Maybe teh high res copies would show that the landing was faked? Or that there was someone or something else there they didnt want us to see? All kinds of possiblities. Lunacy being one, as well.
lol
Thanks for the nudge @kyte . I just learned something new!
I had no idea until today that Russia actually put remote controlled vehicles (2) on the moon, in 1970 and 73.
The first one was expected to last 3 lunar days, but actually worked for almost a year. Its location was lost for 40 years, but then just in the past decade it was located thanks to its reflector.
Imaging of the moon has also shown the various landing sites of both manned and unmanned expeditions.
Amazing what fear can do.
1 Like
In relation to Cassini, there’s a fascinating episode of the Netflix documentary series ‘7 Days Out’ that follows the last 7 days of Cassini’s mission and the lead up to it’s planned crash into Jupiter. It was fascinating. In fact, the whole series is really interesting, I think the Cassini specific episode was about ep 3 or 4.
1 Like
Amazing images just in from NASA’s New Horizons space craft of the distant dwarf planet, Ultima Thule, which is a few billion kilometres beyond Pluto - believed to have formed in the early days of our solar system, by 2 objects colliding very very slowly…
Amazing!
So Ultima Thule has outer rings like Saturn, but they are not concentric with the celestial object. There is a strange brown cloud surrounding the object, again not concentric. The background to the object is a whitish glow, almost like an alien light source. (The quality of New Horizons camera is extraordinary.)
The image is overwhelming and has made me want to sit down and contemplate this achievement over a plate of pancakes.
Couldn’t resist when I saw the image on the pancake this morning… My kids love that they are calling Ultima Thule “Frosty the Snowman”.
A bloody mazing!!
1 Like
Caught the (one of the millions of) reddit thread this morning. Really cool stuff, for some reason space stuff makes me feel like a little kid again…
2 Likes
I’m glad to be seeing it before I die. Now, the other one in our galaxy. Wonder how far along they are with that…
1 Like
Just saw this, too. Such an amazing part of the story behind the photo.
The look on her face… it’s what you say, such kiddish delight, but a million times more - and she has every right to look so happy! One of those pictures that should go down in history.
And - my wife just showed me part of an interview with her - she’s amazing! 
Some more details regarding the mission to view a black hole from the ABC.
2 Likes
Have to say, @kyte, your comment made me think about at least 1 person who would have dearly loved to see this before they died… Perhaps Hawking got a glimpse of the work-in-progress before he passed.
The other day my 6yo asked me about the classic light-speed question… If I’m travelling at the speed of light, and I turn my flashlight on, how fast will that light be travelling?
I recall having this conversation with my very own “Sheldon” friend in high school…
More interesting though, was an article I read recently regarding the status of humankind’s approaching-light-speed capable engines. It was quite a detailed, and moderately understandable read, covering various types of both currently achievable, and theoretically possible engines, with estimates on maximum speeds, and how long they would take to reach the nearest star.
This YouTube video from 3 years ago is in a very similar vein.
