Anyone watching the Rosetta comet landing?

[Arch]

Apparently (and I don't think it's all spin), it's already sent back data, started the moment it landed, so in a worst case scenario and it falls off, they do have data - plus the achievement of getting it there.

I'm sure it'll be fine. Apparently when they woke the lander up, it didn't turn on correctly, so they turned it off and back on again, and it worked fine. IT really is the same the universe over!

 

[ianrauk]

The comet compared to the size of the City of Los Angeles.
I would think 100kgs's landing on it wouldn't even register the tiniest of blips.

 

[Arch]

The comet compared to the size of the City of Los Angeles.
I would think 100kgs's landing on it wouldn't even register the tiniest of blips.

Yeah, but in the total vacuum of space... Every action has an equal and opposite reaction etc. Over millions of miles, a very small change in angle is amplified...

Anyway, Twitter tells me that another comet in the vicinity of Mars has suddenly increased it's brightness, 200% in 48 hours, which is Odd. Maybe it's jealous of the attention.

 

[TheDoctor]

True, Arch, but the overwhelming influence on 67P (and indeed, most other comets) is the gravitational pull of the sun, plus its own somewhat enormous momentum.
It won't even notice 100 kg drifting into it at walking speed.
It'd be like trying to stop a train by throwing a ping-pong ball at it. Very very slowly.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

The comet compared to the size of the City of Los Angeles.
I would think 100kgs's landing on it wouldn't even register the tiniest of blips.

It's annoying when people don't clean up after their dogs! (I hope I never meet the dog, though... )

 

[YahudaMoon]

A very quick guestimate says I've cycled about 1/3 of a million miles in my lifetime

This is 3 hundred million miles away

Im not impressed really

 

[YahudaMoon]

This guy only had one arm

Send him, at least he'll bring back some decent pictures

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/walter-greaves-the-most-unpopular-record-breaker-of-all

He'll need a tripod though

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

Why are the Beeb making such a song and dance about this ? Who cares ?

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Why are the Beeb making such a song and dance about this ? Who cares ?

You cared enough to post a reply to this thread.
It's a very impressive scientific achievement, hence the fuss. The planning and technology that went into this event is amazing.

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

That wasn't caring that was bewilderment that such a trivial event is getting so much airtime.

 

[nickyboy]

That wasn't caring that was bewilderment that such a trivial event is getting so much airtime.

There is a possibility that the probe may be able to provide information that helps to explain how life has come to exist on Earth. I can't imagine anything much more important than that.

Except the line up of I'm a Celebrity of course

 

[Beebo]

There is a possibility that the probe may be able to provide information that helps to explain how life has come to exist on Earth. I can't imagine anything much more important than that.

Except the line up of I'm a Celebrity of course

Plus they are considering the possibility of mining comets for rare minerals

 

[Beebo]

Yeah, but in the total vacuum of space... Every action has an equal and opposite reaction etc. Over millions of miles, a very small change in angle is amplified...

QUOTE]

This is nicked of the interweb so could be Bollox!
Earth gains about 40,000 tonnes of dust every year, the remnants of the formation of the solar system, which are attracted by our gravity and become part of the matter in our planet. Our planet is actually made from all that starstuff.
Earth's core loses energy over time. It's like a giant nuclear reactor that burns fuel. Less energy means less mass. 16 tonnes of that are gone every year. Not much.
And here's the big mass loss: about 95,000 tonnes of hydrogen and 1,600 tones of helium escape Earth every year. They are too light for gravity to keep them around, so they get lost. Gone into space.
The result: the rough estimate is -50,000 tonnes every year.

 

[Mugshot]

This is nicked of the interweb so could be Bollox!
Earth gains about 40,000 tonnes of dust every year, the remnants of the formation of the solar system, which are attracted by our gravity and become part of the matter in our planet. Our planet is actually made from all that starstuff.
Earth's core loses energy over time. It's like a giant nuclear reactor that burns fuel. Less energy means less mass. 16 tonnes of that are gone every year. Not much.
And here's the big mass loss: about 95,000 tonnes of hydrogen and 1,600 tones of helium escape Earth every year. They are too light for gravity to keep them around, so they get lost. Gone into space.
The result: the rough estimate is -50,000 tonnes every year.

Am I right in thinking that the larger the mass of an object the greater it's gravitational pull? If that's right and we're losing all this mass, when can I expect to start going up hills quicker?

 

[Venod]

I think that its an amazing feat of engineering and needs to be applauded, there is a nagging in the back of my head, what is happening here on earth, ebola, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, I am having difficulty in getting too excited.