The Conservative Cave

Interests => The Science Club => Topic started by: thundley4 on February 12, 2010, 06:37:38 AM

Title: An Alien View Of Earth
Post by: thundley4 on February 12, 2010, 06:37:38 AM: Quote
This week marks the 20th anniversary of a photograph. It's a very dramatic photo, even though, at first glance, it's mostly dark and seems to show nothing at all.

But if you look closely, you can see a tiny speck of light. That speck is the Earth, seen from very, very, very far away.

Two decades ago, Candice Hansen-Koharcheck became the first person to ever see that speck, sitting in front of a computer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in California. "I was all alone, actually, that afternoon, in my office," she recalls.

Her office was dark. The window shades were drawn. She was searching through a database of images sent home by the Voyager 1 spacecraft, which at the time was nearly 4 billion miles away. "I knew the data was coming back," she says, "and I wanted to see how it had turned out."

Finally, she found it.
NPR (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123614938&ft=1&f=1001)

(http://media.npr.org/assets/news/2010/02/12/paleblue_custom.jpg?t=1265922988&s=2)

A pretty insignificant speck in the vastness of space.
Title: Re: An Alien View Of Earth
Post by: Splashdown on February 12, 2010, 07:26:58 AM: Kinda humbling, if you ask me.
Title: Re: An Alien View Of Earth
Post by: RightCoast on February 12, 2010, 08:16:07 AM: It looks like carbon warming and pollution are spreading out from Earth and contaminating the universe.
Title: Re: An Alien View Of Earth
Post by: Texacon on February 12, 2010, 08:22:08 AM: Now that is cool!

KC
Title: Re: An Alien View Of Earth
Post by: Freeper on February 21, 2010, 02:39:34 PM: Quote from: RightCoast on February 12, 2010, 08:16:07 AM
It looks like carbon warming and pollution are spreading out from Earth and contaminating the universe.

Yep the co2 levels are rising even that far out. :lmao:
Title: Re: An Alien View Of Earth
Post by: The Village Idiot on February 21, 2010, 07:53:54 PM: Voyager is nearly 4 billion miles away?

wow
Title: Re: An Alien View Of Earth
Post by: LC EFA on March 02, 2010, 08:47:07 PM: Quote from: FGL on February 21, 2010, 07:53:54 PM
Voyager is nearly 4 billion miles away?

wow

...and was still working just fine at the time.
Title: Re: An Alien View Of Earth
Post by: thundley4 on March 02, 2010, 09:00:49 PM: Quote from: LC EFA on March 02, 2010, 08:47:07 PM
...and was still working just fine at the time.

I wonder what the computing power on board is compared to what we are surfing the web with.
Title: Re: An Alien View Of Earth
Post by: The Village Idiot on March 02, 2010, 10:24:20 PM: Quote from: thundley4 on March 02, 2010, 09:00:49 PM
I wonder what the computing power on board is compared to what we are surfing the web with.

The computer power on board that thing?? Probably something like an 086 lol. I hear its transmissions have the power of a 30 watt bulb
Title: Re: An Alien View Of Earth
Post by: jinxmchue on May 16, 2010, 02:33:15 PM: Quote
A pretty insignificant speck in the vastness of space.

Or maybe not so insignificant...

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
Title: Re: An Alien View Of Earth
Post by: The Village Idiot on May 16, 2010, 02:36:03 PM: Quote from: LC EFA on March 02, 2010, 08:47:07 PM
...and was still working just fine at the time.

Reports are the malfunctioning Voyager 2 is sending back an audio file. weird.
Title: Re: An Alien View Of Earth
Post by: thundley4 on May 16, 2010, 02:48:52 PM: Quote from: FGL on May 16, 2010, 02:36:03 PM
Reports are the malfunctioning Voyager 2 is sending back an audio file. weird.

Uh-oh. The aliens have it.