Custard Seen From Space
Custard is so yellow that a paddling pool full of the stuff can be seen from outer space. That’s the amazing claim from Russian cosmonaut Vladimir Borgichov.
Orbiting some 360km above the Earth, Borgichov viewed the structure (placed in the backyard of a farm in Washington) from the International Space Station. Although he is a fan of all foods, he says he now cannot stand custard and is, “sick of looking at the stuff”.
Early analysis indicates that the particular wavelengths of light given off by custard interact with ozone in the outer atmosphere to intensify the image. From space, custard appears more like a star shining up from the Earth’s surface than the pool of dull yellow gloop that it actually is.
The Washington Custard becomes the latest in a string of recent ‘visible man-made object claims’. Previously, the Great Wall of China was thought to be the only mad-made object visible from space, but this has recently been poo-pooed by space officials.
In 2003 Yang Liwei, the first Chinese astronaut, declared he saw the London Eye winking at him, while last year, American veteran astronaut Jonathon Miller claimed to have seen a large banana-shaped inflatable off the Greek coastline from his space shuttle cockpit.
A NASA spokesperson said, “It’s not unusual to see items from space, but we are worried about the possibility astronauts suffering custard blindness. If too much custard were to be brought together in one place then there could be some serious safety issues. A severe case could threaten the entire US space mission.”
The news comes amid reports of Iran buying huge quantities of enriched custard powder from Nigeria. A spokesman for the Whitehouse refused to comment on whether they would be referring the matter to the UN Security Council.
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Orbiting some 360km above the Earth, Borgichov viewed the structure (placed in the backyard of a farm in Washington) from the International Space Station. Although he is a fan of all foods, he says he now cannot stand custard and is, “sick of looking at the stuff”.
Early analysis indicates that the particular wavelengths of light given off by custard interact with ozone in the outer atmosphere to intensify the image. From space, custard appears more like a star shining up from the Earth’s surface than the pool of dull yellow gloop that it actually is.
The Washington Custard becomes the latest in a string of recent ‘visible man-made object claims’. Previously, the Great Wall of China was thought to be the only mad-made object visible from space, but this has recently been poo-pooed by space officials.
In 2003 Yang Liwei, the first Chinese astronaut, declared he saw the London Eye winking at him, while last year, American veteran astronaut Jonathon Miller claimed to have seen a large banana-shaped inflatable off the Greek coastline from his space shuttle cockpit.
A NASA spokesperson said, “It’s not unusual to see items from space, but we are worried about the possibility astronauts suffering custard blindness. If too much custard were to be brought together in one place then there could be some serious safety issues. A severe case could threaten the entire US space mission.”
The news comes amid reports of Iran buying huge quantities of enriched custard powder from Nigeria. A spokesman for the Whitehouse refused to comment on whether they would be referring the matter to the UN Security Council.
Join our groups on Facebook and MySpace and talk rubbish with the best of them.
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