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Who Needs NASA? Exoplanet Detected Using a DSLR
Iddo Genuth writes Until 20 years ago even the best telescopes in the world could not detect a planet outside our solar system. Now, with the aid of a basic DSLR, low cost lens and some DIY magic, you just might be able to "see" ET's home planet for yourself. Your DSLR can do much more than just take a few nice portraits or the occasional vacation photos – if you have some DIY experience (O.K. a bit more than just "some"), you might be able to repeat what David Schneider was recently been able to do — that is, building his own planet finder using only inexpensive photo gear, low cost electronics, the right kind of software and a lot of patience. Although Schneider was "only" able to rediscover an already known exsoplanet (some 63 light-years away from us), what he did — and more importantly how he did it — might allow planet hunting to become closer to SETI@home than NASA's 550,000 million dollar Kepler space telescope project.
Well, check out NASA's website. Their headline is 'Who Needs Low-Budget DSLR-Wielding Amateurs?'
a smartphone and an app!
Well ok so some Italian already discovered Jupiter's moons, but if they hadn't, you could!
"Honey, I just discovered a planet and I'm going to name it after you. An entire planet."
Table-ized A.I.
Yes, for example when filling out census in Russia, it is very important to put that you have 2,000 children (Lena and Igor). If you put just 2, people would consider that you are just rounding it off.
This even appears in the food market - you need to specify that you want to buy 1,000 egg, otherwise, given current economic troubles, they could cheat you and try to sell you only 0,945 of one, which you would notice only at home when your cake fails.