Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
This post is in: Nature & Respite, Open Threads, Space, Fuck Yeah!
Bonus: Buzzfeed has assembled a batch of contemporary news photos that may not “Change Your Perspective Of The Moon Landing”, but that certainly have nostalgia value for those of us who can remember the original event!
Respite Open Thread: To the Moon, Google!Post + Comments (86)
This post is in: Excellent Links, Open Threads, Space, #notintendedtobeafactualstatement
A Saturn V rocket is being projected onto the Washington Monument right now — 50 years later, to the day, post-launch of Apollo 11.
This is incredible.#Apollo50th pic.twitter.com/4co25tP2JO
— John Kraus (@johnkrausphotos) July 17, 2019
The "moon landing was a fake" conspiracy theory is by far the most perfectly AMERICAN conspiracy theory in history because it only works logically if there are actually no other countries other than the USA, which 90% of Americans functionally believe
— Vincent Bevins (@Vinncent) July 8, 2018
I’m as big a Fortean as you’ll find outside an academic instituion, but sometimes I feel like Buzz Aldrin had the best response. Joel Achenbach, in the Washington Post:
… The moon hoax is a classic conspiracy theory — elaborate, oddly durable, requiring the existence of malevolent actors with a secret agenda. The moon-fakers are allegedly so competent they can fool the whole world (but not so competent that they can actually put humans on the moon).
Researchers suggest conspiracy theories are spreading more easily in today’s information universe, with the Internet functioning as a superconductor. A growing science of conspiracism seeks to understand who these people are, why they embrace such ideas, and whether there is anything that can dislodge a really magnetic conspiracy theory from the mind of a true believer.
Polls show that about 5 or 6 percent of the public subscribes to the moon-hoax theory, former NASA chief historian Roger Launius said. That is a modest number, but these folks showed up reliably whenever Launius gave a lecture on the topic: “They’re very vocal — and they love to confront you.”
As NASA celebrates Apollo 11, the space agency must decide whether, and how, to respond to the moon-hoax conspiracy theory…
A more direct response came from Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin when he was hectored by conspiracy theorist Bart Sibrel outside a Beverly Hills hotel in 2002.
Sibrel, brandishing a Bible and asking Aldrin to swear on it, said, “You’re the one who said you walked on the moon when you didn’t. . . . You’re a coward and a liar and a thief.”
WHAM.
Aldrin decked him with a right cross….
Even if you could pay Brezhnev (induce him somehow?) not to call bullshit and totally humiliate and destroy the reputation of its imperialist enemy, non-aligned countries like Yugoslavia or India would totally notice. It's not that hard to point a telescope at the sky and check
— Vincent Bevins (@Vinncent) July 8, 2018
Apollo 11 U.S. Customs form after first moon landing by astronauts, 50 years ago: pic.twitter.com/ARYxgg07pk
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) July 16, 2019
Sidebar:
We live in the weirdest time. pic.twitter.com/p5lkB4MTcQ
— JJ MacNab (@jjmacnab) July 16, 2019
To clarify, my father was *not* one of the Nazi scientists recruited in the 1940s. He was an American nuclear physicist.
— JJ MacNab (@jjmacnab) July 16, 2019
Open Thread: 50 Years of Apollo 11 ConspiraciesPost + Comments (47)
by Alain Chamot (1971-2020)| 26 Comments
This post is in: Space
Folks,
Tonight at 11:30 Eastern, the launch window opens for yet another Falcon Heavy launch from SpaceX, reusing side boosters from the April 2019 Arabsat 6a Falcon Heavy launch. The turnaround time – 73 days from that April 11 launch – is impressive, to put it mildly. They’re on their game.
After the launch, the boosters should land (in unison!) and the center rocket will hopefully touch down on the offshore drone ship. Watching the boosters begin to descend, burn, drift, turn, burn, drift, etc. is just amazing. It never gets old watching it happen for each new launch. And of course the final landings – solo or couple, land or sea – are just a nailbiter every time.
This will be an ambitious, complicated launch of a number of classified satellites and is a “demo tape” to gain a bunch more US military contracts. I expect their experience with the recent Starlink launch to deploy a host of satellites will inform their approach, but as Elon Musk has called this the most risky launch they’ve done, there’s a not-inconsiderable chance of spectacular failure.
Should be fun. I’ll be asleep hopefully but will watch the recording tomorrow morning and be able to FFWD through much of the slow time. I wish I was a Mountain Time/West Coaster or the night owl I was in my 20’s for such events.
Enjoy, night shift, and open thread!
Another SpaceX Launch – Most Complicated Satellite Deploy Evah!Post + Comments (26)
This post is in: Dolt 45, Open Threads, Republican Stupidity, Space, All Too Normal, Bring on the Brawndo!
We should tariff Mars until they give the moon back. https://t.co/ft5AoWYmIm
— Benn Steil (@BennSteil) June 7, 2019
1) Windmills
2) Self-driving cars
3) Rule of law https://t.co/IFtf0CTGPP— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) June 7, 2019
They could have blamed it on jet lag (or TBH on having to behave like some approximation of a grown-up for a whole three days in a row), but that would’ve implied their Dear Leader was susceptible to the weaknesses of mere mortals…
One Small Tweet for Trump, One Giant Question for NASA’s Moon Plans https://t.co/asGSP2DtwK
— erin mccann | (@mccanner) June 7, 2019
… At a meeting of the NASA Advisory Council last week, William H. Gerstenmaier, NASA’s associate administrator for human exploration and operations, said that it was unlikely that appropriators in Congress would agree to provide all the money needed for a 2024 moon landing, and that the agency would likely have to cut the budgets for other areas of the space agency.
Hours after the tweet was sent, a White House official attempted to clarify Mr. Trump’s meaning, saying that the administration’s space goals were unchanged. The official added that by seeking additional resources for a journey to the moon within the next five years, the Trump administration intended to accelerate a crewed American visit to Mars…
More and more people are recognizing it. pic.twitter.com/WG95VwVOt6
— Schooley (@Rschooley) June 7, 2019
Sorry, but I'm not going to get too torn up by people not decoding what President Makestuffupalot "really meant" in his tortured syntax of a tweet.
— Schooley (@Rschooley) June 7, 2019
When Trump starts tweeting about a weird thing for no apparent reason…
Left, Fox Business, 12:26 p.m.
Neil Cavuto: NASA is "refocusing on the moon, the next sort of quest, if you will, but didn't we do this moon thing quite a few decades ago?"
Right, Trump, 1:38 p.m. pic.twitter.com/oRTPu4TWEm
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) June 7, 2019
Late Night Clown Shoes Open Thread: <em>To the… MARS, Alice!</em>Post + Comments (49)
This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Hail to the Hairpiece, Open Threads, Republican Stupidity, Space, Assholes
Subcommittee chairman Cruz: pirates threaten the open seas, and the same is possible in space, hence need for a Space Force.
— Jeff Foust (@jeff_foust) May 14, 2019
Ted Cruz argues that Space Force is necessary because… wait for it… space pirates. Leave it to Cruz to take a dumb Trump idea and make it sound even dumber. pic.twitter.com/xjjItA3EV3
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) May 15, 2019
There’s a joke to be made that Ted Cruz might possibly be a space alien in a badly-designed human suit, but seriously: even TV Tropes doesn’t take ‘Space Pirates’ seriously.
Senator Ted Cruz thinks those of us concerned about climate change are alarmist, but he’s adamant that the nation invest in protection against space pirates https://t.co/aq1VL1kHhs
— Katie Mack (@AstroKatie) May 15, 2019
Of course, Raphael ‘Ted’ Cruz is taking the resulting online abuse predictably:
I, for one, blame the space pirates. https://t.co/4jXiBYqT85
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) May 16, 2019
Presumably related, somehow, to Cruz’s new boogeymonsters (note Rep. Johnson’s home state):
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), chair of the House Science Committee, questions the administration’s budget amendment for NASA in a statement: “…based on the limited information provided to Congress it is impossible to judge the merits of the President’s budget amendment.”
— Jeff Foust (@jeff_foust) May 15, 2019
Funding the Moon effort by raiding Pell grants will destroy bipartisan support for the space program for a generation.
Everything Trump touches dies.@TheRickWilson https://t.co/b6n76wWwqG— Robert Zubrin (@robert_zubrin) May 15, 2019
It’s like if Eisenhower first funded NASA by gutting the GI Bill.
— Chris Iannacone (@ChrisIannacone) May 15, 2019
“Education – feh! SPACE PIRATES, pew pew pew!”
Late Night Thieves’ Paradise Open Thread: SPACE PIRATES!!!Post + Comments (47)
This post is in: Cat Blogging, Election 2020, Open Threads, Space, All we want is life beyond the thunderdome
CNN to host town halls with five Democratic presidential candidates on April 22 – CNNPolitics https://t.co/HnFLCcrIXK
— Kyung Lah (@KyungLahCNN) April 11, 2019
Whatever else you might say about the illo, grant CNN this: They cannot be accused of artificially darkening Senator Harris’ complexion!
… The CNN town halls are co-hosted by the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College and the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School. The presidential hopefuls will field questions directly from students and young New Hampshire Democrats, said a CNN spokeswoman, who added the audience will be drawn from the two schools and a pool of young Democrats living in the state.
On April 22, Chris Cuomo will moderate the Klobuchar (7 p.m. ET) and Sanders (9 p.m. ET) town halls, Anderson Cooper will moderate the Warren (8 p.m. ET) and Buttigieg (11 p.m. ET) town halls, and Don Lemon will moderate the Harris (10 p.m. ET) town hall.
The CNN town halls will take place on the campus of Saint Anselm College, and coincide with the release of the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School’s new national poll of young voters…
.
Elsewhere in the twitterverse:
Congratulations to Katie Bouman to whom we owe the first photograph of a black hole ever. Not seeing her name circulate nearly enough in the press.
Amazing work. And here’s to more women in science (getting their credit and being remembered in history) ?????? pic.twitter.com/wcPhB6E5qK
— Tamy Emma Pepin (@TamyEmmaPepin) April 10, 2019
Left: MIT computer scientist Katie Bouman w/stacks of hard drives of black hole image data.
Right: MIT computer scientist Margaret Hamilton w/the code she wrote that helped put a man on the moon.
(image credit @floragraham)#EHTblackhole #BlackHoleDay #BlackHole pic.twitter.com/Iv5PIc8IYd
— MIT CSAIL (@MIT_CSAIL) April 10, 2019
And finally, important news update: Julian Assange’s former cat has been safely re-homed. (Yes, I too thought this had been settled months ago.)
Friday Morning Open Thread: How Far We’ve ComePost + Comments (200)
by Alain Chamot (1971-2020)| 18 Comments
This post is in: Because of wow., Space
Folks,
Barring more upper-atmosphere wind issues that postponed yesterday’s launch, between 6:35 and 8:31 pm Eastern today, Space X will launch their first commercial Falcon Heavy Flight. Should be exciting!
Perhaps most exciting is their attempt to land three boosters simultaneously, two on the pad on terra firma and one on a autonomous drone ship. I’m hoping for an exceptional show.
URL is https://www.spacex.com/webcast
This video should go live approx 20 minutes before launch.
This really is a week for space. Yesterday’s amazing release of the first picture of a black hole and today’s earlier crash-landing on the moon by Israel’s Beresheet spacecraft will make this week one for the history books. Let’s hope the launch tonight isn’t postponed and is perfect. Fingers crossed!
Up, Up, and Away – and Down, Down, Down!Post + Comments (18)