Posted on 04/25/2008 11:04:35 AM PDT by CarrotAndStick
“Hope you got the book out of the 99 cent bin.”
Actually, I got the book on the recomendation of people here at FR. It was either Sunken Civ or blam. It is a very readable account, but at the same time goes into considerable detail as to the scientific method by which the “speculation and hypotheses” were tested. A good read if one has any desire to better understand the scientific method. Those who prefer belief to knowledge will, of course, not be interested.
“Comets entering our atmosphere become extremely hot.”
This is true, but if they are big enough, they can make it down to the ground, and if they hit an ice sheet send large chunks of ice flying far away. Regarding the dinosaurs, the Yucatan strike was probably caused by an asteroid or meteor the size of Washington, DC cubed. We get hit by comets, asteroids and meteors. Another source, which I also did not get from the 99 cent bin is “Comet” by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan, the 1997 rewrite.
You don’t realize the inanity of a theory supposing our semi-closed system receiving a white-hot huge comet that size and it not creating a warming, as opposed to a cooling effect? Of it not disrupting a precise orbit and rotation and seasons?
Sagan? I worship not at his feet. He came up with some interesting hypotheses. Parascientific conjecture, but not science.
And those who say it is are putting their faith in atheism.
Some are pleasant to discuss these topics with on occasion here at FR.
The problem comes when the faith of extremist anti-God theofascists militate via the legal system.
Yes, the initial effect would have been huge grass and forest fires, followed by starvation, disruption of ocean currents, and apparently in this case the thousand year Younger Dryas cooling event. There also was apparently a near reversal of the earths magnetic field. There could have been some influence on orbit and rotation, but not enough to shift the axis of the earth’s rotation relative to the sun or the mildly eliptical orbit around the sun, which 11,000 years ago had the Northern Hemisphere furthest from the sun in winter, and closest to the sun in summer, rather than the reverse which is the case today to our good fortune.
Wow, whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on.
There’s a persistent idea that the atmosphere protects the surface of the Earth and us from all space debris. Generally, the larger the object, the closer to the surface it gets. Anything starting out bus-sized has about a 50/50 chance of having surviving parts of itself hit the surface, or (from time to time) anything or anyone who happens to be in the way. Anything which starts out, say, 100 yards across will strike the surface, either as a large part of its core, or (as it breaks up) smaller debris (or both).
Asteroids and comets are moving so fast in their formerly nice quiet undisturbed orbits that, when they intersect the path of the Earth, won’t be appreciably slowed down, and will penetrate the 50 miles (the statutory boundary between space and our atmosphere) to the surface in under two seconds. There will be frictional heating of the air, but a) not much air, and b) not much time is involved.
If I get ambitious, I’ll read the rest of the thread and bore everybody some more.
The Mystery Of Mammoth Tusks With Iron Fillings
Alaska Report News | 3-5-2008 | Ned Rozell
Posted on 03/08/2008 2:03:28 PM PST by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1982619/posts
Are you making fun of my aunt? ;)
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