The Pod Bay

TildalWave

12:06

g'day all ;)

Rory Alsop

13:04

afternoon @Tildal

what latitude are you at?

I used to get excellent views of aurora etc from 59N, but seem to get better views of ISS etc from 52N

but now view of aurora at all from 56N where I am now

TildalWave

@RoryAlsop 46°03′20″N 14°30′30″E but don't go reprogram your ICBMs now!

Rory Alsop

so that's quite far south - guessing being away from the sea and associated weather is a huge benefit for you to watch the skies

and - interesting glitch in google maps just west of your building :-) (I'm not stalking, honest - I was looking how far inland you are)

TildalWave

@RoryAlsop Not really, it's a valley under Alps so still quite some influence (tho not so much from the seaside), but depends on the season. Winter is rather foggy here. There are hills and mountains real close tho, away enough from light pollution and high enough to be above the fog when there is, to be useful for stargazing. Otherwise, it's still a city.

There are places not too far away tho, even just half an hour ride on a bicycle. But there might be bears and/or doggers LOL

Rory Alsop

bears and doggers - brave

TildalWave

13:26

apparently, it happens elsewhere too :)

RhysW

13:38

@TildalWave oh, ruin all my fun why dont you! :P

Stack Exchange

14:13

1

Q: Is the [dust] tag really necessary?

It seems to me that all the possible posts that might use the [dust] tag will not necessarily be related to each other. Some will be FOD issues (a much more interesting tag, imo), some will be space debris, some will be dust during orbital operations, some will be dust on planets and other bodies...

Jon Ericson

16:44

According to the JPL Facebook page:

> Have questions about asteroids? Join us on Reddit, today, Thursday, Aug. 29 at 2 p.m. PT (5 p.m. ET, 2100 UTC) at reddit.com/r/iama for a live web chat Q&A with NASA asteroid experts.

JohnB

nice!

JohnB

17:48

nasa.gov/press/2013/august/…

> NASA Television will air live the departure of a Japanese cargo ship from the International Space Station at noon Wednesday, Sept. 4.

David Freitag

18:09

@JohnB Noon in what timezone?

JohnB

good question

> NASA TV coverage will begin at 11 a.m. EDT

so, eastern apparently

David Freitag

@JohnB Yeah i just noticed that. Sweet, thanks

Stack Exchange

19:19

NASASpaceFlight.com: Ariane 5 set to launch 25B/Es’hail-1 and GSAT-7

posted on August 29, 2013 by Chris Bergin

Arianespace are preparing to launch another two satellites into orbit – 25B/Es’hail-1 and GSAT-7 – via their Ariane 5 ECA rocket on Thursday. Launch from the European Spaceport... Related posts:Ariane 5 ECA dual launch with ST-2 and GSAT-8Arianespace have launched two telecommunications satellites via their Ariane 5... Ariane 5 ECA launches ASTRA 2F and GSAT 10 satellitesAri…

JohnB

19:45

@Tildal awake?

TildalWave

@JohnB yar, sup?

JohnB

@TildalWave will be launching soon, right?

of course the chat notification pops up seconds after I ask :P

TildalWave

@JohnB I set the chat room event start in about 11 minutes... the first launch window time is in about 41 min. tho

I forgot that the events are rounded to half an hour

JohnB

this little video stream thing says it will begin in 25, and they have some odd music playing for us

TildalWave

arianespace.tv

this one?

JohnB

19:50

yeah

TildalWave

sounds like lounge music ... it's just a bit different spelling than launch ... maybe they're still at lunch :)

JohnB

you may be on to something

TildalWave

c'est la lounge

JohnB

here is a direct link that people won't have to click around to find it videocorner.tv/videocorner2/live_flv/…

TildalWave

cheers

David Freitag

19:55

sadface, i will be in class when this takes place

JohnB

D:

David Freitag

Even worse, it's english i will be stuck in.

JohnB

skiiiip

David Freitag

It's the first day of the semester, above that i don't skip classes.

TildalWave

wanna spam folks in other rooms a bit? I need to take the dog out for 15 min.

2

Q: Live chat room event: Ariane 5 ECA rocket (VA215) to launch the Eutelsat 25B and GSAT 7 satellites (Aug. 29, 2013 at 8:10 p.m. UTC/GMT)

This is an invitation to attend our chat room event, where we will be covering the launch of the Ariane 5 ECA rocket, designated VA215, to launch the Eutelsat 25B and GSAT 7 satellites. Launch date: Aug. 29, 2013 Launch window: 20:30-21:20 GMT (4:30-5:20 p.m. EDT) Launcher: Ariane 5 ECA roc...

discussion chat announcement scheduled-event

here's the meta post / announcement

JohnB

19:58

I will when there isn't weird launge music

Stack Exchange

astrobites: Kepler’s view on the gravity of stars

posted on August 29, 2013 by Chris Faesi

A study of Kepler data reveals a correlation between brightness fluctuations and surface gravity of stars.

TildalWave

JohnB

haha

TildalWave

20:13

Live stream for the Ariane 5 ECA rocket / VA215 to launch the Eutelsat 25B and GSAT 7 satellites is available here

S-1

:)

JohnB

I am not sure what we are counting down to, but it's exciting!!

first satellite for Qatar did he say?

TildalWave

> Eutelsat 25B, also known as Es'hail 1, will provide Ku-band and Ka-band direct television broadcasting, enterprise communications and government services over Europe, North Africa and the Middle East for Eutelsat and ictQatar.

eutelsat.com/en/satellites/future-satellites/launch-schedule/…

also:

> GSAT 7 will provide multi-band communications services for the Indian Navy.

JohnB

> Qatar Satellite Co (Es'hailSat) has announced Sohail 1, the country's first satellite is to broadcast more than 30 high definition television (HDTV) and 70 standard definition television (SDTV) channels

well, yay Qatar :D

I forgot to bake a first satellite cake

Chris

did he say something about the inclination?

I missed it

probably just talking about the inclination of their GTO

TildalWave

20:29

T-1

beautiful

JohnB

\o/

we did it!

TildalWave

Yeah commercial launchers FTW!

nice smile ... e.t.c. :)

Deer Hunter

21:04

@TildalWave - Giving away bounties feels like Christmas.

JohnB

ahhhhh there was a project Morpheus test today

darnit

David Freitag

Did it launch already?

JohnB

@DavidFreitag it did

David Freitag

@JohnB Oh sadface

TildalWave

@DeerHunter Look, at the end of the day it's your decision what to do with your rep, but I'd personally like you to stay with us and I mean what I commented on your meta post, every word of it. I'm currently communicating my views on that issue you raised with SE stuff, and I do agree that we need to come to some understanding that Space Exploration isn't quite the same as answering questions about JavaScript on SO, or in some other betas like e.g. Movies & TV. There will be comments,...

...and they serve some function, that must be slightly different across sites.

Personally, I think our own mods (me included) should handle them, and within the context of our site. We have our little chat room where I'm now rising those issues and we're working on some agreed upon method.

Deer Hunter

21:19

@TildalWave Roger.

TildalWave

@DeerHunter And FWIW a lot of my own comments were deleted for same reason... apparently, it is believed my comments are answering some questions. I don't agree with that and hope we can aim for higher standards of answers here. But, we will also need better questions, so this is something we need to balance in our favor

please excuse my rather liberal interpretation of proper English grammar :P I'm also listening to that Corou conference following the launch

David Freitag

@TildalWave Your comments are getting deleted because people think that they are answering the question...? That's just silly.

Deer Hunter

@TildalWave - I put my trust in your mod.abilities :) It'll work out some day.

@TildalWave - ah, that heavy French accent from mission control...

TildalWave

@DavidFreitag Well I believe that too, but I can also appreciate how that can be less than ideal on some other, less exact and a lot more liberal (in sense of answers) sites.

@DeerHunter Yar... it does get slightly confusing :))

David Freitag

@TildalWave Well if it comes to the point that you are actually answering the question, why not just post an answer instead of a comment? Even if it isn't your original intention to outright answer the question

Deer Hunter

21:26

@TildalWave - something has to be done to reduce posters' reliance on Wikipedia...

TildalWave

@DavidFreitag That's just it. Those are not even close to proper answers. I usually give some hint on what the answer could be, hopefully communicating to OP where the problems with the question might be... either too broad, not specific enough, or other problems. I don't like being all argumentative with "I believe this questions should ...", not when I can give a few links and prove my point like that.

And then there's also that request for posters of questions to do "previous research" in How to Ask... 90% (not exact figure, just an impression) of our questions are basically just LMGTFY.

Jon Ericson

@DavidFreitag Answers belong in the answer portion of the page. The trouble with using comments for this purpose is that the tools for peer reviewing answers are available only in the answer box. It's what makes Stack Exchange different (and we think better) than other sites out there.

David Freitag

@TildalWave Sounds like someone has it out for you then. If you made it apparent that you weren't trying to answer the question but simply provide, or request clarification from the OP then you're doing nothing wrong.

Deer Hunter

@DavidFreitag - three reasons. First, one doesn't necessarily have the time to write the answer. Second, it kinda prods others to take ideas and post the answers themselves (and gain reputation which is a good thing for a site in Beta). Third, I personally feel it isn't right when I tend to answer too many questions (I have read a few belligerent posts on Meta.SO when a mod was considered to be answering "too much" by others).

David Freitag

@DeerHunter Right, i'm not saying he shouldn't post comments or that he should post answers as comments. I'm just trying to wrap my head around why people would delete his posts

Deer Hunter

21:33

@JonEricson - yes, I definitely agree with that. However, some nice answers really start as comments, and then get fleshed out.

TildalWave

@DeerHunter I disagree with the first one, and I believe I already pinged you a few times in comments regarding that. Because that really does look like "my territory" comment, and you plan on providing a full answer at a later date. That DOES discourage others to post answers, and is also why we have chat rooms. We can always discuss possible answers here. ;)

David Freitag

YUS. English teacher is a guy.

Deer Hunter

@TildalWave - ah, would not really think about this! I'm not possessive about my hobbies...

@TildalWave - Now it kind of clicks into place :[

David Freitag

I don't know, i feel like the "I don't have enough time to write this answer" reason is a double edged knife. Either you are too busy and actually can't, or the question could be considered too broad and not easily answerable in this format. I think at some point you walk a fine line between the two...

TildalWave

@DeerHunter We just need to find some balance that's agreeable with all, there's nothing else to it. And as a young site, we're being watched over by those that DO have more experience than we do, so we should IMO try to understand their points. Those points are not to annoy us, actually I'd hope for quite the opposite reasons. ;)

Deer Hunter

21:39

@TildalWave - I suspect that SE mods love SEx.SE and tweak the super secret SuperCollider algorithm a bit, based on how often SEx hits the hot questions list. Just sayin' :P

...cause not all beta sites get there.

TildalWave

When we'll graduate and prove our worth, we'll be more independent I guess... but we'll also have our own folks (all present included) that will understand better what belongs here and what doesn't or should be discouraged. For now tho, I've only seen maybe 2 flags regarding comments being too chatty, or otherwise obsolete. Ideally, I shouldn't (as a mod) go around and see where we could trim on some weight, but users themselves should do that (by flagging).

But as we're still reaching conclusions what is on topic and what isn't, this might be a lot simpler by just following established procedures that worked for many others before us

Deer Hunter

Okay, folks, bye, got to go.

David Freitag

Urgh, first day bureaucracy sucks so much.

TildalWave

@DavidFreitag You're on your new job? Which company did you bless with your presence?

David Freitag

@TildalWave Nah, got class tonight. The semester just started.

But i did manage to blow up our new $1200 toy today.

TildalWave

21:50

@DavidFreitag And you're complaining about bureaucracy already? Wait when money and people's future will be involved ... oh, it is LOL

David Freitag

@TildalWave No i mean going over the syllabus and "don't cheat" and "no plagiarism" and this is how i grade you and blah blah blah...

After the first day we do actual work.

TildalWave

I'm sure they'll show you the ropes ;)

David Freitag

But that's just it, this is my seventh semester, i know the ropes. Hell i even tied a few of them.

TildalWave

Then why do you bother? You know your way to the canteen, don't you? :)

David Freitag

@TildalWave For me, punctuality is key. I never miss classes and i am never late. Although i suppose because of that fact i shouldn't be allowed to complain. :]

TildalWave

21:56

blimey this press conference is as long as academy awards ...

David Freitag

I think... I might really enjoy this English class... He "believes in depth, not in breadth" and instead of a final we get a pizza party. (and an essay... :])

David Freitag

22:19

Jesus if all college instructors were like this that'd just be great. He must've been a motivational speaker in his previous life.

Stack Exchange

23:00

NASASpaceFlight.com: SpaceShipTwo Glides Toward December Debut

posted on August 29, 2013 by Chris Bergin

Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo (SS2), slated to become the world’s first commercial manned spacecraft, is undergoing rigorous testing at California’s Mojave Air and Space Port. Christened “VSS Enterprise”, the... Related posts:From Shuttle to SS2 – Sturckow joins Virgin GalacticSpace Shuttle veteran Frederick “CJ” Sturckow has joined Virgin Gala…

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