Posted on 02/06/2014 12:11:57 AM PST by ApplegateRanch
Team found that Polaris is 2.5 times brighter today than in 137CE Experts say find is 'entirely unexpected'
Astronomers have discovered that Polaris, the north star, is getting brighter. They say the star has suddenly reversed two decades of dimming. It is expanding at more than 100 times the rate they expected - and nobody is sure why.
A team led by Scott Engle of Villanova University in Pennsylvania recalibrated historic measurements of Polaris by Ptolemy in 137 C.E., the Persian astronomer Al-Sufi in 964 C.E., and others. They investigated the fluctuations of the star over the course of several years, combing through historical records and utilising the Hubble Space Telescope. The team found that Polaris is 2.5 times brighter today than in Ptolemy's time, which they say is a remarkable rate of change.
'If they are real, these changes are 100 times larger than predicted by current theories of stellar evolution,' says Villanova astronomer Edward Guinan. The team's data also hint that the star's cyclic 4-day variation in brightness, although still weak, is once again growing more robust--but no one knows what's driving these flutterings or how long they will last. Engle and his team began to research the star around the beginning of 2000, when they found that the dropping brightness was on the rise again.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Team found that Polaris is 2.5 times brighter today than in 137CE... 'If they are real, these changes are 100 times larger than predicted by current theories of stellar evolution,' says Villanova astronomer Edward Guinan. The team's data also hint that the star's cyclic 4-day variation in brightness, although still weak, is once again growing more robust--but no one knows what's driving these flutterings or how long they will last. Engle and his team began to research the star around the beginning of 2000, when they found that the dropping brightness was on the rise again.
Team found that Polaris is 2.5 times brighter today than in 137CE... 'If they are real, these changes are 100 times larger than predicted by current theories of stellar evolution,' says Villanova astronomer Edward Guinan. The team's data also hint that the star's cyclic 4-day variation in brightness, although still weak, is once again growing more robust--but no one knows what's driving these flutterings or how long they will last. Engle and his team began to research the star around the beginning of 2000, when they found that the dropping brightness was on the rise again.
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Did they ask Dr. Who.....
Is it coming this way?
You could ruin their day by referring to it as the Christian Era.
But, when you see CE, just say Christian era.
**
That’s what I always say.
aybe it’s ythological....
“Or its getting closer.... OMG.... Bush is going to use the North Star to kill us all!!!”
All of this talk about the Dea - I mean the North Star is stupid. There is nothing to be afraid of.
Could be anything. A few hundred years ago, a thin dust cloud could have moved between it, and where we would eventually be.
"..and Leon's getting laarger."
How lucky are we to even have a North Star?
I heard CE once defined as “Common Error!”
From the scene they cut out of “Monty Python’s Life of Brian”:
1st Shepherd: “Is it A.D. yet?”
2nd Shepherd: “A quarter past . . .”
CE (Common Era) is another way the secularists continue to attempt denial of the significance of the impact Jesus had on our cultures by his birth.
They use "CE" and "BCE" (Before Common Era) instead of "BC" and "AD" as a form of rebellion against established precedent, in order to look good to each other.
I quit caring and CONSCIOUSLY substitute "Before Christ"(NOT BC) and "Apres Dieu" (After G_d) EVERY time I discuss historical dates. It's fun to make the deniers squirm.
after reading the thread, I realize that I have been mistaken. I will be using “Anno Domini” from this time forward,
Dang, I LOVE this place!
You must admit, though, apres dieu works pretty good too...
Thanks for the info and how I wish that progressivism were viewed the same way.
The altitude of Polaris in degrees above the horizon is your latitude. Very helpful.
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