Astronomers Find the Calmest Place On Earth 231
The Narrative Fallacy writes "Live Science reports that astronomers in search of the perfect site to take pictures of the heavens have combined data from satellites, ground stations and climate models in a study to assess the many factors that affect image quality — cloud cover, temperature, sky-brightness, water vapor, wind speeds and atmospheric turbulence. They have pinpointed the coldest, driest, calmest place on earth, known simply as Ridge A, 13,297 feet high on the Antarctic Plateau. 'It's so calm that there's almost no wind or weather there at all,' says study leader Will Saunders, of the Anglo-Australian Observatory. 'The astronomical images taken at Ridge A should be at least three times sharper than at the best sites currently used by astronomers.' Located within the Australian Antarctic Territory, the site is 89 miles from the PLATO (PLATeau Observatory) international robotic observatory. The new site would be superior to the best existing observatories on high mountain tops in Hawaii and Chile, Saunders says. 'Because the sky there is so much darker and drier, it means that a modestly-sized telescope would be as powerful as the largest telescopes anywhere else on earth.'"
Umm, right. (Score:5, Funny)
Anyhow, we're on to you, Mr. I'm-extraordinarily-antisocial Astronomer. We are not going to support your social avoidance issues with a multimillion dollar playpen. Just take your meds!
Antarctica... (Score:5, Funny)
obligatory ... (Score:3, Funny)
Hey..I can see my house from here.
Calmest place on earth = Calmest resort on earth! (Score:4, Funny)
The commercial practically writes itself!
Ridge A villas, your ticket to paradise on earth!*
*Ridge A Villas is not responsible for hypothermia, loss of limbs due to gangrene, or Abominable Snowman attacks. Any lawsuit filed against Ridge A Villas must be filed in Antarctica county district court jurisdiction within 90 hours of the incident.
Miles? (Score:5, Funny)
Could someone convert that into a number the rest of the world understands?
Wow, that sounds like paradise. Wait.. (Score:5, Funny)
Except for the fact that it's in fucking Antarctica? I think the researchers currently in Hawaii would be pretty annoyed to have to move. :-)
It has at least one thing going for it... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Miles? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Miles? (Score:5, Funny)
Could someone convert that into a number the rest of the world understands?
It's 0x59 miles.
Re:Umm, right. (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Miles? (Score:5, Funny)
Could someone convert that into a number the rest of the world understands?
89 metric miles.
Re:Australian Antarctic Territory ? (Score:3, Funny)
But what about Vatican City and Liechtenstein?
Re:For Earthbound, mebbe... (Score:3, Funny)
Oh, so that's where they're hiding...
Home on Ridge A (Score:5, Funny)
And the frigid astronomers play
Where seldom is heard a single word
And the skies are not cloudy all day
How often at night when the heavens are bright
With the light from the glittering stars
Have I stood there amazed and asked as I gazed
If their glory exceeds that of ours
Home, home on Ridge A
And the frigid astronomers play
Where seldom is heard a single word
And the skies are not cloudy all day
Where the air is so pure, the zephyrs so free
The breezes so calm and light
That I would not exchange my home on Ridge A
For all of the cities so bright
Re:Miles? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:For Earthbound, mebbe... (Score:5, Funny)
Aw, the solitude's not so bad. The guy you really gotta feel sorry for is the midget they crammed inside the Hubble to draw everything he saw and drop the pictures back to Earth, message-in-a-bottle style.
Re:Umm, right. (Score:1, Funny)
This is ok. Astronomers wouldn't spend the entire year in Antarctica anyway. During the winter (summer down there) they would go home and briskly rub their hands together while muttering "fucking boss sends me to Antartica for the coldest 9 months of the year."
Fixed.
Re:For Earthbound, mebbe... (Score:3, Funny)
I just love it when people pronounce as impossible something that's been happening for two years...
Re:For Earthbound, mebbe... (Score:3, Funny)
So there are cows on the moon now?
no wind or weather there at all (Score:3, Funny)
No weather at all? Wonder what those people will talk about:
- God it's so nothing out there!
- You tell me, I've been out there the whole morning! I can't stand this nothingness anymore...
- Hey, have you seen the snow today? It's kind of yellower today isn't it?
Re:For Earthbound, mebbe... (Score:3, Funny)
Funny you mention "love" because there's no women on the moon, or on that ridge in Antarctica, which is a major drawback of accepting either of those jobs. Oh wait. It's just like my current job.
Don't worry - either place will be so cold that you'll need your ID to tell which sex you are.
The absence of women will just mean not to have to contend with PMS on a regular basis.
Former Calmest Place (Score:3, Funny)
...because now that it's set a record, it will be full of tourists.
Re:For Earthbound, mebbe... (Score:3, Funny)