Astrobiology and SETI

Discussions regarding the chances of extraterrestrial life forms existing on the many, many exoplanets (3,100+ to date) that have been discovered by the Kepler Space Telescope.

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Is, this: We humans have a quirky preference for fantasy over reality. (You can research this – in all of its sordid, glory, in psychology journals, in your spare time). In reality, the entire story is a thoroughly documented hoax – and, those, ‘fightin’ words’,  put “their” stomachs, in knots, of emotionally-charged, rebellion, and defiance! The legend originated in late 1955 when a drifter named Carl M. Allen (writing under the pseudonym Carlos Miguel Allende) sent a series of highly eccentric letters and an annotated copy of Morris K. Jessup’s book, “The Case for the UFO,” to the Office of Naval Research (ONR). Allen claimed to have witnessed the teleportation of the USS Eldridge while serving aboard the nearby merchant marine ship SS Andrew Furuseth.   As in other facets of life – if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t.   Notes: • Ship Logs: The USS Eldridge was not commissioned until August 27, 1943, and was in New York and the Bahamas during the time the alleged ‘October’ experiments took place; it never made port in Philadelphia in 1943. • Degaussing: Historians and veterans have noted that the “invisibility” experiments were actually a misunderstanding of routine World War II “degaussing” procedures. Degaussing involved wrapping ships in electrical cables to neutralize their magnetic signatures, rendering them “invisible” to magnetic underwater mines, but having absolutely no effect on visible light or radar. The two entities are entirely separate phenomena. • The “Green Glow”: The eerie green-blue glow reported by alleged witnesses was a common, non-paranormal weather phenomenon known as St. Elmo’s Fire, which is a coronal discharge of plasma created within a strong local electric field.

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Recently, I’ve come across enough instances of negativity, toward, “what we were taught”, in science, vs. reality, that I decided I would do an AI investigation to, either, negate, or, support my perspective on this. Two examples, are, whether or not electricity passes ‘through’ wiring, and the planetary model of the atom. PLANETARY MODEL OF THE ATOM I asked the following question in an AI search box: “Does the following statement have validity: In some instances, whenever there’s a discrepancy about what we were taught, against, reality – the discrepancy lies in our perception. So, it isn’t that what we were taught is, inherently, ‘wrong’; what we were taught was the only way that, we, non-specialized, persons, could easily imagine it – without too much effort, such as, the ‘planetary model’ of the atom.” Here was the response from AI: “The statement you provided possesses significant validity, particularly when examining how educational models function as pedagogical tools rather than absolute literal representations of reality. In the philosophy of science, models are often understood as simplified representations designed to make complex phenomena accessible to the human mind. The discrepancy between what is taught and reality often arises because educational models, such as the Bohr planetary model of the atom, are intentionally simplified heuristics rather than exhaustive descriptions of physical truth. When students are taught that electrons orbit a nucleus like planets around a sun, they are being provided with a conceptual framework that allows them to visualize subatomic interactions without requiring the advanced mathematical complexity of quantum mechanics, such as the Schrödinger equation: H”ψ=Eψ This pedagogical approach is not necessarily “wrong” in its intent; it is a functional approximation. As noted in the study of perception, human beings often transform external reality into a self-centered or simplified perspective to manage complexity. When reality later contradicts these simplified models, the conflict is frequently a result of the limitation of the initial model—which was designed for ease of comprehension—rather than a fundamental falsehood in the underlying scientific principles. Consequently, the “discrepancy” is a byproduct of the transition from a simplified, non-specialized mental model to a more nuanced, specialized understanding of the physical world. The transition from Newtonian Physics to General Relativity, illustrate this same tension between simplified teaching and complex reality.” FLOW OF ELECTRICITY So, indeed, this AI search supports my views on pedagogical models. In regards to whether electricity ‘flows’, through, or around, wiring, one video on YouTube states that what we were taught is wrong – electricity does NOT flow THROUGH wiring. A subsequent search on that topic reveals that the answer, is – both – ‘through’, and, ‘around’ wiring!

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[astrobiologistdale]

This article discussed the dispersion of heavy elements throughout our Milky Way galaxy (and, would apply to other galaxies). The gold in your jewelry was extracted from the crust of the Earth. But, how did it get there? Our galaxy is a factory and processing plant – on a grand scale. It is a gravitationally, bound, system of stars, gases, and metallic and silicate dusts. It is in action, constantly on the move, responding to gravitational forces and angular momentum. We know Earth was formed in the ‘Solar Nebula’ accretion (condensation) event. Just, what, it accreted – was, what was present – in that vast cloud of gases and silicate and metallic dusts. The cloud was  also enriched by heavy elements transported from distant binary star mergers, known as, ‘kilonovae’, and/or ‘hypernovae’ collapses. As the nebula condensed to form our sun and its planets, asteroids, and comets, during the process of differentiation (the gravitational distribution of elements according to their mass ), during that collapse, our planet was seeded with small amounts of these heavier elements (gold, platinum, uranium). Astronomers have seen these physical processes in action that take place in space. One of those processes is the merging of neutron stars. Others, are: supernovae explosions (gravitational core collapse, or, binary star mergers), and ‘hypernovae’ – the gravitational collapse of a massive star into a black hole). That’s the kind of stuff that goes on out there.   These events are, extreme, in nature, and are catastrophic, for the progenitor object involved. Here’s the link: Research provides insight into how heavy elements such as gold and platinum reach our galaxy

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I didn’t intend to write this, for my blog. It was a post I put up on Facebook in advertising my research article on exoplanets and the possibility of extraterrestrial life. But it was getting long so I figured – what the heck?! I’ll use it here! Are you a fan of “aliens”?   ‘Aliens’, or, ‘extraterrestrial biological entities’, the proxy we use for them, is a topic that fascinates many people.    However – and this, is a BIG, however – astronomers (professional, and/or amateur), and/or SETI, have not yet found any type of ‘signal’ to support the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life; or, for that matter, non-intelligence, regardless, of the fringe reports that, they are, here; were, here; are, living among us, etc. A couple of things need some clarity, here, as, they are easily misinterpreted by the general population. A ‘signal’,’ or, ‘report’, or, ‘report of a signal’, as, used, by an astronomer, can refer to an electromagnetic anomaly, detection of spectroscopic bio-signatures in an exo-planetary atmosphere, a spectroscopic indication, or any other type of electromagnetic spectrum indicator, such as: visible light, infrared light, ultraviolet light, x-ray light, gamma ray light, and radio light. Note, that I have used the word ‘light’ after each item. For astronomers, the entire spectrum is considered a form of ‘light’, including, ‘radio’. Another ‘monkey-wrench’ for you: in Astronomy, all elements, heavier, than hydrogen and helium on the periodic table, are ‘metals’. (See, ‘disparity’, below) Also, when astronomers use the word ‘report’, as in ongoing CMB research, the reception of any of these ‘signals’ is considered a ‘report’. But, a ‘signal’, does not indicate intelligent communication. ‘Report’, does not indicate that something has been transmitted, specifically, or intentionally, for the reception of human eyes, or ears. It is just a standard nomenclature used in the branches of Cosmology and Astrophysics. So, why is there any disparity? Words from ‘Science’ are constantly being borrowed by the general population, where they get misinterpreted and regurgitated.   Some recently borrowed words, and/or, phrases from the Sciences: using, ‘so’, at the beginning of a sentence (in answer to a question); ‘evidence-based’ (speaks for itself); ‘theory’. This is a big one. ‘Theory’, in science, is a textual description of a natural phenomenon. Period. The public confuses it with ‘hypothesis’. Typical examples, are, “Such and such, is just a theory”, or, “It’s only a theory”. These binary uses are opposite in nature. ‘Theory’ states fact. ‘Hypothesis’ states inconclusiveness, or, ‘hypothetical’. There, are, others, I’m just not keeping track of them. Anyway, if you are interested in the science of exo-planets (where, any, hypothetical, aliens should be living), this article is a good start. The numbers of known exoplanets and exoplanetary system (analogs of our own Solar Planetary System), have increased, since, the time I wrote this!

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(No – they’re not.) Predicted, apparent, ‘rainbow’, as seen from central Hyannis yesterday after a brief shower. At one point, it became a ‘double’. This phenomenon is very specific to your relative position between the sun, and, rainfall on the opposite side of the sky from the sun. Over time, I’ve become fairly proficient at predicting the occurrence of a rainbow. Two conditions must be met: an unobstructed sun at a low elevation (between about 5-20 degrees from the horizon), and a ‘rain field’, directly opposite, typically, encompassed in a background of gray. I made the prediction about 3 minutes before its occurrence. I can remember, one, time, being with my girlfriend, and, in a private moment (with conditions conducive to the occurrence of rainbow), I promised to make her a rainbow! I told her to just watch the sky until it appeared, and, luckily, it did – almost as soon as the words were out of my mouth! She, then, looked at me – like I was from some planet in the center of the Galaxy – ran, off – and I never saw her again! Just kidding. At that moment, she fell in love with me…. Back to reality: Actually, the ‘bow’ is only half of the phenomenon. If all of the land below the horizon were to suddenly disappear – we would see a full-circle ‘rain halo’. I’ve actually seen rain halos at a component of Niagara Falls, called, Horseshoe Falls, in Canada, looking down through the mist into the pool of water below.

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That’s the question that was asked of me as I entered my doctor’s office, last, week, concerning the Cape Cod Bay Asteroid Event, and, two other similar events that had occurred in the previous weeks, at other locations in the US. The explosion of a likely, metallic, asteroid over Cape Cod Bay, on 30 May – caused, more, than a few, to reconsider, impact, and/or, air-burst hazard,s from natural objects, like, asteroids and comets, particularly, NEO’s (“Near-Earth Objects”)… If you’ve ever seen a comet (e.g., Hale – Bopp), you might well consider these things to be forever, external, to our biosphere, as they originate in the depths of our Solar Planetary System, far, out, from Earth’s orbit. However, it’s a gravitational/orbital crap-shoot. Like all matter, they respond to gravity, and are susceptible to any gravitational well they should pass near to, like, the moon, or the Earth – or, Jupiter. In 1992, the world watched as one of these objects – comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 – became gravitationally captured by Jupiter and, after, approximately 10 (un-monitored) orbits about the planet, got sucked into its atmosphere – piece, by piece. Jupiter’s pull is so strong that it caused the comet to fragment into 20 or more pieces, each, causing, a violent explosion upon contact with Jupiter’s upper atmosphere. Each fragment caused an explosion equal to approximately 6 million megatons of TNT. Technically, these are air-burst events – like the Cape Cod Bay asteroid. One question I noted, online, regarding the asteroid, was, “Where was NASA?” This, ‘snarky‘, query, implies that NASA “should have known”, about the object, prior, to impact – and, naturally, that they were “hiding it from us”…(Oh, don’t let me go on about that…people will “blame NASA”, for a sprained ankle!) Two other atmospheric breach events had occurred in the weeks leading up to the Cape Cod Bay asteroid event, which were undetected, as well, one, over Ohio, and another in the southeastern US. Well, let me answer this question. RELATIVE SIZE OF IMPACTOR AT “METEOR CRATER”, ARIZONA WITH RAILROAD BOX-CARS In 1994, Congress directed NASA to coordinate with the Department of Defense and international space partners to identify and catalog at least 90 percent of all NEOs (“Near-Earth Objects”, with a potential for impacting Earth), greater, than 1 kilometer in diameter that are in an orbit around the Sun, that cross Earth’s orbit, with the goal of completing this task within the following decade, which was completed and reported to Congress in 2007. Assisting in this endeavor was the Spaceguard Survey. While the 1994 directive provided the initial impetus, the Spaceguard Survey specifically aimed to identify at least 90 percent of asteroids that were at least 1 kilometer in diameter—objects often referred to as “extinction-level” asteroids—within a ten-year timeframe. This survey is ongoing. However, asteroidal bodies of less than a kilometer in diameter are much harder to detect, let alone, an object of five meters across. The instrumentation simply isn’t sensitive enough to detect such small objects before they impact. NASA and Spaceguard Survey are concerned with objects which would create a regional or global catastrophe, for obvious reasons. Their funding is very specific – to be used for detecting objects of a kilometer or more in size. If you believe we need, more, or better, than that, consider contributing to their funding. Another question was, “Are these events coordinated?” That’s a conspiracist question that I’m not even going to get into, here. If you think that governments have the capacity to steer asteroids at directed targets on Earth, well, that’s science fiction – not, current scientific technology. These events are more common than most people realize, because most occur over the 75% area of Earth that consists of oceans, and tend to go undetected. MY ARTISTIC REPRESENTATION OF AN ASTEROID AIR-BURST These objects orbit the sun, just as Earth does, but they are randomly scattered throughout and around Earth’s orbit. As with meteor show...

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The light that you see, from the Sun, today (unless you live on Cape Cod (“Cape Cloud”) – yes, the sun really exists!), is a product of nuclear fusion that began its journey to our eyes – up to ~170,000 years, ago. In the case of the Sun, visible-light photons are the product of, initially, gamma-ray photons, formed by the nuclear-fusion of hydrogen, into helium, at the sun’s high-temperature core, which went through many energy transitions along the way, effectively, degrading the high-energy gamma radiation into lower-energy photons as the energy diffuses outward. It is, ‘temperature’, that determines the frequency and wavelength of electromagnetic energy (i.e., light, AM & FM radio, shortwave, microwaves, ultraviolet rays, x-rays, gamma rays, etc. It’s all the same ‘stuff’ – that is, ‘electromagnetic energy’. As the photon loses energy, through, absorption and re-emission, that energy becomes ‘weaker’, over, time. Because of the energy loss along the way, through, “Compton Scattering”, the energy eventually exits the sun’s surface as much, lower, energy ‘visible light’ photons. The process, called, a ‘random-walk’, takes up to 170,000 years to complete.

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[astrobiologistdale]

On Saturday, May 30th, 2026, at 2:06 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, although, the sky was overcast –  residents in Massachusetts witnessed a flash of light and a sonic boom. You can imagine the speculation of lay-persons, everywhere. An asteroid entered the atmosphere traveling Northwest to Southeast, and entering Cape Cod Bay. Since the object was at least one meter in diameter, it is technically termed an ‘asteroid’ event. The naming convention is standardized. If an object is below 1 meter in diameter, it is a meteoroid. If it is 1 meter or greater in diameter, it is an asteroid. Meteoroids and asteroids have the same nature. These types of objects have their origins in orbital paths around the Sun which happen to intersect with Earth’s orbit, on occasion, thereby, colliding with the upper atmosphere and succumbing to gravitational forces which occasionally cause them to impact the surface. These events are more common than you might imagine. They usually go unseen because most of these events occur over oceanic portions of Earth. There have been a great number of events in recorded history, however, that occurred over land areas. One such event was the ‘Chelyabinsk’ asteroid air-burst, which happened in February of 2013 in a populated area of Siberia, injuring thousands of people and breaking thousands of Windows in buildings.

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The idea that an object in free fall accelerates at about 32 feet per second squared (32 ft/s²) can seem confusing at first. Most of the confusion comes from mixing up terms like speed, velocity, and acceleration, or from overthinking what is actually a straightforward concept. Let’s break it down… When an object falls, it doesn’t move at a constant speed—it speeds up as it goes. This happens because of gravity, the force that pulls objects toward the Earth. The rate at which the object speeds up is called acceleration. Acceleration means a change in velocity over time. Velocity includes both speed and direction, but since a falling object is moving straight down, we can mostly focus on its speed. Near the Earth’s surface, gravity causes objects to accelerate at about 32.2 feet per second every second. This means: After 1 second, the object is moving at 32.2 ft/s After 2 seconds, 64.4 ft/s After 3 seconds, 96.6 ft/s After 4 seconds, 128.8 ft/s That, this experiment, did, or did not, actually, occur, is moot (however, it is noted by Williams’s, “A History of Science”, to have taken place); it has been tested – and re-tested – and re-tested – and re-tested – ever since. Law of Odd Numbers Galileo’s Law of Odd Numbers is a fundamental principle in classical kinematics which states that the distances covered by a falling object in successive equal intervals of time are proportional to the sequence of odd numbers (1,3,5,7,…) — a strange situation! I won’t describe it here, but you can research this interesting scenario. So, you can determine an object’s speed, in miles per hour, for the end of any, given, interval, in seconds, during its fall, at: 32.2 feet per second, per second. Just multiply 32.2 times the number of seconds you want to calculate for, say, “4” seconds: 32.2 x 4 seconds = 128.8 feet per second. Next, multiply that figure (128.8) by 3,600 seconds, and you’ll get 463,680 ft. per hour.. Divide, that, by 5,280 ft. (number of feet in a mile), and you’ll get, In this case, 87.1 MPH. I think….I hope. (Whew!…sometimes I wish, Galileo, had kept his BALLS home, that day!) (** Space is a near-perfect vacuum; the average cubic-inch of space contains only around 10 hydrogen atoms and a stray photon or two).

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“Rocks”, are individual fragments of a terrestrial-type, crustal, and/or, core structure, such as a planet or an asteroid. Planets, and, some, asteroids, come together through a process known as ‘accretion’, or a gravitationally-induced, ‘compression’, and ‘differentiation’ of silicate and metal particulates that originate in ‘molecular cloud’ structure in our galaxy. This is where the original material that formed our Solar Planetary System came from. MARTIAN METEORITE IN ANTARCTIC ‘DESERT ‘ Thus, the composition of rock is an aggregate of metal and mineral particles, derived, from a complex thermal and chemical process, and it is found on Earth, the moon, Mars, and on the other terrestrial planets of our Solar Planetary System. Because gravitation induces motion to objects to ‘move’, through, space – it is a, very, active place! These objects (formally, known as, ‘bodies’), collide with other bodies, producing, fragmentation of the  bodies involved, which can cause the fragments to end up on the surfaces of planets that they, may, or, may not have originated from. Planetary surface impacts from these bodies, typically, travelling at tens of thousands of kilometers per hour, can induce loosened surface particles to achieve rebound speeds, high enough, to escape the gravitational influence of their parent bodies, and, thus, expelling them into nearby space, while conserving their momentum. Asteroids, often categorized as ‘minor planets’, or,  ‘bodies’, frequently undergo a ‘collisional evolution’. When these bodies collide at high velocities, the kinetic energy involved (defined by Ek=12mv2)  — is sufficient to fracture the parent bodies, creating a distribution of fragments. These fragments can be perturbed into orbits that intersect planetary surfaces. Furthermore, the process, described, is known as “impact cratering“, and “spallation“. If the velocity imparted to a particle exceeds the escape velocity of the parent body (defined as ve=2*G*M*R), the particle enters space, thereby, conserving the momentum of the system. And, so – we have, “rocks”. This is all ‘astrophysics, or, more, specifically, ‘planetary science”. However, we needed to understand these processes in order to wrap our heads around, just what, a specific ‘rock’ is – and, if it’s not an original, Earth, rock, how it ended up here, on this planet. Many rocks have been found on Earth that have been ‘ejected’, from, the Moon, Mars, and some of the well-known asteroids, such as, “4Vesta”. ‘Astrogeologists’ can determine the history of any, rock, found on Earth (if you’re finding any of this – hard to believe – you are missing out on some knowledge; educate yourself, especially, in ‘cosmology’). The rock shown in this image, taken, from, and found, in an Earth desert – has a history of three impact events, that happened on the planet Mars! The last of the three events ejected it from the Martian surface into an orbit which eventually coincided with Earth’s position in its orbit, colliding, with it. And,m – here it is! How, cool, is that!?

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[astrobiologistdale]

Here’s a short, little primer I wrote a few years back… — The word “MAN” (and hence, “mankind”), shouldn’t be a sexist, or, “politically correct” issue. ” Man”, is the non-binomial name for our species, Homo sapiens sapiens. And, away we go! – — There is no ‘x’ in the word “ESCAPE” (i.e , “ex•cape”) — Sorry, there isn’t one in “ESPRESSO” either (say, “es-press-o” – not ” ex•press•o”) — “NUCLEAR” is not spelled, nor should it be pronounced ‘nucular’ (new-kyoo-lar). No atom – in the universe, has a “nuculus” All of them, however, do have an atomic, “nucleus”. Just remember two words: “new”, and “clear” : “new•clear” = “nu-clear” = “nuclear”. — The words, “THERE”, “THEIR” and “THEY’RE”, as well as “YOUR” and “YOU’RE” all have different meanings; if you know them, you’ll remember how to spell them! — If I say, “I was so embarrassed I, literally, died!” – should I still be able to share that with you, right now? — “SPECIES”, is pronounced, spee•sheez and not “spee•seez”. — “JEWELRY”, is pronounced “jew•el•ree”, not “jew•ler•ree.” The Signs of the Zodiac**, are the twelve constellations which lie along the plane of the ecliptic (the path in the sky which the sun, moon, and planets follow). Here are some constellation “catastrophes”: — “GEMINI” (both, the constellation and the early, U.S. space program): pronounce it, Gem•in•ee instead of Gem•in•eye. — There is a constellation named, “Scorpius”, in the southern sky – technically, “Scorpio”, does not exist. — There is a constellation named, “Capricornus”; therefore, technically, “Capricorn” does not exist. **The International Astronomical Union (IAU of Great Britain), is in charge of the naming, nomenclature, and pronunciation – of all things astronomical, globally. They do not accept the three constellation mispronunciations as I have shown them. How they came to be, at all, is a mystery to THIS astronomer! — “MEDIEVAL” is not “mid•evil”. Say “med•ee•evul” instead. — The second letter of the Greek alphabet is “beta”, pronounced, “bay•tuh"; a female, Siamese fighting fish is a "betta", pronounced, "bett•uh”. “Cavalry”, is a U.S. Army Infantry division. I was in the 3-8 Cavalry in Mannheim, West Germany. “Cal•va•ry”, is where Jesus of Nazareth was crucified. — The other two ‘r’ words: Of course we all learned back in 1st grade about February’s not being pronounced “Feb• yoo•ary”, and “library’s” not being pronounced “lie•berry” .. right? — “KILOMETER” is pronounced ‘keelo•meter’, not ‘kil-•aw•meter’. “Gigabyte” is, ‘jigga•byte’; not, ‘gigga-•byte’. — “HEIGHT”. So many of us like to tack on an extra, “-th” at the end: “height-th’! Though, the other dimensions (breadth, width, depth), end with “-th”, this one does not. Pronounce it: “Hite”. — A “THEORY”, accurately describes the function and mechanism of some law, or principle, of the natural world, which has been tested and confirmed (proved) by experiment and, which, has been shown to accurately predict future conditions of that law or principle it describes. To downplay something as being, “just a theory”, is oxymoronic – sort of. — An “HYPOTHESIS”, is a plausible condition, and, in some cases, merely, a ‘best guess’. Hypotheses are often, born, from brain-storming. Any, already, confirmed, state, such as a natural law, is accompanied by the theory that describes it. To be clear, theories don’t go away after they have been proven; they remain, to be referred to, whenever some condition of a law or principle needs clarification, or, for the perusal of students of the particular theory in question. The theory, stands, as the explanation of a given natural event. It should be mentioned, here, that laws are not inventions by scientists, but ...

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This video will help you understand, why, “Pluto”, is no longer considered to be a ‘planet’… In 2006, we all heard about Pluto, being, ‘demoted’ out of planetary ‘status’, and many of the GP considered it to be ‘unfair’.   ‘Un-fair’?!!    Solid, terrestrial-type, bodies, are not under any socio-political constraints; i.e., we don’t categorize them according to anthropomorphic, ‘civil rights’, ‘quirks’. A lot of understanding of ‘planetary accretion’ models and ‘differentiation’ of materials went into that decision. This video will help you understand some of the physics of planetary accretion models which you need to understand in order to understand the reason for the change in Pluto’s, so-called ‘status’.

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PLUMBER’S PUTTY IN THE CONTROL CAVITY If you’re not an experienced guitarist, you probably won’t appreciate this… Due, to a lot of wood removal on the body – to increase the depth of the original arm and body contours, which, because of the shift in the center of gravity, ‘transferring more weight’ to the neck. Here, was my fix.   To offset the ‘added weight’ of my neck – I had to think “out of the box”, (and – out of my mind) – with a quick fix….   Here, I have a control cavity, filled, with plumbers putty*, plus, an old, zinc tremolo sustain block that came on the guitar, originally. Plumber’s putty is very dense for its volume; like, ‘plastic lead’.   Also, I replaced the original, mild-steel, tremolo spring ‘claw’, with pure, brass, as well, as a pure brass sustain ‘Big’ block. *(1/2 lb. More than enough heat escapes up through the potentiometer posts and out of the top of the body.)   Now, I’ll prepend this, with my response to an in-experienced, ‘nay-sayer’, who, spoke, too quickly, without having given it much thought…    “Like anything else, the only way to know – is to do it. This was a ‘MacGyver’-hack, in a pinch. I used the only  materials I had on hand. How much weight does it add? 1/2 lb. – enough to counter, ‘neck dive’, which was the whole purpose, as, I’m an Eddie Van Halen copy artist, so, I’m very well versed, in, and involved, in guitar ergonomics (I’m also knowledgeable in physics). I did all the soldering in the electronics cavity. I installed a kill switch; one lead to ground, the other, to a lug on the treble pot.    Is it pretty? No.    Does it work?    Very, well! NEWLY INSTALLED ‘KILL SWITCH’   For those who aren’t familiar with the process, and, apparently, there are a lot of you – in the electronics world, it’s called, “potting”, or, “encapsulation”. Commodore® used this very same process in their power supplies for the Commodore 64 home computer. Any, heat, ‘trapped’ is negligible. Ask questions –  before, you commit to a nasty response –  just, because, it’s something you’ve never heard of before. (I’ll leave you with this quote: “There is a principle, which is a bar against all information, which is proof, against all arguments, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance — that principle is, contempt, prior to investigation.”      –HERBERT SPENCER)

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The statement: “An object, in free-fall, accelerates at a velocity of 32ft/sec2” (thirty-two feet per second per second, or, 32 ft per second, squared), is one of the most confusing ideas in physics for the lay-person – myself included (oh, how many times this little bugger has stung me!) This, seems to be, mainly, because people confuse acceleration with speed, and, speed, with velocity, and because they’re not taking atmospheric drag into account…oh, and one more thing; they do what I do – they over-think it! The idea here, applies to objects in free fall in a vacuum**, i.e., the vacuum of space. This, actually, intrinsically simple problem, has gotten the best of me more times than I care to admit. (And, this might be one of those times!) Nevertheless – it will help to remember, that: Velocity, is the rate at which an object changes its position in space. It is a vector quantity (it has two components: speed and direction). Here, we will be concerned only with speed. Well then, here goes… We can determine the distance that an accelerating object – say, a brick, dropped from a bridge – has fallen, after a time given in seconds. But, due to the acceleration of gravity, which accelerates at a rate of 32.2ft per second, per second (known as the acceleration due to gravity, or, 32.2ft/sec2) – this is a continuously accelerating brick; it is constantly gaining speed, at that rate, with the passage of time. It is important to note, here, that the speeds mentioned are instantaneous, and not average speeds. So, we have a falling brick that is speeding up as it goes along under our prescribed conditions, and so, after two seconds, it has fallen 64.4ft; after 3 seconds, it has fallen 80.5ft., after 4 seconds, 112.7ft., and so on. All objects, regardless of mass, fall at this same rate (in a vacuum) as demonstrated in Galileo Galilei’s famous experiment where he dropped two iron balls of different weights (atmospheric drag is negligible here because of the ball’s small size – and, because the difference would hardly be noticeable, anyway). Galileo’s demonstration was done, purportedly, from the top of the 186-ft, now, leaning tower, in the city of Pisa, Italy, in about the year 1590. Whether he actually performed the experiment is moot (however, it is noted by Williams’s, “A History of Science”, to have taken place); it has been tested – and re-tested – and re-tested – and re-tested – ever since. So, you can determine an object’s speed, in miles per hour, for the end of any, given, interval, (in seconds), during its fall, at: 32.2 feet per second, per second. Just multiply 32.2 times the number of seconds you want to calculate for, say, “4” seconds: 32.2 x 4 seconds = 128.8 feet per second. Next, multiply that figure (128.8) by 3,600 seconds, and you’ll get 463,680 ft. per hour. Divide, that, by 5,280 ft. (number of feet in a mile), and you’ll get, In this case, 87.1 MPH. I think….I hope. (Whew!…sometimes I wish, Galileo, had kept his balls, at home, that day!) (**Intergalactic Space is a near-perfect vacuum; the average cubic-inch of space contains only around 10 hydrogen atoms and a stray photon or two).

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[astrobiologistdale]

The statement: “An object, in free-fall, accelerates  at a velocity of 32ft/sec2” (thirty-two feet per, second, per, second, or, 32 ft per second, squared), is one of the most confusing ideas in physics for the lay-person – myself included (oh, how many times this little bugger has stung me!) This, seems to be, mainly, because people confuse acceleration with speed, and, speed, with velocity, and because they’re not taking atmospheric drag into account…oh, and one more thing; they do what I do – they over-think it! The idea here, applies to objects in free fall in a vacuum**, i.e., the vacuum of space. This, actually, intrinsically simple problem, has gotten the best of me more times than I care to admit. (And, this might be one of those times!) Nevertheless – it will help to remember, that: Velocity, is the rate at which an object changes its position in space. It is a vector quantity (it has two components: speed and direction). Here, we will be concerned only with speed. Well then, here goes… We can determine the distance that an accelerating object – say, a brick, dropped from a bridge – has fallen, after a time given in seconds. But, due to the acceleration of gravity, which accelerates at a rate of 32.2ft per second, per second (known as the acceleration due to gravity, or, 32.2ft/sec2) – this is a continuously accelerating brick; it is constantly gaining speed, at that rate, with the passage of time. It is important to note, here, that the speeds mentioned are instantaneous, and not average speeds. So, we have a falling brick that is speeding up as it goes along under our prescribed conditions, and so, after two seconds, it has fallen 64.4ft; after 3 seconds, it has fallen 80.5ft., after 4 seconds, 112.7ft., and so on. All objects, regardless of mass, fall at this same rate (in a vacuum) as demonstrated in Galileo Galilei’s famous experiment where he dropped two iron balls of different weights (atmospheric drag is negligible here because of the ball’s small size – and, because the difference would hardly be noticeable, anyway). Galileo’s demonstration was done, purportedly, from the top of the 186-ft, now, leaning tower, in the city of Pisa, Italy, in about the year 1590. Whether he actually performed the experiment is moot (however, it is noted by Williams’s, “A History of Science”, to have taken place); it has been tested – and re-tested – and re-tested – and re-tested – ever since. So, you can determine an object’s speed, in miles per hour, for the end, of any, given interval, in seconds, during its fall, at: 32.2 feet per second, per second. Just multiply 32.2 times the number of seconds you want to calculate for, say, “4” seconds: 32.2 x 4 seconds = 128.8 feet per second. Next, multiply that figure (128.8) by 3,600 seconds, and you’ll get 463,680 ft. per hour.. Divide, that, by 5,280 ft. (number of feet in a mile), and you’ll get, In this case, 87.1 MPH. I think….I hope. (Whew!…sometimes I wish, Galileo, had kept his BALLS home, that day!) (** Space is a near-perfect vacuum; the average cubic-inch of space contains only around 10 hydrogen atoms and a stray photon or two). I’ll include here some screenshots from AI for your perusal…..

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[astrobiologistdale]

“May we win – something – that correlates to an ‘Oscar’, here on Earth!…” Whilst (I’ve always wanted to use that word for something), sipping at my favorite cup of coffee, this morning (New England Coffee’s® Breakfast Blend™) – I decided, I’d get in some of my, “morning newspaper”, reading before starting work (yes, it’s true — Writer’s – do, ACTUAL, work!) And then, that funny feeling that I get once in a while, came over me….again… It has occurred to me, more than once, that, “people” – i.e., human beings; Homo sapiens sapiens – must be the absolute, insanest creatures, in this Universe! If we aren’t — I would HATE to meet the ones that ARE!! Difficult as it is, for me to believe: there are people walking around today, conscious (seemingly) who, actually, SEEM to believe in these “fairy-tales”! I say “seemingly”, because I believe that, on a deeper level, they really don’t; and, they KNOW this; they’re being self-contradictory, using a form of schizophrenic thinking — because that kind of thinking has been socially accepted in our society. That is: It’s okay to believe two, polar opposites, at the same time!! Or, rather – it’s OKAY, to appear to believe, two, polar opposites, at the same time – in the presence of others, out of, fear, of a looming possibility of rejection, and isolation. I’ve recently heard, through the “grapevine”, that – we – have attained sit-com status, with some of our neighbors, out there, on other planets, in orbit around other stars! Bravo for us!! May we win, something, that correlates to an ‘Emmy’, here on Earth…. I wish that I could say– “YOU GUYS MAKE ME LAUGH!” But I can’t. This is a sad, and grave situation for the future of humanity. We are, actually, teaching our little kids, this stuff. And we want it to be taught in our schools!!! These, example situations, brought up in this article – are, in reality, reciprocating; they are a reflection of ourselves.

[astrobiologistdale]

(Once Upon a Time, back in 2011)….   I’ve never considered myself as being much interested in politics, let alone being anything of a politician. But, I recently had the opportunity to represent our Clubhouse (and in fact, Clubhouses everywhere in the US) in attending the U.S. Clubhouse Coalition convention in Washington, D.C. (specifically, Arlington, VA ,which is a part of the District of Columbia), held in the Rosslyn Ballroom at the Arlington Holiday Inn.   The first official meeting was held on Sunday evening, with meetings and workshops being held from 8:30am to 6:00pm for the next three days. Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t talk a whole heck of a lot—unless I really feel a point needs to be made—and only very rarely at meetings. Well, it seems I discovered a situation in Washington, in which anyone would have been hard-pressed to shut me up!… Words come pretty easy when one is defending their Clubhouse!   Well, most of us are aware that there are two Clubhouse organizations that directly affect Baybridge Clubhouse; the MCC, or Massachusetts Clubhouse Coalition and the ICCD, the International Center for Clubhouse Development. It is the intention of the Clubhouses of several states in the US to fill a current gap in the system by spearheading a coalition of Clubhouses on a national level; one that focuses on a standards-based policy and ICCD accreditation—the previously mentioned United States Clubhouse Coalition. A formal mission statement has yet to be agreed upon for now, but the emphasis is on the cohesiveness of Clubhouse philosophy as seen in the eyes of the ICCD, and the importance of ICCD accreditation.   I spoke at length with Congressman Bill Keating in his office at the House of Representatives, Canon House about the situation. Jen and I will be filling you in, in deeper detail at an upcoming Club Training.