New Planet Discovered

[Jugvayne]

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4533039/

Just thought you might like to know.

 

[Chilly]

lies >_< its all a conspiracy. They gave it some homo name too something to do with eskimos and drowning..

 

[Loxleyhood]

It was actually discovered ages ago.

 

[Ala]

Who cares?

~yawns~

pfft stoopid universe...

 

[k9awya]

Who cares?

~yawns~

pfft stoopid universe...

well lots of people care, stupid to question that in the first place

 

[TeaSpoon]

They think there's more out there too!

Great, more fucking balls of nothing but ice and nowt else.

 

[Ala]

well lots of people care, stupid to question that in the first place

Are you serious?

Lemme spell it out for you deary -I- -W-A-S- -B-E-I-N-G- -S-A-R-C-A-S-T-I-C-

 

[Loxleyhood]

The reason that this planet has been known for a while, and other 'yet-to-be- discovered' planets are also known about is because the Sun is not the only gravitational force that acts on planets. The other planets also have this effect. When calculating the orbit of Uranus, the sums did not add up, meaning there had to be another force acting on it, i.e. Pluto.

 

[BlitheringIdiot]

Lemme spell it out for you deary -I- -W-A-S- -B-E-I-N-G- -S-A-R-C-A-S-T-I-C-

No you werent

The reason that this planet has been known for a while, and other 'yet-to-be- discovered' planets are also known about is because the Sun is not the only gravitational force that acts on planets. The other planets also have this effect. When calculating the orbit of Uranus, the sums did not add up, meaning there had to be another force acting on it, i.e. Pluto.

There are two ways of calculating this though, one involves the hubble constant, the other involves the gravitational constant. Both are so fucking inaccurate that its not even funny. So the fact that they didnt 'add up' could be down to that, so actually discovering it is more like confirming a theory than just saying the same thing twice.

 

[Chilly]

BI, sorry to correct you but thats wrong, you can calculate distances within our solar system to pretty high accuracy (<1km error) and from the radius of an orbit you cna calculate all sorts of crazy stuff and the calculations due to two (or more) forces acting on an object in orbit (ie a planet) can be done pretty accurately. The gravitational constant itself can be worked out form first principles provided a few simple experimental values of stuff. Its when you try and calculate orbits in other solar systmems that it becomes 50% guesswork and thus only a good indication.

 

[Cyradix]

If they start calling everything bigger than a pebble in the kuiper's belt a planet we'll have 6 million planets in a few years....

 

[BlitheringIdiot]

BI, sorry to correct you but thats wrong, you can calculate distances within our solar system to pretty high accuracy (<1km error) and from the radius of an orbit you cna calculate all sorts of crazy stuff and the calculations due to two (or more) forces acting on an object in orbit (ie a planet) can be done pretty accurately.

Using which method? If I remember right there are two or three mthods for calculating distance (depending on the rough distance away) and all are horribly innaccurate.

I'm not accusing you of being wrong, I have more faith in a complete strangers knowledge than my own! I'm just curious as to whether you know how they go about measuring it accurately.

 

[k9awya]

Are you serious?

Lemme spell it out for you deary -I- -W-A-S- -B-E-I-N-G- -S-A-R-C-A-S-T-I-C-

the lowest form of wit yes? cant have expected much more from you actually

 

[Sissyfoo]

It is also the highest form of humour (if you want to continue that little proverb) and she posesses both in far greater quantities than you could ever hope to.

 

[ST^]

Are you serious?

Lemme spell it out for you deary -I- -W-A-S- -B-E-I-N-G- -S-A-R-C-A-S-T-I-C-

Do you still wonder why people dislike you?

 

[BlitheringIdiot]

It is also the highest form of humour (if you want to continue that little proverb) and she posesses both in far greater quantities than you could ever hope to.

Actually the modern day version is "Lowest form of wit, Highest form of stupidity."

Not that I'd dream of implying anything by this...

 

[Sissyfoo]

Because she has to simplify things for your retarded twin brother?

 

[k9awya]

It is also the highest form of humour (if you want to continue that little proverb) and she posesses both in far greater quantities than you could ever hope to.

no one actually said it was funny, normally people do if something is funny

 

[Chilly]

Using which method? If I remember right there are two or three mthods for calculating distance (depending on the rough distance away) and all are horribly innaccurate.

I'm not accusing you of being wrong, I have more faith in a complete strangers knowledge than my own! I'm just curious as to whether you know how they go about measuring it accurately.

When doing measurements within our solar system it is generally possible to just bounce bigass radar farts off planets and hope u get something back, when you measure stuff thats out at the edge (pluto for example) this is a tad harder cos the planet isnt there when your fired radar beam gets there and thus flies off to sissy's house in the crab nebula. But it can be done if you think about where your pointing your radar etc..

Another way of doing it is to use the above method to calculate the distance of the closer planets and work it backwards for gravitational effects on outer planets (a bit hardcore in terms of the numbers you have to crunch but possible if you emplor a few hamsters in wheels). also, if you can make a guess at its mass you can easily calculate the orbital radius knowing the mass and its velocity and the mass of the sun, i forget the equations needed but theyr fairly simple. You can calculate mass from spectra readings and observations of moons about the planet in question.

I agree, the methods are not particularly accurate, but you dont have to resort to using the hubble constant within our solar system (quite apart from teh fact that it doesnt apply within a solar system anyway, it related distance to relative velocity, which is effectively 0 in an orbital system).

 

[Dillinja]

Conspiracy I tells ya!

 

[Squalion]

would u guys kinda be freaked out if out of the WHOLE universe only our planet had life?


giant wate of space

no pun intended

 

[Hercules-DF]

aint they gonna rename it tho so its got a proper roman god name to fit in with the rest, I say "Vulcan" for sheer comedy value

 

[Chilly]

would u guys kinda be freaked out if out of the WHOLE universe only our planet had life?


giant wate of space

no pun intended

i would be seriously surprised and probably start to believe in god tbh. Theres just SO MANY systems out there that there has to be a few that are identical to our or setup in a way that would allow life to develop in some form or another, its just too likely not expect to find life somewhere.

 

[Dillinja]

Even spookier - some scientists say that the stars that we see in the sky may be nothing but reflections of our own galaxy, meaning that us and our close neighbours (close in space terms) could be the only ones out here.

 

[Squalion]

if they are just relections wtf happens when we use all resourceson earth? and our galaxy/solar system, we're boned

but we wont be around till then, unforuntaly,

god, dont you wish u were immortal sometimes? i do lol

 

[Chilly]

Even spookier - some scientists say that the stars that we see in the sky may be nothing but reflections of our own galaxy, meaning that us and our close neighbours (close in space terms) could be the only ones out here.

sounds a little unlikely to me, theres such a huge array of differences between the various galaxies you can observe thru any old telescope that its doubtful. Although it could just be a mass halucination.

 

[Squalion]

Even spookier - some scientists say that the stars that we see in the sky may be nothing but reflections of our own galaxy, meaning that us and our close neighbours (close in space terms) could be the only ones out here.

also if thats true

is there an "Edge" of the universe?

if so i mean what, does it just stop? or smth lol

 

[Chilly]

if they are just relections wtf happens when we use all resourceson earth? and our galaxy/solar system, we're boned

but we wont be around till then, unforuntaly,

god, dont you wish u were immortal sometimes? i do lol

what are you talking about? I am immortal.

 

[Dillinja]

Don't get me started on mass hallucinations etc. I manage to scare the shit out of myself and my friends when I get talking about that sort of thing.

 

[Chilly]

Don't get me started on mass hallucinations etc. I manage to scare the shit out of myself and my friends when I get talking about that sort of thing.

well, im bored as fuck trying to write some bullshit game for a uni project and i need entertainment so enlighten me as to your mass hallucination experiences!