The Observatory

UV-D

12:01 AM

so @Guillochon?

TildalWave

@UV-D Yup post it

Guillochon

@UV-D Go ahead, the more questions, the better.

UV-D

i'll just do 1 or 2 of yours @Guillochon and my one

and will try and do it justice

TildalWave

@UV-D you could also combine it with the latest estimates that the Moon is actually some 50 million (IIRC) years ~~older~~ younger than they previously though, which might not sound much, but could disturb that LHB genesis theory

UV-D

and after all that , I am slightly less confused (may be due to me being as dumb as a lamp post)

lol @TildalWave had me worried then

that could be a separate question

TildalWave

12:06 AM

llnl.gov/news/newsreleases/2011/Aug/NR-11-08-02.html

Guillochon

hmm all the questions i am asking are WISE questions...

UV-D

alright I'll get to work with this question

TildalWave

and more current: unexplained-mysteries.com/news/255106/…

just did a quick google, I didn't find the actual article I was reading just a few weeks ago maybe

or not even

time... I don't really keep track of it LOL

A question on the latest findings on the composition of Titan's surface would be pretty cool too IMO...

livescience.com/…

UV-D

there is a question about that alreay

Guillochon

alright, i've lost motivation to ask more. no man is an island, we need a community effort if we want this to survive

UV-D

12:14 AM

working on it

I have 17Q's and 22A's so I have been trying

@Guillochon nice questions indeed

and it helps me word my question

whats a better word than 'currently accepted' - like, a better way of stating the 'strongest' hypothesis

UV-D

12:42 AM

okay, I think the question looks good

0

Q: What hypotheses explain what caused the Late Heavy Bombardment?

The Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB) or the Lunar Cataclysm is when the inner solar system, including the Earth and Moon, underwent multiple and sustained heavy impacts early in their history (around 3.7-4 billion years ago). This event formed many of the major impact scars we see on the moon, (pres...

@Undo hi!

@tildalwave is that question acceptable?

hmmm either every one is asleep or I scared them off again......;p

TildalWave

@UV-D dunno, depends on what question would you ask about it, I guess LOL

UV-D

lol, I mean astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/432/…

TildalWave

@UV-D I'm still up... analyzing Falcon 9 second stage engine, reading on DAWN spacecraft, 2 open HTML pages I need to fix, chatting in at least 2 chats now, and so on... I'm starting to appreciate what retired folks say about managing time LOL

UV-D

hmmm sounds like me, have an app being written, 17 web pages, 1 excel spreadsheet and 2 word documents open

whats this 'time' you speak of?

TildalWave

12:58 AM

@UV-D oh you know... so little time, so many things to do... such stuff

UV-D

heck yeah, I thought by submitting my PhD I would have free time... but nooooo, I am now are a RA and working on many and varying projects... all the time being a full time high school teacher.... *a job I do not particularly enjoy

here is a question "are to do lists black holes for time?"

TildalWave

@UV-D it's all relative :P

UV-D

@called2voyage busy and not entirely confident that I can set a good example

@TildalWave so to do lists are governed by relativity laws?

TildalWave

@UV-D how many todo lists do you have?

UV-D

@TildalWave 12

TildalWave

1:12 AM

bloody hell and I thought I'm posh with 4

yup there's definitely a lot of relativity between 12 todo lists :)

UV-D

the 12 lists and dealing with a recent death in the family are partly the reasons I am a bit rough around the edges

and also cause I am nuts, and dumber than a puddle of congealed milk

TildalWave

@UV-D Understandable, yes... tho it's nice to keep busy after a traumatic event, I've had a few of such myself and I've always been glad I had work as one of the constants

UV-D

it is indeed, I don't mope, but I do wear myself out

i tend to put 110% in everything I do

TildalWave

yeah be careful with that, maybe schedule your days up till you go to bed each day, find some routine you're comfortable with

David Freitag

@UV-D OY! No self deprecation.

UV-D

1:23 AM

@TildalWave I do try that - but I have been known to sleep only 3-4 hours a night for prolonged periods of time

@DavidFreitag but that is true

the congealed milk beat me in chess

TildalWave

@DavidFreitag no hyphen alert!

David Freitag

@TildalWave le gasp

UV-D

NO HYPHENS!!!

actually

hyphens.... hiss.....spit

TildalWave

Please use non-hyphenated words!

> Non-hyphenated: Possibly the dumbest word in the English language.

UV-D

English language ....hiss..... spit

David Freitag

1:28 AM

@TildalWave Correction: <3 is the dumbest.

TildalWave

@DavidFreitag 2?

UV-D

both of you correction UV-D is the dumbest

TildalWave

@UV-D if you'll insist, we'll have to agree, and you won't like it :P

David Freitag

@TildalWave blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/03/oxford_english.php

UV-D

@TildalWave because it is an acronym with a hyphen

TildalWave

1:30 AM

@DavidFreitag oh I know, but I'll still read it as "less than three"

David Freitag

@TildalWave me too :|

UV-D

be right back - don't cry in my absence

David Freitag

@UV-D too late...

UV-D

lol

TildalWave

@UV-D What's X-ray an acronym of? I mean, it does have a hyphen... but that X doesn't really stand for anything, does it? :O

UV-D

1:45 AM

xylophones

and UV = ultraviolet and D = dummy

lol

David Freitag

@TildalWave Stands for Xerox-Ray, silly.

UV-D

xactly

almost finished writing an app

David Freitag

@UV-D android or shudders ios?

UV-D

android of course

David Freitag

@UV-D What's it do?

UV-D

1:49 AM

ios ... hiss.....spit

dances

its a death ray app

using the camera as a death ray

TildalWave

@DavidFreitag how x-citing :)

UV-D

groan

David Freitag

@TildalWave That sounds a little too much like a film that isn't safe for work.

@UV-D oh? Code or it never happened.

UV-D

@DavidFreitag well for the people i test it on it never will in a sense

David Freitag

@UV-D Oh - so it's part death-ray part neuralizer?

UV-D

1:52 AM

pretty much

David Freitag

oooooooowaseome.

If you ever need a hand with any android stuff, I've dabbled before.

TildalWave

thinking of Titan... could there be celestials sustaining a chemical burn on their surface and produce visible spectrum radiation ... i.e. a star that isn't?

I don't mean lava or anything like that... but actual "combustion"

UV-D

hmmmmm not sure @TildalWave - could be a good question

TildalWave

@UV-D not sure how to ask it tho

David Freitag

@TildalWave Isn't what makes a star a star the whole... you know... nuclear fission?

UV-D

1:58 AM

something like "Has there been any spectral evidence of combustion on Titan?"

TildalWave

@UV-D not sure Titan is the best candidate .... but I've managed to answer my question: Gliese 436 b

UV-D

@TildalWave that does sound like a great question

David Freitag

How many sombreros could a sombrero lady sombrero if sombrero ladies could sombrero sombreros?

UV-D

lol

David Freitag

Say that ten times fast.

UV-D

2:05 AM

"that ten times fast"

there, i said it

David Freitag

Aw sheet.

UV-D

A4 or Letter?

TildalWave

@UV-D I'll think about it. I mean, how to word it. Gliese 436 b is not really what I meant... it's just too close to its star that's why it has a surface temperature so hot... I'd like to find a celestial that has its own glow in the visible spectrum due to a sustained chemical combustion fueled by its own composition,... i.e. a burning planet

David Freitag

3.5" x 5".

UV-D

@TildalWave perhaps word a question asking for examples

TildalWave

2:07 AM

@UV-D something like that, yes

UV-D

@TildalWave actually that would be an interesting question, asking are there specific examples of exoplanets that give their own spectral glow due to its own sustained chemical combustion

inches... hiss.. spit

David Freitag

@UV-D 88.9mm x 127mm

UV-D

@DavidFreitag that's better

metric rules

David Freitag

@UV-D I prefer mils, but whatever..

UV-D

hey @DavidFreitag I actually wrote another question

David Freitag

2:12 AM

@UV-D herm?

UV-D

i know, shocking

David Freitag

@UV-D I was going to go with blinding but whatever..

UV-D

lol, my usual crap

1

Q: What hypotheses explain what caused the Late Heavy Bombardment?

The Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB) or the Lunar Cataclysm is when the inner solar system, including the Earth and Moon, underwent multiple and sustained heavy impacts early in their history (around 3.7-4 billion years ago). This event formed many of the major impact scars we see on the moon, (pres...

solar-system terrestrial-planets lhb

David Freitag

@UV-D remember, you can polish poop.

UV-D

lol

i don't want to know how you know that

David Freitag

2:14 AM

Mythbusters of course of course.

And all those years i worked on the alien ant farm.

UV-D

been there, done that

I am tempted to answer the Pluto question

but must finish app

@TildalWave well I guess another, albeit minor, advantage of still being in SE-kindergarten (private beta), i'd have a chance to get my rep over 2K before launch

i am going to nominate Gulllochen as mod

will do so once my app is done

David Freitag

@UV-D gonna publish it?

UV-D

oh yes, it is the basis of my 6th published paper for the year

David Freitag

i mean, on the play store.

UV-D

nah

David Freitag

2:27 AM

Will you atleast send me the apk :?

UV-D

we'll see, it is not really a deathray

it measures certain types of noise in image sensors

David Freitag

2:52 AM

ɗ.ɗ

UV-D

3:10 AM

well well well

Undo

3:30 AM

@UV-D I heard you like Android? Question: when does the gold samsung S4 come o... Oh, it already did. Wow, Samsung has a fast copy machine these days.

UV-D

lol

i hope this question is suitable astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/432/…

Undo

I don't have any idea if it's easily Googleable, that tends to be my test.

UV-D

the resources I found said 'uncertain' for the 1st question and could find nothing for the 2nd

ooh i just had an idea

@Undo, I am going to restructure that question to focus on the younger earth

2

Q: What implications do a younger Earth and Moon have on Late Heavy Bombardment genesis hypotheses?

The Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB) or the Lunar Cataclysm is when the inner solar system, including the Earth and Moon, underwent multiple and sustained heavy impacts early in their history (around 3.7-4 billion years ago). This event formed many of the major impact scars we see on the moon, (pres...

solar-system terrestrial-planets lhb

I think that is not easily googlable

UV-D

4:29 AM

@TildalWave I have altered my question a bit, to also focus on the younger earth/moon articl you gave me astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/432/…

RhysW

7:30 AM

sorry i havent been chatty lately guys, im hoping to get some good questions in this week,

shame to hear about the beta but this gives us the perfect opportunity to really focus and improve the site

UV-D

8:44 AM

I'll be in and out - real life and health issues really getting me down. Will post q's and a's when I can.... spent the day Androiding

the app is written

RhysW

9:11 AM

@UV-D aww nothing too bad i hope!

UV-D

i hope not

RhysW

I think we should seriously consider having the scope of this site merged with space exploration

UV-D

what??

RhysW

This isn't because of the meta post, this is based on thoughts I was having yesterday before I was even aware of the extended beta (just to be clear)

I'm not saying we should 100% do it right now, I'm saying it should be a possibility that we at least consider as a viable alternative

UV-D

i am not qquite clear - are you suggesting merging this into Space.SE?

RhysW

9:14 AM

^ see above xD

UV-D

ii would hope that would not happen

as a lot of the theoretical astronomy questions would probably be downvoted and closed as off topic

RhysW

for any specific reason or?

@UV-D which is why we merge our scope with theirs, so that it would be on topic

UV-D

also, I am not a member at Space.SE

(minor reason I know)

RhysW

I do think it should be something we consider, i am not saying i guarantee it will work, but i think it should atleast be an idea that has the pro's and cons discussed so an informed consensus can be taken

UV-D

okay

RhysW

9:18 AM

There will be an impending meta post where i outline the pros and cons

(im not saying im Pro-merge, i will weigh the pros and cons, personally i have no preference for what happens)

UV-D

all I am saying is that if it does go ahead, there would be a lot of 'orphaned' posts

RhysW

that's a shame, is there any specific reason you wouldn't just take your answers and questions across?

UV-D

if a merger did happen, my questions and answers would go across, but as I am not a member, they'd be 'orphaned'

RhysW

i mean, why wouldnt you come across too?

UV-D

(i think I will stop researching that answer)

I just can not see what is on topic here being welcomed as on topic there

RhysW

9:21 AM

im just trying to figure out why people might be against it, i obviously dont have the power to do it and many people will agree with you

UV-D

Space.SE is about space exploration; Astro.SE is about observational and theoretical astronomy - they can be separate

RhysW

@UV-D which is why we merge scope, so what is on topic there stays on topic, what is on topic here becomes on topic, we literally just move to a different name (no longer astronomy) and there will be questions of the original kind from space too

UV-D

I can just see mass downvoting and closing

RhysW

there definately will be, if everyone from astro leaves there will be no point having it ontopic and it would fail, it would need members support

UV-D

why can't there be a separation between space exploration and space science

?

RhysW

9:25 AM

there can be, but im thinking for alternatives IF astro fails again, i dont think we should merge if we iron out our problems, i DO think we should merge the scope with space if the site cannot stand on its own

^thats my point, i was wording it poorly before, i apologise

UV-D

I see, if we fail, then similar thing will occur I would imagine

RhysW

yes i think i was giving the wrong opinion before of us merging now, instead of if we fail, sorry for that!

UV-D

you see, there is a big problem - technically I am an enthusiast in all things astronomy and especially in space exploration

When Geoscience comes out - I'll be a true expert there... perhaps I should not have joined..

RhysW

geoscience?

UV-D

there is a geoscience a51 commitment

RhysW

9:34 AM

ahh fair enough

UV-D

this site shouldn't fail

I am starting to write questions like astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/432/…

Have a look at the questions just before mine

RhysW

no it shouldnt, i just wanted to put the 'last choice' idea out there

UV-D

my answers are also rich with information from peer reviewed articles

lately, I take 30 mins to 2 hours to write one

@RhysW scared the crud out of me to be honest

RhysW

apologies, my wording should be worked on!

UV-D

its alright

that's the 3rd scare/kick in the pants I have had since being here

RhysW

9:40 AM

:D

hopefully not all from me

UV-D

my mind uses it as a means to improve

RhysW

are 1 and 2 sombrero lady?

UV-D

no, 1 and 2 are the messages about our questions/answers from Jon to be honest

and me still not knowing what is acceptable

RhysW

:P it's given me pause for thought

unfortunately im not an expert, i wont pretend to be, so thinking of expert level questions is a challenge and requires lots of thought

UV-D

I m not an expert, I am constantly labelled as one, but I am not (not in astronomy anyways)

RhysW

9:44 AM

2

Q: What are the current observational limits on the existence of Dyson spheres/swarms/rings?

A Dyson sphere/swarm/ring is a hypothetical structure an extra-terrestrial entity would construct to collect a large fraction of its host star's light, and would likely generate a fairly strong infrared signature that could potentially be detected by modern infrared surveys (such as WISE). Do we ...

extra-terrestrial infrared

hmm - does this belong here? questions about theoretical items that may or may not exist?

UV-D

that is a good question I thought

RhysW

does it not belong better to sci fi? given that such a structure doesn't exist? (to our species)

@RhysW my understanding (and I could be wrong) is that this question is about what limits us in observing more pluto or eris sized planets. — UV-D 22 secs ago

could we perhaps have this retitled then?

as the current title seems nonsensical

UV-D

I could be wrong in my interpretation

RhysW

we dont know what we dont know, thats why we dont know it, y'know?

UV-D

I usually are

remember, I am dumb as a broken desk fan

RhysW

9:48 AM

probably because you dropped the desk fan on yourself at some point and the fan broke, knowing your luck :P

UV-D

true, been there, done that

RhysW

it worries me that i can guess that accurately

UV-D

I think my last 3 questions are okay

i need to write more answers

RhysW

see the problem is, we don't need you to do more, we need more of you to do the amount you already do! then the site is a definite success! :P

UV-D

what on earth does that mean?

oooh clones!!

you REALLY do not want that

RhysW

9:51 AM

you are taking on more and more work, more questions, more answers yes?
We should clone you, so that we have more people to do the amount you do! :P

UV-D

in real life, I also have 2 jobs (1 full time), full time PhD and currently are involved with 4 research projects

luckily I am ugly as sin, so I am still single

i am fat, ugly and dumb - got the trifecta

RhysW

facepalm lets add no self confidence to that too ¬_¬

UV-D

i am self confident (a little too much sometimes), I don't have any self esteem

storm approaching

hmmm i just had a thought for a question

RhysW

@UV-D scratches head i always considered them to be the same thing

UV-D

can i throw it by you @RhysW

nah

RhysW

10:00 AM

sure throw away, ill give my views :D

UV-D

"What observational constraints are thre in detecting volcanism on an exoplanet?"

RhysW

ooh i like that, the top of my head screams smoke clouds, the tip of my tongue wants to yell about planet temperature.

it should provide some good answers

gimme a sec to check what already exists

UV-D

and I can link it my first ever question here

RhysW

i like that yours is more specific by limiting to observational constraints

though i have a question

UV-D

by the way, I am always open to having my posts edited

ask away

RhysW

10:03 AM

do you mean purely optical constraints, how it looks, or does observational include measurements taken through other means, ie infra-red, x-ray, or heck, even long sound waves?

UV-D

any and all - how to word that in to the question

RhysW

thats a good question, i struggled to word it in asking you :P

UV-D

okay, am going to work on writing it

RhysW

gives thumbs up

UV-D

0

Q: What observational constraints are there in detecting the presence of volcanism on exoplanets?

This question is somewhat related to my earlier question How are the compositional components of exoplanet atmospheres differentiated?, but this about a specific surface-atmospheric phenomena - volcanism. Using our solar system as a rough analogue (where asides from Earth, Venus, Io and Triton h...

exoplanet observation surface volcanism

feel free to suggest or make edits

wonders if @RhysW has fainted in horror

UV-D

10:29 AM

@RhysW! have aliens abducted you?

RhysW

10:45 AM

@UV-D nah I left after posting my last message, work n all that jazz

UV-D

work.... hiss....spit

RhysW

0

A: NOT READY FOR PUBLIC BETA — What function should this site serve?

This is a good decision. The push for meatier questions was proposed only 3 days ago, more than half way through our beta, and I'm sure it still has not yet been read by everyone. The push for expert level questions was a good change, one we are glad was made, but change takes time, so giving...

This pretty much sums up our views, right?

UV-D

pretty much

I have a response to tht post, but will hold off for the moment

RhysW

Question away!

UV-D

i have posted my question on the main site

something crazy entered the room

RhysW

10:54 AM

something @CrazyBuddy is always following me ;)

Crazy Buddy

yeah ;-)

UV-D

so @CrazyBuddy... whats new?

Crazy Buddy

Nothing... Absolutely nothing..!!! I didn't spend any moment useful for the last three days -_-

RhysW

pahaha, not even on your blog?

Crazy Buddy

But, I'm skimming throughout the whole SE... (& twitter)

@RhysW Blog -- that goes on... That doesn't count :D

UV-D

10:56 AM

i wrote an app today

RhysW

@CrazyBuddy ive forgotten the link, slap me with it please?

Crazy Buddy

Android?

@RhysW How dare you forget that..???? Grr....

lmgtfy.com/?q=crazy+buddy+arrow+of+time

UV-D

Android!

Crazy Buddy

ah...

RhysW

You guys might like this link

Crazy Buddy

10:59 AM

which one?

RhysW

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/

Digital Library for Physics and Astronomy

Crazy Buddy

That -- I already included in my blog :P

RhysW

haha really?

Crazy Buddy

See the "articles" page (last)

It'd be below arXiv...

RhysW

ha so you have

what are the chances of that xD

pure coincidence, i got there from somewhere completely different!

but it proves i was right, you DID like that link :D

Crazy Buddy

11:02 AM

Yep :)

Actually, it was first suggested by Chris :D

in The h Bar, Sep 6 at 2:48, by Chris White

btw if you want to find the actual published paper, astronomers have their own abstract search service: ADS

RhysW

right, ive found my feet, expect lots of better questions from me on here in the future

@CrazyBuddy its also good for citation counts i hear

Crazy Buddy

yeah...

RhysW

Now that i finished the interview process ill have more time free in my evening for asking my questions now :D

Crazy Buddy

@RhysW Eh? interview?

RhysW

Oh yah spent the last week interviewing

and apparently turning canadian

Crazy Buddy

11:05 AM

you were interviewed, or you interviewed? O_O

RhysW

were interviewed

i was the candidate, that makes it easier to grasp :P

Crazy Buddy

I got shocked -- how this guy (only an year elder) interviews people :D

RhysW

ive had a guy fired before though...

Crazy Buddy

Whaa...

RhysW

and supplied all the information for my boss to interview people

@CrazyBuddy unintentionally

UV-D

11:07 AM

I've had people hired, fired, arrested and locked up

sort of

Hah...!!!

arrested?

not at the same time

@UV-D o_O

11:08 AM

your hired! punches in face youre fired! arrest this man!

2

UV-D

they were a friend, they committed fraud that hurt another friend - that act of betrayal enraged me, so I dobbed the mongrel in

RhysW

ahh, my coworker was a drug addict,

he got caught out at work and fired for a different reason though

Crazy Buddy

Sorry fellas -- me *unfortunately* goin' out :/
c'yall later

UV-D

some people deserve it

RhysW

@CrazyBuddy no! bad! stay!

UV-D

11:10 AM

tie hm down

RhysW

ties down

i think it worked

removes gag

UV-D

lol

RhysW

damn,

im an idiot

have you ever sent yourself an email as a reminder to do something, then gone "ooh new mail!" right away?

UV-D

no no, I am the idiot

yes, yes I have

RhysW

i just did that right now

UV-D

11:12 AM

I do that daily so I don't feel so lonely

RhysW

:P you got us!

UV-D

awwwww

RhysW

on that note, i need to leave

kidding, i just love irony

UV-D

ha ha ha hardy ha ha ha

RhysW

i hope you are up for some tough questions

UV-D

11:14 AM

i need to answer a post.... my Q and A ratio is almost a parity

RhysW

woah, perfect timing

UV-D

oh?

RhysW

i say im about to ask tough questions at exactly the same time as you say you need to answer more :P

UV-D

I have google scholar ready to and fired up and my nerd hat on

RhysW

it might be a while before its asked, ims till figuring it out

UV-D

11:16 AM

i probably will be going to bed soon... it is 9:16pm here... and I am exhausted after today

RhysW

ill give you a hint, brush up on your oort limit knowledge!

UV-D

brushed

RhysW

awesome, i dont know when itll be asked, whenever i get enough time

UV-D

time? what is this 'time' you speak of?

RhysW

i have a math question for you

if i have something measured in kg/m^3 how do i turn that into a measurement of g/cm^3

UV-D

11:27 AM

you use this onlineconversion.com/density_common.htm

RhysW

of course! the internet, how could i forget

UV-D

i use that site all the time

RhysW

oh its as obvious as i thought it was

1000 kg/m3 is 1g/cm3

UV-D

do you think it would be okay to give a part answer to a question?

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