markmccaughrean

markmccaughrean, 17 hours ago

p.s. Let me know if you have a copy: I suspect that at least few people here on Mastodon do.

I’d offer to share the rest, but I think it’s fair to say that the work on infrared array detector characterisation, data simulation, & early near-IR imaging of the Orion Nebula have been rather, err, surpassed 🙀

markmccaughrean, 23 hours ago

@AkaSci Exactly. Lots of people will be failing today – it’s one of those classic Wordle tank traps 🫠

markmccaughrean, 1 day ago

@AlexanderKingsbury You’re completely missing the point about the brief moment of light & warmth from the burning house.

Of course these things are possible & have happened under capitalism.

But at what cost to a universally uplifted humankind & the future?

Try reading this & tell me that neoliberal capitalism, where the rich become immensely richer by exploiting their “care” of the vulnerable is morally acceptable.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/18/child-care-cost-year-wealth-funds-councils-britain-residential

markmccaughrean, 1 day ago

@AlexanderKingsbury You can have both. That’s where your lack of imagination betrays you. You actually believe that the current form of rampant neoliberal capitalism is actually the very best system possible.

But you’re right. I don’t have to listen to apologists for billionaires.

markmccaughrean, 3 days ago

@JonnyT I have to admit that I typed just “far-right” initially, so I agree with you. I get that Wilders won a substantial piece of the popular vote, but the VVD are shameless in accommodating his noxious views. Europe is heading towards another disastrous episode of populism, as if we didn’t learn a bloody thing eighty years ago.

markmccaughrean, 3 days ago

@bartvdpoel I hope you’re correct (I almost typed right), but it’s absolutely clear that the Overton window is shifting rightwards all over Europe again.

The initially empty promises of populists have a habit of becoming reality more quickly than you’d expect. Look across the continent & tell me it’s not happening already in places like Hungary, Italy, the UK, Slovakia, etc.

And if the US falls for it again this year, things will spiral ever more rapidly.

markmccaughrean, 3 days ago

@saarmuller Indeed, just what we’re doing in ten days time, if not for this reason as such. Problem is, I don’t believe that anywhere in Europe is free of this scourge – it’s just a matter of how far along each country is so far.

And indeed, it’s a global problem, as nationalists & populists weaponise the growing fears & discontents of their citizens. Rather than coming together to face the huge challenges, it looks more like we’re going to go down in flames lit by people denying them.

markmccaughrean, 3 days ago

@bartvdpoel Societies change & progressive, sensible business as usual can be swept away. Wilders in govt now is direct proof of that.

Right-wing politicians are then shameless about inserting their people into nominally non-political positions, slowly turning the screw & pushing news, debate, rhetoric ever rightward to “patriotism”.

Look at the BBC leadership in the UK, the Supreme Court in the US, almost everything in Poland & Hungary. No country & no constitution is immune.

markmccaughrean, 2 days ago

@doddington Excellent 👍 Interestingly, I couldn’t fuse it at all to begin with on my phone. I had to pinch zoom in to the centre, then I could fuse the planes & was able to hold them in focus when I zoomed back out 🤷‍♂️

Hoping to see a few more in the garden here before we leave in ten days time – I have no idea if there will be any at the house we’re renting in Germany. Lots of trees nearby, but 100m elevation above the river 😬

markmccaughrean, 3 days ago (edited 3 days ago)

@aumalatj With all those monkeys & spacemen, it had to be that or Planet of the Apes 🤪

markmccaughrean, 3 days ago

@ehproque Should probably put the organ first … 😉

markmccaughrean, 4 days ago

@AlexSanterne The SEP system has been glitchy for a while, AFAIK, but there is redundancy & I'm hopeful that they will be able to recover full operational capability and/or work on new options for getting into Mercury orbit.

But this is speculation on my part now, as I'm no longer in the loop.

markmccaughrean, 4 days ago

@starstryder Thanks, Pamela.

Yes, they're both in peer review still, albeit the "fault" lies on our side. We've been working on revising them for many months, particularly with an extensive reanalysis of the JuMBOs after (helpful) comments from the referees.

The good news is that we're just about to resubmit that paper, probably tomorrow, & the other will follow rapidly after.

markmccaughrean, 4 days ago

@starstryder Definitely.

I think the Sagan aphorism "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" applies here & although it has meant a lot of time & effort, I think the referees were right to demand a much more robust analysis given how bonkers the objects seem to be.

Hopefully the revised paper will convince them that it should be published.

markmccaughrean, 4 days ago

@starstryder We also need spectroscopy to confirm them though & while we have some with JWST now, the main observation failed thanks to guide star acquisition problems.

We're hopeful we've solved that & can get a second go later this year when Orion is available again.

(There are also things to be said about proprietary periods & the intense pressure to publish data from new telescopes, but that's for another time, perhaps.)