Comments on: WD5 missed Mars? Maybe.

By: Sespetoxri

Sespetoxri — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 01:27:42 +0000

Nothing except the same old rhetoric, MrQhuest. Personally I’ve given up trying to talk reason and science over there. They’ve decided they want to believe what they wish and won’t be gainsaid by little things like science and common sense.

By: MrQhuest

MrQhuest — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 00:42:39 +0000

TU24′s website now automatically redirects to their forum. Not a word elsewhere…. interesting. Did they apologize, or admit they were wrong when I wasn’t looking?

By: Lugosi

Lugosi — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 00:15:38 +0000

Any bets on how long before there’s a wd5.org website?

By: Law Mom

Law Mom — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:05:32 +0000

TU24 had a huge effect. It was pitch black outside at closest approach. A mere six hours later the sky was flooded with visible light. I saw it with my own eyes.

Coincidence? I think not.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 20:34:32 +0000

@Ian: Yea, because there obviously wasn’t any asteroids before 2012 neared. <<

By: Ian

Ian — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:42:34 +0000

Please don’t point that out to them. I’ve already seen a few members of there sliding into babbling about how all the newly found asteroids demonstrate that the 2012 Mayan calendar stuff must be true.

By: Celtic_Evolution

Celtic_Evolution — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:37:58 +0000

That IS true, Michelle… it’s 50 degrees F. here in upstae NY in February! Can’t be coincidence. How totally block-headed of me. Must be the heat is getting to me.

But wait! That’s not even the record high for this day here. That would be 63 degrees F. in 1991. I wonder what asteroid went whizzing past that year, frogging up the works?… can someone look that up for me?

By: Thad Hatchett

Thad Hatchett — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:36:01 +0000

I wonder if during their rants they’ve even noticed asteroid 2008 CT1 that quietly glided by today at a mere 135,000 km. A quarter the distance of TU24 (source MPC)

By: Michelle

Michelle — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:24:39 +0000

Now now Celtic, how dare you being so ignorant? TU24dotORG posted it on the day the asteroid went by: THE WEATHER WAS CRAZYYYYYYYYYY

…Now here I thought it’s been crazy all winter.

(Psst: TU24 is a girl, don’T be a sexist. Gasp.)

By: Sespetoxri

Sespetoxri — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:23:59 +0000

The part I find particularly amusing is for the past couple weeks they’ve been posting images of the magnetosphere of the Earth and looking at how perturbed the magnetosphere appears to be… they’ll post an image, then another an hour later, and marvel at the vast differences between the two. They will then talk about the massive ‘spikes’ in the magnetosphere, and shiver at the consequences of such a close pass of an asteroid.

I, of course, posted on their forum suggesting they simply look at images of the magnetosphere from a month before, six months before, one year before, etc and verify that what they’re seeing is actually abnormal. They’re looking at a dynamic shift in an image and attributing it to TU24 without any actual knowledge of what is causing those shifts. I suggested it could be perfectly normal, or perhaps it’s perfectly normal two months after the leonids, or it’s perfectly normal at this point in the Earth’s orbit around the sun… regardless of why it looks like it looks, that they are not qualified to make a judgement as they have neither the educational background to do so or previous images to compare it with.

I suggested, quite politely, that Nua (the gender and geographically questionable administrator) contact a reputable scientist to visit their forums and perhaps shed a bit of light on the activity of the magnetosphere. I got a couple nods in my direction from some of the more reasonable posters there, but the more ‘froth-at-the-mouth’ types conveniently ignored my sensible suggestion and continue to make their armchair scientist analyses.

The issue here is, in my armchair psychologist opinion, they desperately want to make something out of nothing and will not look too closely at their ‘theories’ for fear of finding all the gaping holes.

Sometimes no matter how sensible you are or how heartfelt your attempt, you just can’t save people from themselves.

By: Celtic_Evolution

Celtic_Evolution — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:03:47 +0000

speaking of TU24.org… visited that site lately? It’s been reduced to a forums page that’s gotten pretty overrun with sane people pretty much asking tu24 to explain him/herself. And the backpeddaling and revisionist history being spouted out is the highest of high comedy. Even no, a week after the event when nothing, not a SINGLE thing that can be scientifically attributed in any way to that asteroid’s passing, that was claimed by tu24.org, has come to pass… he STILL refuses to admit he was dead solid wrong.

The argument he and others supporting him make over and over again is to “prove that it DIDN’T have an effect”, with absolutely no understanding of the logical fallacy of that request.

It’s a hoot.

By: Ray M

Ray M — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 18:18:12 +0000

Ya know, I think TU24dotORG might have had a point. Why, just today we’ve had thick fog, heavy rain, and thunder and lightning – typical of the things he so wisely told us to look out for.

So much for your scepticism, Mr Plait!