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NASA launches Lucy In The Sky with Diamonds
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Those space flight videos are awesome Jurgen. That first one is so soothing and calming, and the second one really amazing too. I use to have this software years ago, Encarta Globe, and it had this virtual flight feature that enabled you to fly over the entire earth at a satellite level with all the terrain features, countries, cities unfolding in front of you with some cool music that I use to run and sit back and watch. This reminds me of that, but with much better graphics. Thanks, was very enjoyable.
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This has probably been technologically superseded, but I used to achieve the “flying over the Earth” effect on a website called n2yo.com . You can choose pretty much any satellite currently in orbit around the Earth (the default is the international space station) and look straight down from it at a simulation of the portion of the planet it is flying over at the moment, updated about once a second. It used to offer a choice between map and satellite views of the terrain, but only the map view seems to be available now, which is a significantly less magical experience.
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I’m always skeptical when I see what messages we humans send into space. Voyager had the famous golden records on board, with a schematic representation of the human anatomy, various mathematical formula, as a universal language, music and sounds from earth. That’s probably okay. Lucy has a plaque with the lyrics of „Lucy in the sky with diamonds“ on it. Is that a good idea? What happens if one of Lucy’s maneuvering thrusters malfunctions, which I hope not, and it drifts out of our solar system?
Picture yourself in a boat on a river of a small green planet, dotted with big red spots. This planet, larger than our Mars but much smaller than Jupiter, orbits at a safe distance around a large red sun. On this world live, shall we say, Humisecs (Human insectoids). The Humanics, as they call themselves, live in small toadstool houses and happily nibble grass all day, until one day something heavy and unknown crashes onto their planet, right at their feet, pardon their antennae: Lucy. At first, the Humanics are very surprised, but then they discover a small plaque on the object, on which a text is written in unknown writing. But for the Humanics no problem, because they have not only six extremities, but also six brains and so the text is quickly translated. And to their great delight, they discover that the strange object comes from a planet, where the female life forms have kaleidoscope eyes, just like the Humanics, ride rocking horses, eat all day marshmallow pies and live under a sky that shimmers jam bread red, just like their own sky. Full of joy at having finally met an intelligent life form just like themselves, the Humanics board their spaceships, not without first loading up on decent amounts of strawberries. Humanics love strawberries more than anything else and the red spots on their planet are nothing else than huge strawberry fields, which can already be seen from space. Some time and two wormholes later, they land on the unknown planet Earth, in a city where people call themselves Liverpudlians and like to eat scouse. Directly beside a small church, on whose way still lie grains of rice from the last wedding and old, stuffed socks on a clothesline hang. And while the Humanics get out of their spaceship, they are curiously observed by a face in a jar by the door and the bells of the church intonate a melody that seems strangely familiar to them: „Strawberry Fields for ever“ and all of a sudden they have the feeling of having arrived home again. That would be a nice first contact, wouldn’t it?
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Jurgen,
Ray Bradbury, Frank Herbert & Robert Heinlein should take notes from you.
I wonder if any of them ever experimented with Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.
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Thanks Tom. The Big Three (among many other geniuses) of science fiction literature. I „devoured“ “Dune”, although the second and the third part become a bit long winded. The later books of the cycle, I think there were three, then I have no longer read. My idols are Douglas Adams (such beautiful crazy stories), Stanislaw Lem (probably little known in the US, he has written very challenging, but sometimes also very crazy stories), H.G. Wells, and Jules Verne. But also Tom Sharpe, although not a science fiction author, I like very much. Philip K. Dick had a lot of interesting ideas (but he has also taken many „interesting“ drugs). Do you like reading science fiction or fantasy?
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I am really not a bookworm.
And my tastes are eclectic. No specific genre.
I am partly through Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series.
“Hitchhiker’s Guide” came up recently in another discussion thread.
It’s been on my list since college.
It is now in my shopping cart at B&N. I should get to it this winter.
Thanks
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Jurgen, that is some imaginative and vivid writing, I was starting to get interested in what happens next. Tom is right, Ray Bradbury and others should take notes from you.
I watched a review about the latest Dune movie and they suggested learning a bit of the plot beforehand as a prerequisite to get the most impact out of the movie from the start, so I sat through a 20 minute video whirlwind tour of books 1 thru 4. Now I wonder if I need to even go see the movie, LOL. I think I will, “spice” sounds interesting. In the movie there is supposed to be a whole planet full of it where the movie plot takes place. It’s supposed to be like cinnamon, and I like cinnamon buns, especially fresh out of the oven.
But seriously Dune sounds like an epic saga on the scale of Star Wars and Lord of The Rings, in fact I heard someone say George Lucas took some inspiration from Dune when he wrote Star Wars.
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Thanks Jung, sometimes I have a lot of fun thinking up little stories like that. I am also very excited about the remake of “Dune”. I have seen the first filming. At that time with musician Sting in a supporting role and also the television three-parter. I can only faintly remember both of them. You can look at the film from two perspectives: either entertaining science fiction. Good fights evil and helps an oppressed minority. So to say Star Wars with a shot of Ghandi. Or as space opera: family intrigues, power struggles, who with whom, or who with whom not, why like this and not quite different? Above all: where and when. And then there is the mysterious role of Spice, the sand worms and the space pilots. Sounds confusing? Yes, if you like that: read the books. Otherwise, watch the movie instead. As you said, it’s an epic saga in the style of Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. I find the idea of the Fremen people and the sandworms very exciting.
Uh Jung, don’t bake „Spice“ cinnamon buns for now. Watch the movie first and see what happens to people who consume „Spice“. Against the side effects also „fresh from oven“ does not help.
PS: You’ve already seen 20 minutes of previews?! That was probably the entire highlights of the film Jung… . The remaining 100 minutes are just dialogue and a few landscape shots 🙂 Seriously: you should like the movie.
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Lucy just made its first pass by the Earth the other day on its way to visit some of Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids, and used the occasion to take some calibration images of the Earth and the Moon, including a photo that most spacecraft are never in position to obtain: Earth and Moon in the same frame, showing their relative sizes and brightness and their separation. I just thought I’d share it here because it’s one of those cool “you are here” kinds of experiences.
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/tt1_0718931263_ega1_earth_moon.png
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Hey David! Wow, that is a most intriguing and striking image of our world with it’s even tinier moon. Thanks for sharing it.
It reminds me of Carl Sagan’s observation of our “pale blue dot”, and the sobering and humbling perspective of how small and insignificant we are in the vast expanse. And it was exactly a year ago NASA launched “Lucy” with a plaque of the lyrics of the Beatles “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”. The release of MLTs most amazing “Why” exactly a year later is timely. Looking at that image from deep space of our insignificant world, I can really feel the passion of the song “Why”.
This image and Why resonate ever so passionately in these times!
The Pale Blue Dot:
“A mode of dust suspended in a sunbeam, the earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and triumph they can become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot.
Our posturings, our imagined self importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. There is perhaps no better demonstration than 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.” – Carl Sagan.
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Less than an hour from now Lucy will make its closest approach to its first target: a 0.7 km diameter asteroid called Dinkinesh. If I see a picture posted, I’ll add it here.
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That is fascinating David, getting so close to a little asteroid and getting a close up picture. After the encounter with this asteroid, Lucy will swing by the earth again end of next year for a gravitational catapult to encounter the next bigger asteroid. Do post a photo if you find it. Did a quick search on the net, but nothing yet from NASA.
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Here we go! Turns out Dinkinesh has an even smaller binary companion:
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Thanks David. That little binary protege following Dinkinesh is interesting. It’s fascinating to see this little world of it’s own, like seeing a small deserted island in a vast ocean.
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Jung,
You might like this. NASA took this shot in September from a probe called Juno.
This is a shot of Jupiter, or so they say. I think it’s Janitor Joe.
And yeah, I finally noticed most of the posts in this thread are 2 years old.
nasa.gov
Just in Time for Halloween, NASA’s Juno Mission Spots Eerie “Face” on Jupiter - NASA
On Sept. 7, 2023, during its 54th close flyby of Jupiter, NASA’s Juno mission captured this view of an area in the giant planet’s far northern regions called
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Hi Chris
This image is amazing, it looks like a sad clown face. The infinite worlds that are unfolding at this moment across the vast universe, or multi-verse is mind blowing. That is what is so incredible for me when I see an image from another planet, makes me wonder what secrets and mysteries it holds. I’ve spent days in a desert and there are so many fascinating things to uncover, and to think there are grand canyons in other planets that make ours pale in comparison….it is all just fascinating.
With JWST, we are discovering new worlds and phenomena that is making the scientists go back to the drawing board. I think everyone is holding their breath to one day see undisputable evidence of another life form or civilization from a long time ago. Cosmology is so endlessly fascinating, and I love MLT are interested in all things space and beyond too. Their pretending to know an alien story with one of their schoolmates when they were little cracked me up. Where did you go Janitor Joe.
Thanks for that trajectory mathematical formula generation tool. Looks interesting, will check it out.
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