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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Jul 20, 2009 5:36:28 GMT
'Twas either 40 years ago today or 40 years tomorrow depending on what time zone you're in. What time zone _were_ they in when they landed on the Moon? That's what I want to know. Let us take a moment to pause and contemplate the achievement. Fascinating fact: Apollo 11 wasn't the only spacecraft orbiting the Moon 40 years ago today. Luna 15, an unmanned Russian spacecraft, was also there, intending to land, collect soil samples and return to the Earth. Apollo 11 was successful, while Luna 15 crashed and was a failure. Suppose Apollo 11 had failed and Luna 15 had been the one that returned to Earth? It could easily have gone that way - Luna 16 succeeded the following year in bringing back samples, while Apollo 13 went pear-shaped. The Soviet Union wasn't ready to land a man on the Moon, but only failed to be the first to acquire moonrock due to the whims of technology. Martin |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jul 20, 2009 7:14:32 GMT
If you haven't seen it dig out a copy of The Planets on DVD cos there's some good stuff on there about the moon mission and various space probes going Tango Ultra.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jul 20, 2009 10:15:52 GMT
Today I shall be listening to cricket
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Dave
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Post by Dave on Jul 20, 2009 10:27:50 GMT
Recently I seem to be doing that thing I do where I'm very busy yet not really getting much done. This week I'm aiming for a chilled out but productive week.
Post arrived this morning and I was surprised to find my new Driving License inside. I'd checked my account about an hour before to see if they'd cashed my cheque yet and as they hadn't my first thought when I saw the DVLA letter was that there was something up with the photo.
But no. I have a shiny new license though the photo is now black and white (the example in the enclosed leaflet was too so it's not a mistake) and the counterpart doesn't come with a protective plastic sleeve anymore which is irritating.
Of course I don't actually have a car at the moment but oooo shiny!
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Dezzeh
Thunderjet
Wait, what?
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Post by Dezzeh on Jul 20, 2009 12:01:51 GMT
Going to pick up my new car today. This will be probably the only new car I ever own
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2009 15:30:03 GMT
Last week at work was a pleasant week. The gaffer that I would dearly love to make eat dirt was off for the week and everything went smoothly. Today he returned to work and he immediately let the team I was working on know that he was back by nicking a pair of scales that we use on a regular basis so that another department can use them.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jul 20, 2009 16:33:43 GMT
Had some interesting news about Jonathan
He's been seeing a speech therapist who's been really pleased with how his signing is coming on (got about 20-25 signs now) However no new words. On Friday when she came she suggested we started researching special schools in Swindon cos in her opinion she didn't think he was likely to get any more speech and would need to be educated using sign language !
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Jul 20, 2009 17:29:30 GMT
Blimey, that's a bombshell to say the least. Maybe they're right, or maybe Jonathan will surprise you one day, who knows.
Does he understand speech, or is the lack of words a two-way thing? Will you be learning sign language?
Martin
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Post by legios on Jul 20, 2009 19:59:32 GMT
Sorry to hear that Johnathan's spoken vocabulary isn't advancing, but I guess it is good that he is coming along well with his signing. Out of curiosity what is he learning? BSL or something else?
On other fronts, I have been thinking a bit about the Apollo 11 landing today - helped along by the very rare sight of Neil Armstrong making a public appearance. I do find it deeply inspiring that humans decided that they were going to reach the moon, and having so decided and set their minds to it they reached out and achieved that goal. That is something I find rather moving and restores a bit of my faith in humanity as a species.
I see that Aldrin is taking the opportunity to suggest a fairly daring approach to his Mars-First plan - send astronauts, and then let them stay there for a while whilst you send supplies to them because it is cheaper and easier than bringing them back and then sending more blokes. It is interesting.
It is interesting to consider the differences between the Russian and American approaches to the moon. The Russian's were content to try the unmanned approach first, and then in time consider sending men once they had established themselves in near-Earth orbit (but then they had financial problems and it all went a bit pear-shaped), whereas the Americans committed early on to the idea that they hadn't achieved the moon unless men went there at the earliest opportunity.
(As to what Time Zone the Apollo 11 crew were in, I believe that the mission clock was set to the same time as the clock back at Canaveral - give or take minor relativistic effects - so technically they exported whatever time zone that is I guess. But if you were planning to stay longer I guess that you would probably want to establish Lunar Mean Time or some such. The really interesting question is what would you peg time to amongst the moons of Jupiter or Saturn. Out there you are so far from the Sun that it is insignificant next to either of the gas giants. Might you default to pegging local time against Jove/Saturn-rise over time? - Yes, I have probably thought far too much about this over the years).
Karl
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Post by blueshift on Jul 20, 2009 20:06:06 GMT
Well don't forget that the moon race had a huge part in the Cold War too. Necessity is the mother of all invention.
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Post by The Doctor on Jul 20, 2009 20:16:16 GMT
All the best for little Jonathon.
-Ralph
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Jul 20, 2009 20:23:18 GMT
Hm, I can't help thinking it's a bit lazy to say that the correct time was whatever they had their clocks set to.
Lunar time's a non-starter, since a lunar day is about a month long.
I would have to place my vote with whatever time zone the Moon is directly over on the Earth's surface at any given moment. It means that a person on the Moon has to change their clock about once a day as the Moon drifts from one time zone to the next as it orbits the Earth, but it seems the fairest solution to me.
And it means you can tell the time of day by the phases of the Earth.
(Unlike the phases of the Moon, which viewed from Earth take a month to go through their cycle, the phases of the Earth viewed from the Moon take a day or so.)
Yeah! I like that. It turns the Earth into one big Sun dial!
Martin
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Dave
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Post by Dave on Jul 20, 2009 22:16:03 GMT
Damn. Hope things work out for Jonathan.
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Post by legios on Jul 21, 2009 6:33:14 GMT
I was kind of musing on what time the Astronauts thought they were on, more of a subjective time zone thing, than what time zone the rest of the world thought they were in.
That said, I can see nothing wrong with your suggestion Martin, it is as fair as any other method of extrapolating Earth time to the Moon. Although on another level I do wonder about the applicability of Earth time zones, which have their roots in divisions of the Earth's rotation period, to the moon - with very different characteristics in that regard. (But that is just an idle musing at far too early an hour).
Karl
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Jul 21, 2009 7:44:40 GMT
The word 'ultimate' is often misused. But I think that when Neil Armstrong yesterday described the space race as "the ultimate peaceful competition", it's hard to argue with his choice of words. Puts international sporting victories into perspective at any rate.
Watched "Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11" on ITV1 late last night - cracking dramatised version of the Moon landings, with James Marsters stealing the show as Buzz Aldrin, and introduced by the real man himself. It provoked an emotional response from me.
I'm thinking of seeing 'Moon' after work today, though I don't know if I'm in the right frame of mind for it. My thoughts are rather heavily on the euphoric side, given the anniversary. But we shall see.
Argh, heavy, heavy rain, no end in sight. Don't want to go out in it, but I must...
Martin
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jul 21, 2009 8:54:27 GMT
Blimey, that's a bombshell to say the least. Maybe they're right, or maybe Jonathan will surprise you one day, who knows. Does he understand speech, or is the lack of words a two-way thing? Will you be learning sign language? His hearing fine and he can understand speech OK. He can produce about 9 words but it's been that way for about 18 months. Sorry to hear that Johnathan's spoken vocabulary isn't advancing, but I guess it is good that he is coming along well with his signing. Out of curiosity what is he learning? BSL or something else? He's got about 20 BSL signs courtesy of Mum who's got level 2 BSL and used to work for Oxford's sensory empairement team. |
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Post by The Doctor on Jul 21, 2009 17:47:35 GMT
Worrying about whether I have a job past August is starting to get to me, and my sleeping has become rather poor of late. I'm zombie-ing my way through days. Fun times.
In other news, laptop repair bloke and I may soon be 'having words'.
-Ralph
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Post by blueshift on Jul 21, 2009 18:29:18 GMT
Starting to feel slightly better. I think. Not felt like this in years, bloody hell.
I am not as heavily medicated as I used to have to be, hopefully that won't have to be the case, but I'd rather that than the alternative.
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Post by Shockprowl on Jul 21, 2009 19:22:06 GMT
Best wishes to Doc', little Jonathan and Blue', and anyone else who needs 'em.
My hospital placements are going really well. Playing with real people is scary!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2009 19:52:28 GMT
As Shockprowl says - best wishes to all here who have been having problems recently.
In other news, I've just got a confirmation through Facebook that the band I regularly go to see play has two more gigs in August. I'll be attending one of them on the 5th where they will be showcasing some new material but the second one clashes with AA2009 so I won't be attending. Never mind. Any other week and it wouldn't be a problem.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jul 22, 2009 8:50:20 GMT
Jonathan slept last night in a bed by himself for the first time !
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Post by The Doctor on Jul 22, 2009 17:13:09 GMT
Excellent!
-Ralph
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Jul 23, 2009 9:42:08 GMT
Fingers crossed it's the start of you getting a bit more sleep.
Andy
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jul 23, 2009 10:31:30 GMT
He slept fine again last night
I however saw 2:30 before I got sleep = pains in the chest due to pulled muscles.
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Post by blueshift on Jul 23, 2009 22:11:19 GMT
I bought a scotch egg from asda, and the inside is frozen. God.
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Post by The Doctor on Jul 24, 2009 7:14:24 GMT
Damn them!
A scotch egg should bring joy.
-Ralph
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2009 21:57:33 GMT
Netto scotch eggs are the worst. They are dry and fall apart as soon as you look at them!
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jul 25, 2009 6:02:50 GMT
Any scotch egg is bad - there's an egg in the middle.
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Post by The Doctor on Jul 25, 2009 9:14:08 GMT
Noooooooooooooo! They bring unlimited joy!
-Ralph
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jul 25, 2009 10:00:30 GMT
Egg = bad
But not as bas as baked beans
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