Comments on: Runaway Star

By: Community News » Blog Archive » Uwe Hermann: Linux Videoblog Clients Roundup

Sun, 13 Nov 2005 14:08:39 +0000

[...] Runaway Star [...]

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 05 Sep 2005 08:41:06 +0000

That closing paragraph(s) really made me feel warm inside.

Thanks, Phil.
Keep up the great work.

By: Wikipedian

Wikipedian — Mon, 05 Sep 2005 02:46:59 +0000

Actually I just checked and apparently the Helios probe at slightly more than 70km/s is the fastest manmade object, as it approached the Sun.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helios_probes

By: Wikipedian

Wikipedian — Mon, 05 Sep 2005 02:36:00 +0000

Speeds of about 30 km/s should be attainable, the current chemical rockets allowing for about 10 km/s and the remainder from gravitational slingshots.

By: Nigel Depledge

Nigel Depledge — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 00:34:40 +0000

Mendel – OK, we made light bulbs, but we didn’t make the photons that travel so fast (we provided the energy for them, but they were made by a piece of hot tungsten). Besides, photons are not macroscopic. Generally, if you can see something as a discreet entity without a microscope, it can be considered macroscopic.

BA, a much more lively report than New Scientist (although I read theirs first). Keep up the good work.

By: Mendel

Mendel — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 00:11:55 +0000

quote “The Sun is orbiting the center of the Galaxy at 200 km/sec (120 miles/sec). Thatâ€™s faster than any man-made macroscopic object has ever moved. No rocket, no hyper-accelerated bullet, nothing we have ever made of any size has gone that fast”

Well let’s see, people have made lightbulbs, right? lightbulbs emit light, light travels faster than 200km/sec. We also have particle accelerators, but I guess individual neutrons aren’t macroscopic objects Where do you draw the line of microscopic object vs macroscopic object? I guess several micrometers? (duh)

By: Rob0112358

Rob0112358 — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 15:08:04 +0000

Muchas Gracias, Senior.

By: The Bad Astronomer

The Bad Astronomer — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 05:06:07 +0000

Rob0112358, that was J. B. S. Haldane.

By: Wikipedian

Wikipedian — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 05:04:44 +0000

Yes, science can deliver pretty amazing results, yet I’m thinking probably at least a dozen civilizations are laughing their asses of our feeling we’re smart.

“You heard those earthlings detected one of our mobile antimatter power stations and they think it’s a star”
“Yeah, ever since they started thinking of space as a sheet of rubber their science has been kinda kinky…”

Excuse my comic relief

It’s wonderful to be so extatic about discoveries when popularizing science to masses but we shouldnt get too content otherwise.

By: jaakkeli

jaakkeli — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 00:46:50 +0000

Hey! Discrimination by latitude! On *my* night sky, the stars are *not* always there!

Their summer vacation is over now, though.

By: Rob0112358

Rob0112358 — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 23:15:57 +0000

Chalk up another win for humanity. Short of breaking any laws of physics, we can do almost anything we put our minds to.

Does anyone know who said something to the effect of: “The universe is not only stranger than we imagine. its stranger than we can imagine.” ?? I would really like to know who said that, as it does seem to fit this situation.

By: Corey

Corey — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 22:18:54 +0000

Hold on a second, this is GOOD Astronomy! Am I on the wrong site!?!?

Great read – good food for the brain of a curious ape. I mean domesticated primate. Hypercephalic hominid? Whatever.

By: Another Phobos

Another Phobos — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 18:01:15 +0000

Curious George indeed…

By: George Bush

George Bush — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 14:30:54 +0000

Curious Apes indeed…