APOD: The Flash Spectrum of the Sun (2013 Nov 15)

[Cousin Ricky]

It's deeply troubling, however, that a 19th century scientist, who should have known better, would name a newly discovered chemical element after a god from some superstitious old religion with a geocentric cosmology! Perhaps we can rename this element something more accurate, like "has two protons and doesn't like to bond with other atoms." Although "like" is disturbingly anthropomorphic. What's a poor nomenclaturist to do?

Helios was imagined as a handsome god crowned with the shining aureole of the Sun, who drove the chariot of the sun across the sky each day to earth-circling Oceanus and through the world-ocean returned to the East at night.

But that's what scientists do with gods after the gods die.

[Nitpicker]

I'm glad they opted for Eris instead of Xena in 2006. Only legitimate ancient mythological names for me please! None of this made up stuff!

[Ann]

I'm glad they opted for Eris instead of Xena in 2006. Only legitimate ancient mythological names for me please! None of this made up stuff!

What's the difference between Eris and Xena? Probably that one of them has (the ruins of) a marble temple built in her honor (or in order to deflect her anger) somewhere, and that people used only one of them to explain, seriously, things that happened to themselves and other people.

When we talk about mythological status, however, who's got the greatest contemporary myth power, Eris or Kirk and Spock? Hey... Eris got nothing on the Captain and First Officer who boldly go where no man has ever gone before. (And since Eris was a woman, it's no wonder she has never gone where Kirk and Spock have traveled.)

It could be, of course, that in a hundred years kids will tell their parents that they have been told about Eris in school, but who the heck is Kirk, Spock and Xena?

A good myth has got staying power, and it remains to see how Kirk, Spock and Xena will fare over the centuries.

Read more here.

Ann

[Beyond]

As for me, I'm just mythtified about da whole ting.

[DavidLeodis]

I've noticed that the image and two other excellent images during the solar eclipse on November 3 2013 were posted by Constantine Emmanouilidi on November 6 2013 to the 'Submissions Gallery: Solar Eclipse, November 2013' gallery (page 2 of that gallery). Constantine's post also has some useful information relating to the event.

[neufer]

I've noticed that the image and two other excellent images during the solar eclipse on November 3 2013 were posted by Constantine Emmanouilidi on November 6 2013 to the 'Submissions Gallery: Solar Eclipse, November 2013' gallery (page 2 of that gallery). Constantine's post also has some useful information relating to the event.

http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php? ... 95#p212995

[DavidLeodis]

Thanks for posting that link neufer.