Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Calzaer · 08-04-2003, 11:08 PM

My grandmother usually sends me godspam, so when I opened my e-mail tonight I was almost cringing... but this is gorgeous. It's one of the last pictures taken by the Columbia Space Shuttle. I was enthralled.

Jesse · 08-04-2003, 11:17 PM

It's a fake, although it's a composite of real pictures. Nothing to do with Columbia anyway.

http://www.snopes.com/photos/sunset.asp

This site lists some signs that it can't be real:

http://www.greeblie.com/arch/009168.html

Quote:

1. Given the range of area covered by the photo (from the Arctic to the Equator), the shuttle would have had to have been several thousand miles up, instead of the 200-300 miles it usually orbits...

2. The picture shows what the topography of the OCEAN FLOOR looks like, never mind that they are covered by miles of not that clear water. You just can't see those features from space in a real photograph.

3. My photographer friends tell me it would be damn near impossible to get bright sunlit areas and nighttime areas to expose to the same visibility in a single photograph.

4. The terminator, the division between light as shadow (not Arnold), should either be straight or curved one way but not S-curved. This picture was picked up from a FLAT representation of the earth, like a map.

Also, there's a suspicious total lack of clouds in the picture...

Calzaer · 08-04-2003, 11:19 PM

I'll thank thee to cease stomping upon my buzz, forthwith.

Lobstrosity · 08-05-2003, 12:27 AM

If you'd like to know more about the photo, go here:

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030324.html

For other night photos of Earth from space, see:

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030411.html
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020810.html

PopeInTheWoods · 08-06-2003, 10:36 PM

Just from looking at it, two additional clues that it has nothing to do with Columbia:

- The shuttle crashed on February 1, still winter in the Northern Hemisphere. The angle of the terminator in this picture appears to put the North Pole in daylight, which only happens in the summer.

- The shuttle crashed around 0800 EST. This picture shows sunset in Western Europe, putting the US East Coast in early or mid-afternoon.

Andy

08-04-2003, 11:08 PM	#1
Calzaer Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Ohio Posts: 2,762	Gorgeous Picture! My grandmother usually sends me godspam, so when I opened my e-mail tonight I was almost cringing... but this is gorgeous. It's one of the last pictures taken by the Columbia Space Shuttle. I was enthralled.

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08-04-2003, 11:19 PM	#3
Calzaer Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Ohio Posts: 2,762	I'll thank thee to cease stomping upon my buzz, forthwith.

08-05-2003, 12:27 AM	#4
Lobstrosity Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: San Diego, California Posts: 719	If you'd like to know more about the photo, go here: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030324.html For other night photos of Earth from space, see: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030411.html http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020810.html

08-06-2003, 10:36 PM	#5
PopeInTheWoods Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Rochester NY USA Posts: 4,318	Just from looking at it, two additional clues that it has nothing to do with Columbia: - The shuttle crashed on February 1, still winter in the Northern Hemisphere. The angle of the terminator in this picture appears to put the North Pole in daylight, which only happens in the summer. - The shuttle crashed around 0800 EST. This picture shows sunset in Western Europe, putting the US East Coast in early or mid-afternoon. Andy

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