Comments on: Q & BA Episode 5: Spin Doctor

By: Drbuzz0

Drbuzz0 — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 05:20:05 +0000

Er… sorry if the neat room comment somehow overshadowed the overall worth of the youtube-cast. I liked it, and the explaination was understandable and informative. Seriously…in addition to the nice bedroom… Sorry if that seemed to off-topic

By: jayem

jayem — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 21:12:17 +0000

Phil…don’t be one bit put off by slips of tongue, cheap sets, neat rooms, or over-critical comments — astronomy topics can soemtimes get very complex after all, however, you continue to make it look easy, which is, I guess, your main objective. Continued success.

By: PK

PK — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 09:30:15 +0000

According to Wikipedia, the libration is primarily caused by the eccentricity of the orbit. Also on Wikipedia is an animation for libration. You can really see the backwards-and-forwards motion. I think you could have some drift if the tidal locking hasn't been completed yet. If the moon starts with a different rotation, it will be slowed down (or sped up) over a long period. However, I do not see a mechanism to get out of tidal locking (in a stable equilibrium system).

By: Drbuzz0

Drbuzz0 — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 05:45:51 +0000

Phil has a really neat and tidy room. I assume that is his room. Maybe it’s a computer room that doubles as a guest bed room or something. But in any case… he keeps it neat and tidy and I respect him for that.

By: Kyle_Carm

Kyle_Carm — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 05:19:38 +0000

Jeez Phil you’d think an astronomer would know the moon doesn’t revolve around the poles like you kept showing, guess we know why you’re the “Bad Astronomer” now don’t we. Nice little pod cast keep them up.

By: Buzz Parsec

Buzz Parsec — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 05:06:15 +0000

A lot better without the fan noise, but still quite faint. The volume dropped right when you cut to the graphic with Mark’s question. (You’ll be happy to know that mispronouncing Emmaus came through loud and clear

By: Buzz Parsec

Buzz Parsec — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 04:57:03 +0000

P.S. Ths sound was very faint, and my office A/C/heat fan turned on just as I started to listen, making it even harder to hear. The first 10 seconds or so of the intro sounded fine, but then it got muffled, so it might have been the recording. Does anyone else have the same problem? I’m listening on a Mac Powebook with the volume cranked all the way up, OS X 10.4.8, Safari, just clicking on the image to start it. (I also tried the Google version, which openned up a new Safari window, ran with a bigger image, but sounded pretty much the same.) The A/C has gone off now, so I’m going to try again…