Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Mageth · 02-05-2003, 03:33 PM

Edited to add: Ahh.. I found the number. It's only about 0.5 magnitudes per airmass in visible extinction. So you could probably see down to 6.5 or so, so it's not quite the dramatic improvement that I had thought earlier (though airmass increases very quickly away from the zenith).

If you're saying that only .5 luminosity is lost by the atmosphere, like I think you are, then that's not really that dramatic of an improvement, I admit. But I bet it would still be a sight to behold.

Shadowy Man · 02-05-2003, 03:37 PM

The darkest site I've been to is the Sutherland astronomical site in South Africa. The sky was amazing - breathtaking - especially since I had never seen the southern sky. I could see the bar in the LMC!

Yes, you are right, every star will look a bit brighter, and then you'll see a load of other stars pop into view. Next time I talk to an astronaut I'll have to ask this question of them.

Mageth · 02-05-2003, 03:43 PM

Once when camping on top of a hill in the canyon country/Chihuahuan desert of West Texas , we saw what appeared to be a bonfire, or a very bright spotlight, appear right on the horizon on top of a ridge. We puzzled over it a bit, speculating on what it might be, and in the meantime, it rose over the horizon. Venus, for christssake!

Jimmy Higgins · 02-05-2003, 05:41 PM

Man, you guys are inspiring me to head to Tobermory again. (Tobermory is at the tip of Bruce Pennisula. Which is that land mass in between Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. You want to talk about isolated? Nothing beats hundreds of miles of water for darkness!) Granted, when I first went there, in the summer, the black flies and mosquitos were too much to bare to be out, even with all skin covered! So I wasn't able to see as much as I'd like, though the sunsets were very nice.

Hedwig · 02-05-2003, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Joe V.
You know it's coming, once space tourism becomes popular enough, somebody's going to make the first zero-gravity porno.

- Joe

Yay! I'll be needing a job.

cjack · 02-05-2003, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jimmy Higgins
Man, you guys are inspiring me to head to Tobermory again. (Tobermory is at the tip of Bruce Pennisula. Which is that land mass in between Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. You want to talk about isolated? Nothing beats hundreds of miles of water for darkness!) Granted, when I first went there, in the summer, the black flies and mosquitos were too much to bare to be out, even with all skin covered! So I wasn't able to see as much as I'd like, though the sunsets were very nice.

Tobermory! Beautiful place. Yet not as isolated as some of the towns just north of there in the North Channel, like Little Current and Killarney. On the whole, that is probably the most strikingly beautiful real estate in all of Canada.

Back to the subject of space travel:

Hell yes. Where do I sign up? I've done a few risky things (like skydiving) that were well worth the small chance of death. Doing something like that puts your own mortality in perspective...being able to see the Earth from orbit would be a bonus!

View Poll Results: Would you risk a 1-2% chance of death on a spaceflight?
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02-05-2003, 03:33 PM	#51
Mageth Contributor Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Deep in the heart of mother-lovin' Texas Posts: 29,689	Edited to add: Ahh.. I found the number. It's only about 0.5 magnitudes per airmass in visible extinction. So you could probably see down to 6.5 or so, so it's not quite the dramatic improvement that I had thought earlier (though airmass increases very quickly away from the zenith). If you're saying that only .5 luminosity is lost by the atmosphere, like I think you are, then that's not really that dramatic of an improvement, I admit. But I bet it would still be a sight to behold.

02-05-2003, 03:37 PM	#52
Shadowy Man Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: A Shadowy Planet Posts: 7,585	The darkest site I've been to is the Sutherland astronomical site in South Africa. The sky was amazing - breathtaking - especially since I had never seen the southern sky. I could see the bar in the LMC! Yes, you are right, every star will look a bit brighter, and then you'll see a load of other stars pop into view. Next time I talk to an astronaut I'll have to ask this question of them.

02-05-2003, 03:43 PM	#53
Mageth Contributor Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Deep in the heart of mother-lovin' Texas Posts: 29,689	Once when camping on top of a hill in the canyon country/Chihuahuan desert of West Texas , we saw what appeared to be a bonfire, or a very bright spotlight, appear right on the horizon on top of a ridge. We puzzled over it a bit, speculating on what it might be, and in the meantime, it rose over the horizon. Venus, for christssake!

02-05-2003, 05:41 PM	#54
Jimmy Higgins Contributor Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Proud Citizen of Freedonia Posts: 42,473	Man, you guys are inspiring me to head to Tobermory again. (Tobermory is at the tip of Bruce Pennisula. Which is that land mass in between Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. You want to talk about isolated? Nothing beats hundreds of miles of water for darkness!) Granted, when I first went there, in the summer, the black flies and mosquitos were too much to bare to be out, even with all skin covered! So I wasn't able to see as much as I'd like, though the sunsets were very nice.

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