Sputnik 1 (/ˈspʌtnɪk, ˈspʊtnɪk/, ‹See Tfd›Russian: Спутник-1, Satellite 1) was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program. It sent a radio signal back to Earth for three weeks before its three silver-zinc batteries became depleted. Aerodynamic drag caused it to fall back into the atmosphere on 4 January 1958. The world's first observation was made at the school observatory in Rodewisch (Saxony).

It was a polished metal sphere 58 cm (23 in) in diameter with four external radio antennas to broadcast radio pulses. Its radio signal was easily detectable by amateur radio operators, and the 65° orbital inclination made its flight path cover virtually the entire inhabited Earth.

The satellite's success was unanticipated by the United States. This precipitated the American Sputnik crisis and triggered the Space Race, part of the Cold War. The launch was the beginning of a new era of political, military, technological, and scientific developments. The word sputnik is Russian for satellite when interpreted in an astronomical context; its other meanings are spouse or traveling companion.

Tracking and studying Sputnik 1 from Earth provided scientists with valuable information. The density of the upper atmosphere could be deduced from its drag on the orbit, and the propagation of its radio signals gave data about the ionosphere.

Sputnik 1 was launched during the International Geophysical Year from Site No.1/5, at the 5th Tyuratam range, in Kazakh SSR (now known as the Baikonur Cosmodrome). The satellite traveled at a peak speed of about 8 km/s (18,000 mph), taking 96.20 minutes to complete each orbit. It transmitted on 20.005 and 40.002 MHz, which were monitored by radio operators throughout the world. The signals continued for 22 days until the transmitter batteries depleted on 26 October 1957. On 4 January 1958, after three months in orbit, Sputnik 1 burned up while reentering Earth's atmosphere, having completed 1,440 orbits of the Earth, and travelling a distance of approximately 70,000,000 km (43,000,000 mi).

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      • Commiejones [comrade/them, he/him]
        ·
        1 month ago

        Its like the language from "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra" The cards are depictions of Archetypes and common situations and ideas. When you lay them out they tell a vague story that can be interpreted in many ways but you see the story that relates to your life.

        The cards that relate to the future are ways that the current situation could play out and they can tease out ideas that you had not consciously considered.

        Essentially the cards allow you to shuffle your thoughts to look at a situation from a perspective you hadn't considered.

          • Commiejones [comrade/them, he/him]
            ·
            1 month ago

            Honestly if therapists started using them they'd save their patients dozens of billable hours. A reasonable card reader can pick up the cues from the person they are reading (usually without even know that is what they are doing) So they spit out all the meanings of each card as they lay them out and then after all the cards are out they tell the person the part of each card they reacted to. the person being read says "oh my god how did you know?" and the reader says "I just read the cards." I don't like the person I read to tell me what they are asking about so that my own ideas don't get mixed in. Usually I don't have a clue what they are asking about but if things aren't clear to the person I will ask them to tell me a bit so I can work out what the cards are saying.

              • Frank [he/him, he/him]
                ·
                1 month ago

                Nah, cold reading is a real thing.

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

                It's kind of the underlying mechanic on which almost all cons work, but you can use it for non-evil purposes, sometimes.