[Gareth Croke]

QUOTE (El_Diablo @ Thursday, Aug 23 2012, 21:31)

please tell me you're joking

Well, dur!!

Although it does look spookily similar with the three in a line and the top one slightly off centre of the other two.

EDIT: Finally got rid of the page stretch.

[K^2]

QUOTE (El_Diablo)

picture of Earth, Venus, and Mercury from Mars. https://blackmaps.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/mars22jul.jpg Earth is on the bottom; the lowest of the 3. you're looking at yourself from another planet. blows your mind!

I think that actually beats The Pale Blue Dot.

[darthYENIK]

Is that real? And if so is it new? It's like the planets are aligned, literally.

[K^2]

QUOTE (darthYENIK @ Thursday, Aug 23 2012, 16:35)

Is that real?  And if so is it new?  It's like the planets are aligned, literally.

Inner planets tend to align when viewed from outer planets. It's not such a terribly rare event. Alignment like that, we are talking once every couple of years. (At worst)

[El_Diablo]

it's just the angle lol.

I figured that Gareth was joking, but yes it's real.
obviously NASA waited for a moment when the planets were close because it makes the picture that much more interesting.

but they're not actually "aligned."
not in the mysterious sense that you're thinking.

QUOTE (K^2 @ Thursday, Aug 23 2012, 13:34)

I think that actually beats The Pale Blue Dot.

I might agree with you, but I think the The Pale Blue Dot is more important because of the context that comes with it.
people need to know the full story of the Dot as it was meant to be heard:



in this context, it's much more significant than any picture from Mars.

[K^2]

QUOTE (El_Diablo @ Thursday, Aug 23 2012, 16:40)

I might agree with you, but I think the The Pale Blue Dot is more important because of the context that comes with it.

More important, yes. But not as inspiring. I mean, it shows us what a tiny speck of dust our planet is in this cosmos. All it makes me feel is cold loneliness. That picture from Mars makes you feel like there are more and grander things out there. Makes you want to get out there and look for them. I like it better.

QUOTE (El_Diablo)

it's just the angle lol. [...] but they're not actually "aligned." not in the mysterious sense that you're thinking.

Might as well be aligned. Both Venus and Mercury are very bright, which severely limits positions these planets can take. And all three have to be almost along the same line as viewed from Mars, even if they aren't aligned with respect to Sun. That's going to be something that happens precisely twice as often as actual alignment.

This post has been edited by K^2 on Thursday, Aug 23 2012, 20:48

[El_Diablo]

you don't find the Pale Blue Dot speech inspiring??

"...the Earth is where we make our stand. It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known."

I guess it depends on how you look at it.
but you can't know where to go without understanding where you came from.

we will never survive (as a species) long enough to explore and discover those "grander things" if we do not first overcome the unnecessary and immature hostility of our current situation. Mars only stays in perspective so long as Earth thrives.

[OnePiece]

QUOTE (K^2 @ Thursday, Aug 23 2012, 09:55)

QUOTE (OnePiece @ Friday, Aug 10 2012, 00:04) Its a pity they have to land on such flat boring plains when Mars really has some amazing things to see. Interesting places are difficult to land in, especially without a pilot.

I know. But I want to see olympus mons and valles marineris close up, not some plain old field of rocks.

I mean look how deep this f*cking thing is


I think Ill have a heart attack when I first see some high res nasa pics of it close up.

[K^2]

It's not about Mars specifically. It's about another world. Something other than Earth. Pale Blue Dot shows Earth and an absolute vast emptiness besides. It's cold and uninviting. It doesn't help me grasp the need to leave Earth, because I already understand that need from rational perspective, and in terms of inspiration, that picture provides nothing more. A picture of another world doesn't just make me want to leave Earth because I have to. It makes me want to go somewhere. Mars. Titan. Europa. Then further out towards other star systems. Can you imagine watching a sunrise from a tidally locked moon of a gas giant? Preferably something with rings that take up half the sky.

Pale Blue Dot doesn't make me think of any of these things. And anything that can inspire to go out there and explore should.

QUOTE (OnePiece)

I know. But I want to see olympus mons and valles marineris close up, not some plain old field of rocks.

Oh, so do I. But this will only happen with a manned mission. Bug whatever representation you have in government to spend more money on space program.

This post has been edited by K^2 on Thursday, Aug 23 2012, 20:56

[oysterbarron]

Seeing that really makes me wish mars was bigger than earth, would look epic at night in the sky!

[K^2]

Also, would still be habitable, probably have Martians on it, and they'd probably kick our ass for sending nuclear-powered laser-blasting rovers to their planet.