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ESA's Cluster Spacecraft Makes Shocking Discovery
A recent observation by the ESA's Cluster Spacecraft was able to finally prove a 20-year-old theory. "On 24 January 2001, the four Cluster spacecraft were flying at an approximate altitude of 105 000 kilometres, in tetrahedron formation. Each spacecraft was separated from the others by a distance of about 600 kilometres. With such a distance between them, as they approached the bow shock, scientists expected that every spacecraft would record a similar signature of the passage through this region. Instead, the readings they got were highly contradictory. They showed large fluctuations in the magnetic and electric field surrounding each spacecraft. They also revealed marked variations in the number of solar wind protons that were reflected by the shock and streaming back to Sun."
Bruce
Bruce Perens.
Wesley Crusher testified that the squadron was in Diamond Slot formation around Titan.
WTF does that mean?
I am SO not a rocket scientist.
I am a leaf on the wind
... didn't have to look up tetrahedron because they roll d4's every weekend?
(IANAL)
Who else didn't know what a tetrahedron was until the above poster noted that it was the shape of a 4 sided die?
No; however, I did have to look up bow shock, which frankly I think probably should have been linked in the summary.
Basically it's the 'wave' that precedes the sun or a planet as it passes through space, somewhat similar to the standing wave that you'd see in front of a big tanker ship going through the water. (Particularly one without a bulbous bow.) Rather than water, it's the solar wind that's being disrupted by the body's passage.
Neat diagram on Wikipedia, too.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
Well, I understand more or less what the article is about (although they said it in a very long winded way), but I'm thinking unless you're a astrophysicist, are studying particle physics, or possible electro-magnetic phenomena then this is a rather dry article.
It's my understanding based on the article that what they discovered (or more accurately proved) was that the bow shock produced by the solar wind colliding with earths magnetosphere is not actually a single giant bow shock, but more like a whole bunch of continually reforming bow shocks stacked on top of each other. Of course, I'm not a physicist, so I could be wrong in that interpretation. Also, it doesn't seem as if this discovery has any immediately applicable implications but is more of a hey, that's kind of neat, type thing.
Curiosity was framed, Ignorance killed the cat.
Coincidence? I think not.
I read Usenet for the articles.
"PhysOrg" means Physics, right? Well then, show me the numbers. And probably a graph or two. FFS, since when does "highly contradictory" pass for information?
Were the differences well within the error bars? I'm going with the latter until someone pastes a link with meat on its bones.
I come here for the love
That's why they were effected with a bow shock.
You're supposed to do your saving throws with a 20-sided die. You'll never save against anything with a tetrahedron.
and finally: Who knew what a tetrahedron was, but didn't know what a "d4" was until the above poster stated it was a die with 4 sides?
If you are about to mod me down, keep in mind that this post was most likely sarcastic.