CW: Forbes.com link, Reality ensues, science is cool, but sometimes it kills some wonder.
I was doing some research to try and remember where I was going with a story I was writing and found that the reality of something I thought was really fucking awesome turns out to be completely useless. Like most of my life, and humanity in general.
re: CW: Forbes.com link, Reality ensues, science is cool, but sometimes it kills some wonder.
@starkatt I wanted it for a tattoo. I think I might still get it. just cause its too damn awesome not to.
re: CW: Forbes.com link, Reality ensues, science is cool, but sometimes it kills some wonder.
@kelseyhusky I think it would be awesome.
re: CW: Wired.com link, Reality ensues, science is cool, but sometimes it kills some wonder.
@starkatt So, even though the actual map is not useful, apparently, Pulsars themselves could still be used for stellar navigation. Which is nice to find. I feel slightly better about my tattoo now.
https://www.wired.com/story/nasa-just-proved-it-can-navigate-space-using-pulsars-where-to-now/
re: CW: Wired.com link, Reality ensues, science is cool, but sometimes it kills some wonder.
@kelseyhusky that piece of hardware being named Sextant is making me smile.
re: CW: Wired.com link, Reality ensues, science is cool, but sometimes it kills some wonder.
@starkatt well, what else are you gonna call an instrument specifically for navigating by stars?
re: CW: Wired.com link, Reality ensues, science is cool, but sometimes it kills some wonder.
@kelseyhusky @starkatt TBH even if it's not as effective as we'd like I think it counts? One of the first probes to go anywhere and the message is "Here, we didn't understand the Universe enough to give you a good map but we tried! Come say hi!"
re: CW: Forbes.com link, Reality ensues, science is cool, but sometimes it kills some wonder.
@kelseyhusky to be fair, it also means we've given aliens the ultimate test that they must pass in order to be worthy of meeting us
CW: Forbes.com link, Reality ensues, science is cool, but sometimes it kills some wonder.
@kelseyhusky Honestly, I'm not super worried about aliens getting judgy at us for not having been good at galactic positioning. If they look at the tech level of the rest of the probe, they'll probably figure out that this was our literal first-shot at sending something out of the solar system, which would hopefully temper their judgement.
re: CW: Forbes.com link, Reality ensues, science is cool, but sometimes it kills some wonder.
@fibonacci_reminder Those would certainly be the non-Terrans I would want to meet. They'd be more likely to forgive us of our bullshit, and to be more understanding if they get here too late.
CW: Forbes.com link, Reality ensues, science is cool, but sometimes it kills some wonder.
@kelseyhusky oh no :( :(
That map is my favorite thing about those messages. I printed it on a shirt.