Surely this is a joke?
http://mosnews.com/feature/2005/04/19/deepimpact.shtml
That is the worst reporting I have ever seen - it goes on and on about explosives.
IT'S NOT GOING TO EXPLODE!!!
"a “fly-by” spacecraft and a smaller “impactor” carrying some 350 kilograms of a copper-based explosive"
WAHGHAH - it's just a lump of copper!!
Almost as much of a loonie as the person making the claim...
"
“I am not a scientist,” Molokhov says, “but experts say the impact could disrupt the comet’s plasma trail, which could have an effect on satellite communications.”
"
Bwhaa haaaaaaagaaaaa ha ha ha ha
Doug
Some great science in there. I quote:
'There were scores of similar attempts within the U.S. back in the 60s, with various crackpots insisting that American and Russian satellites and Moon probes were causing their spiritual beliefs great harm. '
I recall prior to Apollo 11 a news story about the government of Saudi Arabia sending a message to the US asking that Apollo 11 not land on the Moon, as it is a sacred object to Islam and stepping on it would be an act of desecration. I have not been able to find a reference to this since I found a reference in the now dispersed Hansen Planetarium library when I worked there 15 years ago. A Saudi citizen confirmed this story for me in the mid 1970's. Does anyone have any information about this?
If the US were to return to the Moon I wonder if this objection would be raised again? In the late '60's we could laugh off such objections, but in an era of rising Islamic fundamentalism such a project could be taken as a challenge, perhaps prompting threats of an oil embargo or even efforts to sabatoge eforts to return to the Moon.
Don
Let me recall that the crackpots you speak about, not only harm science or pose terrorist threats, but -not the least fault- they also speak in the name of all those who practice religion and spirituality as a mean to live in peace and happiness with themselves and with others. So these people have not one, but two reasons to be angry after the crackpots.
Right on the countrary, the persons who consecrate their life to explore and master their inner soul often tend to develop an attitude which is the transposition of the scientific attitude in the spiritual domain. And they are often among the most interested in physics and space exploration. But they do not use suicide bombing to express their joy and emotion, so the newspapers do not speak of them, as if they did not existed.
Unless somebody asks some question, I do no more elaborate on this, as it is, not really off topic, but, say, tangent to the topic.
"Indeed, the consequences of destroying a comet may include anything from an asteroid shower to disruption to radio waves.
“I am not a scientist,” Molokhov says, “but experts say the impact could disrupt the comet’s plasma trail, which could have an effect on satellite communications.”"
Best....quote....EVAR!!!! Incidentally, in the category of: "you know the cold war is over when", did any one else notice there was an advert for the US NAVY on that website?!!
I think that doesn't sum up adequately my thoughts right now.
Oh well, time for the obligatory Yakov Smirnoff jokes.
In Soviet Russia, NASA sues you!
This story is not funny at all: remember that there was a successfull suing against a guy who said that the Earth was orbiting around the sun, contradicting the "religious" beliefs of the establishment. He had to say ridiculous things to escape death sentence. Galileo was his name if I remember well.
Is this really impossible today? I would not bet. The spirit of dogmatism and intolerance is still there, as a creeping minority, even in developed and cultivated countries. And as a majority of "religious" nuts in some countries. And I am not sure that if, even in developed countries, somebody made a really revolutionary discovery, that he would not gain the open hostility of certain scientists.
So humour in this domain is still a defense.
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