Space Forum / Space Science / January 2008

-> Convince the calculation and measurement of bismuth half-life,
Actually, there is one (rather rare) mode of radioactive decay that can
be speeded up or slowed down by changing the chemical environment of
the element. It's called "electron capture". An electron from the

-> There's something I find strange about Olber's paradox.
-> Let me lay out a 3D XYZ cartesian grid, with arbitrary
-> units of 1 mile, and at each vertex let there be a person.
-> Now I'll send out a light signal from the origin spreading

-> Apply the same principles to the Universe outside your bedroom window: is  
-> the Universe black because it's full of firmament, or because of patches  
-> where there are no stars (or the stars are too distant to be
-> visible)?

On Thu 17 Jan 2008 FalconsLair <searcher65@ssl-mail.com> wrote:

Only two more weeks--plus or minus--until the first set of Messenger
pics become available for most; possibly dispelling some presumptions
about this sunward planet.
Greater clarity regarding early planetary formation, maybe, will be

-> | According to my calculations, Saturn passes Jupiter in its orbit once
-> | every twenty Earth years.
How did you figure that out? Jupiter revolves around the sun every 11
years, roughly, and Saturn does so every 29 years. In order to

The news release from the AGU conference argues that the Mars "spider"
features at the south pole are due to gas release:
HiRISE | Isolated Araneiform Topography (PSP_003087_0930).
http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/PSP_003087_0930

-> Based on superficial analysis, these fossils are 650 million
-> to 200 million years old.
-> We are enchanted that the delicate Fauna fossil survived
-> glaciaction however it did, perhaps perchance being buried

Well... Almost astronomy, anyway.
In an effort to get this newsgroup back on topic, and also to show how
simple astronomical mathematics can be, here's a QBasic computer
program that calculates where the sun is in the sky, as seen from

-> Do you know what happens to the Immortal souls of mortal Atheists
-> when their physical body dies, and the memory of it is bequeathed        
-> to oblivion? Seriously, do you have even one clue what awaits you?          
I know that *nothing* awaits me. Nor you. You are ...