*related=http://videosift.com/video/Huge-planets-filling-the-night-sky-We-are-dooooooooomed

Huge planets filling the night sky! We are dooooooooomed!! has been added as a related post - related requested by dingens.

Was gonna say... yeah, sunset not so awesome (other than the fact it's on MARS), but that night sky must be incredible.

Cutting back on light pollution isn't too hard if lighting and building designers and the like would just care. For highlighting a building, rather than have lights pointing up, put the lights under the eaves pointing down. (I actually don't get why people light up their houses so much, especially if there are street lights nearby as well, that makes that much more light for a thief to have in the house without having to use a flashlight or turn on lights or anything else to give away their activity, plus it just doesn't make sense to me to highlight a house 99.999% of the time) Along the sidewalk of the local shopping center strip, they have these big 3' round lights shining light in all directions, but if they simply capped it, and had a reflector on top to direct light down and around, they could achieve better light distribution for pedestrians for far less energy, a win all the way around for them. Light is still reflected off the ground up, but isn't as intense. Street lights can be made to cause less glare and direct light better, which again saves energy while keeping the light needed for the road just as good if not better. The problem is, those fixtures aren't widely used yet, so they cost more than the normal ones (supply and demand working out there, plus just gouging). I would bet that even a major city could greatly cut their light pollution down without sacrificing safety, and perhaps increasing it, and saving energy with just a few steps. Problem is most people don't know much about it, nor care, save for those of us who would love to have a nice telescope, but find it hard to justify especially when the skies nearby aren't dark enough... Really just need to start modifying zoning laws and restrict accent lighting and do better on street lighting where/when needed (and cutting it when not needed, which is perhaps far more often the case, since it is usually just a security blanket while not providing any security at all)... But yeah, since that isn't likely to happen, not much is likely to happen and those of us wanting to see the night sky in its glory are stuck with long drives...

I find it amazing that only a handful of people have actually seen the other side of the moon. Something that's in the night sky all the time, but always faces the same way towards us

>> ^messenger:

Because the light has shifted from visible through infrared to microwave due to the expansion of the universe since the Big Bang, 1100 times stretched, according to RFlag's link starting at around 3:11.>> ^SWBStX:
So maybe I'm missing something obvious that should answer this question but I'll ask it anyway. So if the night sky should be light everywhere we look, and the reason it isn't is because it's outside our visible spectrum, why do the pictures taken using an infrared camera still show darkness behind the stars it can see? Why isn't the CBR showing up brightly on the infrared pictures?



Ah, clearly I should have checked out that link. Thanks! Time for a microwave camera!

Because the light has shifted from visible through infrared to microwave due to the expansion of the universe since the Big Bang, 1100 times stretched, according to RFlag's link starting at around 3:11.>> ^SWBStX:

So maybe I'm missing something obvious that should answer this question but I'll ask it anyway. So if the night sky should be light everywhere we look, and the reason it isn't is because it's outside our visible spectrum, why do the pictures taken using an infrared camera still show darkness behind the stars it can see? Why isn't the CBR showing up brightly on the infrared pictures?

So maybe I'm missing something obvious that should answer this question but I'll ask it anyway. So if the night sky should be light everywhere we look, and the reason it isn't is because it's outside our visible spectrum, why do the pictures taken using an infrared camera still show darkness behind the stars it can see? Why isn't the CBR showing up brightly on the infrared pictures?

>> ^deathcow:

@lurgee could have made the wicked photos of this


you know it.

Your video, 49 quadrocopters in the night sky, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

No, you are right. It's practically a dupe. *kill >> ^Stingray:

This video is just like this video: http://videosift.com/video/Huge-planets-filling-the-night-sk
y-We-are-dooooooooomed
But this video has some added foreground of trees and whatnot.
So, not an exact dupe, but wanted to mention it.

This video is just like this video: http://videosift.com/video/Huge-planets-filling-the-night-sky-We-are-dooooooooomed

But this video has some added foreground of trees and whatnot.

So, not an exact dupe, but wanted to mention it.

Nice. I have driven up and down different parts of 1-5, from LA to Vancouver, but never such a long trip in one go. Taking the coast is a slow slog. A cool route would be taking 101 north from SF to see the redwood and the coast, and then scooting back to 1-5 via 199 and Grants Pass.

Aside from the terrain, the night sky is stunning in the more isolated parts of 1-5. Driving around the Cali/Oregon boarder in summer months and seeing the milky way from a convertible is breathtaking.

Also, there's the State of Jefferson, which is cool.>> ^Yogi:

>> ^longde:
Take I-5 from SF to Portland. Some amazing scenery on that trip, especially it you're willing to go off track a little; and good beer at the end.

I've traveled from LA to Seattle by car 6 times in the last 6 months because moving to Seattle and visiting friends and such. Besides getting my time down to 17 hours for the trip I've seen some great stuff and I've never regretted driving even though I take the boring route. I want to do a Coastal Road journey next time...I think it'll be a lot of fun.

>> ^sillma:

Too bad setting the game to 'ultra high' doesn't bring it even close to the real max settings


yea the graphics are largely 'meh' without a few nice mods like the FXAA Injector, 4k HD Textures, Better Water, Better Night Sky. With those however.. the graphics are astounding and of course the art direction is already so good that you are totally immersed into the game's setting of an old nordic land that is passed it's prime and slowly crumbling while the men and women of power desperately hold on to it as it begins to slip away as the next age of the country begins. The real question is who shall lead it? The game really oozes atmosphere.

Edit: Oh for those on the PC who would like to see these amazing graphics, all the really good graphics mods are listed here (I use all accept the top one myself). http://www.gamersnexus.net/news-pc/660-best-skyrim-graphics-mods

Great photos, but some strange commentary. "Wherever we are on Earth, we all share the same night sky." Really? Two obvious examples: the North Star can only be seen in the northern hemisphere, while the Southern Cross can only be seen in the south. (Don't get me wrong, I still loved this...)