One Small Step
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One Small Step
Pity I hadn't seen this closer to Neil Armstrong's passing - the Earth and the moon from about 6 million miles away (courtesy probe Juno en route Jupiter).
It was only just now when I saw this that I truly grasped the enormity of that "small step" - across that great void from one small planet to the (very faint) small moon - makes you feel small!
The Apollo project was a magnificent effort.
It was only just now when I saw this that I truly grasped the enormity of that "small step" - across that great void from one small planet to the (very faint) small moon - makes you feel small!
The Apollo project was a magnificent effort.
Purveyor of Egg Liqueur to Lucifer
Nice one Walter 
... from 'only' 6 million miles away!
On a clear night looking up to the stars, it certainly makes you think.
... from 'only' 6 million miles away!
On a clear night looking up to the stars, it certainly makes you think.
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Probably the best book on the Apollo landings and life as a test pilot in those days:
Possibly the best birthday present I could have wanted as a teenager.
Possibly the best birthday present I could have wanted as a teenager.
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As impressive as it is, the photograph, in my opinion, underplays the distance between the two.
The moon is 384 000 km from the Earth. The Earth diameter is 12 000 km, and the Moon 3 000 km. So if the Earth was the size of a football, the orange-sized moon would be some 22 metres away.
I suspect the Moon was either closer or further away in the image, foreshortening the apparent distance.
The moon is 384 000 km from the Earth. The Earth diameter is 12 000 km, and the Moon 3 000 km. So if the Earth was the size of a football, the orange-sized moon would be some 22 metres away.
I suspect the Moon was either closer or further away in the image, foreshortening the apparent distance.
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The apparent distance will depend on the position of the Moon in it's orbit around the Earth. It could be anywhere from behind the Earth to the maximum distance, depending on when the photograph was taken...so there is no way of telling from the photo.
Purveyor of Egg Liqueur to Lucifer
Well, Juno is on her way back towards Earth for a slingshot to Jupiter, so perhaps they can line her up for a pic that gives the moon out at the 3 o'clock position
From Wikipedia:
The Moon orbiting Earth with sizes and distances to scale. Each pixel represents 500 km.
The Moon orbiting Earth with sizes and distances to scale. Each pixel represents 500 km.
Last edited by Easy Street; 10th Jan 2013 at 23:50.
Purveyor of Egg Liqueur to Lucifer
Adam, just how does that explain it better than any other posts on this thread?
Purveyor of Egg Liqueur to Lucifer
Perhaps this explains it (The Galaxy Song) better;
Eric Idle sings that the Earth is "revolving at nine hundred miles an hour"; the actual figure (at the equator) is 1,038.
He gives the Earth's orbital speed as 19 miles (31 km) per second, compared with the real figure of 18 to 18.5.
Idle states that the Sun is "the source of all our power". In fact, three notable sources of electrical power are not directly traceable to the Sun: The first is Geothermal power, which is derived from Geothermal energy, 20% of which remains from the original planet formation and 80% of which is derived from ongoing radioactive decay. The second source is the Moon's effects on tides and the associated method of power generation. The third is Nuclear power derived from Uranium and other fissile elements. Ultimately, however, the overwhelming proportion of human-generated power derived from fossil fuels and thence from photosynthetic plants makes this line a very good approximation to the truth. Even these power sources, however, are available only because of the Sun's influence on our early solar system, so Idle's statement is correct in a literal (if somewhat pedantic) sense even if not for practical purposes.
Idle's figures for the size of the Milky Way galaxy are roughly correct. He understates the speed at which the Sun orbits the "galactic central point", but he gives a good estimate for the total time per orbit ("two hundred million years" according to the song, compared with accepted figures of 220 to 250 million years.
The song goes on to say that we are "thirty thousand light years from galactic central point". In fact, the Sun is more like 25 000 light years from the centre of the Milky Way.
It also states that the galaxy is "a hundred thousand light years side to side". This would make the galactic radius 50 000 light years, which is accurate.
Australian astrophysicist Bryan Gaensler has even stated that Eric's estimation of the thickness of the Milky Way, at 16,000 light years, is more accurate than the official 'textbook' figure of 6,000 light years.
However, the song's position on this has now been confused by Eric's recent performance of the song which forms part of his Not the Messiah show where the figure he sings is only 6,000 light years.
The reason for the confusion has since been explained in a message from Eric on the official Monty Python website, Pythonline.com:
"...There was some smug website pulling apart all my original figures for the song (written circa 1981) so for the 2003 Tour (or maybe 2000) I "updated" them. Now you tell me I was right all along! Not sure where I got my figures originally but tell the bastards to make up their minds."
The ultimate verse explains that the universe is expanding, and furthermore that the speed of light is the "fastest speed there is". Idle's estimate is a good one: 12 million miles per minute, versus the standard figure of about 11.16 million miles per minute.
Eric Idle sings that the Earth is "revolving at nine hundred miles an hour"; the actual figure (at the equator) is 1,038.
He gives the Earth's orbital speed as 19 miles (31 km) per second, compared with the real figure of 18 to 18.5.
Idle states that the Sun is "the source of all our power". In fact, three notable sources of electrical power are not directly traceable to the Sun: The first is Geothermal power, which is derived from Geothermal energy, 20% of which remains from the original planet formation and 80% of which is derived from ongoing radioactive decay. The second source is the Moon's effects on tides and the associated method of power generation. The third is Nuclear power derived from Uranium and other fissile elements. Ultimately, however, the overwhelming proportion of human-generated power derived from fossil fuels and thence from photosynthetic plants makes this line a very good approximation to the truth. Even these power sources, however, are available only because of the Sun's influence on our early solar system, so Idle's statement is correct in a literal (if somewhat pedantic) sense even if not for practical purposes.
Idle's figures for the size of the Milky Way galaxy are roughly correct. He understates the speed at which the Sun orbits the "galactic central point", but he gives a good estimate for the total time per orbit ("two hundred million years" according to the song, compared with accepted figures of 220 to 250 million years.
The song goes on to say that we are "thirty thousand light years from galactic central point". In fact, the Sun is more like 25 000 light years from the centre of the Milky Way.
It also states that the galaxy is "a hundred thousand light years side to side". This would make the galactic radius 50 000 light years, which is accurate.
Australian astrophysicist Bryan Gaensler has even stated that Eric's estimation of the thickness of the Milky Way, at 16,000 light years, is more accurate than the official 'textbook' figure of 6,000 light years.
However, the song's position on this has now been confused by Eric's recent performance of the song which forms part of his Not the Messiah show where the figure he sings is only 6,000 light years.
The reason for the confusion has since been explained in a message from Eric on the official Monty Python website, Pythonline.com:
"...There was some smug website pulling apart all my original figures for the song (written circa 1981) so for the 2003 Tour (or maybe 2000) I "updated" them. Now you tell me I was right all along! Not sure where I got my figures originally but tell the bastards to make up their minds."
The ultimate verse explains that the universe is expanding, and furthermore that the speed of light is the "fastest speed there is". Idle's estimate is a good one: 12 million miles per minute, versus the standard figure of about 11.16 million miles per minute.
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I recall my science teacher telling me, this was many years ago you understand, to try and grasp the enormity of the distance between the Earth and the Sun...
He said, imagine the Sun was the size of a large beach ball, and the Earth was, in comparison, the size of a pinhead (that in itself was rather dramatic!), how far, he asked were the two separated do you think?
He gave the answer as 175 miles, now that really got the message across!
He said, imagine the Sun was the size of a large beach ball, and the Earth was, in comparison, the size of a pinhead (that in itself was rather dramatic!), how far, he asked were the two separated do you think?
He gave the answer as 175 miles, now that really got the message across!
Last edited by EW73; 11th Jan 2013 at 10:31.
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Originally Posted by Douglas Adams
Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.
