Science is Drokking Fantastic Because...

[Dandontdare]

That's true. See? We are getting along! (I'm also a fan of Jim's lettering - but don't tell him that...)
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In other (old) science news, what does everyone think about this Cannae Drive thing?

I forgot which thread we were in and genuinely expected a website about angry Scotsmen against the fascistic DVLA when I clicked that link.

[The Legendary Shark]

This is possibly the best link title I've ever posted: Iron Rain.
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You'd think all the Moon's craters have been found already with maybe a few tiddlers left to be spotted, right? Not a bit of it - researchers recently discovered a 124 mile wide Lunar crater and named it after Emilia Earhart.
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Finally, some maths for exoplanet fans predicts "...that there are, on average, 2 ± 1 planets in the habitable zone of each star."

[TordelBack]

Two great links to have with brekkie, cheers Shark. My reading of the latter is that the 2+/-1 figure for the habitable zone relates to those systems where Kepler has already snagged planets, rather than a general average? It is, as others keep noting in this thread, the most incredible thing to see an article of faith for the ageing SF fan turned into reality.

[ZenArcade]

The Irish News did a nice wee article on it yesterday. Z

[The Legendary Shark]

I would read it the same way, Tordels - although I guess it could be extended to something like, "all stars of the type and range analysed by Kepler have an average of one to three planets in the habitable zone." So, I think, could be extended to cover the whole galaxy and, further, all galaxies similar to our own. But I'm not a mathematician or an astrophysicist so my interpretation could be wrong.
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But yes - it is arsom to see old sci-fi tropes making the transformation from fantasy through theory to fact. One wonders when alien life will make the same journey, as it surely must.

[The Legendary Shark]

As an aside, I often wonder about "rogue planets" wandering interstellar space, orphaned by supernovae or gravitational upsets (say when two stars pass each other, disrupting their systems). How many stars have "stolen" planets from other stars? The inhabitants (if any) who might arise billions of years after their planet has been captured might really be scratching their heads over why their homeworld is of a different age and composition to the rest of their solar system.
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Further, a rogue planet stripped away from its parent star and wandering into a nebula might, because of its gravity, act as the initial "seed" for the growth of a new star. As it pulls more and more gas and dust towards it, growing bigger and bigger, could such an orphan eventually become so bloated that it transforms into a star with planets of its own? I wonder if stars formed in this manner would be any different to other stars or, in a universe as old as ours, is this how the majority of stars are formed these days? And is interstellar space filled with lonely, cold planets and their moons?

[Hawkmumbler]

Does anyone know where I could get some of those protective glasses for watching the eclipse through? Despite Cox and O'Brien advocating them last night on BBC2 I don't see them for sale anywhere...

[Mardroid]

 Looking rather dim now ( currently on a bus on way to work ) but with the cloud cover its been pretty overcast anyway.

I do think it's a bit darker than normal for this time though but not that much for this weather.

[ZenArcade]

Totally unobstructed view in Belfast, wonderful. Z

[Banners]

Does anyone know where I could get some of those protective glasses for watching the eclipse through? Despite Cox and O'Brien advocating them last night on BBC2 I don't see them for sale anywhere...

There will be plenty on eBay any moment now...

[IAMTHESYSTEM]

Bit darker here but heavy cloud cover means no show anyway. Disappointing. 

[Hawkmumbler]

Oh fuck I missed it! Cloud cover was horrendous here in Bolton.

[Albion]

So the edge of the path of the total eclipse was as dull as the sunshine on Uranus.
Tee hee, snigger, guffaw etc......

[Mattofthespurs]

Was pretty cloudy to start with but got some great views in the end.

Temperature dropped quite a bit, enough for me to be able to see my breath and the dog went a bit fruity.

This was my view

[Hawkmumbler]

Now, we wait....