Comments on: Comet, or Vogons? http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/24/comet-or-vogons/ I am an astronomer, writer, and skeptic. I likes reality the way it is, and I aims to keep it that way. My real name is Phil Plait, and I run the Bad Astronomy blog. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:53:09 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: shoemoney http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/24/comet-or-vogons/comment-page-2/#comment-15305 shoemoney Thu, 01 Jun 2006 19:18:52 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/24/comet-or-vogons/#comment-15305 <strong>shoemoney...</strong> nice shoemoney site at shoemoney http://www.imyourhuckleberry.info/ 15... shoemoney…

nice shoemoney site at shoemoney http://www.imyourhuckleberry.info/ 15…

]]> By: Rebecca http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/24/comet-or-vogons/comment-page-2/#comment-15317 Rebecca Wed, 31 May 2006 04:08:57 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/24/comet-or-vogons/#comment-15317 Wow. Cool software; your own design or off the shelf. ;-) And yet in a way, how sad. You are missing out on some *messed-up* entertainment. :-D He waxes astrologic. Big time. My neck got quite a work out from all the "I can't believe he said that" style head shaking. There are descriptions and graphs and charts all over the place. I love this quote particularly: "I could spend several hours preparing and explaining this chart, time which is unavailable at present. If this turns out to be a significant chart, other astrologers can do a far better job than I explaining its significance. It would appear to be the most interesting event during the 24 hour period that the Sun is on 10 Gemini. The time of the event is 4:42 GMT on May 31." And then he goes on to cross refer several major past events to previous celestial conjunctions, then compares them with conjunctions occurring this week. Ostensibly, this is unshakable proof positive of his comet theory: if it happened THEN under these "celestial conditions", it's gonna ferdarnsher happen NOW! What a weenie. Have you ever noticed that the folk using the most boldface are those least worthy of serious attention? Wow. Cool software; your own design or off the shelf. ;-) And yet in a way, how sad. You are missing out on some *messed-up* entertainment. :-D He waxes astrologic. Big time. My neck got quite a work out from all the “I can’t believe he said that” style head shaking. There are descriptions and graphs and charts all over the place.

I love this quote particularly: “I could spend several hours preparing and explaining this chart, time which is unavailable at present. If this turns out to be a significant chart, other astrologers can do a far better job than I explaining its significance. It would appear to be the most interesting event during the 24 hour period that the Sun is on 10 Gemini. The time of the event is 4:42 GMT on May 31.” And then he goes on to cross refer several major past events to previous celestial conjunctions, then compares them with conjunctions occurring this week. Ostensibly, this is unshakable proof positive of his comet theory: if it happened THEN under these “celestial conditions”, it’s gonna ferdarnsher happen NOW! What a weenie.

Have you ever noticed that the folk using the most boldface are those least worthy of serious attention?

]]> By: Evolving Squid http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/24/comet-or-vogons/comment-page-2/#comment-15345 Evolving Squid Tue, 30 May 2006 22:19:30 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/24/comet-or-vogons/#comment-15345 Whoa! my bollocks-blocking software caused me to get a blank page on that link. Joking aside, one has to take one's uncritical, non-thinking pretty seriously to produce that page. Whoa! my bollocks-blocking software caused me to get a blank page on that link.

Joking aside, one has to take one’s uncritical, non-thinking pretty seriously to produce that page.

]]> By: Rebecca http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/24/comet-or-vogons/comment-page-2/#comment-15347 Rebecca Tue, 30 May 2006 19:39:17 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/24/comet-or-vogons/#comment-15347 Dates! A tasty fruit. Also a very subjective method of measuring time. One might even consider it a cultural artifact. I believe we are currently using the Gregorian calendar, putting 06.06.06 on Tuesday of next week. However, if we were still following the Julian calendar, we would be past that critical date and women would be free to go into labor at will. (*smirk* like it works that way...) We could pick a wide variety of calendars, out of use (such as the Julian, or the system of runes in Scandinavia carved in large stones... or consider Stonehenge, et al...) or still in use (China still toggles back and forth between its calendar and the West; there is a lunar calendar used by the Muslim world; even older is the lunar calendar in the Hebraic tradition...) to set 'our' Numerology against, depending on the desired answer. BTW, he's changed the date. Grab your swimsuits! The Date of Impending Doom is now far more specific, including an actual time: 4:42 GMT on May 31. http://www.savelivesinmay.com/slimdocs/A-clue-from-the-stars-en.htm Which (ahem) may or may not have already passed. Check your calendars! ;-) Dates! A tasty fruit. Also a very subjective method of measuring time. One might even consider it a cultural artifact. I believe we are currently using the Gregorian calendar, putting 06.06.06 on Tuesday of next week. However, if we were still following the Julian calendar, we would be past that critical date and women would be free to go into labor at will. (*smirk* like it works that way…) We could pick a wide variety of calendars, out of use (such as the Julian, or the system of runes in Scandinavia carved in large stones… or consider Stonehenge, et al…) or still in use (China still toggles back and forth between its calendar and the West; there is a lunar calendar used by the Muslim world; even older is the lunar calendar in the Hebraic tradition…) to set ‘our’ Numerology against, depending on the desired answer.

BTW, he’s changed the date. Grab your swimsuits! The Date of Impending Doom is now far more specific, including an actual time: 4:42 GMT on May 31. http://www.savelivesinmay.com/slimdocs/A-clue-from-the-stars-en.htm
Which (ahem) may or may not have already passed. Check your calendars! ;-)

]]> By: TheBlackCat http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/24/comet-or-vogons/comment-page-2/#comment-15306 TheBlackCat Sun, 28 May 2006 02:02:42 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/24/comet-or-vogons/#comment-15306 Well, the website has been revised. Apparently the comet, which it seems only Eric Julein saw, wasn't the <i>cause</i> of the tidal wave, it was merely an omen. The aliens are planning on launching an attack on their own sometime in the indefinite future (although they hint at either Sunday or some time next month, it isn't very clear). There is apparently some numerology involving the numbers 123, 14, and 4 backing this up but I honestly can't make any sense of it. Something to do with dates. Well, the website has been revised. Apparently the comet, which it seems only Eric Julein saw, wasn’t the cause of the tidal wave, it was merely an omen. The aliens are planning on launching an attack on their own sometime in the indefinite future (although they hint at either Sunday or some time next month, it isn’t very clear). There is apparently some numerology involving the numbers 123, 14, and 4 backing this up but I honestly can’t make any sense of it. Something to do with dates.

]]> By: Tim G http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/24/comet-or-vogons/comment-page-2/#comment-15307 Tim G Sat, 27 May 2006 18:11:55 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/24/comet-or-vogons/#comment-15307 Sorry, the quote should be: <i>…comets are not made up of 'dust and ice' as was once believed…but are made up entirely of antimatter in some kind of solid form.</i> <i>The first major evidence that drove the point home, that comets are made of antimatter, was seen in 1994 when the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 broke up and the fragments collided with Jupiter… The energy output of the fragments impacting on Jupiter is said to have been in the range of 200 million megatons of TNT… Nothing but a matter/antimatter reaction could have caused this kind of hugely massive explosion.</i> Sorry, the quote should be:

…comets are not made up of ‘dust and ice’ as was once believed…but are made up entirely of antimatter in some kind of solid form.

The first major evidence that drove the point home, that comets are made of antimatter, was seen in 1994 when the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 broke up and the fragments collided with Jupiter… The energy output of the fragments impacting on Jupiter is said to have been in the range of 200 million megatons of TNT… Nothing but a matter/antimatter reaction could have caused this kind of hugely massive explosion.

]]> By: Tim G http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/24/comet-or-vogons/comment-page-2/#comment-15308 Tim G Sat, 27 May 2006 18:07:14 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/24/comet-or-vogons/#comment-15308 Quoting from Evolving Squid’s link: <i>…comets are not made up of 'dust and ice' as was once believed…but are made up entirely of antimatter in some kind of solid form. The first major evidence that drove the point home, that comets are made of antimatter, was seen in 1994 when the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 broke up and the fragments collided with Jupiter… The energy output of the fragments impacting on Jupiter is said to have been in the range of 200 million megatons of TNT… Nothing but a matter/antimatter reaction could have caused this kind of hugely massive explosion.</i> Well, lets do the math! According to Einstein, just under 5000 tonnes of antimatter reacting with 5000 tonnes of matter will release that kind of energy. Such a comet would be on order of twenty meters across. That seems kinda tiny to be discovered by amateur astronomers. The comet impacted at 60,000 meters per second, if we assume kinetic energy accounted for the explosion, the mass required is just under 500 Gigatonnes. Such a comet is on the order of ten kilometers across, which seems more like a reasonable size for the comet to me. Quoting from Evolving Squid’s link:

…comets are not made up of ‘dust and ice’ as was once believed…but are made up entirely of antimatter in some kind of solid form.

The first major evidence that drove the point home, that comets are made of antimatter, was seen in 1994 when the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 broke up and the fragments collided with Jupiter… The energy output of the fragments impacting on Jupiter is said to have been in the range of 200 million megatons of TNT… Nothing but a matter/antimatter reaction could have caused this kind of hugely massive explosion.

Well, lets do the math!
According to Einstein, just under 5000 tonnes of antimatter reacting with 5000 tonnes of matter will release that kind of energy. Such a comet would be on order of twenty meters across. That seems kinda tiny to be discovered by amateur astronomers.

The comet impacted at 60,000 meters per second, if we assume kinetic energy accounted for the explosion, the mass required is just under 500 Gigatonnes. Such a comet is on the order of ten kilometers across, which seems more like a reasonable size for the comet to me.

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