Starship Asterisk*

I have been watching the cameras of the caldera in the HVO Webcams and I am nearly certain that there has not yet (this year) been lava from the caldera. Is that right? I know there is lava in the caldera but there has been no lava flowing from it, right? The news talks about fissures and I see arti...

Is the X closer to being a quarter-circle on top of a Caret (^)? If so then I see it. Is the V near the middle with the bottom line nearly horizontal and the V pointing to the left??

I am also confused -- by your excessive reaction. I hear quiet contemplative music which I find quite enjoyable. Maybe you should think about adjusting your computer's sound output. So is it Mercury or is it music? There are thousands of places people can go to listen to music. If it is music then ...

Is that really what Mercury sounds like? Was this taken while inside its atmosphere because I don't know how else sound could gotten into this. After viewing this I will always remember Mercury screeching as much as some performers. You should warn people about the screeching.

I once was hiking up the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave River Forks Reservoir to the hot springs and I thought I saw something flying very fast over the river. So the answer to the question "So quickly you almost missed it?" is yes, it was really going that fast. I don't know if they ...

Yes, different motivations. But they are all operating with the same epistemological defect, a refusal to accept convincing photographic evidence if it conflicts with their existing biases. Something like "climate-change doubters"? And the fact that water definitely exists on Mars? Scienc...

why can I see stars in the moon? Could be hot pixels, dust, bugs, or pretty much anything but stars. I wondered that, but zooming in they appear to show the same trailing as the stars to the right of the climber. Would be interested to hear what they are. Can we assume they are stars on the right? ...

It is not a photobomb if it is the intended subject of the photo.

Was this the only attempt? I assume not. Otherwise, they deserve credit for the plan and successful execution. Most things don't always work the first time and every time.

I'm concerned about the accuracy of this map - there's very little settlement in the mid western regions of Australia to generate that much light??? And there's almost no light over Indonesia or PNG??? DT In addition to that, look at northern Alaska. Is there much civilization there? Probably not a...

What collision?

I look at the Mount Wilson camera every day. I am also familiar with the Griffith Park Observatory. For some reason this picture gives me a funny feeling. It took me a few seconds to realize that this observatory is none of the ones I am familiar with. Initially I thought: How did they get this pict...

I am often unable to see the APOD. For this one, all I get is nothing in the space where the video should be. I normally use Internet Explorer 10 but since it does not work for this I tried Seamonkey (Firefox) and it shows something about upgrading Flash but I have been unsuccessful at figuring out ...

It's too easy, but I know it is really difficult to think of a good one for this day.

Also see the Google Ngram.

Google returns about 59.6 million results for ballerina and about 4.4 million results for ballet dancer. That is not definitive but I think it is indicative. In my opinion, Ballerina is more eloquent than Ballet Dancer.

I saw first what I assume is the intended video, but then what I presume is a YouTube selection of videos came up on the screen. That is normal for YouTube. They constantly offer more suggestions. I think there have been YouTube videos in the APOD in the past that did not do that and if so then the...

Was the Sun too hot for this web site? I see nothing but white for the image. I am using Windows 7 and the latest version of IE. Today's APOD is a video. Can you see other YouTube videos? Yes I can. Also, if I use "View Source" in IE and copy the HTML iframe into another HTML document the...

Was the Sun too hot for this web site? I see nothing but white for the image.

I am using Windows 7 and the latest version of IE.

I am using IE 9 and I see nothing but white instead of a satelite image. When I use Safari, Seamonkey and Chrome I see the satelite image and everything is good as far as I can tell. IE 9 however refuses to work for this. So in case anyone else has this issue, you are not the only one.

The important thing is that the proof is not a proof. Someone was quick to say that the strip appears to show a gradual change in color in the strip from A to B. The reply was that that is also an illusion. Therefore the strip does not do what it claims to do. A highly convincing proof is not easy t...

I am Confused. Most short one-sentence questions need clarificatin. The question "Is the text on APOD easy to read and understand?" is a good subject but it should be clarified. Are you asking if it is easy for other astronomers to understand or if it is easy for non-astronomer fans to und...

The news has shown it being flown over or near the Washington Monument. That reminds me of the time I was at the Washington Monument for our nation's bicentenial. The only thing that got applause then was the Concorde when it flew by. The Dicovery deserves all the applause it is getting and all the ...

The links on the page are messed up. The "<" for going to the previous day goes to the same page instead. I have never had a problem with that link (for going to the previous day) until today and I have used it many times. When I click on the "Discuss" link it says that the page ...

What is a blog? It seems to be a vague term. Most posts here are subjective in saying that APOD is not a blog, but does anyone know what the definition of a blog is? I don't. Technorati seems to think it is a blog, but I am not familair with the site and I don't know what the qualifications are for ...

G'day from the land of ozzzz http://www.spacetelescope.org/news/html/heic0908.html News Release - heic0908: Historic Hubble Servicing Mission 4 ends with successful landing I doubt that is relevant. I was asking for information specific to the landing. You can post links such as that in your own th...