[Andrex]

So you just shoot a rocket "up" to get to the moon? "Up" to land that mars rover? No. They went out not up. Maybe thats why it's called outer space and not upper space.

I don't understand, are you contradicting yourself?

[Horse Detective]

I don't understand, are you contradicting yourself?

Yeah I noticed this too...

I am really confused now.

[pants]

If there was no up then how would you send a space ship or satellite anywhere? That's like saying there's no east while driving. Even tho space is 3d there are still directions. If there weren't how would you map anything.

[thirty]

No. It's still not up. Its out. And it can't be up because everything would be upside down if up didn't exist.

[Bruiserk]

edit - nevermind I don't want to deal with this

[Dead Man]

Actually, that is still a human imposed co ordinate system on space. The axis are arbitrary.

[DeathNote]

So you just shoot a rocket "up" to get to the moon? "Up" to land that mars rover? No. They went out not up. Maybe thats why it's called outer space and not upper space. This rock spins remember?

Dude, we can identify an equator on earth, in the milkey way, and in other galaxies to traverse them but there is no equator of the universe that can be identified.

OUR night sky is an imaginary sphere.

[KarmaCow]

The point is there are no inherent directions. We assign them. If you define up/down to be parallel to the Earth's rotation, then sure you can look 'down' at the sky. But if you went up to anyone ask them where down is, they would point toward the ground.

There is no up position. It is weird that all the planets, and in fact the whole galaxy, is in roughly the same plane though. You 'd think they'd be scattered all over, in different planes.

It's not that strange. Lots of things about galaxy formation are weird but assuming there a overall spin for angular momentum, it makes sense it would flatten into a plane.

[KO Traveling Hobo]

Try lying completely still in bed at night and imagine that your bed is actually on the ceiling or the walls or just in a different position

[thirty]

But how is it imaginary when there are points? The galaxy is just full of infinite imaginary spheres no?

[Rentahamster]

No, it was another one that got people in trouble who didn't know the correct order of operations. Edit- That was a good one though, I forgot about that one.

This one.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=426785

My good chum.

[Dead Man]

The point is there are no inherent directions. We assign them. If you define up/down to be parallel to the Earth's rotation, then sure you can look 'down' at the sky. But if you went up to anyone ask them where down is, they would point toward the ground. It's not that strange. Lots of things about galaxy formation are weird but assuming there a overall spin for angular momentum, it makes sense it would flatten into a plane.

Good point. OP, while you are asking those people to look DOWN into the sky, ask them which direction is down. In a gravitational field people use that as the reference.

[thirty]

The point is there are no inherent directions. We assign them. If you define up/down to be parallel to the Earth's rotation, then sure you can look 'down' at the sky. But if you went up to anyone ask them where down is, they would point toward the ground. It's not that strange. Lots of things about galaxy formation are weird but assuming there a overall spin for angular momentum, it makes sense it would flatten into a plane.

Yessss!

[pants]

Actually, that is still a human imposed co ordinate system on space. The axis are arbitrary.

If you look closely, it's a stargate joke.

[KarmaCow]

Yessss!

But how can X be 5 if it's a letter???

[Dead Man]

If you look closely, it's a stargate joke.

Of course, silly me.

[Andrex]

This one. http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=426785 My good chum.

Ah ha! That's the one.

[thirty]

But how can X be 5 if it's a letter???

Is that relativity again? :( can direction be relative if the destinations are constant?

[Bruiserk]

OP have you ever seen this image before:

[maquiladora]

Try lying completely still in bed at night and imagine that your bed is actually on the ceiling or the walls or just in a different position

Of course you're not still at all. You're spinning at about 1,000 mph as the planet rotates. Hold on tight bro.

[EdibleExplosives]

[NathanMcMahon]

I appreciate your appreciation for Tim and Eric.

It's the turtleneck that sells it

[DeathNote]

But how is it imaginary when there are points? The galaxy is just full of infinite imaginary spheres no?

http://www.astro.cornell.edu/academi...cel_sphere.htm

[thirty]

http://www.astro.cornell.edu/academi...cel_sphere.htm

*faints*

[Log4Girlz]

What do Australians see?!

Spiders

[KarmaCow]

Is that relativity again? :( can direction be relative if the destinations are constant?

Sorry I thought you were joking.

Okay now I'm confused, what are you having trouble with, what coordinate system people use for defining the location of things in space? There are many ways but like spherical coordinate system centred on the Earth. But again, it's arbitrary.

[thirty]

Yeah deathnote just posted exactly that. So up and down do exist relative to earth but because the galaxy is infinite up and down shouldn't exist or something.

[replicashooter]

OP, I think this will really blow your mind: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reversed_map

Wow, is the earth really upside down all the time? Is that for real?

[Log4Girlz]

Good time to do this with the perseids this weekend and all. So earth is round and the stars are pretty much stationary right? If you're laying down on the grass or what have you and you happen to be anywhere but the top axis of earth you can either be looking into or STARING DOWN into space. I think the thing that tripped me out most is watching planes fly by once you realize this. They are flying UPSIDE DOWN shamalyantwist.jpg

Yeah, now think about all the galaxies we see on earth through telescopes. Some are so far away they were created at the dawn of time. Photons were emitted by these places that are touching that telescope, that are touching US right this moment. The other side of the entire universe is still in touch with us, communicating information in the form of photons to us. The most distant reaches of the universe is bouncing off my skin.

[UFRA]

mind blown, wow

[carfo]

no way....

I love how they spell "plane"

[ClassyPenguin]

Wow, is the earth really upside down all the time? Is that for real?

There are no cardinal directions in space.

[KO Traveling Hobo]

"once agen gravaty meens ther no up side down and in space ther is no up and down"

[replicashooter]

There are no cardinal directions in space.

Yeah, I dig that, but what I mean is that Earth (in real life) doesn't have the Greenland at the top and Australia at the bottom, it's actually the other way round as the picture shows:



Which means the North pole is actually near Australia?

[Log4Girlz]

Yeah, I dig that, but what I mean is that Earth (in real life) doesn't have the Greenland at the top and Australia at the bottom, it's actually the other way round as the picture shows: Which means the North pole is actually near Australia?

You need to rotate that 90 degrees.

[I Push Fat Kids]

Always felt that upsi-earth would make for a great overworld map.

[Chun-Li On A Bike]

A lot of closed minded people I guess.

I like how gravity dictates direction now

[EYEL1NER]

It's like trying to explain new-school battle room tactics to an old-school army.

"Which way is the gate?"

[Andrex]

Always felt that upsi-earth would make for a great overworld map.

It would be awesome if it was like an old school RPG and the game pulled an FMA/Planet of the Apes, YOU WERE ON EARTH THE WHOLE TIME. :O

[I Push Fat Kids]

It would be awesome if it was like an old school RPG and the game pulled an FMA/Planet of the Apes, YOU WERE ON EARTH THE WHOLE TIME. :O

But make it a Donkey Kong Country RPG where the recently evolved humans are taking the planet from the apes?!?

[catabarez]

A lot of closed minded people I guess. I like how gravity dictates direction now

...

What???

[godelsmetric]

Here's something actually cool.

Find out when several planets are going to be visible on the same night (3 should be fine).

Then go to the park or wherever so you have a good view of the sky.

Find the planets. They should all lie roughly on a line.

Now, face the planets, and tilt your head until the line that they lie on is roughly horizontal across your field of vision i.e. your head is roughly parallel with the plane of the solar system.

You should now be able to get a better sense of the fact that those planets you can see are all on the same plane moving in circles around the sun.

It's really nice if you can do it. It really gives you a sense of reorganising the way you see the sky and seeing the underlying structure.

[Toppot]

Well first off I would like to congratulate the OP for thinking about science.

But in answer to it, the person is only laying 'upside down' from where you are viewing them from imaginarily in space. Or 'upside down' in relation to another ie someone at the north pole and someone at the south pole could say each other are upside down to one another, but someone on the equator would say they are both sideways. It all depends from where you yourself are fixed upon a plane. Its all about something being 'relative' to another.

Gravity confuses how when think about the position of things, because down is not one direction, down is always pointing to the center of the earth so down is really infinite directions, just depends where you are standing on the earth (Without getting into more complicated celestial bodies and such).

So I, stood up on earth, are always looking up (or sideways) at the sky (Unless I am doing a handstand or something), but someone from another position relative to me could say that from their perspective I am looking down at the sky.

I can supply a poorly draw diagram if necessary =P

[thesoapster]

A lot of closed minded people I guess. I like how gravity dictates direction now

Hahahahahahahahahahahahhahaha this thread...

You do realize that "up down left right" are arbitrary designations we have set to make it easier to navigate around our own globe, right?

Sounds likes you need to open your mind up.

[Soda]

You do realize that "up down left right" are arbitrary designations we have set to make it easier to navigate around our own globe, right?

[liquidspeed]

If you started at the top and dug straight through Earth at what point would you not be digging down but digging up?

After you passed through the Earth's Center of gravity.... Gravity is a vector field in which all vectors point radially inward, with increasing magnitude as they approach the center of mass.

[Toppot]

You do realize that "up down left right" are arbitrary designations we have set to make it easier to navigate around our own globe, right?

So you are saying that if you are in space you are no longer left or right handed? and that your head is not above your feet? You don't need gravity or a sphere to have up, down, left or right, you simply have to have relative points.

[WorriedCitizen]

What are kids learning in school these days? My geography teacher rebuked anyone who thought of north and south as up and down.

[Boss Doggie]

I don't understand, are you contradicting yourself?

Perhaps he is... high.

[Amakusa]

Gravity.

-y-y-y-y-yyy on me,
Never let me down, Gently
Gravity-y-y-y-y-yyy, with me
Never let me go! NO,NO!
Gravity-y-y-y-y-yyy...

(rap)Gra-a-avity, ne-never let me
Gra-a-a-avity, ne-never let me
Gra-a-a-avity, ne-never let me
Gra-a-a-avity, ne-never let, let, let, let...

I don't pull me down,
I don't pull me down,on me
I don't pull me down,
I don't pull me down,on you
I don't pull me down,
I don't pull me down,on me
I don't pull me down,
I don't pull me down, on you

(rap)Gra-a-avity, ne-never let me
Gra-a-a-avity, ne-never let me
Gra-a-a-avity, ne-never let me
Gra-a-a-avity, ne-never let, let, let,let...

Gravity-y-y-y-y-yyy on me,
Never let me down, Gently
Gravity-y-y-y-y-yyy, with me
Never let me go, NO, NO, gravity

I don't pull me down,
I don't pull me down,on me
(Gravity-y-y-y-y-yyy on me, Never put me down, gently)
I don't pull me down,
I don't pull me down,on you
(Gravity-y-y-y-y-yyy on me, Never let me go! NO NO!)
I don't pull me down,
I don't pull me down,on me
(Gravity-y-y-y-y-yyy on me Never put me down, gently)
I don't pull me down,
I don't pull me down,on you
(Gravity-y-y-y-y-yyy with me Never let me go! NO NO!)
GRAVITYYYYYY!!!!

(rap)Gra-a-avity, ne-never let me
Gra-a-a-avity, ne-never let me
Gra-a-a-avity, ne-never let me
Gra-a-a-avity, ne-never let, let, let...

-Jess