Starship Asterisk*

Or you could dig your hole from pole to pole to avoid the rock rash you'd get from the rotation. (That would be the rotational pole, not the magnetic pole.)

Rob

Now I know why global warming is happening, and why it does not correlate with solar activity...

It's these APOD discussions. They are full of heat, with little light cast on the point of discussion.

You heard it here first.

Rob

Einstein solved the Newton's dilema by assuming that instead of "attractive gravitational force" acting at a distance the time runs at different rate in different places and the space is curved. This assumption turned out to be enough to change Newtons law of inertia in such way that when...

Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is also "awash in light". I've read here in the APOD fora that our galaxy looks a lot like Andromeda does to us. There's more than one forum here? In the eye of the beholder, yes. Here on The Asterisk*, the "board index" lists three "discussions&q...

Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is also "awash in light". I've read here in the APOD fora that our galaxy looks a lot like Andromeda does to us. So why don't we see a wildly different night sky than we do? A lot of the star light is blocked from our view by gas and dust in the Milky Way; a lot ...

JimJast quotes Feynman as saying: "There is no way of showing mathematically that a physical conclusion is wrong or inconsistent." Then later in the thread, JimJast himself says: "Since one can't prove anything with math (see Feynman quote) ..." I just wanted to point out that Fe...

Thanks for the explanation JimJast. I have two thoughts about it: 1. I think you have simply redefined pull as push. That is, you've said that there is not something pulling us down by acting at a distance, but there is something pushing us down by acting at a distance. Redefining words is a clever ...

... Nature does not see any forces acting in the univese causing those movements. It sees only forces like thoses that press us against the Earth, but not any moving the Earth around or a stone thrown into the air. ... Huh?! You think there is a force pressing "us" to the earth, but that ...

It's also clear he has two left hands...



But the face still looks a little like a cardboard cut out. How are we doin' so far?

Rob

A test subject jumps off the top of the Sears Tower and makes copious measurements on his descent. - 0 sec s = 0 m/sec - 5 sec s = 41 m/sec - 10 sec s = 49 m/sec - 15 sec s = 53 m/sec - 20 sec s = 53 m/sec - 24 sec maintaining terminal v, turbulents negligible, all is well. 53 m/sec air flow around...

You may be right Mark. I've had a brief look at the Google Groups astronomy forum. The very first thread I read degenerated into an anti-semitic diatribe. Another ended in incoherent name calling. And I musn't forget to mention the spam, of which APOD is blissfully lacking. So I think I'll hang out ...

The most active astronomy Google's Group seems to be: http://groups.google.com/group/uk.sci.astronomy/topics http://groups.google.com/group/uk.sci.astronomy/about?hl=en If you find this Group or another Astronomy Discussion Group more stimulating please, at least, report back and let us know. Thank...

rstevenson wrote:... to low-brow school yard taunts, ...

An example of which is...

aristarchusinexile wrote:Like I said in my PM to you, R., I eagerly await your first intelligent and informed post.

Rob

The signal to noise ratio of the APOD forum is far too low to be acceptable. The "booboiserie" are in ascendance, and are drowning out anything resembling a conversation among intelligent people interested in the field of astronomy. Their posts range from bizarre (and long-winded) non-sequ...

neufer wrote:NGC 2392 is hourglass shaped and we are looking down the axis.

The light-year long filaments are consequently foreshortened to about 1/3 of a light year (in radius).

Thanks Art. Now it makes sense.

Rob

apodman wrote:Yeah, but my fur gets all matted and unmanageable.

Ah well, a question of personal grooming then.

Rob

The description of this APOD says The outer disk contains unusual light-year long orange filaments. The Eskimo Nebula spans about 1/3 of a light year ... How does one cram a light-year long filament into a nebula only 1/3 of a light year wide? Rob P.S. Andy, that parka must cost a fortune to dry cle...

jluetjen said... I don't care how complex or highly regarded the models or the scientist are -- if what they are saying defies common sense, I don't buy it. Many things that scientists say defy common sense. That's why they get the big bucks. :lol: If you disregard what scientists are saying, then ...

Granlund wrote: So let's get it straight.... CO2 causes warming, but the entire northern hemisphere is just emerging from one of the coldest, longest winters ever....

And your source for this extraordinary claim is ... ?

Rob

Excellent explanation Chris. Thank you.

Rob

Thanks Chris, One of the things it's so hard to wrap my mind around is how violent much of what we see throughout the universe appears (and, I suppose, how violent much of it is, at least when it's beginning to happen) while at the same time it remains wispy and tenuous compared to solid things like...

In context that should be clear -- anywhere <40 LYs. (Sorry I don't have a weird picture to post along with my reply.)

Rob

This being roughly 80 LY wide, if it had happened anywhere near us, the nebula would have swept past us (or would be on its way to us). Would such an event have had any effect on life on Earth? Or is it just too tenuous, equivalent to, say, the effect of Fox News on life on Earth?

Rob

Thanks Chris. I've now bookmarked SIMBAD.

What caught my eye was that this object has such a well-defined (at least at this scale) center. Could be just an illusion of course, perhaps a ring of dust in the galaxy giving this impression.

The fragment shown in that picture is only 4 cm wide -- about the size of a largeish walnut. Surely it could have bounced a little as it was coming to rest, leaving behind whatever crater or skid marks it had created. And from the angle at which the picture was taken, I wouldn't expect to see much o...