SultanOfSwing

I suppose the fact that it will have two total eclipses within seven years of each other does make it a bit more interesting.

Anian

I booked my vacation next year to coincide with the eclipse. Everywhere is booked solid within 100 miles for that week now.

steveq

Yes, the way things are looking, we'll be wild camping somewhere.

SultanOfSwing

Yeah, I think if we are going to go, it'll be just a drive down for the event and drive back.

Either that or we can see the 90% eclipse up here and make plans for 2024. I completely forgot about it being next year until a few weeks ago. 2017 seemed like ages away when I first moved out here.

steveq

200miles to reach the centre line from you is pushing it, given the expected traffic surely ?

SultanOfSwing

Unless we can find a campground nearby with space in it. I dropped the ball on that one, plus our 'big' vacation next year is going to be another trip to the UK and possibly Germany, so it could be worse

There's always 2024, too, of course. I saw 85% totality during the 1999 eclipse, and while it's nothing like seeing the corona, it was still pretty cool to see the sun as a crescent.

Pulaski

This video is interesting for several reasons, IMO most notably that NASA is in the habit of discarding data that it cost $billions to collect.

When YouTube can store 300 hours of video data every minute, year after year, is it really too much to ask that data paid for at massive expense by the US taxpayer should be securely archived and available for future research?

Asg123

I wonder why it causes a force. If it were hot on the right would it move to the right or to the left?

steveq

Because the warming effect of internal stuff, like the RTG causes the surface to emit photons of infra-red light, these exert a force.

Asg123

I see.

Shard

The final descent snaps from Rosetta were a bit like Ansel in Yosemite, don't ya think?!

Final Descent Images from Rosetta Spacecraft | Rosetta

Anyway, kind of cool that some 21st century Earth junk is on a comet heading out into space.

Shard

This thread needs a bump. Speaking of bumps, here's the initial conclusion from the ESA on their hard landing on Mars...

https://www.theguardian.com/science/...g-its-altitude

It does seem a bit amateur that an expensive mission failed because their landing computer was poorly programmed.

Pulaski

I am not sure that it is any more amateurish than having scientists using thrust measured in newtons confused by engineers using thrust measured in pounds force, which doomed the Mars Climate Orbiter in 1999. Ironically the mission was very similar to the ESA mission.

steveq

The Colin Pillinger memorial lecture at Leicester announced, that, contrary to all the accusations of "British amateurism" levelled at Pillinger and the Beagle 2 team, Beagle 2 DID land successfully, and probably even begain its mission.

Colin Pillinger memorial lecture | Public and Ceremonial Events Office | University of Bristol

RIP Colin. You deserved better.

steveq

Oh yeah, and this taken last weekend. Forgive the ugly bugger at bottom right.

Amazing thing, you have to see it to appreciate the vastness.