so, i think that varka should be called aldebaran.

i just want to know who gets the joke.

I don't get the joke.

And now I'm trying to figure out what Varka has to do with Ragnarok Online.

Marbles said:
I don't get the joke.

And now I'm trying to figure out what Varka has to do with Ragnarok Online.

it has nothing to do with that

Is this a Chekov joke?

Is it because varka is being like a giant orange star way the hell away in some other 'world' but he's still the brightest in his constalation? or am I wrong?

If you're reading this, your internet works.

I still think it has something to do with Ragnarok Online.

He's Santa Claus right?

skeeter said:
Is it because varka is being like a giant orange star way the hell away in some other 'world' but he's still the brightest in his constalation? or am I wrong?

actually, you're very close.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEheh1BH34Q
about 58 seconds in.
note, i'm just messin around, i mean no disrespect.

i get it becuase he's "bigger" than arcturus hurr hurr. never really been much of an astronomy buff

nme22 said:
actually, you're very close.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEheh1BH34Q
about 58 seconds in.
note, i'm just messin around, i mean no disrespect.

It's cause skeeter is technically a scientist and works for NASA :3

skeeter said:
It's cause skeeter is technically a scientist and works for NASA :3

That is awesome. I wish I could do more to help NASA stay funded asides from complain to my congressman and watch the 25th anniversary edition of Cosmos by Carl Sagan.

Can you believe it's been 30 years since that series was made? And it's still fantastic programming.

skeeter said:
It's cause skeeter is technically a scientist and works for NASA :3

is skeeter speaking in third person?

Yes skeeter is speaking in third person.

ikdind said:
That is awesome. I wish I could do more to help NASA stay funded asides from complain to my congressman and watch the 25th anniversary edition of Cosmos by Carl Sagan.

Can you believe it's been 30 years since that series was made? And it's still fantastic programming.

i never really watched it sadly, i've only read the book.

banana_milkshake said:
i never really watched it sadly, i've only read the book.

http://www.hulu.com/cosmos

I'm slowly working through it. awesome show ♥

ikdind said:
That is awesome. I wish I could do more to help NASA stay funded asides from complain to my congressman and watch the 25th anniversary edition of Cosmos by Carl Sagan.

Can you believe it's been 30 years since that series was made? And it's still fantastic programming.

NASA won't go down with out a fight, one of the ideas that has sprung up in the past couple of years was mining asteroids for iron ore and nickle, which will provide a better future for the US economy, and also, we are the only people Earth has to defend it from a catastrophic asteroid collison.

As for Cosmos by Carl Sagan, it's one of my favorite shows.

skeeter said:
Yes skeeter is speaking in third person.

well, SO DID CEASAR!!!YOUR A TYRANT!! KILL HIM IN THE SHELL!!!
jk.

But, I NO HAVE THE FALLING DESEASE, EPILEPSY, *twitch*

skeeter said:
one of the ideas that has sprung up in the past couple of years was mining asteroids for iron ore and nickle, which will provide a better future for the US economy

I'm actually really surprised it hasn't been seriously considered much sooner. Pursuit of wealth has, at least by my understanding of history, been the driving force behind most major exploration, from far east spices to new world gold.

I would actually find it to be extremely encouraging if an asteroid were found to have deposits of valuable ores, especially if we estimated a significant return on investment for deorbiting said asteroid or sending a team of miners to drill on it. I'm not sure which would be less expensive or less challenging of an engineering problem.

skeeter said:
But, I NO HAVE THE FALLING DESEASE, EPILEPSY, *twitch*

but i am sure you have thrice denied the crown. but not out of modesty, but as to make the public think so.

ikdind said:
I'm actually really surprised it hasn't been seriously considered much sooner. Pursuit of wealth has, at least by my understanding of history, been the driving force behind most major exploration, from far east spices to new world gold.

I would actually find it to be extremely encouraging if an asteroid were found to have deposits of valuable ores, especially if we estimated a significant return on investment for deorbiting said asteroid or sending a team of miners to drill on it. I'm not sure which would be less expensive or less challenging of an engineering problem.

the main driving forces for exploration are the 3 g's
Gold
God
Glory

and if we do decide to mine astroids, we'd better be careful. one little cut in your suit, and its over. although robots could handle it.

We would have to be in the right place at the right time for this to work, we would also have to be able to catch the asteroid convey all the space dust and dirt off the surface durring the trip around the sun and be able to stop it on the return trip and put it in Earths orbit, where the asteroid can be mined and transported to earth.

Theres a lot of risk and not meny people want to do it.

skeeter said:
We would have to be in the right place at the right time for this to work, we would also have to be able to catch the asteroid convey all the space dust and dirt off the surface durring the trip around the sun and be able to stop it on the return trip and put it in Earths orbit, where the asteroid can be mined and transported to earth.

Theres a lot of risk and not meny people want to do it.

i'm not an expert, but couldn't you just send robots to roughly mine the astroid, and send the material back in an unmanned shuttle?

You could send robots but, though it would be nearly impossible without the aid of a human operator, not to mention that it would cost more too because humans weigh less than most robots do, for every pound added to the space craft, it would cost nearly 10,000 USD. It is a tedious task which would require careful planning and the use of prossesing and elemination along with the human thought process. It would prove to be a difficult task to autonomously control a group of robots over 100,000 miles away. In which humans provide a more confidential trip because, we would only have one shot to do this.

skeeter said:
You could send robots but, though it would be nearly impossible without the aid of a human operator, not to mention that it would cost more too because humans weigh less than most robots do, for every pound added to the space craft, it would cost nearly 10,000 USD. It is a tedious task which would require careful planning and the use of prossesing and elemination along with the human thought process. It would prove to be a difficult task to autonomously control a group of robots over 100,000 miles away. In which humans provide a more confidential trip because, we would only have one shot to do this.

but as robots advance, and programming gets better. perhaps in a few hundred years it'll be worth it.

ikdind said:
I'm actually really surprised it hasn't been seriously considered much sooner. Pursuit of wealth has, at least by my understanding of history, been the driving force behind most major exploration, from far east spices to new world gold.

I would actually find it to be extremely encouraging if an asteroid were found to have deposits of valuable ores, especially if we estimated a significant return on investment for deorbiting said asteroid or sending a team of miners to drill on it. I'm not sure which would be less expensive or less challenging of an engineering problem.

DEAD SPACE

nme22 said:
but as robots advance, and programming gets better. perhaps in a few hundred years it'll be worth it.

Well yeah, in a few hundred years maybe; If the entire human race isnt totally wiped out by our own ignorance, it could be possible.

It's hard to say where we'll be in a few hundred years, especially when you look at how much technology has changed in the last 100 years. CERN could discover a particle that unlocks the secret to practical fusion. Politicians could agree to allow the construction of nuclear fission engines in space, unlocking much faster space travel based on current technologies. Some as-yet unknown or highly theoretical technology could revolutionize propulsion. Iran could trigger World War III and send the surviving humanity back to pre-industrial revolution. A killer asteroid could strike the Earth, causing a mass extinction. A disease could appear that either largely or entirely destroys the human species. Or we could destroy our own habitat and make our planet uninhabitable to ourselves. Those are among a few possibilities.

Exciting, isn't it? ^.^ But until something happens, I guess I'll just have to settle for saving up to buy myself a commercial ticket for a brief trip into LEO. Or I can hope for a night or two in an orbiting hotel.

ikdind said:

Exciting, isn't it? ^.^ But until something happens, I guess I'll just have to settle for saving up to buy myself a commercial ticket for a brief trip into LEO. Or I can hope for a night or two in an orbiting hotel.

as much as i've wanted to go into space, the idea of an orbiting space hotel scares me. i just would not spend more than a week in one.