Is it just me, but when looking the infrared video, it seems like europe is radiating heat like nothing else.
Europe is covered with lots of plants, which reflect near infrared really well and therefore appear bright in that version. Note how much easier it is to also see South and North America in the near-ir version as opposed to the RGB version.
"Making a video of Earth from so far away helps the search for other life-bearing planets in the Universe by giving insights into how a distant, Earth-like alien world would appear to us," said University of Maryland astronomer Michael Aâ(TM)Hearn
Huh? Did he just say that habitable planets must have large moons? (I've heard a similar argument before - something about two widely spaced bodies keeping the big one from wobbling too much.)
?? Where in A'Hearn's quote did he say that habitable planets must have moons? In fact, if you read the press release and movie captions, you'll see that it is not expected, although, understanding the lightcurve if a moon is involved would be useful in determining other characteristics of the planet.
It would have moved with the stars... What direction were you facing?
In the Northern Hemisphere, Perseus is a constellation that is rising in the northeast in the later evening hours (~9pm). This comet is within our solar system so it's closer than the stars of Perseus, but in front of them (hence why we say look towards Perseus). And since the comet is relatively nearby, it will exhibit motion over several nights, ie, you will notice that it changes position relative to the stars. But during the course of one night, it will move with the stars.
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http://epoxi.umd.edu/4gallery/Earth-Moon_vid.shtml You can view the animated gifs in your browser.
Is it just me, but when looking the infrared video, it seems like europe is radiating heat like nothing else.
Europe is covered with lots of plants, which reflect near infrared really well and therefore appear bright in that version. Note how much easier it is to also see South and North America in the near-ir version as opposed to the RGB version.
Huh? Did he just say that habitable planets must have large moons? (I've heard a similar argument before - something about two widely spaced bodies keeping the big one from wobbling too much.)
?? Where in A'Hearn's quote did he say that habitable planets must have moons? In fact, if you read the press release and movie captions, you'll see that it is not expected, although, understanding the lightcurve if a moon is involved would be useful in determining other characteristics of the planet.
It would have moved with the stars... What direction were you facing? In the Northern Hemisphere, Perseus is a constellation that is rising in the northeast in the later evening hours (~9pm). This comet is within our solar system so it's closer than the stars of Perseus, but in front of them (hence why we say look towards Perseus). And since the comet is relatively nearby, it will exhibit motion over several nights, ie, you will notice that it changes position relative to the stars. But during the course of one night, it will move with the stars.