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Chandra Discovers Enormous 'Skull'
ActMatrix writes: "Just in time for Halloween, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory has imaged a portion of the Perseus A Cluster that looks frightfully like an enormous skull. The "eyes" are apparently created by bubbles of gas created by electrons blasting out of a region near an enormous black hole, and the "mouth" is a galaxy with an estimated 20 billion stars. Chandra has snapped some amazing images so far, and this one is no exception. The Discovery.Com article has a good pic of the skull."
nebula (nby-l)
n., pl. nebulae (-l) or nebulas.
1. Astronomy. a. A diffuse mass of interstellar dust or gas or both, visible as luminous patches or areas of darkness depending on the way the mass absorbs or reflects incident radiation.
Next question...
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Moderator's essentials
From the story "Oddly enough, there is a second coincidence in the skull discovery, says Wanjek. The constellation Perseus is named for the mythical Greek hero who slew the snake-haired Medusa, and is usually depicted in illustrations holding his shield and sword in one hand and Medusa's head in the other."
What is the coincidence? They found a picture a bit like a head, and the galaxy is named after someone who had a head (or two)? What (in the immortal words of Harry Hill) are the chances of that?
"don't fall into the fallacy of believing that Perl can solve social problems. Maybe Perl 6 can, but that's a ways off"
Er, the picture on the discovery channel page loked more like a "pumpkin" or "Jack Skellington's Head from The Nightmare Before Christmas " they said the actualy full on skull picture was too scary. Wankers...
OO
o
^^^ < PH34R M3!!
vvv
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Uranus' Spies are everywhere!!!!!!!
you've got a several billion dollar telescope.
you're happily staring through it plumbing the mysteries of the universe.
a big, burning, grinning skull is staring right the fuck at you. it's not staring anywhere else, it's staring right the fuck at YOU.
this does not bother you in the least?
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Peace,
Lord Omlette
ICQ# 77863057
[o]_O
Check out the Flat Earth Society's Mars Project - it's hilarious. :-)
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But because the image might be a little too scary, they've decided to use a broader angle, which makes Perseus A look like a pumpkin.
I really don't know what to say about this. Are they really suggesting they're worried someone will be scared out of their wits by this picture? "Man sues Discovery.com, Observatory for posting Satanic-themed picture"? Surely over-sensitive people haven't taken over THIS much.
One can only hope that they made this comment tounge-in-cheek.
Hey, do you realize that this is just plain, simple fun?
It's Halloween, so the researchers checked their library of images and looked for an image that fits the occasion. I for one prefer scientific projects where the researchers enjoy their work so much that they can do something like this.
I'm sure that the same scientists will check their library again for Christmas and see if they can find some Christmas-related picture, too.
It's a cute joke, that's it. Got it?
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First award: for coordinates of slashdot.org letters[1] on the sky in any observable range.
Second award: for coordinates of Linux penguin or MS Windows logo.
[1] Text should be OCR capable.
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Every secretary using MSWord wastes enough resources
there's quite some stuff wrong with me.. but tell me.. does this look like a one-eyed elderly woman?
//rdj
No one can understand the truth until he drinks of coffee's frothy goodness.
--Sheikh Abd-Al-Kadir, 1587
Well unless piggy back rides are examples of molesting I think not... Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy, he hath bore me on his back a 1000 times, and now how abhorred in my imagination it is, my gorge rises at it... (I had to recite it for Soph. english in high school :)
and for those who watch(ed) Animaniacs...
Woah, check out skullhead...
he gave me piggy back rides...
I think I'm gonna blow chunks...
that's about the size of it
Actually, this is only partially true. Last I heard, the so called 'guys that did it' (aka, 'Doug & Dave') were con artists basically trying to cash in on the phenomenon. From what I'm told, the circles they created had none of the characteristics of genuine circles, and actually ended up destroying the crops, which is normally what you don't find in authentic ones.
:)
This is something of an interest of mine...belive what you like about whatever else -- this stuff is actually rather interesting, regardless of whatever formed them. Extremely complex sets of symbols and designs ('circle' doesn't at all describe a great deal of them nowadays) that appear overnight in the middle of nowhere all across the globe is something worthy of at least keeping an eye on, just to see where it goes: be it foreign OR domestic in origin.
BytesTemplar.com
Let's try this link to one of my favorite sites, APOD:
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ ast ropix.html
Good only on Tuesday.
This reminded me spookily of some of the sci-fi stories from the 30's or thereabout, in which the idea was propounded that what we see as atoms are in fact solar systems with planets surrounding them on a very much smaller scale, and in turn our solar systems and stars are just atoms in a much larger universe; in effect an infinite number of universes on different scales, all inside one another like Russian dolls. I know the science in these 'science-fiction' stories was bunkum, and that it's only the angle we're seeing this at that makes it look even vaguely like a human face, but I have to confess remembering the idea amused me...
Savant
Actully theres been serious studies done on it, and if you actully look at the things, theres no way that just a few people could do it. The crops arn'te harmed at all, and there are also almost always little wierd flying things around before or after the event.
Oops....you'll know what I'm talkin about in a bit.
"buoyant magnetized bubbles"
Could somebody explain buoyancy in space?
Ace
Interesting. I hear they're currently engaged in a mad search for a Santa Claus-shaped galaxy by Christmas. What the space program won't do to look pertinent...
missed the nebulae part. And it doesn't require "cloning" to know that there are people who look alike in this world. Thanks for the update though!
Oh, yes, could I please get one? *grin*
'final' means 'the last', not 'the latest'...
You know all the "Satan's Face Found In <insert weather pattern here>!!!" articles? They're going to have a field day with this one.
My guess is we'll also see either the formation or mass suicide of at least one doomsday cult, which the media will connect with this. Mass hysteria will follow, accompanied by loads of new material for late-night talk show comedians.
And finally, someone, somewhere is going to find a way to capitalize on this. Inside of two weeks we'll see "Space Skull" T-shirts, hats, etc.
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if that looks like a skull, I look like a 89 yr old woman with 1 eye and 3 hairs.
//rdj
No one can understand the truth until he drinks of coffee's frothy goodness.
--Sheikh Abd-Al-Kadir, 1587
Galaxies, black holes, clouds my ass. Its perfectly clear to me; Unicron has awakened and is now coming to get us.
Anyone can CLEARLY see the image is that of Douglas MacArthur! I mean, sure, you sort of have to squint and tilt your head to the side a bit, but there ya go!
Honorary Member of Jackie Chan's Kung Fu Process Servers
Interesting.
Walk the plank!
We could even have a galaxy of Butts.
They could even have a "Whose butt is it anyway" contest
That would be nice. Especially if you got to compare with the real thing - standing on a stage 5 feet from you.
Electrical Engineering is BORING.
...humans will try to turn any old pile'o'crap into a human face. Let's just hope we don't end up trying to talk to some aliens arsehole...or gonads...
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." -- Ken Olson, 1977
I think it sorta resembles one of those demon skulls that are burning and fly at you in Doom. It's pretty amusing, but I discount this to be the same as the "face" on Mars. But, just in case it is the monster that spits out the skulls on doom, I am going to go get my BFG ready just in case.
Mas vale cholo, que mal acompañado.
Don't you see, its a pure energy being. Pickard and Data were right, they do exist. Run for your lives, the end is nigh!! Just don't, what ever you do go and shoot it with that there phaser of yours, it'll only go and get stronger....oh and that lightsaber too.....
Looks more like a pig's snout to me...
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This is not my sandwich.
This thing doesn't look like a skull at all. It might if you are talking some sort of elephant man skull with no top or something. I really thought it was going to be so eerie that I was going to have to tell everyone at work today about the killer space skull. but I am not about to even bring this up again in my life ever. nice pictures though.
100% Pure Evil With The Look And Feel Of Wholesome Goodness
If that looked like a skull, take a look at http://chandra.harvard.e du/ photo/cycle1/0204/index.html. It reminds me of some will'o'wisps.
Close the world, open the NeXT
Oh my god its Ghost Rider and he's stuck in space! NASA please get him back, he fights on the side of good, regardless of his looks and I really need him for my halloween party. He looks so confused too, they much not teach much astronomy at Ghost Riding school.
Nagarlothotep ... thank you very much.
As one of the team who produced this image, I find the Chandra Halloween card a bit naff. They've missed off the mouth!! card Jeremy
Seth
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
Honest! And that was several months ago!
Jeremy
it's "Alas, Poor Yorrick, I knew him well..." "
Actually, you are wrong and the original poster was correct.
It is a common misconception, but the ACTUALY line is, indeed,
"Alas, poor Yorick; I knew him, Horatio..."
I wish people would check their facts before posting from time to time!
People should not be afraid of their governments - Governments should be afraid of their people.
Ever lie on your back in a field and look at the clouds and go "Oh, that cloud looks like a fish", or "That cloud looks like a dog", or whatever?
Ever stare into a roaring fire and see pictures in the flames?
That's what this is like, basically. Someone at the lab said something like "Hey, if you turn your head and squint a bit at this picture, it looks kinda like a skull!"
And it's good hallowe'en based publicity.
Chandra tends to be like Hubble's less famous brother, as the Hubble's pictures tend to be prettier than X-Ray pictures. So anything that raises its visibility in the public eye has to be good.
Although sadly I expect some religious nutters to pick up on this. Perhaps we can tell them "God is dead, and that's his skull!"
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
"Information wants to be paid"
Isn't it eerie how science fiction is turning into reality? I read this and immediately thought of "The Mote in God's Eye" - Larry Niven/Jerry Pournelle. Now how long before we have regular colonies on the planets and FTL travel?
It's just odd how these crop circles always appear near main roads, or on flightpaths, and always in fields with a fresh set of tractor tracks. Maybe the space aliens from planet arse drove a tractor...
Or maybe some pranksters used the tractor tracks to walk down to create a piece of Crop Art in a visible place.
And that's what Crop Circles are. They're not magic(k), they're not alien, they're a couple of pranksters performing art.
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
"Information wants to be paid"
But, according to the article on discovery.com they did not think anything of it as it had been held in a different rotation. Also, once they had rotated it around and found out it looked very much like a skull it was already mid-october, just in in time for Halloween.
....doesn't really look that much like a skull to me, I could look at clouds for an hour or so and find a cloud that looked more like a skull than this cluster.
There was a similarly unconvincing story a while back relating to what looks like a face on the surface of Mars
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Moderator's essentials
The human brain is pre-programmed to infer human characteristics from visual inputs.
Remember the man in the moon?
Look more like a shrunken head, maybe off a zombie or something. I just can't wait till someone makes a dorky movie about it like Mission to Mars. Or maybe take it to be Carl Sagan's "signature of the artist."
Pray that we won't be seeing Cthulhu anythime soon, but be on the lookout for fungi from Yuggoth.
I was expecting some sort of hideous death-mask skull. This looks more like something that's about to sit next to you univited on a bus, start telling his life story. And all the while, emitting a not quite describable but definitely unpleasant smell...
Poor Yorick...
I knew him, Horatio...
I like you, Stuart. You're not like everyone else, here, at Slashdot.
What?
No "NGC 604" show up in the Chandra site search...
0x0000
"The Internet is made of cats."
As lead guitarist for the Chandra Project I would like to share some of the behind the scenes info on what went on during our last tour of Eastern Europe. We were having difficulty getting our drummer to show up for the gigs due to some problems he was having with his contact lenses. It turns out that he wasn't washing them in the evening and they were sticking to his eyelids! Stupid prick! One of my co-band members, Proffesor Lurve (our keyboard player) noticed that if he spat in the drummer's eyes it provided enough liquid to free up the contact lenses and our drummer could see!!!!! So, hats off to Dr. Lurve !!!
Something else for the UFO obsessed to point at. First, a face on Mars, now this!
Reminds me of those oh-so-profound calculations that Bill Gates = 666. Yeah right. I fancy just about anyone's name can be made into 666, you just hafta find a suitable contortion and strange way of calculation.
Isn't it odd that modern, so-called scientific, man still finds fascination in such things?
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mikre he sophia he tou Mikrosophou.
You all remember those picture when you loook at it you can see a old woman or a young one. This is just a different way of looking at a collection of starts and planets. Nothing more.
"The "eyes" are apparently created by bubbles of gas created by electrons blasting out of a region near an enormous black hole"
I know the feeling all too well. Felt like that the day after a Happy Hour session....
nebula noun [C] SPECIALIZED
a cloud of gas or dust in space, appearing either bright or dark
nebular adjective SPECIALIZED
dangit, that deserved a dd-"yeeeaaaaahhhh!" but it flips out the lameness filters.
Other cool space images from Yahoo on the Soyuz launch:
Transport
Launch pad
Liftoff
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A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Then again, we don't have Halloween, so I'm probably not very skull-oriented
beauty is only a light switch away
Oops sorry wrong comic.
-- SJS smooge at smoogespace dot com
Our brains are remarkably adept at recognizing faces, something AI researchers have found enourmously hard. We are wired to recognize similarities, and even more so to pick out things which resemble ourselves (or mother, or father). Hence Elvis in taco shells, Virgin Mary sightings in water stained walls, and now a Jack-o-lantern in space.
Its just a skull! So what? Would it make a difference if it were shaped like my butt? (Anyone's butt for that matter).
Electrical Engineering is BORING.
The APOD (Astronomy Picture Of the Day) also has a good picture... http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/
--Necesito una chela, bien fria...
Advanced...
Remember, in the beginning -- a huge flaming thing hurls towards the ship and then a skull appears in the middle of it... And right after that Bruce Willis wakes up.
Oh, jiit. What if 5-El was a prophecy?.. "But I don't want to go to Egypt!"
If you open yourself to the foo, You and foo become one.
... it just somebody watches us through his microscope...
chandra skull meets red meat
sorry.. had to do it :(
namster
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Isn't it amazing what people see when they look at something sometimes. I'd say it is just a coincidence that it looks the wat it does. That's only at a certain angle so if you turned it say another 45 - 90 degrees it wouldn't look like a skull anyway. I think it is cool though that weird stuff like that happens in nature though.
Why is it that the universe seems much scarier on October 31? Why won't the big kids let me Trick-Or-Treat with them? If the Universe is expanding, shouldn't I be gaining weight? Are we all as screwed as I think we are?
I'm sure of it.
Giant skulls in the sky are a sure sign that God's about unleash some bad-ass wrath on our heads. It's probably about time, too. Geez, have you seen MTV recently?
What to do? Nothing. What do you expect to do against the Universe? Exactly. So once you get off of work, go home, drink, and enjoy your last day on the planet Earth.
To keep this post on topic, space is superfly and skull shaped nebulae are even cooler. Seriously. I want a Beowulf cluster of them.
aÍÍ©ÍÌÍ£Ì'̽ͩÌÍzÍYÌÍÌY
This appears to translate into a space when you post.
I know we're talking about nebulae, but that doesn't mean we need space in our links.