> With all that outgassing, you would think a comet's surface would be a lot more sharp -- full of crevasses and ridges (like it was on Deep Impact) But this one seemed almost smooth, like an asteroid.
Some of the final picture before impact showed what looked like big chunks, perhaps glued together by snow.
I wonder whether the outgassing weakens it enough to "melt" to a new configuration each time it passes the sun.
> If the internal makeup of this comet does represent the compounds present at the start of the solar system, there could be some serious head scratching and changing of theories going on if amino acids are found, let alone any more complex organic compounds like RNA/DNA, however unlikely.
We already know that amino acids are present in deep space. Slightly more complex molecules too, IIRC.
Of course, that just means they're relatively easy to form by non-biological processes, so it doesn't necessarily follow that they originated on earth by falling from space.
> Does this mean that Bush will have to declare war on this "Wasmannia Auropunctata" too?
Surely he would applaud cloning workers, since it would increase consumption and drive down wages. Though he'd probably want them exempted from minimum wage laws.
Jokes aside (and you gotta admit this story is jokebait), Google Groups will show you what it's all about. Don't know why Taco linked the term to a JPL site.
> We won't have any answers to anything. It may half confirm existing theories. But really, it won't answer much.
Good science generally provides more questions than answers.
> Sort of like how Titan didnt answer whther there are really methane lakes currently on the surface or not. And like how the Mars probes havent told us if there is/was life. In fact whether there was water is still disputed.
The dispute about water seems to be rapidly evaporating. From what I've read, the focus seems to have shifted to when, where, how much, and the associated whys.
As someone on Usenet already put it, seeing how the Electric Universe proponents rationalize the failure of their predictions may be more interesting than seeing what the mission discovers.
It depends on the pace set by the conductor. I have copies ranging from 59'43 to 69'34.
> Incidentally all of Beethoven's symphonies are very long.
And longer than expected at the time. Famously, during the premiere performance of the 3rd, someone in the audience shouted that he'd "give a kreutzer" for it to be done and over with.
Probably means "what we do now, as opposed to quantum computing".
However, after the summary of the P=NP question the article continues as a sort of fluff piece, where you don't know what the hell the author's point is.
> Saturn is rotating slower: And Saturn is rotating seven minutes more slowly than when probes measured its spin in the 70s and 80s - an observation experts cannot yet explain.
> More than half of the top 25 were biology questions. You'd think physics would be a little more strongly represented.
If you're interested in the physics questions you can cut out the journalistic middle-men and read John Baez's Open Questions in Physics. I found it informative, entertaining, and for the most part comprehensible to a moderately well informed non-physicist.
Wikipedia has a List of unsolved problems broken down by field, but the field lists I read didn't strike me as particularly well done. YMMV.
> But I'm all for answering the evolution questions if it'll stop my in-laws from giving me creationist literature.
Facts, answers, and explanations aren't going to make creationists blink an eye.
> I mean granted, I'm sure they know what they are doing but what happens if we lose Discovery too?
It would surely mean the end of our manned space program.
It might well mean the end of our entire space program, since it looks like the unfunded Mars mission serves no purpose other than to kill our unmanned space program.
> The first five posts are all riffs on the same theme -- dilation of time. Does that say more about the level of education among Slashdotters, or about our lack of creativity, or both?
Maybe it's just one post arriving via gravitational lensing.
Slashdot Mirror
> With all that outgassing, you would think a comet's surface would be a lot more sharp -- full of crevasses and ridges (like it was on Deep Impact) But this one seemed almost smooth, like an asteroid.
Some of the final picture before impact showed what looked like big chunks, perhaps glued together by snow.
I wonder whether the outgassing weakens it enough to "melt" to a new configuration each time it passes the sun.
> This is quite likely the finest result Nasa has had for a long time.
Ignoring a couple of rovers on Mars...
> If the internal makeup of this comet does represent the compounds present at the start of the solar system, there could be some serious head scratching and changing of theories going on if amino acids are found, let alone any more complex organic compounds like RNA/DNA, however unlikely.
We already know that amino acids are present in deep space. Slightly more complex molecules too, IIRC.
Of course, that just means they're relatively easy to form by non-biological processes, so it doesn't necessarily follow that they originated on earth by falling from space.
> Does this mean that Bush will have to declare war on this "Wasmannia Auropunctata" too?
Surely he would applaud cloning workers, since it would increase consumption and drive down wages. Though he'd probably want them exempted from minimum wage laws.
> I guess we can all freely change the agenda and speakers order in a collaborative effort?
Think how much more fun Slashdot would be if we could edit each others' posts.
> But where do you really draw the line?
Butt plugs.
> Yet another way for cam girls to get presents without exposing their address.
Must be some law of conservation of exposure.
> Mondschein, as it's called in German
Yet somehow "Moonshine Sonata" doesn't convey quite the right idea in the Appalachian and Ozark states.
> Incidentally, why the heck is this posted under "Science" instead of "It's Funny, Laugh"? These are absolute crackpots.
Among others.
> More info on the "Electric Universe" topic:
Jokes aside (and you gotta admit this story is jokebait), Google Groups will show you what it's all about. Don't know why Taco linked the term to a JPL site.
> No, really, WTF?
It's part of Slow News Day Theory.
> > expelling material at supersonic speed
> Supersonic speed in hard vaccuum? interesting...
Presumably any motion at all is supersonic.
> We won't have any answers to anything. It may half confirm existing theories. But really, it won't answer much.
Good science generally provides more questions than answers.
> Sort of like how Titan didnt answer whther there are really methane lakes currently on the surface or not. And like how the Mars probes havent told us if there is/was life. In fact whether there was water is still disputed.
The dispute about water seems to be rapidly evaporating. From what I've read, the focus seems to have shifted to when, where, how much, and the associated whys.
> Space probes havent advanced in decades.
That's a curious claim.
As someone on Usenet already put it, seeing how the Electric Universe proponents rationalize the failure of their predictions may be more interesting than seeing what the mission discovers.
> Try Shostakovich , and perhaps Rimsky-Korsakov - I love Rach
I love Rach Music too. It was great to see some of the classic bands reunite for the Live 8 concerts yesterday.
> I reckon the 9th Symphony 67 minutes.
It depends on the pace set by the conductor. I have copies ranging from 59'43 to 69'34.
> Incidentally all of Beethoven's symphonies are very long.
And longer than expected at the time. Famously, during the premiere performance of the 3rd, someone in the audience shouted that he'd "give a kreutzer" for it to be done and over with.
> Free classical music downloads.
Just think: our favorite pop hits might be available 200 years from now, too.
> So who says innovations per billion people is a legitimate measure of the rate? Innovations per year seems to be the only measure that matters.
Surely it's exponential population growth that gives rise to the (perceived) exponential rate of innovations. At least in part.
> What is conventional computing?
Probably means "what we do now, as opposed to quantum computing".
However, after the summary of the P=NP question the article continues as a sort of fluff piece, where you don't know what the hell the author's point is.
> Saturn is rotating slower: And Saturn is rotating seven minutes more slowly than when probes measured its spin in the 70s and 80s - an observation experts cannot yet explain.
Also check out the Pioneer anomaly.
> More than half of the top 25 were biology questions. You'd think physics would be a little more strongly represented.
If you're interested in the physics questions you can cut out the journalistic middle-men and read John Baez's Open Questions in Physics. I found it informative, entertaining, and for the most part comprehensible to a moderately well informed non-physicist.
Wikipedia has a List of unsolved problems broken down by field, but the field lists I read didn't strike me as particularly well done. YMMV.
> But I'm all for answering the evolution questions if it'll stop my in-laws from giving me creationist literature.
Facts, answers, and explanations aren't going to make creationists blink an eye.
> Wonder who's going to buy me out.
You should try to beat the whores to ho.tel too.
> I mean granted, I'm sure they know what they are doing but what happens if we lose Discovery too?
It would surely mean the end of our manned space program.
It might well mean the end of our entire space program, since it looks like the unfunded Mars mission serves no purpose other than to kill our unmanned space program.
...more immediately and IMO more interestingly, Deep Impact is going to do its stuff in about 4 days.
> The first five posts are all riffs on the same theme -- dilation of time. Does that say more about the level of education among Slashdotters, or about our lack of creativity, or both?
Maybe it's just one post arriving via gravitational lensing.