tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9199848742267562587.post6525225135568467537..comments2024-02-06T10:31:24.491-07:00Comments on Watching the World Wake Up: 3 Cool Planets This Morning + My Favorite JokeWatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02248341788957416471noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9199848742267562587.post-4901459277394094912009-10-15T15:11:32.949-06:002009-10-15T15:11:32.949-06:00Did you see the show this am? One of the best ast...Did you see the show this am? One of the best astronomic events I've ever observed.<br /><br />Waning crescent moon above Saturn above Venus above Mercury in the pre-dawn gloaming. Incredibly beautiful.Enelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00967981896718833776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9199848742267562587.post-66740113431263485862009-10-13T20:42:51.152-06:002009-10-13T20:42:51.152-06:00Great post, and now that's my favorite joke to...Great post, and now that's my favorite joke too!<br />regards--tedAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9199848742267562587.post-80517007587067503172009-10-09T17:51:22.356-06:002009-10-09T17:51:22.356-06:00I saw all three again this am in a nice straight l...I saw all three again this am in a nice straight line.<br /><br />I thought Saturn was the second brightest of the three with Mercury being the dimmest (and in the middle). You are probably right though.<br /><br />If only Mars were around we could see all the naked eye planets in one night.Enelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00967981896718833776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9199848742267562587.post-21793867915951544652009-10-09T09:25:58.561-06:002009-10-09T09:25:58.561-06:00OK. So Kris wants more astronomy. Enel wants more ...OK. So Kris wants more astronomy. Enel wants more astronomy, geology and (molecular) evolution. Jube wants more evolutionary biology…. You people and your demands!! I post and I post and I post but it’s never enough!!<br /><br />Sorry, just had a moment there. Actually I have couple of cool astro-posts kicking around in my head that I hope to get to next week, including a super-cool post about the Big Dipper (it’s way, way, way cooler than you think.) I also want to do a post about my Dad, hearing loss and evolution… But then again maybe I’ll see something else super-cool over the weekend and get totally distracted.<br /><br />Kris- I enjoyed Bryson’s book as well. My favorite section was the geology part- the whole Yellowstone supervolcano thing is pretty sobering for anyone within a few hundred miles of the place. I’ll have to check out Singh’s book; I read Timothy Ferris’ “The Whole Shebang” several years ago and really enjoyed it.<br /><br />Enel- So did you see Saturn, too? It’s rising, while Mercury’s sinking, so this morning (Friday) it was almost straight above Mercury, maybe 40% of the way from Mecury to Venus.<br /><br />Speaking of space this morning- did anyone else wake up @5:15 to see the moon-crasher impact live? OK, kind of a dud. Now I’m tired and I didn’t even ride this morning…Watcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02248341788957416471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9199848742267562587.post-82587407370758865622009-10-08T18:33:44.872-06:002009-10-08T18:33:44.872-06:00Dang, I wish this was the view at twilight instead...Dang, I wish this was the view at twilight instead of sunrise. 6:30 AM to the top of the mountain is a bit early for this sloth.<br /><br />Here is one vote for more biology, especially the evolutionary stuff. It is revolutionary to me.Lucyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10896006691904225007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9199848742267562587.post-12185508862848433892009-10-08T10:28:27.047-06:002009-10-08T10:28:27.047-06:00Make that three times I have seen Mercury:)
The w...Make that three times I have seen Mercury:)<br /><br />The window to see it is so short, and it is so tiny and dim, that without a landmark near it (like Saturn!!), it can be hard to find. Very cool, thanks for the guide.<br /><br />I did not know that about the reverse rotation of Venus.<br /><br />Isn't it interesting that we have this HUGE moon, just the right tilt, just the right orbit, just the right electromagnetic field to shield from cosmic rays, Just the right day length that life as we know it is here. Must have been accidental:)<br /><br />KK: Thanks for the recommendation book wise. I remember seeing a great PBS special where they went into the history of astronomy and the big bang, and how each era's scientists built upon the achievements of the prior ones as they tried to understand the universe. The process took thousands of years, and we are all "standing on the shoulders of giants" at this point.<br /><br /><br />I agree though: More astronomy (and molecular evolution, and geology...).<br /><br />EEnelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00967981896718833776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9199848742267562587.post-3444440911386175482009-10-08T10:17:14.338-06:002009-10-08T10:17:14.338-06:00Good post. I'll try to get up and take a look,...Good post. I'll try to get up and take a look, but I doubt I'll be able to see much with my small binoculars. Perhaps I'll borrow my neighbor's spotting scope.<br /><br />The botany is cool, but I must admit I like astronomy a bit more so I'm enjoying these recent posts. Like plants, our solar system is there everyday and seems pretty simple, from the stuff we learned in grade school. But if you start digging even a bit you quickly find all sorts of amazing and interesting details.<br /><br />For instance, I'm embarrassed to admit this, but only a few years ago I learned (or more likely re-learned since I MUST have heard/read about this sometime before then) that the moon is tidally locked with Earth. Yep, I totally didn't get the whole dark side of the moon concept (even with Pink Floyd naming an album after it). It just seemed so weird that until Apollo 8 in 1968 no human had seen the back side of the moon.<br /><br />Right now I'm reading "Big Bang" by Simon Singh which recounts the history of astronomy (and related fields like physics) from the early discoveries and theories up to the theory of the Big Bang. It's written for non-scientists but still includes enough detail that it's not fluff. It's been a page-turner for me as I often can't wait to find out how a new theory was devised, or how a problem was solved, or simply what happens next. I recommend it.<br /><br />For a broad overview of the development of most of the scientific fields, I recommend "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson. Loads of fascinating info and told in a conversational style. The astronomy/cosmology in section 1 was a bit light and I'd heard most of it before it was more of an overview and not as interesting to me. But section 2 where he delves into the beginnings of the various scientific disciplines was fascinating. It's amazing how some things were discovered and how quirky some of the early scientists were. This was the best part of the book. The final section on Evolution was good, but it's a tough subject mired in myriad details. Still, I felt Bryson did his best to sum it up and be honest and objective.<br /><br />I'm thankful for people like Sagan, Singh, Bryson and Watcher who make science accessible because there really is some amazing stuff out there. And I don't want God to think I'm a dunce.<br /><br />Chamberman Phil - funny!KanyonKrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01954169751206336705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9199848742267562587.post-35121570377300039192009-10-08T09:21:48.043-06:002009-10-08T09:21:48.043-06:00Now that was funny... I can see I have a lot of p...Now that was funny... I can see I have a lot of preparation to do before engaging in small talk with the Creator... Might be a little awkward as you say. I'm hoping that following your blog will give me a bit of an advantage.<br /><br />Note to self...Don't use any Uranus jokes as an icebreaker.psychoridernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9199848742267562587.post-85899558974183687812009-10-08T07:04:41.043-06:002009-10-08T07:04:41.043-06:00Oh, OK. I though you were going to complain about ...Oh, OK. I though you were going to complain about the joke...Watcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02248341788957416471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9199848742267562587.post-22949368975418088162009-10-08T05:43:32.426-06:002009-10-08T05:43:32.426-06:00Dear Sir:
In your post, you wrote that Venus'...Dear Sir: <br /><br />In your post, you wrote that Venus' temperature was the "... result of the runaway greenhouse effect in Venus’ overwhelmingly CO2 atmosphere." On behalf of the Venusian Chamber of Commerce, I want to assure your readers that this so-called "warming trend" on our planet is nothing more than a misreading of long-term cooling trends. Why, four centuries ago, it was a breezy 862F, two degrees higher than this century!<br /><br />The Venusian Chamber of Commerce backs sensible environmental and economic protections -- for example, we were at the forefront of the popular Martian Embargo -- but warns against fanaticism in the face of so-called "global warming".<br /><br />Thank you for your time.Phil O.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14499273759083108847noreply@blogger.com