Astronomical Data Used for Litigation (FAQ)
aa.usno.navy.mil
Astronomical Data Used for Litigation (FAQ)
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Re: Astronomical Data Used for Litigation (FAQ)
#2In case the site is unavailable for anyone else: https://web.archive.org/web/20240127101027/https://aa.usno.n...
Re: Astronomical Data Used for Litigation (FAQ)
#3Slight tangent - I often find project managers and senior management wanting a “zipper” project - where some big brained architect predicts the future use cases and needs and can plan pulling together the teeth in 15 steps ahead
Which is of course rubbish - mostly it’s amazing if you can predict the next zip.
And this reminds me of that - what did the first naval rating think when he sat and read a letter from an attorney saying “my client says it was too dark for the cops to recognise him can you please …”
Re: Astronomical Data Used for Litigation (FAQ)
#4These whimsical post are the best thing about hacker news! Thanks for posting...
(I hate to call the linked page "whimsical", because in most ways, the provided information is the opposite of whimsical: clear language, deep subject matter knowledge, authoritative and extremely well presented. I use whimsical in the sense that it is likely of no immediate use to the overwhelming majority of visitors here)
Re: Astronomical Data Used for Litigation (FAQ)
#5What else is astronomical data used for in litigation other than determining (upper bound on) illumination levels?
Re: Astronomical Data Used for Litigation (FAQ)
#6What else is astronomical data used for in litigation other than determining (upper bound on) illumination levels?
Presumably star positions in nighttime photographs could be used to determine location/time. Not very precisely but it could be enough to say the picture definitely wasn't taken at time/place that is claimed.
Edit: or even simpler, moon phases:
"Here is a photo of my client on the night of the murder so they have alibi"
"There was a new moon on the night in question but the photo shows a full moon"
Re: Astronomical Data Used for Litigation (FAQ)
#7What else is astronomical data used for in litigation other than determining (upper bound on) illumination levels?
Presumably star positions in nighttime photographs could be used to determine location/time. Not very precisely but it could be enough to say the picture definitely wasn't taken at time/place that is claimed. Edit: or even simpler, moon phases: "Here is a photo of my client on the night of the murder so they have alibi" "There was a new moon on the night in question but the photo shows a full moon"
Possibly very precisely if there is something like a satellite streak in the picture, which is very common
Re: Astronomical Data Used for Litigation (FAQ)
#8What else is astronomical data used for in litigation other than determining (upper bound on) illumination levels?
Presumably star positions in nighttime photographs could be used to determine location/time. Not very precisely but it could be enough to say the picture definitely wasn't taken at time/place that is claimed. Edit: or even simpler, moon phases: "Here is a photo of my client on the night of the murder so they have alibi" "There was a new moon on the night in question but the photo shows a full moon"
Perhaps even more crudely, something like "You claimed you crashed your car because the sun was in your eyes, but it was morning and you were heading west...."
Re: Astronomical Data Used for Litigation (FAQ)
#9What else is astronomical data used for in litigation other than determining (upper bound on) illumination levels?
Presumably star positions in nighttime photographs could be used to determine location/time. Not very precisely but it could be enough to say the picture definitely wasn't taken at time/place that is claimed. Edit: or even simpler, moon phases: "Here is a photo of my client on the night of the murder so they have alibi" "There was a new moon on the night in question but the photo shows a full moon"
A terrible thing to do to yourself is learn what moon phases are approximately visible at what times of day. It's not too complicated—a full moon by definition is opposite the Sun's position, hence night, etc.—but it's surprising how many books out there will have incorrect moon phases. It's clearly not on the list of things to fact check!
Re: Astronomical Data Used for Litigation (FAQ)
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
Presumably star positions in nighttime photographs could be used to determine location/time. Not very precisely but it could be enough to say the picture definitely wasn't taken at time/place that is claimed. Edit: or even simpler, moon phases: "Here is a photo of my client on the night of the murder so they have alibi" "There was a new moon on the night in question but the photo shows a full moon"
A terrible thing to do to yourself is learn what moon phases are approximately visible at what times of day. It's not too complicated—a full moon by definition is opposite the Sun's position, hence night, etc.—but it's surprising how many books out there will have incorrect moon phases. It's clearly not on the list of things to fact check!
Neil Degrasse Tyson famously called out titanic for having an incorrect night sky depiction. In a later remaster they fixed it. It is well covered in his book as well as online.