Viking Supporters Co-operative

Viking Chat => Off Topic => Topic started by: BillyStubbsTears on July 26, 2016, 02:28:00 pm

Title: At the risk of provoking...
Post by: BillyStubbsTears on July 26, 2016, 02:28:00 pm
...Nudga into some unsavouriness, I think this may be great greatest photo ever taken by the human race.

https://mobile.twitter.com/AstroRM/status/757764101896409088
Title: Re: At the risk of provoking...
Post by: GM-MarkB on July 26, 2016, 08:44:36 pm
Kinda takes your breath away doesn't it ?
Title: Re: At the risk of provoking...
Post by: Nudga on July 26, 2016, 08:52:30 pm
Love it.
Title: Re: At the risk of provoking...
Post by: darren61 on July 26, 2016, 09:01:48 pm
Wow!! sort of puts into perspective some of the s***e we talk about and think that it means that much when we see what else is going on all around us.
Title: Re: At the risk of provoking...
Post by: BobG on July 26, 2016, 09:19:12 pm
How come an Earth weather satellite is OUTSIDE the orbit of the Moon then? I'm struggling to see how that can happen tbh.

BobG
Title: Re: At the risk of provoking...
Post by: Nudga on July 26, 2016, 09:21:46 pm
What are you struggling with Bob?
Title: Re: At the risk of provoking...
Post by: BillyStubbsTears on July 26, 2016, 10:48:19 pm
Bob

It's a climate observatory, not a weather satellite.

It sits at one of the Lagrangian points of the Sun-Earth system. Which means that the effects of the Earth's and the Sun's gravity cancel out and it can effectively stay at the same point, facing the sunlit side of the Earth forever, to observe big picture stuff.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Space_Climate_Observatory
Title: Re: At the risk of provoking...
Post by: BobG on July 27, 2016, 01:47:24 am
Although Ive never heard of Lagrangian points I do understand, perfectly well, the idea of geostationery orbit. What I still do not understand however is how something that is allegedly sitting between the Earth and the Moon can capture a picture of both items in one frame.

Bob
Title: Re: At the risk of provoking...
Post by: NickDRFC on July 27, 2016, 07:04:20 am
Bob - the observatory is almost a million miles away. The moon is about 200-250,000 miles away. 1,000,000 > 250,000.
Title: Re: At the risk of provoking...
Post by: Nudga on July 27, 2016, 07:20:53 am
The moon is 240,000 miles away, the observatory sits 930,000 miles away.
Title: Re: At the risk of provoking...
Post by: wesisback on July 27, 2016, 07:48:29 am
Morte magis metuenda senectus
Title: Re: At the risk of provoking...
Post by: RedJ on July 27, 2016, 10:26:03 am
I can make up words too Wes. ;)
Title: Re: At the risk of provoking...
Post by: BobG on July 27, 2016, 10:11:08 pm
Ah. Thank you one and all. It that case, it's easy peasy innit?!

Cheers

BobG
Title: Re: At the risk of provoking...
Post by: Sprotyrover on July 27, 2016, 10:24:56 pm
So that is a picture of the 'Dark side of the Moon'