View Profile: Hornblower - Cosmoquest Forum

Yesterday, 03:14 PM

Hornblower replied to a thread Backyard Wildlife in Off-Topic Babbling

While walking around my neighborhood yesterday I saw three black squirrels. If I am not mistaken they are the same species as our common gray...

1379 replies | 153355 view(s)

2018-Dec-08, 01:47 AM

Hornblower replied to a thread Really trivial stuff that bugs you in Off-Topic Babbling

I once was in a group of over 100 and we overwhelmed the elevators in the William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh. I walked up seven flights of stairs with...

11421 replies | 1490262 view(s)

2018-Dec-06, 11:01 PM

Hornblower replied to a thread Some Non-trivial Things That Annoy Me. in Off-Topic Babbling

I was very much annoyed at how CNN kept a BREAKING NEWS banner and that crawl along the bottom of the screen displaying unrelated topics, while...

3612 replies | 537742 view(s)

2018-Dec-06, 12:12 AM

Hornblower replied to a thread Smell-o-vision is BACK... and I'm sorry in Science and Technology

Suppose it malfunctions and smells like a skunk. What then?

1 replies | 97 view(s)

2018-Dec-03, 03:03 AM

Hornblower replied to a thread The Cat Thread in Off-Topic Babbling

Check out this one from James Herriot's stories about his veterinary practice in Yorkshire....

94 replies | 2624 view(s)

2018-Dec-02, 05:48 PM

Hornblower replied to a thread LaTeX instructions? in Forum Introductions and Feedback

Thanks again. I am getting in some good drill with it.

5 replies | 209 view(s)

2018-Dec-02, 02:49 PM

Hornblower replied to a thread LaTeX instructions? in Forum Introductions and Feedback

Thanks for your prompt reply. The menu shows up for me, but I just don't know how to use it. I will check the FAQ.

5 replies | 209 view(s)

2018-Dec-02, 02:46 PM

Hornblower replied to a thread Calculating the distance between the Earth and the Sun by the fine-structure constant in Against the Mainstream

If the spheres of influence were hard limits, the planets would not perturb each other.

38 replies | 1565 view(s)

2018-Dec-02, 02:42 PM

Hornblower replied to a thread Why do so many stars have a higher proper motion than Alpha Centauri? in Space/Astronomy Questions and Answers

Those tangential speeds are primarily the result of eccentric orbits, including that of the Sun. The galaxy is not as neat and clean a system as a...

9 replies | 292 view(s)

2018-Dec-02, 04:37 AM

Hornblower started a thread LaTeX instructions? in Forum Introductions and Feedback

Can someone point me to instructions on how to use LaTeX?

5 replies | 209 view(s)

2018-Dec-02, 03:55 AM

Hornblower replied to a thread Prehistoric Cave Paintings Show That Ancient People Had Pretty Advanced Knowledge of in Universe Today

Let me start by nitpicking a bit. In the second paragraph Mr. Williams mentioned precession of the equinoxes as a complex astronomical phenomenon. ...

3 replies | 134 view(s)

2018-Dec-02, 03:17 AM

Hornblower replied to a thread Why do so many stars have a higher proper motion than Alpha Centauri? in Space/Astronomy Questions and Answers

Let me add that very few stars have higher proper motions than Alpha Centauri, and most of them are inconspicuous red dwarfs near the Sun.

9 replies | 292 view(s)

2018-Dec-01, 03:27 AM

Hornblower replied to a thread Any good book on Peter Van de Kamp? in Space/Astronomy Questions and Answers

The obituary mentioned instrumental effect as a cause for false indications of a large planet around Barnard's Star. I saw some specifics in a Sky...

7 replies | 235 view(s)

2018-Nov-29, 03:08 PM

Hornblower replied to a thread temperature and speed of matter in Space/Astronomy Questions and Answers

Okay, now I see your point, which involves a body for which temperature is a meaningful concept, and the question of whether or not extremely fast...

13 replies | 457 view(s)

2018-Nov-29, 01:24 AM

Hornblower replied to a thread temperature and speed of matter in Space/Astronomy Questions and Answers

It is known. If that something is a body consisting of a vast number of particles which are jiggling with collective kinetic energy, it will be...

13 replies | 457 view(s)

2018-Nov-28, 11:32 PM

Hornblower replied to a thread Observing stars with true colour nightvision in Astronomical Observing, Equipment and Accessories

In my opinion, no.

1 replies | 165 view(s)

2018-Nov-26, 05:01 PM

Hornblower replied to a thread Calculating the distance between the Earth and the Sun by the fine-structure constant in Against the Mainstream

They do use theory, specifically Newton's theory, or Einstein's theory for supercritical stuff. My bold. The burden is on you to convince them...

38 replies | 1565 view(s)

2018-Nov-26, 01:03 AM

Hornblower replied to a thread Calculating the distance between the Earth and the Sun by the fine-structure constant in Against the Mainstream

Says who? There have been numerous spectacularly successful interplanetary missions over the past half century, and the one I know of that failed...

38 replies | 1565 view(s)

2018-Nov-25, 02:15 PM

Hornblower replied to a thread Earth's centrifugal non-sphericality, compared to its lunar tidal bulge in Space/Astronomy Questions and Answers

See these tables, which include oblateness of the planets. http://www.astronomynotes.com/tables/tablesb.htm If they are accurate, the answer is...

8 replies | 389 view(s)

2018-Nov-24, 11:27 PM

Hornblower replied to a thread Earth's centrifugal non-sphericality, compared to its lunar tidal bulge in Space/Astronomy Questions and Answers

I might have known! When I first got cable TV 35 years ago, Discovery Channel and its siblings were worth the cost of the service. Since then they...

8 replies | 389 view(s)

2018-Nov-24, 11:23 PM

Hornblower replied to a thread temperature and speed of matter in Space/Astronomy Questions and Answers

Isn't that closer to 4 times as fast? Kinetic energy is proportional to velocity squared.

13 replies | 457 view(s)

2018-Nov-24, 04:48 PM

Hornblower replied to a thread Calculating the distance between the Earth and the Sun by the fine-structure constant in Against the Mainstream

Nicolay, your presentation is not convincing as an exercise in physics. First, I will digress a bit and present your equation in my preferred...

38 replies | 1565 view(s)

2018-Nov-24, 01:04 AM

Hornblower replied to a thread How space really works in Space/Astronomy Questions and Answers

This is an example of Newton's principle of equal action and reaction at work. The expanding propellant in the combustion chamber is pushing against...

2 replies | 183 view(s)

2018-Nov-24, 12:57 AM

Hornblower replied to a thread Some Non-trivial Things That Annoy Me. in Off-Topic Babbling

I encountered yet another numbskull on a bicycle as I was entering a parking lot. He was approaching from my right and I fully expected him to...

3612 replies | 537742 view(s)

2018-Nov-23, 01:02 PM

Hornblower replied to a thread Is it possible .. in Science and Technology

To put this in time perspective, suppose we park a spacecraft at a gravitationally neutral point in interstellar space somewhere in our vicinity. ...

16 replies | 576 view(s)