2014.06.14 13:00 - Stellar Musings

 

The Guardian for this meeting was Bruce Mowbray. The photo is by Bruce Mowbray.

 

--BELL--

 

Qt Core: Hi Bruce

Qt Core: Furniture ?

Bruce Mowbray: Hello!

Bruce Mowbray: I'm afraid I was nodding off -- and didn't see you arrive.

Bruce Mowbray: I apologize.

 

Qt Core: np

Bruce Mowbray: still looking for a comfortable position.

Bruce Mowbray: Ahhh! there's one (sort of)

Qt Core: do you know why we have furniture now?

Qt Core: ?

Bruce Mowbray: Santoshima put it here yesterday afternoon -- during Yaku's session.

Bruce Mowbray: I enjoy the animations, but I find that I'm not able to wave or bow or anything like that  (as I am on the cushions.)

Bruce Mowbray: So, what's up with you today Qt?

Qt Core: In a usual "change is bad" reaction, I find it very out of place ;-)

Bruce Mowbray: Have you tried the other pieces of furniture yet?

Qt Core: Today I went to visit a nearby astronomical observatory (not in activity anymore as it suffers from light pollution now)

Bruce Mowbray: oh wow!

Bruce Mowbray: And if I may ask, why did you go there? -- I mean, if it's no longer in business.

Bruce Mowbray: (I should have said no longer in operation.)

Qt Core: There is still the telescope to be seen: here what google images have: https://www.google.it/search?q=osservatorio+di+merate&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=eLCcU7upFMKw0QX59YDQAw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAg&biw=1135&bih=852

 

--BELL--

 

Bruce Mowbray: Oh WOW!

Qt Core: it is on a very nice hill, and today, for the most part was a wonderful sunny day

Bruce Mowbray: are you in any of those photos?

Qt Core: I hope not ;-)

Bruce Mowbray: Ha ha!

Bruce Mowbray: Now I see that it is a very nice hill!

Bruce Mowbray: Wow. A cool close-up picture of the moon, too.

Qt Core: Now that place is more a research center for astrophysicists (with data coming from telescopes around (or out of) the globe

Bruce Mowbray: Good to hear that it still being used.

Qt Core: and has some laboratories where they build scientific satellites instruments, especially mirrors for x-rays

Bruce Mowbray: nods, listens.

Bruce Mowbray: Recalls that it was Qt who suggested I look into Stellarium.

Bruce Mowbray: http://stellarium.org

Bruce Mowbray: That's really a remarkable software program.

Qt Core: with the high energy they have, x-rays mirrors are delicate things, basically they are only reflected if they are gazing the mirrors that in the end look like a group of concentric pipes

Bruce Mowbray: so, these x-ray telescopes are in orbit? or are they on the earth -- maybe even in your observatory?

Qt Core: google images to the rescue again: https://www.google.it/search?q=x-ray+mirrors&es_sm=122&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=CLKcU6P8GKuT0AXauIC4Bg&ved=0CEYQsAQ&biw=1135&bih=852

Bruce Mowbray: Hello, Kori!

Bruce Mowbray: ty.

Korel Laloix: Osiyo

Qt Core: In orbit, luckily for us, x-rays can't reach the earth. they would be deadly

Qt Core: Hi Korel

Korel Laloix: Oh.. bring your own chair today?

Bruce Mowbray: Qt is educating me about astronomy . . . and telescopes.

Bruce Mowbray: San put them here yesterday afternoon, during Yaku's session.

Korel Laloix: Oh OK.

Bruce Mowbray: each chair has various postures. . .

Korel Laloix: Looks stylish but not comfy.

Bruce Mowbray: ha ha!

Korel Laloix: Form over function... smiles

Qt Core: I've been to this observatory today, Korel: https://www.google.it/search?q=osservatorio+di+merate&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=eLCcU7upFMKw0QX59YDQAw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAg&biw=1135&bih=852

Korel Laloix: I had one class in Astronomy as a side course...

Bruce Mowbray: Yes, Qt visited that astronomical Observatory today -- which is no longer in operation, but does serve in data collection from other observatories.

Bruce Mowbray: I wish I'd had courses in astronomy . . .

Qt Core: 40 Km to the Merate Observatory, some 40Km northeast of Milan

Bruce Mowbray: guess I could take such courses through http://futurelearn.org or http://coursera.org

Qt Core: after that, as usual, our group added a G to astronomy and we got gastronomy

Qt Core: and went to restaurant for a nice lunch

Korel Laloix: The one I had was a bit silly but good.

Qt Core: *launch

Bruce Mowbray: [creative, Qt!]

Korel Laloix: One credit hour elective...

Qt Core: launch and lunch, one of the typos a usually do/redo everiytime

Bruce Mowbray: the nearest astronomical observatory to where I live would be Perkins Observatory in Columbus . .

Bruce Mowbray: http://perkins.owu.edu/

Bruce Mowbray: but it is so close to the city -- there has to be a lot of light pollution.

Korel Laloix: The Tulsa Astronmy Club had its own observatory near here.

Bruce Mowbray: wow, great, Kori.

Korel Laloix: http://astrotulsa.com/

Qt Core: only by name the nearest to me is in Milan city center, but that is only office and a museum for decades

Bruce Mowbray: nods.

Korel Laloix: brb.. cooking

Bruce Mowbray: kk.

Bruce Mowbray begins to feel gastronomical urges himself.

Qt Core: (and the Merate one is part of that Milan institute too) Brera, where Schiapparelli first observed the "famous" Mars channels

Bruce Mowbray: OH my!

Bruce Mowbray: many decades ago, before any spacecraft went to Mars, I had a friend at the University of California who insisted that the Martian canals were not natural phenomena..... he had done some statistical studies of the maps of those canals . . . and speculated that they were made by Martians.

 

--BELL--

 

Bruce Mowbray: That was at a time when astronomers were trying to persuade the government to invest in space exploration.

Qt Core: and so made the hypothesis that Mars was inhabited (in the end it was the poor - from our perspective) quality of his telescope optics that made him see those channels

Bruce Mowbray: yes.

Bruce Mowbray tries to remember the name of the formula for a number of planets with habitable life in the universe . . .

Bruce Mowbray: the DRAKE Equation!

Bruce Mowbray: It just came to me.

Qt Core: yes

Korel Laloix: I have read about the stats behind some of those thoughts... interesting to see how stats can be turned to say what you want, if you want them to say something in particular.

Bruce Mowbray: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_equation

Bruce Mowbray: nods.

Qt Core: that one almost guarantees us that there are aliens around, tbut he Fermi paradox guarantees hat we will not meet them

Bruce Mowbray: also interesting to note how much people on planet Earth WANT there to be living beings "out there."

Bruce Mowbray: or maybe NEED there to be such beings.

Korel Laloix: I find that strange as well.

Bruce Mowbray: nods.

Korel Laloix: But then again, some of my thought processes I know some folks find very different.

Bruce Mowbray: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_paradox

Bruce Mowbray: Can we call that "The Kori Paradox"?

Korel Laloix smiles.. probably not...

Korel Laloix: I bet it is already named after someone else.

Korel Laloix: brb

Bruce Mowbray: “According to this line of thinking, the Earth should already have been colonized, or at least visited. But no convincing evidence of this exists. Furthermore, no confirmed signs of intelligence (see Empirical resolution attempts) elsewhere have been spotted, either in our galaxy or in the more than 80 billion other galaxies of the observable universe. Hence Fermi's question, "Where is everybody?”

Korel Laloix: Maybe they don't want to be found.

Bruce Mowbray: nods.

Bruce Mowbray: May be their "existence" is at a whole different level from ours . . . May be even in different dimensions.

Korel Laloix: On a different note?.. do you like mead? The honey wine stuff?

Qt Core: With the technology needed for interstellar travel i'm (almost) sure that if aliens don't want to be seen thay will not be seen, so i don't believe in UFOs

Bruce Mowbray: I have never drunk mead, Kori.

Korel Laloix: Was given a bottle.. not sure what I think of it.

Bruce Mowbray: You've tasted it, then?

Korel Laloix: I really have no opinion on the alien thing.

Bruce Mowbray: ha ha.

Korel Laloix: Yes.. nice, but has a strange texture and aftertaste

Qt Core: If they want to be seen they will land in front of the UN building, not in a grain field in a rural area...

Korel Laloix: They evidently use orange blossom honey, and so it has a bit of an orange afternates.

Bruce Mowbray: I like honey . . . not sure that I would like wine made of it (or is that considered more like " beer"?)

Korel Laloix: Not sure.

Bruce Mowbray: nods.

Korel Laloix: I think if Aliens showed up it would be more for tourist  reasons.. so they would go to Vegas or Paris.

Bruce Mowbray: I'm still a "gin man" myself.

Bruce Mowbray: nods --- perhaps they would even go to Tulsa!

Korel Laloix: Not a lot here  really.. smiles.. but thanks.

Bruce Mowbray: gotta check out those tornadoes!

Korel Laloix: Good steak though...

Korel Laloix: brb

Bruce Mowbray: Speaking of steaks, it's about time for my vegetarian typist to be scraping up dinner.

Bruce Mowbray: Thank you, Qt, for your fascinating information about astronomy.

Bruce Mowbray: That science really does fascinate me.

Qt Core: ty for listening, stop me if i go on too much (it happens a lot)

Bruce Mowbray: Here on the farm, when we have clear nights -- no clouds -- I can see the Milky Way vividly.

Bruce Mowbray: No! I love it, Qt.

Bruce Mowbray: so, I am off.

Bruce Mowbray: have a good weekend.

Bruce Mowbray: stay safe.

Qt Core: enjoy Bruce

Bruce Mowbray: let me know if you see any aliens.

Qt Core: no chance to see it for tens of km here :-(

 

--BELL--

 

Qt Core: So, Korel, is there any chance of The Bocconi thing ? are you really considering it ?

Korel Laloix: Not this year... but next year I think I can arrange it.

Korel Laloix: I think it sounds good.. and there are some very very good BioStats programs in Italy.

Qt Core: so you may even catch some of the Expo (May-October 2015 if i'm right)

Korel Laloix: Just need to figure out the language thing maybe.

Korel Laloix: Possibly...

Korel Laloix: But that is far off...

Korel Laloix: brb.. cooking

Qt Core: :-) ok

Qt Core: Probably in the university itself there would be no language issue, in day to day living, maybe

Qt Core: but still you came with the most spoken language (outside of Mandarin, ok)

Korel Laloix smiles

Korel Laloix: I think it would be good and I do have some experience with Italian

Qt Core: you would probably have more issue/pain hearing us butchering it ;-)

 

--BELL--

 

Korel Laloix: I picked up German quite quickly and my minimal Spanish and French give me some ideas of how the language fits together.

Qt Core: main difference all those consonants at word’s end, we have very little

Qt Core: :-)

Korel Laloix: That i can work with... smiles

Korel Laloix: I just think it would be a great expereince.. I need to travel a bit more for sure.

Qt Core: i need to go, something to do and then the first Italy match in the World Cup, (thought I could ignore that but really can't)

Korel Laloix: lol... I have friends that are out of sorts over the whole thing.

Korel Laloix: Hope you do well.

Qt Core: :-) Bye Korel, have fun

Korel Laloix: Ciao..

Korel Laloix: Take care