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NASA Creates an Alien's Eye View of Solar System
Flash Modin writes "Using the Discover supercomputer — which is capable of 67 trillion calculations per second — astronomers at NASA Goddard have created a series of images of what our solar system would look like to an alien astronomer at various points in time. Their simulations track the interactions of 75,000 dust grains in the Kuiper Belt, and show that while the planets would be too dim to detect directly, aliens could deduce the presence of Neptune from its effects on the icy region. Strikingly, the images resemble one taken by Hubble of the star Fomalhaut. NASA has put out a cute video to go with the announcement as well."
Right; what good could astronomy possibly do? We don't need to know about outer space! [/sarcasm]
This 'little Photoshop session' helps astronomers better understand what they observe. It's part of the process that started with Copernicus.
The Citizens of the United States Spend more on Cell Phones each year than the total budget for NASA. Its no wonder we've not been anywhere cool.
I've decided to Diversify my Holdings. I've divided my cash between my left and right pockets, instead of all in one.