Satellite Captures Burning Man From Space

In lieu of the moon or Mars by elrous0 · 2011-09-07 06:12 · Score: 1

I just hope that one day we can improve our satellite resolutions to the point where we can make out an individual hemp shirt, or maybe even an individual blonde dreadlock.

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SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.

Re:In lieu of the moon or Mars by jellomizer · 2011-09-07 06:32 · Score: 1, Insightful

After I saw the picture I was quite disturbed that it was a High Resolution magnified image. It is like saying that when you use Google Earth to zoom into your house you go I can see my house from space.
I was thinking that this event was so big that it could be seen with the Unaided Eye (well the aid of air and pressure) from space. No it is just a zoom in picture.

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Re:In lieu of the moon or Mars by hedwards · 2011-09-07 06:36 · Score: 1

I'm sure the CIA can by this point. It's been known for years that they can resolve a grapefruit sitting on the ground from space, I'd be shocked if they hadn't bettered that by now.
The bigger problem with that tends to be one of manpower, it's great to be able to zoom in like that, but only after you've determined the area to be interesting. And often times it's just more convenient to use a UAV anways.
Re:In lieu of the moon or Mars by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 06:45 · Score: 0

you're extremely stupid, huh?
Re:In lieu of the moon or Mars by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 06:46 · Score: 0

Most "satellite" photos that are high res enough to see your car licence plate, are all plane/UAV photos. Arial photos are higher res and easier/more reliable to take, they tend not to have many of the issues that satellites have like, you know, clouds. I once worked on a deforestation tracking project and out of 30 years of satellite imagery we only had 3 cloud free images that we could use.
Re:In lieu of the moon or Mars by Joce640k · 2011-09-07 07:18 · Score: 2

often times it's just more convenient to use a UAV anways.
But not as cool. And that's one cool looking satellite. The Borg couldn't have designed it any better.

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No sig today...
Re:In lieu of the moon or Mars by tverbeek · 2011-09-07 07:22 · Score: 1

You can see pretty much anything "from space". Find yourself a strong enough lens or a low enough orbit, and "I can see my house from here".

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http://alternatives.rzero.com/
Re:In lieu of the moon or Mars by nitehawk214 · 2011-09-07 07:28 · Score: 3, Funny

You can see pretty much anything "from space". Find yourself a strong enough lens or a low enough orbit, and "I can see my house from here".
Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I can move my house from here.
-Archimedes

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I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
Re:In lieu of the moon or Mars by Amouth · 2011-09-07 07:28 · Score: 1

not sure about Satellite photos - but the U2 was the best last time i saw anything released -.. during the Cuban missile crisis they where able to read number markings on wires going into the consoles near the launch pad.

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'...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'
Re:In lieu of the moon or Mars by maxwell+demon · 2011-09-07 08:09 · Score: 1

often times it's just more convenient to use a UAV anways.
But not as cool. And that's one cool looking satellite. The Borg couldn't have designed it any better.
The Borg surely would have made all sides equal length.

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The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
Re:In lieu of the moon or Mars by jcwayne · 2011-09-07 11:49 · Score: 1

If only there were all of those damned trees releasing water vapor. Oh, wait...

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Failure to follow this advice may result in non-deterministic behavior.
Re:In lieu of the moon or Mars by jcwayne · 2011-09-07 11:50 · Score: 1

weren't (dammit, must proofread)

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Re:In lieu of the moon or Mars by jcwayne · 2011-09-07 11:51 · Score: 1

Wires were much bigger back then.

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Failure to follow this advice may result in non-deterministic behavior.
Re:In lieu of the moon or Mars by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 12:55 · Score: 0

I was under the impression that there's a physical limit to optics, so it's impossible to zoom in on people quite to that degree.
Re:In lieu of the moon or Mars by rtb61 · 2011-09-07 15:13 · Score: 1

That's why night time and infrared work so well. If you can remain focused on a particular area and use computers to track the movement of heat sources over time and their clustering points and compare them with daytime appearance and use of a particular site. Of course this rely on the magic box only strategy as what looks like a group of suspected maybe terrorists clustering at a suburban house prior to a raid, can actually be a wedding party, with typical US military homicidal results.
What we really want is the high altitude semi rigid dirigible shots for intelligence gathering and suspect analysis, for the extra sharp images. Privacy, meh, it will only be a few more years of, "ramp up the domestic terrorist threat" and there will be a 24/7 camera over watch of your backyard http://www.restmycase.com/.

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Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
Re:In lieu of the moon or Mars by Amouth · 2011-09-08 00:58 · Score: 1

still you looking at/reading something the size of new print from 70,000 feet.

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'...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'
Re:In lieu of the moon or Mars by jc42 · 2011-09-09 02:48 · Score: 1

I'm sure the CIA can by this point. It's been known for years that they can resolve a grapefruit sitting on the ground from space, I'd be shocked if they hadn't bettered that by now.
Yeah, if by "resolve" you mean "show as one or two pixels". A common guideline has been that at visual wavelengths, you can't resolve things on the ground to better than about 10 cm, due to atmospheric effects. This is the same phenomenon as stars twinkling, but in the other direction. Resolution is better at IR frequencies, so if the CIA is resolving license plates (or faces) from orbit, that'd be how they're doing it.
But it's a lot more likely that they're doing it with flying cameras inside the atmosphere. There are some really small cameras now, smaller and better than the camera in your cell phone, and they can be carried by the tiny flying thingies that geeks in various labs have been building. Imagine something about the size of a hummingbird or dragonfly, with a downward-pointing camera that weighs a few grams, plus a cell-phone chip about the same size, flying about a km up. It'd be really hard to spot such a gadget as it passes over your neighborhood.
There are a number of videos of some impressively small flying remote-controlled toys at youtube. You'll be able to buy one fairly soon.

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Those who do study history are doomed to stand helplessly by while everyone else repeats it.
Re:In lieu of the moon or Mars by Coren22 · 2011-09-09 05:03 · Score: 1

Google Earth uses airplanes for the really closeup stuff. Sats just can't resolve that much due to range.

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There are easier ways... by Kenja · 2011-09-07 06:12 · Score: 4, Funny

There are easier ways to see pictures of naked hippies.

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"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"

Re:There are easier ways... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 06:17 · Score: 0

There are easier ways to see pictures of naked hippies.
When I read the title, for a moment I thought the ESA were compiling self-immolation satellite photos. I'm not sure which one is creepier.
Re:There are easier ways... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 06:20 · Score: 1

There are easier ways to see pictures of naked hippies.
But not without getting closer to them.
Re:There are easier ways... by ByOhTek · 2011-09-07 06:25 · Score: 1

No, self Immolation would be NASA at this point...

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Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).
Re:There are easier ways... by ByOhTek · 2011-09-07 06:26 · Score: 5, Funny

With the age they are now? I think it is probably easier on the eyes this way. Anything with 2-foot or better resolution could be quite unpleasant.

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Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).
Re:There are easier ways... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 06:35 · Score: 0

Self-immolation? Why not just plain old immolation? And I think you meant "awesomer".
Re:There are easier ways... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 06:45 · Score: 0

2-foot or better resolution
I think you're giving the hippies a bit too much credit there.
Re:There are easier ways... by kenj0418 · 2011-09-07 07:39 · Score: 2

There are easier ways to see pictures of naked hippies.
But not without getting closer to them.
In space, no one can... smell that you haven't bathed in a month.
Re:There are easier ways... by drnb · 2011-09-07 08:27 · Score: 1

With the age they are now?
What makes you think it was terribly different back in the day? The hot actresses who play hippies in film and on TV are not exactly representative of reality. Imagine the average guy/girl you see in ordinary places - work, lunch time restaurant, gas station, *not* a trendy bar or nightclub. Now imagine them with the grooming/hygiene habits of Richard Stallman. :-(
Re:There are easier ways... by dotancohen · 2011-09-07 09:30 · Score: 1

Ask and you shall receive:
http://www.geeked.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Burning_Man_BRD_NV_GE1_1SEP2011.jpg

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It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
Re:There are easier ways... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 11:12 · Score: 0

You've obviously never been to Burning Man, and have no idea what you are missing.
Re:There are easier ways... by GonzoPhysicist · 2011-09-07 11:42 · Score: 1

Thanks, my camp was actually on that picture. While wandering around last week I saw a 40ft Waldo/Wally, for fun see if you can find him in that image.

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horror vacui
Re:There are easier ways... by Macgrrl · 2011-09-07 15:05 · Score: 1

In space, no one can hear you cha-cha-cha.

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Sara
Designer, Gamer, Macgrrl in an XP World
Re:There are easier ways... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 16:31 · Score: 0

There are easier ways to see pictures of naked hippies.
Yeah, but do any of them incite LEGITIMATE paranoia like Sputnik?

Nuke it from orbit by smooth+wombat · 2011-09-07 06:13 · Score: 5, Funny

It's the only way to be sure to get rid of those damn hippies - Eric Cartman

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We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower

nice headline by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 06:14 · Score: 2, Funny

If you don't take the time to figure out what a Burning Man is, the headline by itself is quite perplexing and intriguing.

How is this man burning in space where there is no oxygen? And what does the satellite do with this man after capturing him?

Re:nice headline by Microlith · 2011-09-07 06:26 · Score: 1

Well, if you use the internet to a great degree and don't live under a rock, surely you've heard about Burning Man. Especially if you regularly browse Slashdot.
Or you could hit Google.
Re:nice headline by drpimp · 2011-09-07 06:31 · Score: 1

My first thought was that they captured the man from Tunisia on fire in this image.

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Re:nice headline by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 06:34 · Score: 0

Well, if you use the internet to a great degree and don't live under a rock, surely you've heard about Burning Man. Especially if you regularly browse Slashdot.
Or you could hit Google.
Sanctimonious prick! Editorials and summaries are supposed to cover the basics, and if they're too useless and make assumption, they should at least link. Fuckers like you are a waste of space offering the pathetic "google it" response. There is no point in doing "news" when you assuming your audience is all-knowing. This isn't a dedicated mailing list covering a single subject, fscktard.
Re:nice headline by amicusNYCL · 2011-09-07 06:39 · Score: 1

There is no point in doing "news" when you assuming your audience is all-knowing.
I'm not sure if the assumption is that the audience is all-knowing so much as the assumption that the audience is capable of rubbing together two brain cells in order to find more information. The summary referred to Burning Man (capitalized) as a "hedonistic adventure" which apparently takes place in Black Rock City and is attended by 50,000 or so people. If you can't use that information to conclude that this is some sort of event, one that you can easily find more information about if you're so inclined, then you're probably the type of person who relies on Fox News to form your opinions for you.

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"Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
Re:nice headline by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 06:49 · Score: 0

Not if you live outside the US.
That event is by no means world famous.
You can say at least "Burning Man festival" to give a hint.
Re:nice headline by Beorytis · 2011-09-07 07:00 · Score: 1

Even though I'm familiar with the Burning Man Festival, I didn't instantly read it correctly. It's almost a "Crash Blossom."
Re:nice headline by GameboyRMH · 2011-09-07 07:39 · Score: 1

Within a half-second of seeing the title I knew they were talking about the Burning Man festival. But for some tiny sliver of time in there, I thought they had recorded video of an astronaut burning up on re-entry from space.

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"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Re:nice headline by bjohnso5 · 2011-09-07 07:40 · Score: 1

Yep, based on the headline my first thought was "... how did a burning man get into space in the first place, and what possible benefit could this satellite reap by imprisoning him?". Then my brain turned back on. Still, silly headline.
Re:nice headline by Defenestrar · 2011-09-07 08:06 · Score: 1

Unless you're just going off of the initial information gleaned from the title to determine if the rest is worth reading. (i.e. the classic science literature parsing strategy: read the title, the abstract, the conclusion, and occasionally the rest of the paper...). My first impression was perhaps one of the international space station workers did a jumper and someone else took pics. It's just a fraction of a second, but sometimes the brain has to catch up to itself - Google not needed.
I think the parent was commenting more about the degree of clarity and efficiency with which this title conveyed information about the content of the article summarized and posted. Particularly in regards to an internationally read website in reference to some backwater gathering in the desert (for global events 50 kilo-persons isn't all that much after all - how many sports teams do that on a semi-regular basis?). It wouldn't have been that hard for an editor to add one word to the title: "Satellite Captures Burning Man [Festival] From Space." Of course it wouldn't have been anywhere as much fun :)
Re:nice headline by Hatta · 2011-09-07 08:36 · Score: 1

"Crash blossom", that's a new one for me. Reminds me of "mondegreens". Both these linguistic phenomena have names derived from an actual intance. I wonder if there's a name for that linguistic phenomenon, and I wonder if it derives from an actual instance of that phenomenon.

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Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
Re:nice headline by Pope · 2011-09-07 08:52 · Score: 1

Ever seen "Moonraker"? This is exactly the same.

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It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
Re:nice headline by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 22:36 · Score: 0

It was a fucking joke, of course you can google to find out what it actually is which was indicated by the first half of the first sentence.

The Borg have come... by pahles · 2011-09-07 06:15 · Score: 1

Have you seen that satellite?

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Sig?

Re:The Borg have come... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 06:17 · Score: 0

Going AC to avoid karma whoring: borg satellite
Re:The Borg have come... by MyLongNickName · 2011-09-07 06:20 · Score: 1

But I will go normal account to say this:
I can't beleive they'd use a cube for a satellite. I mean, you'd be hard pressed to come up with a less aerodynamic design.
And please don't correct me.... I can't go "woosh" in outerspace.

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See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
Re:The Borg have come... by ZankerH · 2011-09-07 06:35 · Score: 1

It's _space_. Why would it need to be aerodynamic, again?
Re:The Borg have come... by MyLongNickName · 2011-09-07 06:40 · Score: 1

If you would have seen ALL of my post, you would have noticed
"And please don't correct me.... I can't go "woosh" in outerspace."

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Re:The Borg have come... by MyLongNickName · 2011-09-07 06:43 · Score: 1

And yes... it was a damn lame joke.

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See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
Re:The Borg have come... by Rei · 2011-09-07 07:22 · Score: 1

Actually, it is aerodynamic drag which deorbits satellites over time.
The atmosphere is exceedingly thin in LEO, but it still exists.

--
Musk needs a safer hobby than Twitter. Fire juggling? Cage fighting? Solo hot air balloon trips?
Re:The Borg have come... by WhiplashII · 2011-09-07 07:35 · Score: 2

Interestingly enough, the normal drag paradigm does not apply, however.
It is more accurate to look at it as if the air molecules wander over, attach to the satellite for a while, and then wander away. The key difference being that the side of the object facing orthogonal to the orbit "drags" almost as much as the front. So a cube is actually better than a cylinder or cone! (Not better than a sphere, though)
Weird stuff!

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while (sig==sig) sig=!sig;

Can't fool me! by PPH · 2011-09-07 06:15 · Score: 1

Its the Borg!

They've come to assimilate us into their hive mind/economic system.

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Have gnu, will travel.

NSFW Please! by RoverDaddy · 2011-09-07 06:15 · Score: 1

Geesh!

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RETURN without GOSUB in line 1050

Re:NSFW Please! by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 06:34 · Score: 0

Don't worry, all the genitalia are pixelated.

Title case is inferior by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 06:16 · Score: 0

This is why I hate ambiguity of title case. A real live burning human would've been cooler.

Re:Title case is inferior by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 06:18 · Score: 0

And yet, an actual burning human may have been hotter...See what I did there?
Re:Title case is inferior by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 06:33 · Score: 1

So immolation makes a person more attractive? I hear it makes women in close proximity go wild and lose possession of all their clothes.
Re:Title case is inferior by nedlohs · 2011-09-07 07:48 · Score: 1

The non-fireproof clothes anyway.

what a great place to watch burning man from by atarione · 2011-09-07 06:17 · Score: 1

the best place to see burning man....is in fact SPACE...so well played ESA

on the other hand why are we letting these bitches take sat photos of our strategic reserve of filthy hippies??

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actually I am happy to see you, however that is in fact a banana in my pocket.

Re:what a great place to watch burning man from by R3d+M3rcury · 2011-09-07 06:43 · Score: 2

I've got to admit, that had me concerned as well.
With such a satellite, the Europeans can count the number of hippies we have. Then they can generate more hippies than us!
Mr President, we cannot have a hippie gap!

1m (3ft) resolution vs 16ft? by Hadlock · 2011-09-07 06:18 · Score: 2

Is anybody else a little shocked that that photograph is shot at 16ft (4.8m) resolution? I'm assuming they mean 1:16 or 1 pixel to 16 ft. That seems like the sort of resolution you might get from a stop end film spy satellite from the 1960's. I would have figured that we would be down to 1m or 0.3m (1ft) resolution by now.

Or are public images severely degraded to not give away the more obscure pros and cons of their imaging systems at actual resolution? The pictures of the moon landers seemed awfully crisp compared to this, although one was flying at 24km (presumably with a much smaller camera) vs a geopolar orbit at (searches wikipedia) 1000km. Also presumably with a much larger camera.

What's average resolution these days for satellite imagery? That seems awfully low.

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moox. for a new generation.

Re:1m (3ft) resolution vs 16ft? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 06:23 · Score: 2, Informative

This was not a normal satellite. This is a micro-satellite called proba-1. This is why the resolution is relatively low compared to what you can get elsewhere. http://www.esa.int/esaMI/Proba_web_site/index.html
Re:1m (3ft) resolution vs 16ft? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 06:36 · Score: 0

Theoretically, there's an optical limit on resolution due to water vapor and atmospheric thermal distortion. Though I'm sure modern spy sats are using software to cleanup the layered exposures via post-processing to achieve results in the classified range.
Re:1m (3ft) resolution vs 16ft? by niktemadur · 2011-09-07 07:46 · Score: 1

What's average resolution these days for satellite imagery? That seems awfully low.
Those are my feelings exactly about the Huygens Probe images of Titan. What is it with these european space cameras?

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Lil' Thindime, lilting a lacrimose lament, krashes the kwaint konfines of Kokonino Kounty

each with a resolution of about 16 feet. by Osgeld · 2011-09-07 06:22 · Score: 1

per pixel? OMFG

Re:each with a resolution of about 16 feet. by GameboyRMH · 2011-09-07 07:42 · Score: 1

Yeah I've seen places on Google Earth that are a few inches per pixel, even back in the early days before Google had their quadcopters. But I suppose those could have been aerial photography vs. satellite images.

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"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Re:each with a resolution of about 16 feet. by Pope · 2011-09-07 08:47 · Score: 1

Most of Google Maps is aerial photography, not satellite.

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It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.

aww.. by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 06:24 · Score: 0

Dammit, for a second i thought an astronaut was falling out of orbit and he was badass enough to land on a satellite and glide down safely.
Oh well...

Grammar Nazi by Stenchwarrior · 2011-09-07 06:25 · Score: 0

I'm not normally the type to point out grammatical mistakes made my posters, but I feel like the articles should be a tad more scrutinized before published.

FTFA: "Keep in mind that Burning Man looks a lot different from space then it does up close. "

I mean, come on guys...that's 3rd grade stuff there.

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Loading...

The ESA has a high-resolution image available... by QID · 2011-09-07 06:26 · Score: 1

and the NSA has an even higher-resolution image.

Who cares by Aeros · 2011-09-07 06:28 · Score: 1

Seriously...anyone care about burning man? Most are just a bunch of wannabie hippies.

Re:Who cares by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 07:01 · Score: 0

yes. lots of people. and we're not all hippies either.
stay at home in your box
Re:Who cares by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 07:03 · Score: 0

I lived in SF for a few years and had a couple of female roommates who went to Burning Man every year. Based on this, and from other friends (male and female), I would say Burning Man girls are almost exactly my type of girls -- attractive, artsy, stylish, into unusual things -- but somehow they always manage to be extremely annoying. If I was into casual sex, Burning Man would be perfect since I wouldn't have to deal with their stupidity for long enough for it to ruin the sex.
Re:Who cares by leptons · 2011-09-08 09:36 · Score: 1

Hippies and "wannabie" hippies are the minority of people you will meet at Burning Man. I find a lot of overachievers, highly educated people, and even millionaires and billionaires (google founders are attendees). If you think it's just full of hippies, then you have no clue what Burning Man is. By itself, Burning Man is nothing but a bunch of porta-potties, a large center camp tent and a collection of dirt roads. There's nothing to see there except for what people bring to it, and for a week it grows to be a huge city built on art, fun and interactivity. And people build and bring amazing things there. Some are shoddy, but over half of the art/art cars/theme camps/performances I see there are nothing less than awesome, and they all take way more focused work to produce than the average hippie could muster. I built a joystick controlled electric car that seats 8 comfortably and shoots lasers and flames, nothing hippie about it really.

much higher resolution by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 06:28 · Score: 0

A much higher resolution photo will be coming out at some point; it was announced in the JRS a couple weeks ago:

The Satellite Overflight of BRC will be at 11:49am on Thursday 9/1 this year. I believe they are tasking the GeoEye-1 satellite with 50cm resolution (as opposed to 1m resolution on the IKONOS satellite used last year).

Burning man my ass by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 06:28 · Score: 0

Are the throwing the Christians to the lions in there

So when does the ESA get sued by CaptSlaq · 2011-09-07 06:31 · Score: 2

for photographing the event? http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/travel/detail?entry_id=96365

Re:So when does the ESA get sued by hedwards · 2011-09-07 06:42 · Score: 2

That raises an interesting point, to what extent does reasonable expectation of privacy apply to satellite imaging?
Re:So when does the ESA get sued by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 06:44 · Score: 0

While there are points here, these photographs in question are beyond the scope of those "rules".
Resolution is way too low. There isn't anything that is really identifiable in them, besides an overall structure of layout around said Man.
Google are more likely to be sued if there was Google Maps views of this (same with Microsoft and the various other groups who manage space photography)
Re:So when does the ESA get sued by tverbeek · 2011-09-07 07:33 · Score: 1

If you can be observed, you do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy, and can be photographed. The direction and distance don't matter.
(Unless you're a police officer doing your job poorly, of course.)

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http://alternatives.rzero.com/
Re:So when does the ESA get sued by hedwards · 2011-09-07 09:05 · Score: 1

One has a reasonable expectation of privacy in ones own backyard typically as well as in the portion of the property directly around your house.

Misleading Headline by ohnocitizen · 2011-09-07 06:34 · Score: 1

Here I thought a Satellite had finally captured an alien humanoid who had lit himself on fire (a common tactic for avoiding ninjas (src: http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/4p15/)).

Did they find an intelegence? by thbigr · 2011-09-07 06:35 · Score: 1

I am sorry I had to ask...

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Come the revolution, the Bourgeois, Capitalistic, "A PARKING STICKER HOLDERS", will be first against the wall!

Re:Did they find an intelegence? by jfengel · 2011-09-07 07:05 · Score: 1

I don't ordinary point out typos or spelling errors, but sheesh, dude, you REALLY stepped in this one.

It Looks Like The Suburbs by NicknamesAreStupid · 2011-09-07 06:37 · Score: 2

I have seen many subdivision layouts that looked just like this. Has Burning Man gone the way of Desperate Housewives?

Re:It Looks Like The Suburbs by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 13:13 · Score: 0

You mean cancelled after nine seasons?
Re:It Looks Like The Suburbs by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 15:17 · Score: 0

Pretty much. The amount of rules and the cost of tickets basically have turned this into a far more tapioca sort of thing than it used to be.

Burning Man From Space (obvious post is obvious) by quickgold192 · 2011-09-07 06:37 · Score: 1

He must have been on some serious shit to be burning in a vacuum.

Typo Nazi by city · 2011-09-07 06:41 · Score: 1

I'm not normally the type to point out grammatical mistakes made by commenters, but I feel like the comments should be a tad more scrutinized before published.

FTFC: "mistakes made my posters, "

I mean, come on guys...that's 3rd grade stuff there.

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Re:Typo Nazi by UninformedCoward · 2011-09-07 06:59 · Score: 1

Hey! How do you know that mistakes didn't make his posters?
Re:Typo Nazi by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 07:07 · Score: 0

I'm not normally the type to point out grammatical mistakes...
FTFC: "mistakes made my posters, "
I mean, come on guys...that's 3rd grade stuff there.
Yes, very clever. You just pretend the part about grammatical mistakes didn't exist and then a typo becomes so ironic!
Actually, no, it doesn't. Well, that's Nazi Nazis for you.

Or look at the GeoEye .5m resolution image by Tyger · 2011-09-07 06:46 · Score: 5, Informative

http://www.geeked.info/burning-man-2011-geoeye-satellite-image/

I can't believe the 16ft resolution image is getting so much press, when the 0.5m resolution image is so much better, and was announced ahead of time (And scheduled, as you can see from people forming shapes in it).

Re:Or look at the GeoEye .5m resolution image by SeeSp0tRun · 2011-09-07 07:54 · Score: 1

/.ed

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Something witty.
Re:Or look at the GeoEye .5m resolution image by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 08:49 · Score: 0

That's because it's one of the few times Europeans do something space-related that's at least marginally interesting to the world.
Re:Or look at the GeoEye .5m resolution image by Tyger · 2011-09-07 09:11 · Score: 1

Doesn't seem so for me, however an alternate link to the same image in a different location...
https://twitter.com/#!/sfslim/status/111206909062811649.

bigottery by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 06:51 · Score: 0

the people at Burning Man think they're so damn special, but they're not even hippies, they're just a bunch of kids with toys. god playing with test tubes comes to mind...

After taking the picture... by jjohnson · 2011-09-07 06:54 · Score: 1

... the satellite sent "Thank you for not including an odor sensor in my analytics package."

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Anyone who loves or hates any language, platform, or manufacturer, doesn't know what they're talking about.

Re:After taking the picture... by Scutter · 2011-09-07 07:18 · Score: 1

They're still working on smelloscope technology.

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"Tell me doctor, with all of your defenses, are there any provisions for an attack by killer bees?"

Simulator? by pz · 2011-09-07 06:56 · Score: 1

One of the things that makes small hardware a ton of fun to play with is the ability to develop code with a simulator that can show far more detail than is available on the real hardware.

Will you have a highly instrumented simulator available?

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Put my fist through my alarm clock with its ding-dong death inside my ear. - The Blackjacks.

However... by Chris+Mattern · 2011-09-07 07:03 · Score: 1

...after being retrieved from the satellite, Johnny Storm was unavailable for comment.

Re:However... by tverbeek · 2011-09-07 07:46 · Score: 1

He's not from space; that's just where he got his super powers.

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http://alternatives.rzero.com/

if it's green and glowing, DON'T TOUCH IT! by Thud457 · 2011-09-07 07:09 · Score: 1

Dammit, for a second i thought an astronaut was falling out of orbit and he was badass enough to land on a satellite and glide down safely. Oh well...

Well, since we retired the Space Shuttle, we can't send up a Corvette in the cargo bay for him to use for reentry.
I guess the next most likely scenario is that the ISS breaks up and those groovy Cosmonauts surf in on the wreckage.

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the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

smells like infringement by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 07:21 · Score: 0

I wonder if ESA registered their camera with the Burning Man Media Team, or if they got the written permission of the Mistress of Communications for using the photo.
http://www.burningman.com/press/pressRandR.html#guidelines

Oblig.. by wiredog · 2011-09-07 07:22 · Score: 2

XKCD

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Best Slashdot Co

Not impressed. by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 07:25 · Score: 0

Was expecting an actual burning man.

Re:The ESA has a high-resolution image available.. by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 07:27 · Score: 0

You mean the NRO, surely.

That's some insane skydiving! by Beelzebud · 2011-09-07 07:28 · Score: 2

The headline was enough for me. Anyone who skydives from an altitude where they can burst into re-entry flames, and be caught by a satellite is just nuts!

Burning Nags by billcopc · 2011-09-07 07:41 · Score: 1

The question is: Did they get permission to use that camera from the Burning Man officials ?

Look, I like the root idea of BM, the whole transient art-city-building concept, but the net result is always a bunch of hippies acting friggin' weird. And the money, ZOMG the money - both to get a ticket (which buys you fuckall), and the effort and resources spent to build art installations - only to be torn down a week later. Why can't they just build a permanent hippie city somewhere so they can live the way they want to live, do their silly little spirit dances and make love to Gaia or whatever, and we indoctrinated modernists can visit once in a while and bring them toilet paper.

And then we'll get satellites to take ho-hum pictures of it from SPAAAAAACE!

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-Billco, Fnarg.com

Re:Burning Nags by painandgreed · 2011-09-07 08:36 · Score: 1

Look, I like the root idea of BM, the whole transient art-city-building concept, but the net result is always a bunch of hippies acting friggin' weird.And the money, ZOMG the money - both to get a ticket (which buys you fuckall), and the effort and resources spent to build art installations - only to be torn down a week later. Why can't they just build a permanent hippie city somewhere so they can live the way they want to live, do their silly little spirit dances and make love to Gaia or whatever, and we indoctrinated modernists can visit once in a while and bring them toilet paper.
If you like the idea, you might want to actually look into it because it doesn't sound like you have any idea what is is actually like or you are just trying to be offensive for the sake of insulting something you don't understand. Like any city, there is a wide and varied population. While there are hippies there, they are not the largest demographic. That would probably be ravers. Hell, even computer programers from SF probably outnumber the hippies; how do you think all that art gets built? Some of the ticket price does go towards art, but even then, the majority of the art has to come from the builders. Most large art pieces will go on to other events such as maker faire, art car shows, other outdoor festivals etc. If you really think the ticket price gets you fuckall, I'd really like to see you put on your art-city-building concept for and do it cheaper. It would be pure schadenfreude as you have no idea what you are talking about and would fail miserably.
Re:Burning Nags by Migraineman · 2011-09-07 08:47 · Score: 2

Compare this to car racing. For a typical SCCA single-race weekend, you pay about $300 for your entry fee. That money buys you access to the facility ... approximately the same "fuckall" available at Burning Man. You bring your race car, food, water, fuel. You participate in the event - most events require one or more representatives from your team to volunteer as corner workers, timing & scoring, tech inspection, etc. At the end of the event, you pick up your stuff and leave. I have friends who thing racing is categorically insane for the reasons you mention - lots of work to drive around in circles for a weekend.

These events are explicitly transient (both BM and racing.) BM is not a permanent activity that would otherwise be sustainable. And if you don't see the significance and spirituality of the closing event at Burning Man, might I suggest that you just book a room in Vegas instead?
Re:Burning Nags by billcopc · 2011-09-07 08:53 · Score: 1

Been there. Done that. Criticizing what I experienced firsthand. But thanks for playing...
Some of the stuff is amazing, like the massive wire structures and what I can only term "functional art" like the ones you can climb into/onto. Then everything else is indeed tired out hippie/raver crap and countless naked poi enthusiasts. I find the event attracts a handful of narrow niches of people that quickly get repetitive and irritating. Sure, after a day or two you settle in with a few like-minded participants, but it's no different than that one could achieve at city bars, galleries and shared spaces year-round.
Cool people will gravitate toward each other, regardless of setting.
And then crappy people will latch onto those cool people like lint.

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-Billco, Fnarg.com
Re:Burning Nags by painandgreed · 2011-09-07 09:55 · Score: 2

Been there. Done that. Criticizing what I experienced firsthand. But thanks for playing...
Oh, you're one of those. Go, have a bad time while never contributing anything, and then bitch about it for years even though your complaints have little relevance any more.
Re:Burning Nags by 2short · 2011-09-07 10:53 · Score: 1

"The question is: Did they get permission to use that camera from the Burning Man officials ?"
Since they aren't attendees, why would they need to? Burning Man can put whatever conditions on attendance they like, but why would they have any authority over the ESA?
As far as why do Burning Man attendees spend all that time and money on something that isn't what you think would be cool: because it's their time and money and they spend it on what they think is cool.
Also, I know about a dozen Burning Man fans, and I separately know quite a few hippies. Burning Man isn't hippies.
Re:Burning Nags by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 15:51 · Score: 0

as both a hippie and a burning man participant...
well said!

Title misleading by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 08:06 · Score: 0

I was expecting to see an AI satellite rescuing an astronaut falling through the atmosphere.

But how did he get there...? by ruiner13 · 2011-09-07 08:28 · Score: 1

How did a burning man get into space? I assume he has an on-board oxygen supply to allow for this combustion to happen in a vacuum?

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today is spelling optional day.

I for one... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 08:29 · Score: 0

I, for one, welcome our spontaeously combusting overlords from space.

If only they had better sense than to let themselves be captured by inanimate objects...

Overestimation of high res. by olborro · 2011-09-07 08:35 · Score: 1

Well maybe I'm just being picky, but for me high resolution version must be at least as large as resolution of mainstream screens at that given time and I must say that I was sadly disappointed by the pixel count of the so called "high resolution version of the image" given in the summary.

Google Maps has it already by almitydave · 2011-09-07 09:04 · Score: 1

You can see it here. They even have an airfield, and the GMaps image captures a plane in the process of taxiing or landing. I wouldn't have guessed that many hippies owned aircraft.

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I'm, you're, he's/she's/it's, we're, you're, they're

Re:Google Maps has it already by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 09:35 · Score: 0

That's from GeoEye not ESA, is a few years old, and is higher resolution.
Re:Google Maps has it already by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-08 15:50 · Score: 0

That imagery is not from this year.

Coral Cache of the link ... by gknoy · 2011-09-07 09:31 · Score: 1

Coral Cached:
http://www.geeked.info.nyud.net/burning-man-2011-geoeye-satellite-image

(I'm glad someone else did it before it was slashdotted.)

I would have thought that ... by rnturn · 2011-09-07 10:59 · Score: 1

... the shark that Burning Man jumped had already jumped another shark. IMHO, Burning Man stopped being somewhat relevant about the time that Wired magazine stopped thinking that tiny lime green text on an orange background was hip.

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CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M

Re:I would have thought that ... by a-yz · 2011-09-07 15:01 · Score: 1

How relevant Burning Man has or has not become depends on your values. If one values the raw "tribal" anything goes aspect, that's mostly gone compared to what it was. If one values art structures and vehicles and post-apocalyptic style clubs and raves (with lots of alcohol everywhere) all in a very unique context, Burning Man is turning the knob to an 11.

It can be seen with the unaided eye by 2short · 2011-09-07 11:15 · Score: 1

The human eye can distinguish detail of about 0.017 degrees (20/20 vision). "Space" is commonly defined as 100km up. A bit of trig tells us to see something from space with the unaided eye, it must be 1.7 kilometers across. Black Rock City is roughly twice that according to the only map I could find with a scale. It will be a little black dot to be sure, but if you're going to go with a silly "bigness" standard you may as well know it passes.

Personally, a week-long event with 50,000 attendees says "big" to me.

Re:It can be seen with the unaided eye by Kreigaffe · 2011-09-07 11:35 · Score: 0

Hell, when I went to Bonnaroo (back when it was still awesome, many years ago; heard its kinda commercial and filled with kids on senior trips these days..), I believe it pulled in twice that number, for 4 days.
And there were no geriatric gay guys sans pants, either.
Also I saw Neil Young and James Brown there. And Garage a Trois, which was actually the best show of the whole thing..
Burning Man, more like Second-Rate Man.

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... still waiting for this free-as-in-beer free beer I keep hearing about. :|
Re:It can be seen with the unaided eye by jcwayne · 2011-09-07 11:47 · Score: 1

And there were no geriatric gay guys sans pants, either.
Then why bother?

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Failure to follow this advice may result in non-deterministic behavior.
Re:It can be seen with the unaided eye by a-yz · 2011-09-07 14:24 · Score: 1

Comparing Bonnaroo to Burning Man like this is like saying "I've never had sex, but I watched soft porn on a movie channel so I win". If you had ever gone (you obviously haven't) you may honestly have hated it, but you wouldn't even consider making that kind of comparison.
Re:It can be seen with the unaided eye by ceoyoyo · 2011-09-07 16:55 · Score: 1

Meh, it's smaller than the Radiological Society of North America annual conference.
Re:It can be seen with the unaided eye by ComaVN · 2011-09-07 19:33 · Score: 1

You've confused grade with degrees.
0.017 degrees @ 100km is about 30 meters

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Be wary of any facts that confirm your opinion.
Re:It can be seen with the unaided eye by Kreigaffe · 2011-09-07 23:19 · Score: 1

The comparison was more of a numbers thing -- I do know they're only tangentially related (by large numbers). I've no intentions of going to Burning Man, because I *would* hate it, but that's just me.. I was the dude at Bonnaroo who hung out at his tent reading Kafka instead of going to see the Dead play; I'd probably drive 10,000 people away from Burning Man.

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... still waiting for this free-as-in-beer free beer I keep hearing about. :|

here is a proper high-res image instead by darkeye · 2011-09-07 16:26 · Score: 1

http://www.geeked.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Burning_Man_BRD_NV_GE1_1SEP2011.jpg

2011: A Space Oddity by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 17:02 · Score: 0

For a while I thought Major Tom had returned to Earth in a blaze of glory.

Implied significance to fool the uninitiated by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 20:04 · Score: 0

There is no 'significance' of the closing event at Burning Man beyond the superficial. Like so many rituals this one is attended by the few so that they can imply to the others that they have experienced something of great significance and thereby have attained a state of being superior to those who missed out. The secret of the event (as Erving Goffman so rightly put it) is that there is no secret at all. It is the feeling of having got one over on the people who didn't attend that gives the attendees pleasure - not any spiritual awakening or profound understanding.

San Fransisco hippy's summer retreat by Anonymous Coward · 2011-09-07 20:19 · Score: 0

If you ever wondered where all the exhibitionists, fantasists, gays and nut jobs go to each summer, go to Burning Man and you will find them gathered there to gain spiritual enlightenment - while they compete for attention exhibiting as much flesh as possible while appearing, at the same time, not to be aware that they lack clothing.

Go, pretend you think it's cool, and enjoy the freak show.

Call me square.

Misleading Title by cnxsoft · 2011-09-07 21:01 · Score: 1

Right, the title is misleading... I had never heard of this event before.

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Satellite Captures Burning Man From Space

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