Slog - Comments on That Einstein Guy Might Be Onto Something

Comment by Sachi Wilson

Sachi Wilson — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 18:06:33 -0800

Gravitational lenses have been found in many, many instances in the last ten or twenty years, at least. That's nothing new.

But that pic is a nice ring!

Comment by kid icarus

kid icarus — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 18:07:42 -0800

Nerdgasm!

Comment by notonthehill

notonthehill — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 18:18:02 -0800

This is cool.

Let's hope the James Webb Telescope stays on track and flies without a hitch. We won't have a shuttle replacement for quite some time to do a repair mission (hell we might not even have the James Webb Telescope) if Obama is elected.

Comment by Fifty-Two-Eighty

Fifty-Two-Eighty — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 18:45:55 -0800

Thanks for that info on Obama. I didn't know he was anti-space program. I guess it figures, though. He probably thinks the money would be better spent on junkies and welfare mothers.

Comment by flash gordon

flash gordon — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 00:42:00 -0800

I like Obama. I also like NASA. I think eight years of Obama would be a good thing. NASA will still be there, and the further we go, the more important NASA will seem. Obama is smart enough to see value in things. NASA may or may not be valuable in the next eight years. Obama definitely will. I'll take the trade off for now.

Comment by Toby

Toby — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 07:22:09 -0800

Has anything Einstein ever came up with been disproven? Seriously does anyone know?

That dude rocked.

Comment by Jonathan Golob

Jonathan Golob — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 08:03:59 -0800

Einstein's ideas about quantum mechanics--how atoms are held together--were pretty wrong.

In fact, one of his more famous quotes ("God doesn't play dice with the Universe") was from a scientific argument he ultimately lost.

But yeah, the dude rocked.

Comment by Mr. Poe

Mr. Poe — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 08:15:55 -0800

Psh. Albert Einstein was an idiot.

Comment by RonK, Seattle

RonK, Seattle — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 08:57:50 -0800

The galaxy and the spinning dancer: P-I online has an image of galaxy NGC 4622, which appears to be spinning the wrong way".

As with the mindfucking image of the twirling girl, you can tell which direction -- clockwise or counterclockwise -- is real IF you can determine which spiral foot is the front foot.

Unlike the case of the perky dancer, science may be able to tell hos this one is leaning.

Unfortunately, not even the Hubble is powerful enough to detect the galaxy's nipples (if any).

Comment by Mike

Mike — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 10:17:35 -0800

Or maybe God put that ring there to test our faith.

Comment by Orv

Orv — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 10:46:33 -0800

@10: Probably! I mean, the Bible says nothing of gravitational lenses, so how can they exist?

Comment by crazycatguy

crazycatguy — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 10:48:29 -0800

Einstein was an advocate for the steady state universe, which contradicted his equations for general relativity. In order to make the equations work, he hypotheised the cosmological constant, which he later aknowledged to be in error.

Comment by COMTE

COMTE — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 12:29:28 -0800

Yes, this is a pretty spectacular example of gravitational lensing, but the phenomenon has been observed for nearly a century, starting with Eddington's observational confirmation of Einstein's postulation in 1919.