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Comment by possiblydrunk | Hacker News Reader

Oh man, if only we could see the deep sky like the cameras do (with long exposures/filters/etc). Space looks so underwhelming in comparison with plain human eyesight -- though it's still cool to see the stars from a dark site. Andromeda is a tiny fuzzy smudge in our eyes.

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"I saw a star explode and send out the building blocks of the Universe. Other stars, other planets and eventually other life. A supernova! Creation itself! I was there. I wanted to see it and be part of the moment. And you know how I perceived one of the most glorious events in the universe? With these ridiculous gelatinous orbs in my skull! With eyes designed to perceive only a tiny fraction of the EM spectrum. With ears designed only to hear vibrations in the air. ...

I don't want to be human! I want to see gamma rays! I want to hear X-rays! And I want to - I want to smell dark matter! Do you see the absurdity of what I am? I can't even express these things properly because I have to - I have to conceptualize complex ideas in this stupid limiting spoken language! But I know I want to reach out with something other than these prehensile paws! And feel the wind of a supernova flowing over me!"

That's beautiful. Forgive my ignorance -- what's that from?

Ahh, great quote from Battlestar Galactica.

Please no one offer any more context! Anything else might end up being a spoiler for folks who haven’t had the chance to enjoy it yet :)

Precisely why I left it un-referenced :).

Is it a book, or TV show, or?

It’s from the reboot of the TV show in the early 2000s. An incredible show.

Thanks! Is it similar to Expanse?

If you like anything in the spacefaring sci-fi genre and haven't yet watched the 2000's iteration of Battlestar Galactica, you're in for one hell of a treat.

Be forewarned. It is very difficult to avoid binge-watching the show.

I did like Expanse, but I tried to watch a few of the older Star Trek and/or Star Wars movies (don't remember the difference), and I didn't like them at all.

Looks like you can stream the whole series on Peacock.

Warning! Peacock bizarrely separates the 3 hour long pilot episode (referred to as a 'mini series') from the rest of the series.

Start here: https://www.peacocktv.com/watch-online/tv/battlestar-galacti...

Then go here: https://www.peacocktv.com/watch-online/tv/battlestar-galacti...

It's at the hard sci fi end of the spectrum, compared to Star Trek and Star Wars, but not as hard edged as TE, but get close. They have FTL and artificial gravity, but the space combat portrays pretty decent zero-g manoeuvring and combat tactics. Some of the space battles are among the best ever committed to screen, and the most realistic before TE anyway although some Babylon 5 fans might argue. The CGI was a good generation or two better than B5 though and still looks great.

There is some science fudging for sure, and I have to warn you later on it gets more and more metaphysical and ambiguous. The last season turned some fans off, but it really didn't bother me. I'd have rather is stayed more grounded, but even right to the end the characters and the storytelling carried me through. Some of it's tough watching, a few of the characters really go through the grinder.

I'd highly advise checking some clips on Youtube, and maybe check out the Spacedock channel's analysis of some of the battles.

Arc fleet ship b

The first series or the remake?

> And feel the wind of a supernova flowing over me!"

The wind of a supernova flowing over you would be the end of you and everything around you.

The wind you feel today probably has a meaningful supernova component.

Even the neutrinos from a supernova would be enough. https://what-if.xkcd.com/73/

> How close would you have to be to a supernova to get a lethal dose of neutrino radiation?

> The phrase "lethal dose of neutrino radiation" is a weird one. I had to turn it over in my head a few times after I heard it.

> Only one neutrino will hit you every few years

Ah, the excuse I’ve been looking for.

“Can’t come into work today, was hit by a neutrino this morning. Need to rest up.”

An even better one is proton decay.

Proton decay is theoretically possible but has never been observed. and perhaps somewhere in the vast universe one might have done so... maybe.

So I like to blame it on many of life's unexpected events.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton_decay

"there are about a trillion neutrinos from the Sun passing through it every second."

That's exactly the point, isn't it?

It depends on your physical form and how close you got. With forms like ours yes that’s the point he’s making. In context it makes sense he’s pissed off.

I relate so much to every bit of it. Being a human is not a blessing, but a curse truly absurd one for a conscious being.

Likewise magnification for bright objects like Saturn. Saturn is usually one of the brightest "stars" in the sky, but it's just a point of light without magnification. Once you add some magnification, it looks like all those photos you've seen of Saturn with the rings. It blows your mind the first time you see it.

If it's less real to see something with an instrument-- are people who need glasses to see blind? :D

I think humans would relate to each other very differently if the stars (Milky Way) were normally visible.

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