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How are we supposed to get off this rock...
Stingray
Elite Ranger
in Zocalo v2.0
...if we keep failing to excite people about what's out there?!
You read the headline: [URL="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081113/ap_on_sc/sci_new_planets"]"First fuzzy photos of planets outside solar system"[/URL] and you think, awesome!! But then you click on the image and all you see is [URL="http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Hubble-Telescope-NASA/photo//081113/480/cdb035b52b5b413a80da4d10bb811841//s:/ap/20081113/ap_on_sc/sci_new_planets;_ylt=Ak9F7x9XA5FkZ2tRvMAmVIFxieAA#photoViewer=/081113/480/cdb035b52b5b413a80da4d10bb811841"]this poor excuse for an image of a planet.[/URL] And you don't get to see a planet, but something else (the remnants of a supernova?). Then you think to yourself, this can't be it, so you click on the next image and then you get to see this laughable attempt at a picture of an extra-solar planet. And NO, it's not the bright dot at the center, that's the star of the system.
So basically, all this build-up for TWO BRIGHT RED PIXELS taken two years apart??? That's it? You've got to be kidding me!!!!
Anyway... how is science supposed to get us anywhere if we can't get people to become excited about science? All we have is consumers who drool over next year's gadget, the [I]iBong![/I]
I really hope the next 4 years will be better in that respect, I really do.
That is all, please, carry on.
You read the headline: [URL="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081113/ap_on_sc/sci_new_planets"]"First fuzzy photos of planets outside solar system"[/URL] and you think, awesome!! But then you click on the image and all you see is [URL="http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Hubble-Telescope-NASA/photo//081113/480/cdb035b52b5b413a80da4d10bb811841//s:/ap/20081113/ap_on_sc/sci_new_planets;_ylt=Ak9F7x9XA5FkZ2tRvMAmVIFxieAA#photoViewer=/081113/480/cdb035b52b5b413a80da4d10bb811841"]this poor excuse for an image of a planet.[/URL] And you don't get to see a planet, but something else (the remnants of a supernova?). Then you think to yourself, this can't be it, so you click on the next image and then you get to see this laughable attempt at a picture of an extra-solar planet. And NO, it's not the bright dot at the center, that's the star of the system.
So basically, all this build-up for TWO BRIGHT RED PIXELS taken two years apart??? That's it? You've got to be kidding me!!!!
Anyway... how is science supposed to get us anywhere if we can't get people to become excited about science? All we have is consumers who drool over next year's gadget, the [I]iBong![/I]
I really hope the next 4 years will be better in that respect, I really do.
That is all, please, carry on.
Comments
It's [URL="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/photomoore13s/TheEyeOfSauron_800.jpg"]this[/URL].
Worf
You must be talking about those [I]real[/I] scientists that get the standard and metric systems all mixed up, right? :D
[QUOTE]For anyone who doesn't get excited about them, there's not much we can do.[/QUOTE]
I disagree. I'm sure there are high resolution images of this discovery and all the press does in this case is distribute some thumbnail to the public.
Look at the bigger picture, they must be working with higher resolution images or how are they going to notice a difference in all that mess? Unless they work in a different region of the light spectrum, I guess. IIRC, the Hubble uses different methods of looking at the stars.
Looks really cool though. :)
Because that's relevant.
[quote]I disagree. I'm sure there are high resolution images of this discovery and all the press does in this case is distribute some thumbnail to the public.[/QUOTE]
In the full-res picture the planet is still only a few pixels, which is what you appeared to be complaining about. Yahoo! News! rarely puts up big pictures on their site of anything, not just scientific images, while many other news sites provide links to higher resolutions.
The thing you have to remember is that these news organisations are commercial entities, and as such will cater to what they perceive as their target demographic. Yahoo News isn't a scientific magazine, and they have no mandate to make people excited about science. Trying to force one on them, as much as I think it would bring a benefit, would not be the right approach.
Besides, we arn't going to get high resolution images of any extra solar planet.
Considering this is one of the best images taken of [URL="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/10/12/sharpest-image-of-pluto-ever-taken/"]pluto[/URL], and that is in our own solar system, I find it AMAZING that we have any images of extrasolar planets at all.
I look at the hi res image and just slightly blur my eyes a tad, and I get a good indication of what it looks like. BTW, that planet must be one big sucka! :)
Moving at a pretty good clip for that kind of arc over 2 years. ;)
I suppose a lot of discoveries are made by comparing before and after shots. That's quite a simple, yet effective way of exploring the universe.
What's a bit disconcerting is that asteroids are often discovered that way as well, especially those tumbling our way.
Much ado about nothing. It's just that in all that media noise the really cool stuff gets lost. The media doesn't discriminate, everything is important. :D
[QUOTE]The place to make people excited about science is at school.[/QUOTE]
That alone is a whole discussion onto itself.
I think shows like [I]Mythbusters[/I] do a pretty good job at flexing anyone's cerebral muscle who harbors the slightest bit of curiosity. While the show lacks the academic part, as in a complete (boring) lecture, it shows many examples of how the scientific method helps in setting up experiments or predicting the outcome even though theory and practice can differ widely.
Edutainment is probably the right term and channels like Discovery and others can help. Shows like MacGyver on the other hand.... :D