In unexpected discovery, comet contains alcohol, sugar | Hacker News Reader

In unexpected discovery, comet contains alcohol, sugar

phys.org

82 pointslelf21 comments

The factor that the Comet Lovejoy contains ethyl alcohol and a simple saccharide is not unexpected; this paper does however mark the first identification of these organic molecules in a comet. Astronomers have previously detected both of these, along with plenty of other complex organic molecules, in other regions of the Milky Way (e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_interstellar_and_circu...).

This could be a real shot in the arm for the Russian space program

What do you mean?

It’s a joke at Russians' expense, due to association of Russia and vodka in popular stereotypes. :/

Alas, Russians really do drink themselves to death. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_consumption_in_Russia

Yep, the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the "democratic" chaos that followed was indeed a catastrophe.

I like this joke, hahahah

If anyone is familiar with the X game series (space flight simulators ala Elite), they had an illegal alcoholic substance called "Space Fuel" that you could make a lot of money running as a smuggler. This reminded me of that.

So candy and booze, sounds like a wild ride. ;-)

Sweet, now I can get drunk while I clean my toilet

I can't take this site seriously with the ad content.

Does this help?

http://phys.org/print364829979.html

https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock

I hope anyone blocking ads decides to register, or unblock ads. They have a helpful banner that pops up when you visit the site using an ad blocker, that directs you to a page[1] that very nicely explains that while they appreciate your cjoice, they use ads to fund the site, and provide a couple alternative ways to help them. One of those is to register, which they say allows browsing with less ads (I'm not sure if the implication is you'll register and then turn off the ad-blocker, but it seems to me to be clearly offered as an alternative).

In any case, they've very clearly set expectations.

1: http://phys.org/help/adblock/

Sometimes, sites accept feedback related to their ads, and will take actions based on that feedback.

pyhs.org might consider this, if they don't do it already. I feel this to be the most constructive way to deal with complaints about ads, aside from accepting donations or providing a subscription service that removes ads (a la YouTube Red).

> a helpful banner that pops up

said no one ever

Well I said it. They put a 35 pixel notice at the top saying that you appear to be using an ad-blocker if you are, and give you the option to click to see what they think about it. I fail to see how they could make their thoughts obvious to those using ad-blocking in a less obtrusive manner.

Turned Ghostery off to check, and the ads here are as innocuous as I've seen on any ad-supported site in the past several years. Not sure why this one in particular grinds your gears.

The first thing that came to mind when I read that headline was we could maybe save a couple bucks making homemade toilet cleaner.

I thought ice cream.

Woo-hoo! Party at Comet Lovejoy tonight!!! Who's with me? (Go to the Alley Door on the Comet, you'll see the bouncers at the top of the stairs. Dress warm, it's chilly inside)

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