Monument to Adventure!
This is the statue of Ellie that sits out in front of the Mission Control building. On clear winter nights (like tonight) at the Strang Institute, she seems to be pointing right at Planet X’s position in the sky!
This is the statue of Ellie that sits out in front of the Mission Control building. On clear winter nights (like tonight) at the Strang Institute, she seems to be pointing right at Planet X’s position in the sky!
Oh man, I love this Jim! You got the color/texture perfectly there. How cool of a PVC figurine would this be, eh?
I keep telling the Institute that they need to sell little ones in the gift shop, but they keep telling me it’s too soon for this kind of merchandise. ;D
You keep giving us clues. Planet X is 8+ light years away and fairly high in Earth’s Northern sky (otherwise, it wouldn’t be Winter there today). That rules out Luyten 727-8 (negative declination) and leaves only Sirius (just 200-300 million years old; too young for life to evolve) and Lalande 21185. Declination +35 matches the outstretched arm. I think we have a winner! ^_^
A tiny star, appropriate for a tiny planet.
My only question now – what supports the ring on the statue?
The ring is being held in place by some fancy anti-gravity device developed here at the institute. Prof. Strang’s Fabled 57 Chevy is stored in a garage somewhere on the premises and uses the same technology. Dr. Jimenez and myself have been searching for it.
As to your other observation…I love your deductive reasoning! I didn’t think anyone was paying that close of attention. 🙂 Read this first and then I’ll explain away the part that convinced you to pick the star that you did.
Double star, one a neutron dwarf. Sirius. Looking forward to your explanation.
I’d also like;
1. To read the rest of the article. “Next page” doesn’t work
2. To subscribe to Awesome Science
3. To buy one of the little models. Especially if it has anti-G
BTW: Nice charicature of Walter Cronkite.
Bingo! I’ll have an explanation for you shortly. Hopefully by tomorrow morning.
Also:
1) Unfortunately, the page from the magazine had been torn out, so I don’t have the rest of the article. Bummer.
2) I think the magazine went defunct in the mid 80s. I remember getting it, but halfway through my subscription the publishers offered to replace it with another magazine of my choosing. And when my Star Wars comics subscription was cancelled I just got TV guide.
3) Still trying to convince them to carry these at the gift shop.
Oh, and thanks!
It might not answer everything, but it certainly addresses your questions.
In the Feb 7, 2011 strip, Planet X was determined to be roughly 180 degrees opposite the constellation Hercules as seen from Earth. That, along with distance, ought to narrow it down a lot.
Yep!