GrogHeads Forum

IRL (In Real Life) => Current Events => Topic started by: jomni on October 19, 2018, 04:05:12 AM

Title: Chinese man-made moons!
Post by: jomni on October 19, 2018, 04:05:12 AM
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/new-moon--china-to-launch-lunar-lighting-in-outer-space-10844096?cid=FBcna
Title: Re: Chinese man-made moons!
Post by: Pete Dero on October 19, 2018, 06:56:39 AM
I hope they fail :tickedoff:  >:(.

There is already more than enough light pollution without this idiotic plan !

I can't go further without the RPFW forum but news like this makes me furious  :pullhair:.

Title: Re: Chinese man-made moons!
Post by: JasonPratt on October 19, 2018, 08:04:58 AM
Could be worse. Could be the North Koreans, pretending to be British...

(https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/legendsofthemultiuniverse/images/c/c4/Die-another-day-icarus-satellite-scifi-real-life-384001130.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20170731013343)


(Literally the plot of that film was to create a new solar warming moon, in order to open up new icebound areas -- but it was a space laser.)
Title: Re: Chinese man-made moons!
Post by: Steelgrave on October 19, 2018, 09:24:08 AM
That's no moon....now where have I heard this before???

(https://i.gifer.com/211K.gif)
Title: Re: Chinese man-made moons!
Post by: DoctorQuest on October 19, 2018, 09:51:27 AM
This sounds like a job for.....

SPACE FORCE!!!!!
Title: Re: Chinese man-made moons!
Post by: OJsDad on October 19, 2018, 10:19:13 AM
Hopefully they dont fry one of their cities.
Title: Re: Chinese man-made moons!
Post by: Sir Slash on October 19, 2018, 10:27:25 AM
So the sun will never set on the new Chinese Empire? Fine by me, just keep all that light over there. Some of us like it dark at night.
Title: Re: Chinese man-made moons!
Post by: Pete Dero on October 19, 2018, 10:39:09 AM
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 19, 2018, 10:27:25 AM
Some of us like it dark at night.

One of my hobbies is astronomy so this is why stuff like this angers me a lot.

My country is already ruined with light pollution.  My grand mother thinks the Milky Way is gone because 'she could see it before and now it is not there anymore' (the only benefit of German occupation in WWII was the sky at night because of the blackout).
From my location (15 km from Brussels - just find the brightest spot on the picture below) I've never seen it !!  And now they even want to flood it with more light from above  :hide:.

(https://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2017/04/night-Europe.jpg)
Title: Re: Chinese man-made moons!
Post by: JasonPratt on October 19, 2018, 11:29:54 AM
...is this going to be one of their wacky territorial justifications? Like, anywhere the government supplies public lighting for free, they legally claim as their territory?  :o
Title: Re: Chinese man-made moons!
Post by: OJsDad on October 19, 2018, 12:12:28 PM
Quote from: Pete Dero on October 19, 2018, 10:39:09 AM
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 19, 2018, 10:27:25 AM
Some of us like it dark at night.

One of my hobbies is astronomy so this is why stuff like this angers me a lot.

My country is already ruined with light pollution.  My grand mother thinks the Milky Way is gone because 'she could see it before and now it is not there anymore' (the only benefit of German occupation in WWII was the sky at night because of the blackout).
From my location (15 km from Brussels - just find the brightest spot on the picture below) I've never seen it !!  And now they even want to flood it with more light from above  :hide:.

(https://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2017/04/night-Europe.jpg)

Europe has a long ways to go to catchup with the US, or at least he eastern half of the US. 

(https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/images/712129main_8247975848_88635d38a1_o.jpg)
Title: Re: Chinese man-made moons!
Post by: Sir Slash on October 19, 2018, 12:23:04 PM
Maybe they're trying to keep us from seeing what( the Govt's) are doing out there.  :o :o :o
Title: Re: Chinese man-made moons!
Post by: Pete Dero on October 19, 2018, 12:38:59 PM
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 19, 2018, 12:23:04 PM
Maybe they're trying to keep us from seeing what( the Govt's) are doing out there.  :o :o :o

It can't be worse than what they do down here.
Title: Re: Chinese man-made moons!
Post by: W8taminute on October 19, 2018, 03:02:17 PM
I think this is an excellent idea.  China can assert it's power over the rest of the world by threatening to shine the light of doom on anyone who resists unless they're willing to pay....

(https://i.imgur.com/NDBB96K.png)
Title: Re: Chinese man-made moons!
Post by: SirAndrewD on October 19, 2018, 09:43:00 PM
As an amateur backyard astronomer I seriously hope this never takes off in the US. 

I love the stars at night.  I have a hard enough time seeing anything with the light pollution as it is.
Title: Re: Chinese man-made moons!
Post by: Sir Slash on October 19, 2018, 10:51:51 PM
I bet if we could get Kim Kardashian's big ass up in space we could out do them. Don't know if there's a rocket with enough lift capacity yet though.
Title: Re: Chinese man-made moons!
Post by: Pete Dero on October 20, 2018, 04:13:51 AM
Quote from: SirAndrewD on October 19, 2018, 09:43:00 PM
As an amateur backyard astronomer I seriously hope this never takes off in the US. 

I love the stars at night.  I have a hard enough time seeing anything with the light pollution as it is.

I'm becoming more and more an armchair astronomer these days ...

When I went on a cruise some years ago I imagined this should be a good opportunity to see the night sky in the middle of the ocean without any light pollution from nearby cities.

Then I found out cruise ships look like this at night  :'(  >:(.

(https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4009/4382454405_2984ee7953_z.jpg?zz=1)
Title: Re: Chinese man-made moons!
Post by: besilarius on October 20, 2018, 06:56:37 AM
See if you can take a ride on a merchant, or even a warship.
They only have the running lights required for safe navigation.  I used to enjoy going up to the signal bridge and looking at the sky.
Of course, in the swells, the ship was bobbing from side to side.  You could see a gorgeous sky of stars, as they moved twenty degrees to the right, and then twenty degrees to the left.
Better than any light show at a concert.
Title: Re: Chinese man-made moons!
Post by: Toonces on October 20, 2018, 10:30:25 PM
Heh, funny you say that.  On my ship we were absolutely forbidden to go outside the skin of the ship at night.  I remember, though, one night I was going from one part of the ship to another and decided to hell with it and went out onto the catwalk to get to another part of the ship as a shortcut.  Big, big mistake.  I have never, ever seen such a complete absence of light in my life.  I could quite literally not see my hand an inch in front of my face.  I'm fortunate I was able to find the hatch and get back inside the ship.
Title: Re: Chinese man-made moons!
Post by: jomni on November 10, 2018, 03:25:06 AM
Chinese AI news anchor.
https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-news-anchor-created-by-china-xinhua-news-agency-2018-11?IR=T&utm_content=buffera2998&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer-ti
Title: Re: Chinese man-made moons!
Post by: Staggerwing on November 10, 2018, 08:11:55 AM
Quote from: jomni on November 10, 2018, 03:25:06 AM
Chinese AI news anchor.
https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-news-anchor-created-by-china-xinhua-news-agency-2018-11?IR=T&utm_content=buffera2998&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer-ti

That presenter's not at all creepy, no not one bit...  ???
Title: Re: Chinese man-made moons!
Post by: Ubercat on November 10, 2018, 08:25:51 AM
Quote from: Toonces on October 20, 2018, 10:30:25 PM
Heh, funny you say that.  On my ship we were absolutely forbidden to go outside the skin of the ship at night.  I remember, though, one night I was going from one part of the ship to another and decided to hell with it and went out onto the catwalk to get to another part of the ship as a shortcut.  Big, big mistake.  I have never, ever seen such a complete absence of light in my life.  I could quite literally not see my hand an inch in front of my face.  I'm fortunate I was able to find the hatch and get back inside the ship.

What ship? I can only imagine a bubble head not being allowed outside, for obvious reasons!

I was on the Independence CV62 in the late 80's and I still remember having to stand balls to 4AM watch at the top of the island. Dead of winter. Bitter cold but very clear sky and almost full moon. The big dipper seemed to cover half the sky.

I got out just before desert shield and never went further than a few hundred miles off the east coast. Maybe that explains the lax security. That or the fact that no one had cell phones.