Starship Asterisk*

A nice fail safe for a complex system that is monitored by fallible humans.

In the top left corner of the photo, there is a North arrow symbol. What does the letter " p" next to it represent?

Thanks.

The two photos certainly show the increase in resolution between the early years of Hubble and the current equipment.

The description states the nebula is a "mere 180,000 light years away." It is rather awesome to realize that time interval is 90 times our recorded history!

Ann: You're correct (my opinion) that the images you've shown are the result of glaciation processes. The images Curiosity sent back appear to me to be the result of erosion of finer grained materials that were transported out of the picture by water or wind. That erosion leaves the larger material ...

Mr. Stevenson: Not arguing, just trying to relate what the image shows to similar earth land forms. My experience is that stream beds often show large boulders in their bed, simply because erosive forces can move anything smaller. Either wind or water (or anything else that is flowing) could be the ...

Curiosity is definitely going to be doing some maneuvering over the next few weeks. Are those obstructions (boulders) typical of the Martian terrain? Most of the photos I've seen before were generally of cobblestone sized rocks with a few largers boulders in the image. This looks very much like a si...

Case: Thank you. That is appreciated.

What is the distance to the Super Moon tomorrow, at closest approach? What I'm really asking is for the distance variation between a micro moon (or from the average moon distance) and the Super Moon tomorrow.

Why are virtually all of the craters circular. Would not a larger fraction be somewhat elliptical as objects hit at an angle?

Thanks for any answers.

ShaileshS: The quote you're referring to compares the actual age of the foreground rocks to the travel time of the light from the stars. While one light year is a distance, it also references a the time in years the light has traveled. You're correct that the stars are much older than the foreground...