OK, it took me a sec. You could possibly measure someones NQ (nerd quotient) by seeing how long it takes someone (within your current frame of reference, of course)
So you both believe that the sentence is purposefully redundant just to stress that, astronomically speaking, 300 years ago is recent? C'maaaawwwn!
I have to give it to you guys. The nerdiest response is to kill a joke with science. You get extra credit since the original joke was science-related.
Extra extra credit: If one of those planets had an iPod on it, how long would it take for it to land in our atmosphere?
Mike Simmons
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[Marc]: So you both believe that the sentence is purposefully redundant just to stress that, astronomically speaking, 300 years ago is recent? C'maaaawwwn!
No, I don't think it's redundant at all. The planets are 300 light years away, and the collision was recent. Those are two separate facts, largely unrelated. Yes, we can infer that the collision was at least 300 years ago. It also could have been 10000 years ago - that would still be recent, astronomically.
Hello !! Isn't anyone else concerned that it is possible for two planets in a stable solar system to collide? This means that it is possible for a planet's orbit to just change -- in fact, the earth's orbit could be changing as I type this !!
Originally posted by Henry Wong: Hello !! Isn't anyone else concerned that it is possible for two planets in a stable solar system to collide? This means that it is possible for a planet's orbit to just change -- in fact, the earth's orbit could be changing as I type this !!
Henry
There is a hypothesis that the Moon was formed due to a collision of another planet with Earth. But we need not worry about any collisions. We just need to do what these guys did.
Originally posted by Henry Wong: Hello !! Isn't anyone else concerned that it is possible for two planets in a stable solar system to collide? This means that it is possible for a planet's orbit to just change -- in fact, the earth's orbit could be changing as I type this !! ...
That's why we offer a no-fault Planetary Collision Policy (PCP), available in terms of up to 25,000 years. I think you'll find our rates quite reasonable for a planet in your part of the galaxy. Of course, a PCP does not cover damage resulting from impact (or near misses) with planetoids, meteors, meteorites, etc., which is why we recommend a supplemental rider...
Originally posted by Mike Simmons: It also could have been 10000 years ago...
Are you suggesting that light beams migrate?
Hey, maybe time and space bend in such funny ways that astronomers just witnessed Earth's future destruction!!!
Mike Simmons
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No, silly. I'm saying that if you read the article, the astronomers did not see the planets appearing as if they're "currently" colliding (i.e. as if they collided 300 years ago and the light just reached us). Rather, the astronomers found two planets and an unusually large amount of dust. The dust implies that sometime more than 300 years ago, there was a big collision between the planets. The article doesn't attempt to say how "recently" this occurred, but really, dust clouds like that do not just vanish overnight. Most of the dust will stay in orbit around the star for a long time, making it hard to tell exactly how long ago the collision occurred.
I bet that it is even more indirect. I bet that they are stating that fluctuations in energy is likely due to absorption by dust, which in turn, is likely caused by two planets colliding.
For all we know, it could also be some sort of deep space station (monitoring some wormhole) that is very efficient at absorbing ambient energy.
Originally posted by Mike Simmons: ... Most of the dust will stay in orbit around the star for a long time...
And some will be sold on eBay. I recently purchased 2 metric tons of interstellar debris for my collection. Eventually, I'm going to build my own planet.
Ernest Friedman-Hill
author and iconoclast
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All right, all right already. The guilt is killing me. Yes, fine, it's my fault. There, I said it. Are you happy? It was late, it was raining, I had a lot of groceries to carry, and I forget to set the parking brake on planet Ford. It rolled down the gravity well and crashed into planet Chevy. Whatever. Nobody got hurt, is the important thing.
Man, my insurance premium is going to suck next year.
I have to give it to you guys. The nerdiest response is to kill a joke with science.
I can attest to that. Once long ago, I was scoring points with a cute blonde -- no joke -- no pun intended. I gave an analogy to something we were talking about I can't remember now, that included a spaghetti vacation. She thought it was funny until I explained it to her. All points lost. Note to self after that: "Still be honest, just not so honest."
Originally posted by Ernest Friedman-Hill: ...I forget to set the parking brake on planet Ford. It rolled down the gravity well and crashed into planet Chevy...
I think those scratches could be buffed out with a large enough hurricane.
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And I'm especially interested in astronomy and physics!
All points lost. Note to self after that: "Still be honest, just not so honest."
