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Imagine planet Earth from an outsider's point of view. From many light-years away, it probably wouldn't seem all that impressive through some sort of futuristic telescope technology. Anyone watching Earth as a transiting exoplanet wouldn't see our world as a vibrant oasis suffused with blue, green, and tan, as it appears in up-close satellite images. They would simply see a lump of rock getting in the way of the Sun.

The real fun would start if those looking could zoom in more. A lot more. So much they could spy on our lives. If that sounds interesting to you as well, there's a Twitter account that shows our everyday life without any filters. Out of Context Human Race shares fan-submitted images (and sometimes videos) that paint a broad picture of what's going on around here. Continue scrolling and check some of them out.

Lisa Kaltenegger, an astronomer at Cornell University, enlisted the help of Jackie Faherty, an astrophysicist who works at Hayden Planetarium, and together they took on the task of identifying stars that might host alien worlds where the residents—past, present, or future—would have a chance of detecting Earth as a transiting exoplanet.

In other words, these planets would have just the right vantage point to observe a slight dip in the brightness of our sun as Earth crosses, or transits, in front of it. It's actually the most successful method we use to find planets beyond our solar system as they orbit around their own host stars, creating tiny blips in the light we can see with astronomical instruments.

In June, Kaltenegger and Faherty announced their results in Nature with an extensive list of stars that have either had, or will later have, the required orientation to discover our planet. Using a time range from 5,000 years ago (a period when civilizations on Earth first began to sprout) to 5,000 years into the future, the duo identified over 2,000 stars.

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Not only does their study provide a resource to exoplanet hunters by highlighting which stars they can pay attention to, but it also reminds about our unique—and a bit unsettling—visibility to the rest of the universe. "I felt spied on a little bit," Faherty told WIRED, remembering the uncanny sensation of being overexposed. "Do I want to be on a planet that can be found?"

Do you? Who knows, maybe Out of Context Human Race aren't the only ones watching us.

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beastmachine.
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So is it possible to buy a Dutch pillow and return it saying that it's a French one and asking for the refund amount of French pillow?

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Serial pacifist
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh, a black belt in passive-aggressive cynicism. I salute you, sensei.

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Scagsy
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I once told the missus to hurry up and finish watering the garden before it rains. I seem to remember suddenly becoming wet myself.

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IzzieM
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hope the person who did this gets the help he needs...the article was a blast to read, though!

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Serial pacifist
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, a non-man slew his Nazgul and now he has to take the subway. Tough days for the darkers.

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Eva the Egg
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is the guy I need. Come to my nearest supermarket now

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Robert T
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For those not familiar with Aldi, there is no space for your shopping after it has been scanned. You need to bag it as fast as they scan it. I have every sympathy with her!

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M O'Connell
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

At least at my local Aldi stores they just dump it back into your cart and provide a counter near the exit for you to organize it afterward.

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Alex Luiz
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I mean, tbf, whenever I shop in aldi the minute my stuff goes on that conveyor belt the race is ON. If you aren't in the right head space aldi can get a bit intense.

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Lee Jung Jae
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

“If you aren't in the right head space aldi can get a bit intense.” Beautifully phrased : )

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Troux
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I love Aldi cashiers, they are FAST. Would love to send them all to work at airport security checkpoints.

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More!
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Checking out at Aldi!, I wait in line on the verge of a panic attack, organising everything on the conveyor in the order I plan to bag it (trying out a few possible combinations if there’s time before I’m up), I have my card ready in my back pocket, my bags in the order they’ll be filled hang on my free arm. Each time it all goes to sh!t. They’re so fast. Do they do it to purposely rattle us? They always look down at me (if I’m crouched on the floor jamming Turkish bread into a too full bag while trying to scoop up the six or so cat food cans I dropped on the floor in my haste to make them into a tower inside a bag so they’d take up less space) like I’m a slow learner and I’m solely to blame for the line going all the way down to the freezer with the Chocolate Bavarian. All because I didn’t have a gold coin for a trolley and lost my token again or I went in there for the cats food and accidentally bought five days of groceries.

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Daniel Mattock
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Amateur. You have to be prepared- get your bag ready, and have an alcoholic beverage halfway through so the cashier has to pause for the age verification

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J. F.
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, that's the german experience! Every supermarket here has the little game of "who is the fastest" at the end

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Solidhog
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Dealing with Aldi cashiers is like doing the speed cup stacking.

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Two_rolling_black_eyes
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Too fast or too slow? If I was buying diarrhea medicine and the cashier was chatting up the mom in front of me, I'd start crying and shaking too.

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wifeofweasley
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm not a mom but this is me. I cried because of a cashier once. There was a line behind me and she was scanning my stuff really fast and I just threw everything back in my cart. I couldn't find my wallet in this rush situation and she already told me my total but I wasn't ready with stacking my items so i broke down because I didn't wanted to be a burden or annoying to anyone behind me in line

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Vaida Kuodytė
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've had similar experiences at Lidl, it can be pretty stressful :D

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Cass Thomas
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This lady had a point. The cashier was way too fast and damaged quite a bit of her produce. The cashier was cold and unfriendly. Then, I learned that Aldi's is to blame as it demands so many customers an hour from its cashiers.

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Sarah Barker
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I live one town over from Stoke and I can tell you it's an absolute dumpster fire.

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Mazer
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The million dollar question goes unanswered. Was he painfully slow or lightning fast?!

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Karen Cooper
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Shopping with kids, they were playing up and cashier wouldn't slow down. Oh, and she's a drama queen.

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Sky Render
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ah yes, bag-your-own-groceries. Funny story: when I was a cashier they assigned someone to be my bagger exactly once. That was when they realized that no bagger could hope to keep up with me, and that I was still lightning-fast without one.

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JB
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There are Irish ones. And, just as Irish Whiskey is triple distilled while Scotch is double distilled, Irish bagpipes play 2 octaves and Scottish ones just one. https://comparebagpipes.com/bagpipes/irish-bagpipes/

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Scagsy
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And they coloured in a wonderful picture of a unicorn crossing a stream and lived happily ever after.

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Brandy Grote
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Don't use vaseline. It's not designed for that, is drying, and you may get irritated from it. Water based lube, lots of it, and patience are what's needed.

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Mark Howell
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Swindon was a small village when this was built. Then people who entered it just settled there rather than trying to get out ;o)

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CH1990
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Took me a while to find out where those legs in the window came from xD

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Scagsy
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Safest man in Scotland stood in front of the most confused man in Scotland.

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Brandy Grote
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What do you think the CDC does? They also store viruses and diseases to study them.

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