3 ms·

Are you actually in doubt that the star in question is Vega, or do you believe that the author knows what they're talking about but just think it would be an am

Are you actually in doubt that the star in question is Vega, or do you believe that the author knows what they're talking about but just think it would be an amusing thing to start an argument over? I'm hoping it's the former. Here is a photo of the so-called "summer triangle" consisting of the bright stars Vega, Altair and Deneb: https://astrobackyard.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/the-summer-triangle-asterism.jpg https://astrobackyard.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/the-sum... And here is an animation showing that same photo, roughly superimposed on the photo in question: https://i.imgur.com/MM37zt3.gif https://i.imgur.com/MM37zt3.gif (EDIT: Imgur seems to be redirecting to a badly converted version of this animation, try copy-and-pasting the link into the address bar.) Even without being able to identify individual matching stars, you can clearly see that the shape of the stars and dust lanes in the Milky Way are the same.

leereeves 7y ago
Thanks for that, that's helpful. That's pretty damning evidence, and I can't find anything that might look similar from Namibia in Stellarium. Since you mentioned my motives, I'll address that: I'm just tired of the Internet falsely accusing people and want to see more evidence before the pitchforks come out. But in this case, I'm convinced.
- teraflop 7y ago
  Fair enough. For my part, I'm tired of the internet (and HN in particular) being quick to dismiss the opinions of actual experts in any given field for superficial reasons. Your original comment that started this thread strikes me as a good example of the so-called "middlebrow dismissal": https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5072224 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5072224 Yes, one shouldn't blindly accept the words of an authority. That doesn't mean it's a good idea to constantly demand that those authorities constantly back up every little thing they say, even on topics about which they are more knowledgeable than you are. That gets irritating really fast (which I suspect is why you got downvoted), and more importantly, it tends to derail more interesting and productive discussions.
  - leereeves 7y ago
    Usually I wouldn't even comment on an article about astronomy, but this was a public accusation of fraud. I see questioning such posts as a moral obligation. What's the bigger risk: annoying a few people with persistent calls for evidence, or letting a false accusation spread for fear of annoying people?
    - hannasanarion 7y ago
      The "false accusation" is trivial to verify. The stars never change, not on the scale of human lifetimes anyway. All you had to do is look up a chart and you could prove it for yourself.
      - leereeves 7y ago
        It's not trivial if you don't know what to look for, and I obviously didn't.
        inflatableDodo 7y ago
        The sky at night. Is quite big and appears fairly regularly, you can't miss it.
        deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
        hannasanarion 7y ago
        You obviously did, since your original comment on the matter contains the only three elements: Vega, Polaris, and the Milky Way
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

leereeves 7y ago

Thanks for that, that's helpful. That's pretty damning evidence, and I can't find anything that might look similar from Namibia in Stellarium. Since you mentioned my motives, I'll address that: I'm just tired of the Internet falsely accusing people and want to see more evidence before the pitchforks come out. But in this case, I'm convinced.

teraflop 7y ago
Fair enough. For my part, I'm tired of the internet (and HN in particular) being quick to dismiss the opinions of actual experts in any given field for superficial reasons. Your original comment that started this thread strikes me as a good example of the so-called "middlebrow dismissal": https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5072224 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5072224 Yes, one shouldn't blindly accept the words of an authority. That doesn't mean it's a good idea to constantly demand that those authorities constantly back up every little thing they say, even on topics about which they are more knowledgeable than you are. That gets irritating really fast (which I suspect is why you got downvoted), and more importantly, it tends to derail more interesting and productive discussions.
- leereeves 7y ago
  Usually I wouldn't even comment on an article about astronomy, but this was a public accusation of fraud. I see questioning such posts as a moral obligation. What's the bigger risk: annoying a few people with persistent calls for evidence, or letting a false accusation spread for fear of annoying people?
  - hannasanarion 7y ago
    The "false accusation" is trivial to verify. The stars never change, not on the scale of human lifetimes anyway. All you had to do is look up a chart and you could prove it for yourself.
    - leereeves 7y ago
      It's not trivial if you don't know what to look for, and I obviously didn't.
      - inflatableDodo 7y ago
        The sky at night. Is quite big and appears fairly regularly, you can't miss it.
        deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
      - hannasanarion 7y ago
        You obviously did, since your original comment on the matter contains the only three elements: Vega, Polaris, and the Milky Way

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]