Just how amazed were you when you first saw Earth-rise from the Moon during the Apollo mission? One of the most fantastic photographs I can think of. Just to think, on that little blue globe, I am somewhere watching tv of the Apollo and they are taking my picture....So very strange to see just how really small we were. So here is a shot of the Earth AND the Moon from Mars taken by NASA's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera - operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson. Do I need to say anything more?
10 comments:
I saw this same picture a while back. It's gorgeous. It's amazing what this little planet looks like from space. You can look at it and forget that there are any wars or people dying or anything. It's peaceful and wonderful. *hugs the tiny marble Earth*
No, I'm not a hippy. I'm a space hippy. I want to go to space and see these things with my own eyes!
Hey SMD!
Space hippy! First time I ever heard the term and I am so online with that! I have a title to the definition now! Cool
Haha! It's a great term. I love space. Maybe that's why I write SF myself. I don't know. Space is simply the most amazing place. Granted, the Earth is awesome too. I love this little planet, but space is what truly fascinates me. I'm hoping before I die that they'll have affordable commercial or private flights into space. I'd settle just for ten seconds of true zero G...that would make my day indeed.
Go Space Hippies!
I would agree on the 10 or 20 seconds, and you know, there is a company that is thinking of offering more economical rides on the vomit comet. I love the idea of weightless, but obtaining it from the roller coaster from hell makes me pause a bit. If I could only get past the though of "I am on a plane diving straight at the earth!" A space fan and a writer to boot, how can you beat that!? Don't be afraid to point us at any material you might have online now!
I know of Virgin Galactic, but I can't afford $200,000 a flight. I'm a poor college student who in turn is going to go into a profession that doesn't pay much anyway: teaching. Go figure :P. At least, that's where I want to get eventually. I'm finishing up my BA and going, luck permitting, to graduate school. I love school, to be honest. That might sound crazy, but I really enjoy the atmosphere and taking classes. It's better than a job and I imagine I would have a blast teaching. I'd like to be a college level teacher, but I'd do anything, to be honest. I just can't stay in the Bay Area to do it...to dang expensive!
I actually hate roller coasters. Well, that's not true. I like the coasters at Disneyland (not California Adventure, since I've yet to be there). But I like them because they don't have those huge dips. It's the dips that get me on coasters. I mean, I love coasters as feats of engineering glory, and I love building them in Roller Coaster Tycoon (great game :P), but I can't take the drops. They just terrify the heck out of me. But everything else I'm cool with. Space Mountain is my favorite ride of ALL time. Hands down.
Oh, and I'm a writer, just haven't been published yet. It's a long haul, but I'm getting close. I'll let you know if I succeed :). The only thing I have online is my blog novel on my blog. That was an experiment I did from 06 to 07 just to see if I could write consistently and complete a novel. It worked and I'm writing the sequel for the same reason. It's a rough piece of work, but I wrote it with the intention of having fun, and it was fun.
Hopefully I'll get some short stories published soon. I'm crossing my fingers!
Virgin Galactic will get you weightless and yep, 200 large for the trip. But for those of us on a more frugal budget there will still be the chance to experience weightlessness for several seconds at a time. Soon anyone will be able to ride on boing 707s (I think that was the model) fitted out just as the astronauts trained. And I think there is a company in Europe that is considering it too. The cost would only be a fraction of the Virgin Galactic trip, but then it would last only a fraction of the time as well.... darn
Yeah, but I want to go to space...not go up and down really fast in high atmo just to float around for a while. I mean, yeah, that's cool, and I might do it one day, but I want the experience of seeing space with my own eyes. I just can't afford it. Maybe some day. There are three things I want to do before I die:
1. See Haley's Comet (I was 2 or 3 or something very close to that age the last time it was around)
2. Go to space, even for just a minute.
3. Marry the perfect woman.
I'm fairly certain I have #3 down. I found the perfect woman, so the marriage part is around the corner. Hopefully I can live long enough for #1, and maybe get rich enough for #2.
What a great list!!!!!
My comments about the vomit comet were aimed at "I'd settle just for ten seconds of true zero G..." and I guess, I really didn't pay close enough attention to the "true" But then again, except for the Apollo flights, have all been microgravity free fall environments. But still, I see your point, LEO is much more preferable to going up and down!
Don't get me wrong, going up and down and floating around would be totally awesome, but it's not the same thing. They're actually pretty long drops on those planes, relatively speaking. 30 seconds to a minute I think. Any time you seem them either on TV or otherwise they're rather long. I imagine you could do them for a couple minutes at a time depending how fast you dropped.
Oh no, I knew what you meant...and your right, the comet is a pale cousin. I too would want my 0g to be accompanied by a port hole that I could see the complete earth globe in. More than likely I would be losing my lunch, but I would remember and treasure the moment.
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