Sun Center, Ingo Swann, 1975
NASAâs Most Shocking Image
This image is a 1.5⌠*BILLION* pixel photograph of the Andromeda Galaxy.
To view the image in all its glory go here.
NASA is the coolest thing thatâs ever happened.
who was the fool who was tasked with naming the galaxy and the only adjective they could think of was âmmmmmmmmmmmmilkyâŚâ
this morning NASA abandoned their mars rover Opportunity (aka Oppy) because it (she) got hit by a storm on Mars and it knocked her camera and wheels out and her last words to the team were âmy battery is low and it is getting coldâ. I know sheâs a machine but Iâm devastated. Oppy is the one who discovered water on Mars. RIP oppy ily space baby
Every few months, someone with more money and fame than knowledge spouts off a Grand Plan to leave Earth for somewhere else to escape our problems. And everyone who has dealt with the complexity of dynamic systems heaves an enormous sigh.
We canât even create a stable sealed biome on Earth, where weâre operating within the geomagnetic field at standard temperature & pressure.
Itâs the simplest version of a faked environment, yet we repeatedly fail. We donât even bother pretending the space station is independent.
How exactly do we expect to successfully terraform another world to be Earthling-friendly when weâve made our planet less hospitable?
We didnât maintain Earthâs climate & weâre failing to correct back despite it getting noticeably less pleasant. Weâre un-terraforming Terra.
If your dream is humans scattered across the planets & thatâs what inspires you: Cool. Great. Love it, and you can push that dream forward with sustainability on Earth. Space requires intense reduce/reuse/recycle & green tech. Help us pass on Easy Mode so we can up the challenge.
In space, yesterdayâs coffee is tomorrowâs coffee. If we donât have that level of sustainability, we donât have a shot of moving beyond Easy Mode.
Yes, the planet will survive our shenanigans. But people are substantially less hardy than rocks. Our survival depends on what we do. We can be smarter than algae, or we can follow the path of stromatolites. Itâs our choice.
And this idolization of recreating company towns, but in space, where the boss controls the air supply? Thatâs a low-hanging fruit of dystopia. We donât even need to look at labour history to recognize what a bad idea that is.
Source:Â https://twitter.com/mikamckinnon/status/1218716524795568128
Planetarium on the territory of a childrenâs sanatorium. St. Petersburg.
Calvert Journal
Astronauts talking about viewing the earth from the moon, from The Overview Effect: Awe and Self-Transcendent Experience in Space Flight
Welcome to the space age, ladies and gentlemen