Slashdot Mirror
Incredible Footage Shows a Perseid Meteor Exploding
Nancy_A writes "Photographer and digital artist Michael K. Chung said he couldn't believe what he saw when he was processing images he took for a timelapse of the Perseid meteor shower this week. It appears he captured a meteor explosion and the resulting expansion of a shock wave or debris ring. After this article was posted, Universe Today received more 'explody' footage from the Perseid meteor shower, which has been added to the article."
Ok kids, for those who don't understand, this is astronomical porn. Read it, watch it, understand it. Its VERY rare to capture such things on film. Like, Lottery Winning rare. This guy will be revered throughout the astronomical world.
Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
Wow. That's amazing. Not only was Michael's photography well done, but to capture a meteor exploding, that's like a holy grail of meteor photography!
Browse at 1. You'll thank me later.
I'm not saying it was aliens, but ...
It was aliens.
This signature is false.
I seen something similar to this back during the 2001 Leonids. A large fireball crossed the sky then broke up into 2 smaller chunks and they continued on with their own own streaks. It was the most incredible meteor I ever seen. That whole shower was the best.
Generally I find that in such cases the intent is the opposite; they're applauding what can be achieved by an amateur, without the resources of a professional.
I didn't see any putdowns of amateurs in TFA, and you'll not find a lot in the astronomy community. It's one of the few sciences where proficient amateurs can make real contributions...they produce intensity logs of variable stars, and discover a lot of the comets, among other things. And they work for nothing.
Much like archaeology in the 19th Century.
Depending on who you talk to, HAARP is either the U.S. government's attempt to control the global climate and take over the world, is under the control of the Bavarian Illuminati (or the Knights Templar, Masons, Greys, Reptilians, or other sort of conspiracy theory), or it is a research site that is developing RADAR technologies and other radio-frequency based concepts that can be used to protect America from foreign threats and is just another military installation. Perhaps it is just an ordinary "big science" research post doing even more benign and peaceful things.
It is also the butt of a great many jokes from those who've heard the worst of the conspiracy theories to want to puke.
Yeah, another conspiracy theory. I guess I could have added that to the list of other bullshit reasons people think it exists.