Comments on: Resonating Worlds

By: Sorting Out Science » Blog Archive » Carnival of Space, Week 38 — The Adventures of Shorty Barlow, Private Eye

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 13:45:30 +0000

[...] but just for color, I’m sure not getting there any time soon. Still, something about planets just resonates with me. Maybe I should pick up an atlas or something, just to study it some. If nothing else, a [...]

By: Steve H

Steve H — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 03:41:37 +0000

Pamela, blame it on illegal drugs.

At one time in the United States, anyone could obtain a post office box without any ID, and illegal drugs could be mailed to them.

When the illegal drugs were discovered, nobody knew who actually had that post office box!

Most laws today only harm the innocent and law-abiding people, but there is usually a historical reason for those laws.

I wish that all laws would have a “sunset clause” and become obsolete after a few years.

By: Freiddie

Freiddie — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 02:42:46 +0000

Now that is what I call “fine details”!

By: pamela

pamela — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:30:31 +0000

Getting a post office box today (Did you know they require 2 forms of ID to get one of those…). Will post tonight

By: Ocean

Ocean — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:20:22 +0000

…and our AstronomyCast pins?

By: pamela

pamela — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 15:09:21 +0000

Thanks for the correction. That is what I get for reading the vague text (”…the perturbation from a relatively small planet in a close orbit.”) instead of the very specific table. I’ll correct the post above.

By: Vagueofgodalming

Vagueofgodalming — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:48:21 +0000

I think the proposed new planet is orbiting once every time the giant goes round twice, not the other way around. (It's one of my pet peeves that astronomers talk about things like "A being in 2:1 resonance with B", leaving the reader to infer from context whether that means A has twice the period of B, or half the period.) My main reason for commenting, though, was that a fifth group gets busy pouring cold water on the whole thing. And so the scientific process advances.