Last year, a U.S. military computer reached the astronomic processing power of more than 1 quadrillion calculations per second.

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But it's NASA's description of this as a "rare explosion" that hints at there being more to this than an astronomic postcard picture.

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Following that, over the next five years, it will endeavor to create a lucid astronomic image of a section measuring an eighth of the total sky.

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Often cited as Tehran's knee-jerk answer -- along with projections of astronomic oil-price spikes because of the disruption of supplies from Persian Gulf producers -- this option is neither feasible nor advisable for Iran.

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