 'em 'cause we're from the streets.
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. promoted this comment johnnyichiban was starred johnnyichiban was unstarred
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