Geminid Meteors Seen Striking The Moon

New Scientist ^ | 1-5-2006 | Kelly Young

[Squawk 8888]

The moon actually does have an extremely thin atmosphere, so the term "negligible" is appropriate here.

[Squawk 8888]

What's the minimum amount of "gas" that has to be present to be considered "atmosphere"?

It's not the amount of gas, it's whether the gravity is strong enough to hang onto it. There are always trace amounts of gas in space but it is only considered atmosphere if it is held by the gravity of a body nearby.

[Mike Darancette]

Probability of impact - even with an enhanced affected zone - is very very small.

I would think solar flares would be of more concern even though there is some warning period. But given all of that mankind belongs in space.

[Robert A Cook PE]

What's the minimum amount of "gas" that has to be present to be considered "atmosphere"?


Now, generically speakin' (within the confines of each individual spacesuit or capsule), the presence of noticeable odor usually is also usually considered indicative of "gas" as well.


Or beans the proceeding night.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Radiation really is a slow hazard, although individual flares do get high the solar radiation hazard is considerably over-stated i most cases.

The LD 50-50 dose is actually very, very high, and the impact time (time to get medical help or additional shelter (You can easily go deeper in a cave, for example - after a few minutes warning - and suffer no ill effects at all: Just stay below for two or three days if needed. (A person exposed in mid-space - as if to mars or the asteroids for mining - can't get shielding from moon rocks overhead, but they are further out as well.)

But the impact of a rock shower is less predictable, less well shielded because it does penetrate spaceship covers or unshielded capsules causing catastrophically rapid decompression. Death would be instantaneous, and specific warnings nonexistence.

So this researcher is more concerned (for HIS funding!) about meteor impact.

[ASOC]

If that is the case, you *for sure* don't want to live in SE Alaska

[RightWhale]

It's no better in Fairbanks. I have been waiting for a clear night for 30 years.

[kalee]

ping

[Lancey Howard]

Can entropy be reversed?

"Let there be light."

[Young Werther]

Hello...was that you Multivac?

[Rb ver. 2.0]

My son is an atmosphere all to himself.

[SuziQ]

Yeah, we had a nice relatively mild night on the 14th, so we could have sat out for a long time to watch, but had heavy cloud cover. Bummer that. We've seen them in the past, and they were great to watch!

[Darksheare]

Yeah, it was quite a depressing evening to be sitting there unable to see the meteors due to cloud cover.

Even worse, I had one hole in the clouds thgrough which I could see: Sirius.
*sigh*

[bannie]

Ok...why are you "Upstate" if you're southern?

[Darksheare]

It's the idiotic way the state sees itself.
Orange County NY, though being in the southern portion of the state, is seen as 'upstate' because NYC sees itself as 'downstate', and everything outside the city is referred to as 'upstate'.

[bannie]

OY! I still get confused about the Upper Nile and the Lower Nile.

(You're better off without 'em city folk.)

:-)

[Darksheare]

Agreed!
This is, after all, the state that elected "Mario M. Cuomo" as governor for many years..
And saw nothing wrong with it.

[Lancey Howard]

Hello...was that you Multivac?

Sorry.
This:....
Can entropy be reversed?
....was 'the last question'.

[Young Werther]

Is this R Daneel Olivaw?

[blam]

I'd forgotten about these moon strikes.

Asteroid may hit Mars in January