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A comment on How to move a 200-ton spectrometer across Europe. Parent comment

Re:How to move a 200-ton spectrometer across Europe by astrodust on Thursday July 24, 2014 @12:32PM (#8080539)
Germany is also home to enormously gigantic machines like the Bagger 288 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagger_288) that are so enormous you can see them from space.

The scale of this thing is staggering. In one incident it accidentally scooped up a bulldozer: http://imgur.com/gallery/rU3XU

Also shown there is what it looks like when it's on the move along a carefully planned and prepared route: http://i.imgur.com/51x5NIR.jpg?1

I'm sure the budget for moving a scientific device isn't as huge as something involved in mineral extraction where time equals money.

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Re:How to move a 200-ton spectrometer across Europe by callesgg on Thursday July 24, 2014 @07:35PM (#8082973)
You can't see that thing from space.

With optics you definitely would, but with optics you can see a single human from space.

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Re:How to move a 200-ton spectrometer across Europe by astrodust on Friday July 25, 2014 @03:11PM (#8087049)
It wouldn't take more than binoculars. The bare patch of ground this thing has made is gigantic.

It's not just the digger, there's this conveyor system that's an integral part of the system that looks miles long.

https://www.google.com/maps/@50.8674604,6.6073151,43657m/dat...

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Re:How to move a 200-ton spectrometer across Europe by msandford on Thursday July 24, 2014 @06:08PM (#8082600)
Jeebus that thing is huge. That wasn't a small bulldozer. It's not the biggest they make but it's definitely no joke. It weighs 18 tons: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caterpillar_D6
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