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#41

Science / Re: Mars Curiosity Thread.

Last post by Recusant - October 01, 2026, 01:53:32 AM

Pretty cool, eh?  There may be others but all three I know of together:


2021


2023


2026

#42

Science / Re: Mars Curiosity Thread.

Last post by Dark Lightning - September 30, 2026, 09:56:47 PM

I read about that this morning. "Postcards from Mars" 

#43

Science / Re: Mars Curiosity Thread.

Last post by Recusant - September 30, 2026, 09:06:19 PM

Another postcard, this one celebrating 5000 (Martian) days of operation for Curiosity. 


NASA JPL Caltech

"NASA's Curiosity rover just hit 5,000 days on Mars and sent back this stunning view" | ScienceDaily

While stopped at a sandy ridge nicknamed "Chocolatal," Curiosity used its navigation cameras to photograph the surrounding landscape at two different times of day. The cameras normally capture images in black and white.

The first panorama was recorded on Aug. 30, 2026, at 9:56 a.m. local Mars time, marking the mission's 5,000th Martian day, or sol. A second panorama was taken on Sep. 2, 2026, at 5:39 p.m. local Mars time, during Curiosity's 5,003rd sol.

After the images arrived on Earth, the two panoramas were combined into a single scene. Color was then added as an artistic interpretation, with blue used for the morning view and yellow for the afternoon.

The finished "postcard" follows the style of similar Curiosity images created in the past, including one taken in November 2021. [As well as the one just a few posts upthread, from 2023.]

Several parts of the rover are visible in the foreground. They include Curiosity's cylindrical UHF antenna, which sends data to spacecraft orbiting Mars, along with the finned Multi Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) at the rear. The MMRTG serves as the rover's nuclear power source.

[Continues . . .]

[Abstract:]

#44

Science / Re: Black Holes in the News

Last post by Recusant - September 30, 2026, 06:09:27 PM

A nice weird conjecture about the possibility that some black holes could sort of split apart.

"A Black Hole Could Spit Itself Out of Its Own Hair, Leaving a Boson Star in Its Wake" | Science Alert

If anything is forever in this Universe, it's black holes – or so their physics suggests.

These ultra-dense objects are possessed of inexorable gravitational fields. Matter goes in. Very little ever comes out. They punctuate the cosmos like full stops, steadily growing ever bigger, with next to nothing that can undermine their inevitability.

But that doesn't mean black holes are inviolable. And theoretical physicists have just found a method of black hole decay that's even wackier than the objects themselves.

It's possible, according to José Ferreira, Carlos Herdeiro, Eugen Radu, and Miguel Zilhão of the University of Aveiro in Portugal, that a black hole can squirt itself out of its own hair – leaving a fully functional boson star in its wake.

"Perhaps the most remarkable result is that we found a new way in which a hairy black hole can decay," the researchers told ScienceAlert.

"In one of the scenarios we call 'fission', neither the black hole nor its surrounding scalar structure is destroyed. Instead, the composite object separates into two independently viable objects: a black hole without hair and a self-gravitating lump of scalar matter: a boson star."

[Continues . . .]

The paper is behind a paywall.

Abstract:

Black holes with resonant hair are static, spherical, electrically charged solutions of the Einstein-Maxwell-(gauged-)scalar system. Scalar self-interactions are mandatory for their existence. Initial dynamical studies restricted to spherical symmetry suggested stability; more recently, fully nonspherical dynamical studies revealed instabilities, at least for a particular class of self-interactions.

Here, we provide a more detailed study of this instability together with a different decay channel, depending on the chosen solutions. Moreover, considering a second model, we provide evidence that the instabilities may be generic for different classes of self-interactions.

We conclude these solutions are dynamically unstable and split into a bosonic lump and a bald black hole (via fission) or implode to the latter (via absorption). In both cases, the nonspherical dynamics seems to be key.

[iriss]

#45

Introductions / Re: Feeling psychologically un...

Last post by Recusant - September 30, 2026, 04:54:45 PM

I feel unsafe around the Christian "god."  Here is an article I wrote about it:

https://seylee.medium.com/feeling-psychologically-unsafe-5ded3173bc08

Hey there iriss. I like the pieces you've been linking to, but it looks like you've joined this site in an attempt to drive traffic to your blog. A few years ago that would have been a reasonable idea, though most likely a moderator would have flagged it as spam.

As it is, you're digging a dry well. We have plenty of members but almost all of them no longer post here, and probably don't even visit. People apparently prefer the big social media sites to niche discussion boards. Atheist discussion boards in particular had a day but it looks like it's over and not coming back. Happy Atheist is about 20 years old; I'd be glad to have it last another 20, but the site owner seems to have abandoned it.

You can continue to ignore whatever responses you get and post links to your blog, or you can actually engage with whoever responds here. Because I think your pieces have some value I'm not going to give you grief for spamming.

#46

Introductions / Feeling psychologically unsafe

Last post by iriss7480 - September 30, 2026, 04:20:35 PM

I feel unsafe around the Christian "god."  Here is an article I wrote about it:

https://seylee.medium.com/feeling-psychologically-unsafe-5ded3173bc08

#47

Miscellaneous / My former crazy co-worker's do...

Last post by iriss7480 - September 30, 2026, 03:39:39 PM

My former crazy co-worker was deranged and unhinged.  Here is his doppelganger.  I just wanted to share what it was like to look at his bald head with an angry scowl and be reminded of the fact that he quite looked like a rat!

https://seylee.medium.com/my-crazy-former-co-workers-doppleganger-790ccb54214b?postPublishedType=initial

#48

Introductions / Re: Hi Everyone!

Last post by Recusant - September 29, 2026, 10:33:02 PM

Too cute. On the other hand, the friendly smile can sometimes mask a less savory intent so yeah, I'll give it a  .

[iriss7480]

#49

Introductions / Re: so bad for one's health

Last post by Recusant - September 29, 2026, 10:28:52 PM

The Christian "god" is trying to kill me.  I just found out about a health situation which is directly caused by spiritual distress.  It seems like this Christian being is deliberately raising my cortisol levels throughout the day and have my brain be in constant fight and flight mode.  The pressure to be a certain way and to "obey god" is incessant.  This is called spiritual abuse.  Over time, this chronic stress is really harmful for one's health.  I need to escape this being.  This being really sucks at leading my Life.  A human being would be better at leading my life than this manipulative narcissistic abuser.

Hello iriss7480! Sorry to hear of your health situation. I hope you have some relief soon.

The Christian god isn't real. It seems that your spiritual distress is a residual effect of being convinced of the existence of that illusory being, or maybe of those who continue to believe in its existence. It can be a struggle to free oneself of these things. Possibly talking with unbelievers like us will make a difference. I'm glad you chose to join. I hope you enjoy your time posting and reading here!

#50

Miscellaneous / They deserve each other

Last post by iriss7480 - September 29, 2026, 04:49:17 PM

The crazy former co-worker I hate, who was so disgusting and nefarious, and "god" have a lot in common, I realized. They are both degrading and obscene. They are both misogynistic. They both have rodent obsessions. They both are invasive, don't respect boundaries and don't go away with a warning. I hate having these dirty, pesky men in my Life and thoughts. Time to evict them!

https://seylee.medium.com/they-deserve-each-other-164c925b6731