Starship Asterisk*

quigley wrote:If earth was a planet in either galaxy M60 or NGC4647, what would the night sky look like? What percentage of the night sky would be filled with the dense stars of the neighboring galaxy, assuming that your attitude of observation would be toward that galaxy?

Chris Peterson wrote:

starsurfer wrote:I heartily agree with you Ann! While many professional images have stunning resolution, a few suffer from a lack of colour information due to the number of filters used or assignment of colours.

"Color" is rarely of scientific interest or value. In fact, most images made with a pair of filters contain more information than images made with broad RGB filters. The latter will present an image that approximates what the eye might see were it more sensitive, but that type of color tends to be very ambiguous with respect to the mechanisms that produce it. Professional images are very commonly made using just two filters, because the intensity ratio between properly chosen bands provides critical information about physical mechanisms. Sometimes more filters are used, of course, but given the value of observational time on large instruments, the minimum number of filters necessary to extract the intended information will normally be used.

starsurfer wrote:
Of course colour isn't particularly useful from a scientific point of view but I was referring to the aesthetic sense.

The fact that observing time is rarer than vibranium...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibranium wrote:

<<Vibranium was first deposited on Earth by a meteorite 10,000 years ago. The first documented discovery of Vibranium was during a human expedition to Antarctica. This particular isotope of Vibranium was dubbed "Anti-Metal" due to its property of dissolving other metals.

A different variety of Vibranium found in Wakanda absorbs soundwaves and other vibrations, including kinetic energy. It was discovered by the Wakandan king T'Chaka, father of the Black Panther T'Challa. To protect this resource, he concealed his country from the outside world. By occasionally selling off minute quantities of the metal, T'Chaka funded his country's education. Because of this, Wakanda is one of the world's most technologically advanced nations. During the early 1940s, a small amount of Wakandan Vibranium came into the possession of the scientist Myron MacLain. He tried to combine Vibranium with iron to form a new tank armor, but was unable to fuse the elements. One morning, he found that the two materials had bonded on their own in an unknown manner. The ultra-resilient alloy was used to create Captain America's shield. McClain worked for decades to duplicate the accident. During a trial in the 1960s, he developed the virtually indestructible metal adamantium.

Over the years, many have tried to obtain or affect the mound of Vibranium at Wakanda, but for the most part Wakanda has kept it safe, and become quite powerful in the process. During their Secret Invasion of Earth, the Skrulls assumed the identity of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents and enslaved natives of the Savage Land to mine Anti-Metal. They also invaded Wakanda. The Wakandans repelled the attack successfully. When Wakanda is politically taken over by the xenophobic Desturi, they grant Dr. Doom access to the country's Vibranium vaults. Fearing Doom will use it to amplify his mystical energies, T'Challa activates a failsafe he had developed that rendered all processed Vibranium inert.>>

owlice wrote:I have to say I get a little tired of the complaints about scientific images being... well, scientific.

quigley wrote:If earth was a planet in either galaxy M60 or NGC4647, what would the night sky look like? What percentage of the night sky would be filled with the dense stars of the neighboring galaxy, assuming that your attitude of observation would be toward that galaxy?