Comet expected to hit earth? Could it be?

Discussion in 'Free Speech Alley' started by BayouBengal014, Sep 15, 2015.

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  1. LaSalleAve

    LaSalleAve when in doubt, mumble

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    I'm not sure I never got to go. He and my dad used to go though. I was really young. He even brought back a native that watched his father cut his mother's head off with a machete.
     
    LaSalleAve, Sep 15, 2015
    #31
  2. mancha

    mancha Alabama morghulis

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    Umm, I did not see that but I heard it was one of those things. John McAfee killed down there and is still walking.
     
    mancha, Sep 15, 2015
    #32
  3. mancha

    mancha Alabama morghulis

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    How can anyone know that - Napoleon Dynamite
     
    mancha, Sep 15, 2015
    #33
  4. Bengal B

    Bengal B Founding Member

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    Gotta be true. They engraved it on a plaque.
     
    Bengal B, Sep 15, 2015
    #34
  5. Bengal B

    Bengal B Founding Member

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    Bengal B, Sep 15, 2015
    #35
  6. red55

    red55 curmudgeon Staff Member

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    Well, not exactly. The tail does not actually trail the comet, the sun pushes it away from the comet. When the comet is moving away from the sun, the tail is actually ahead of it. It's space, physics doesn't care.

    If we were lined up with the sun, we might not see the tail, but we could still see the comet itself, which reflects light. But we won't stayed lined up with the sun for long, so we would eventually see the tail as well, but not much of it. A comet could hit us with the tail visible. In both cases we would see it coming. How much time we would have is very arguable.
     
    red55, Sep 16, 2015
    #36
  7. shane0911

    shane0911 Helping lost idiots find their village

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    Uh huh
     
    shane0911, Sep 16, 2015
    #37
  8. red55

    red55 curmudgeon Staff Member

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    You make me feel like Ned Flanders, Homer.
     
    red55, Sep 16, 2015
    #38
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