[meteorite-list] comet holmes

From: Jerry <grf2_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2007 16:57:40 -0400
Message-ID: <F399F49527AA456B86DE087A0466790C_at_Notebook>

Thank you Sterling. That's why I asked, honestly.
Skies are clearing overhead. I'll be interested in observing tonight.
Last night's moon was of little consequence in seeing the comet.
Time to set up tripods for the binocs and a scope as well. I'll get back to
you.
Jerry Flaherty
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sterling K. Webb" <sterling_k_webb at sbcglobal.net>
To: "Meteorite List" <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Cc: "Larry Lebofsky" <lebofsky at lpl.arizona.edu>; "Jerry" <grf2 at verizon.net>
Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2007 3:15 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] comet holmes


> Jerry,
>
> In a century or two, the "lightminute" will become
> a common measure of distance. Say you're working
> on Titan, at the Hydrocarbon Pipeline Base at the foot
> of the skyhook that pumps it up to static orbit, and you
> realize that next month you'll have to budget for a long
> phone call to your wife's parents because it's their 100th
> wedding anniversary. It's not cheap to call The Old Folks
> At Home (back on "The" Moon, as they still call it) and
> your wife is going to blab endlessly, you know that.
>
> The charge rate of the call will contain lightspeed
> connection times, a surcharge per lightminute. You
> recall vaguely that Saturn and Earth are both on the same
> side of the Sun right now; that helps. You get online and
> check the current surcharge on a call to "The" Moon.
> At least it's nowhere as bad as the surcharge to Mars.
>
> The lightminute is the most "comfortable" unit to use
> inside the solar system, whether you're communicating or
> not. Just as today anyone who moves around a lot knows
> that a mile is 5280 feet (and a kilometer is 3280* feet; isn't
> that handy?), in 200 years all traveled persons will know a
> lightminute is 18,000,000 kilometers. Only pedants will
> object that it's really 17,987,547.5 kilometers. Hey! Close
> enough! For everything but the landing, anyway.
>
> It's a lot more convenient to think of the Earth's distance
> from the Sun as 8.5 lightminutes, or Mars' close approach
> is just over 3 lightminutes (and Venus' closest just under
> 3 lightminutes or Jupiter at 39 lightminutes). AU's are too
> big. Miles and kilometers are too small. The lightminute
> is juuuuust right.
>
> And if you're IN a spacecraft making a routine trip in
> the solar system and covering 2,500,000+ kilometers a day
> for days on end, you're covering a lightminute every week
> and wishing you had the price of a high-boost ticket on a
> hyperbolic orbit liner knocking off a lightminute or more
> every day. Oh, yeah, those big numbers we use today look
> very impressive in print (and that's why we use them), but
> in constant everyday conversation? I don't think so.
>
> The "lightminute" has a future! It's either that, or a new
> common-use unit like the kilometer: the gigameter. So, a
> lightminute is 18 gigameters. But because the gigameter
> doesn't tie to time (and communication) like the lightminute,
> I think the lightminute will be the winner.
>
>
> Sterling K. Webb
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> * 3280.8399 feet, you pedants.
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <lebofsky at lpl.arizona.edu>
> To: "Jerry" <grf2 at verizon.net>
> Cc: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 11:32 PM
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] comet holmes
>
>
> Hello Jerry:
>
> Based on Starry Night, the Shuttle was about 360km away at closest and ISS
> about 390km away. At 300,000 km/sec (speed of light), we are talking about
> 1/1000 of a second for light to get from there to here. Not sure how far
> apart they were, but do not think that it was very much different than
> that.
>
> Larry
>
> On Wed, October 24, 2007 8:50 pm, Jerry wrote:
>> What's the time interval for light transmission from this distance to
>> earth? Jerry Flaherty
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>
>
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Received on Thu 25 Oct 2007 04:57:40 PM PDT