7 ms·

I made that image![1]. And this is not the first time it's been on the front page of HN either[2]. So I'd like to share some context that I've not mentioned els

by tombh 4y ago

I made that image![1]. And this is not the first time it's been on the front page of HN either[2]. So I'd like to share some context that I've not mentioned elsewhere before. My father died from alcoholism in 2004. He made his living writing software (hence why I do too, and why I enjoy HN). But he also, for a short time, taught Astronomy evening classes. I've always felt short-changed by the emotional absence and traumatic passing of my male parent. But the continued virality of this image has been some sort of magical glimmer from the depths of the universe that it was still his shoulders that I stood on in order to reach where I am today. Maybe it was the glint in his eyes every time he showed me the latest APOD image[3], and the deep love with which he would explain their contexts. I made this composite image of Andromeda and the moon precisely because of that extra commentary, or rather I should say, extra love, of the night sky that my father gave me. Seeing it here, sparkling in the "night sky" of the HN front page stirs the same kind of wonder I sometimes feel catching those million year old specks of light above my head. Reminding me that though the universe is mostly cold and dark that doesn't diminish its warmth and brightness. 1. https://www.reddit.com/r/spaceporn/comments/1u0dxs/andromedas_actual_size_if_it_was_brighter/ https://www.reddit.com/r/spaceporn/comments/1u0dxs/andromeda... 2. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22992384 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22992384 3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

got2surf 4y ago
Thank you! For making the image, and sharing story behind it
quickthrower2 4y ago
Very good image, thanks for sharing it out there. Not even JWST could do that ha ha :-) Do you mind if I ask: is that image CC licensed at all?
- tombh 4y ago
  Thank you :-) The base image is indeed public domain: https://www.flickr.com/photos/srahn/9013096528 https://www.flickr.com/photos/srahn/9013096528 But I don't remember where I got the image of Andromeda from. Not that I believe I have any power to claim rights over it, but I've always considered it to be affectively CC licensed.
mythz 4y ago
touching back story, thanks for sharing.
dmix 4y ago
> You should read Nightfall by Isaac Asimov. It's a short story about a planet that has four suns so it is always daytime, except for one night every thousand years. >> If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore, and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God! Love that Reddit comment. https://old.reddit.com/r/spaceporn/comments/1u0dxs/andromedas_actual_size_if_it_was_brighter/cedibkw/ https://old.reddit.com/r/spaceporn/comments/1u0dxs/andromeda...
- btilly 4y ago
  And sadly with 4 suns the orbit would be chaotic and no periodic pattern would exist to be found. Which ruins the premise of the story. Foundation also fails because human society is chaotic so his psychohistory would never work.
  - xupybd 4y ago
    Sometimes it's best just to enjoy the fiction and not over think it too much. I think you have to give them some artistic license.
    - btilly 4y ago
      He wrote both before there was general public awareness that a thing called chaos existed. True, Poincaré had already worked out that gravity was chaotic. But Asimov was a chemist and so was unlikely to be familiar with that work.
      - Gordonjcp 4y ago
        I suspect that Asimov was a better physicist than you.
        loonster 4y ago
        Someone can be both a better physicist and have a poorer understanding of physics. We have the luxury of time. We can learn about the great discoveries that the great physicist developed from scratch. Just imagine the type of discoveries he would have made if he was born in the late 20th century.
squeaky-clean 4y ago
I've used this photo to show friends the size comparison at star-parties! It's a great educational photo but also just beautiful.
sph 4y ago
Beautiful (and well written) story, thanks for sharing.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
zasdffaa 4y ago
A small counterpoint. The pain of losing someone is the cost of having someone decent and good, for the time you had with them. Some of us have never felt that because we've never had someone decent to lose (though I will be glad; feel the world a better place; when one of my parents dies, and mainly indifferent when the other goes, reflecting his apparent indifference to me. Sometimes being left alone is the better option). To all those with normal lives, make sure you count your blessings now, now when it's too late. Sorry for weird post, but I had to say it. Perhaps though, people should not go through life always acutely aware of what they've got. Perhaps in some ways it's better to feel your loved ones' presence but not think about it, sort of take it for granted, feel the warmth of their presence but not think about it. I don't know. Anyway, I'm glad you had him. BTW absolutely love the pic! I just wish I had the eyesight to see it. In fact In london, I wish I could just see the stars at all...
- TaupeRanger 4y ago
  Saying "enjoy it while it lasts" serves no purpose other than to blunt a person's enjoyment of the the thing. They will already suffer when the the thing goes away...why remind them of their future suffering, causing double the suffering? If one person has a pleasant 15 minute call with their father as a result of reading this thread, but 30 people get depressed or anxious about not having visited their parents for too long due to the normal circumstances of life, there is a net loss.
  - zasdffaa 4y ago
    > Saying "enjoy it while it lasts" serves no purpose other than to blunt a person's enjoyment of the the thing Does it blunt it, or make you realise what you have while you have it, and value it the more? Or are you right and I acknowledged that possibility in my pentultimate paragraph? I hear a lot of regrets about people no longer there, I hear very little of people saying how lucky they are with their partner/parents/others. I just don't know.
  - kbelder 4y ago
    If you're concerned about net misery, you probably should have refrained from posting like this.
iancmceachern 4y ago
Your awesome, thank you for sharing this comment and the image you created with the world. As someone who has struggled with a similar family history with my own father, I appreciate and am thankful for the humanity you have shared. We are all better for it. Thank you.
- tombh 4y ago
  Thank you. I'm very glad to know that it resonated with somebody else with a similar family history <3

by tombh 4y ago

got2surf 4y ago

Thank you! For making the image, and sharing story behind it

quickthrower2 4y ago

Very good image, thanks for sharing it out there. Not even JWST could do that ha ha :-) Do you mind if I ask: is that image CC licensed at all?

tombh 4y ago
Thank you :-) The base image is indeed public domain: https://www.flickr.com/photos/srahn/9013096528 https://www.flickr.com/photos/srahn/9013096528 But I don't remember where I got the image of Andromeda from. Not that I believe I have any power to claim rights over it, but I've always considered it to be affectively CC licensed.

mythz 4y ago

touching back story, thanks for sharing.

dmix 4y ago

> You should read Nightfall by Isaac Asimov. It's a short story about a planet that has four suns so it is always daytime, except for one night every thousand years. >> If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore, and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God! Love that Reddit comment. https://old.reddit.com/r/spaceporn/comments/1u0dxs/andromedas_actual_size_if_it_was_brighter/cedibkw/ https://old.reddit.com/r/spaceporn/comments/1u0dxs/andromeda...

btilly 4y ago
And sadly with 4 suns the orbit would be chaotic and no periodic pattern would exist to be found. Which ruins the premise of the story. Foundation also fails because human society is chaotic so his psychohistory would never work.
- xupybd 4y ago
  Sometimes it's best just to enjoy the fiction and not over think it too much. I think you have to give them some artistic license.
  - btilly 4y ago
    He wrote both before there was general public awareness that a thing called chaos existed. True, Poincaré had already worked out that gravity was chaotic. But Asimov was a chemist and so was unlikely to be familiar with that work.
    - Gordonjcp 4y ago
      I suspect that Asimov was a better physicist than you.
      - loonster 4y ago
        Someone can be both a better physicist and have a poorer understanding of physics. We have the luxury of time. We can learn about the great discoveries that the great physicist developed from scratch. Just imagine the type of discoveries he would have made if he was born in the late 20th century.

squeaky-clean 4y ago

I've used this photo to show friends the size comparison at star-parties! It's a great educational photo but also just beautiful.

sph 4y ago

Beautiful (and well written) story, thanks for sharing.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

zasdffaa 4y ago

A small counterpoint. The pain of losing someone is the cost of having someone decent and good, for the time you had with them. Some of us have never felt that because we've never had someone decent to lose (though I will be glad; feel the world a better place; when one of my parents dies, and mainly indifferent when the other goes, reflecting his apparent indifference to me. Sometimes being left alone is the better option). To all those with normal lives, make sure you count your blessings now, now when it's too late. Sorry for weird post, but I had to say it. Perhaps though, people should not go through life always acutely aware of what they've got. Perhaps in some ways it's better to feel your loved ones' presence but not think about it, sort of take it for granted, feel the warmth of their presence but not think about it. I don't know. Anyway, I'm glad you had him. BTW absolutely love the pic! I just wish I had the eyesight to see it. In fact In london, I wish I could just see the stars at all...

TaupeRanger 4y ago
Saying "enjoy it while it lasts" serves no purpose other than to blunt a person's enjoyment of the the thing. They will already suffer when the the thing goes away...why remind them of their future suffering, causing double the suffering? If one person has a pleasant 15 minute call with their father as a result of reading this thread, but 30 people get depressed or anxious about not having visited their parents for too long due to the normal circumstances of life, there is a net loss.
- zasdffaa 4y ago
  > Saying "enjoy it while it lasts" serves no purpose other than to blunt a person's enjoyment of the the thing Does it blunt it, or make you realise what you have while you have it, and value it the more? Or are you right and I acknowledged that possibility in my pentultimate paragraph? I hear a lot of regrets about people no longer there, I hear very little of people saying how lucky they are with their partner/parents/others. I just don't know.
- kbelder 4y ago
  If you're concerned about net misery, you probably should have refrained from posting like this.

iancmceachern 4y ago

Your awesome, thank you for sharing this comment and the image you created with the world. As someone who has struggled with a similar family history with my own father, I appreciate and am thankful for the humanity you have shared. We are all better for it. Thank you.

tombh 4y ago
Thank you. I'm very glad to know that it resonated with somebody else with a similar family history <3