Talk:1887: Two Down, One to Go

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
Revision as of 19:56, 9 September 2017 by Miamiclay (talk | contribs) (Corrected abbreviation for Maine)
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Worth noting that the Orionids are the last major shower of the year: https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/meteor-shower/orionid.html 108.162.246.215 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Venus is sometimes visible during the day. A daylight supernova need not be the second brightest object in the night sky.162.158.62.159 13:30, 8 September 2017 (UTC)

The Moon is also sometimes visible during the day. SN 1006 and SN 1054 were brighter than Venus at maximum brightness but still dimmer than the Moon. --Dgbrt (talk) 14:02, 8 September 2017 (UTC)

Randall is likely talking about the expected replenishment of the Leonids http://www.imo.net/50-years-ago-the-1966-leonid-meteor-storm/ 172.68.65.18 14:55, 8 September 2017 (UTC)

Aurora viewing in "perhaps parts of Maine"? Maine's northern limit is ~47.5 degrees. Most of the US/Canada border is at 49 degrees, which is still too far south for good aurora views, but being in Seattle gets you closer to the pole than Maine. 108.162.216.160 18:59, 8 September 2017 (UTC)

Auroras are centered on the Earth's geomagnetic poles, not the geographic poles. The geomagnetic pole is currently on Ellesmere Island and is closer to Portland, ME than Seattle, WA. The closest spot in the contiguous US to the geomagnetic north pole might be in northern Maine, Isle Royale, MI or the Northwest angle, depending on exactly which epoch is used for the location of the pole.162.158.62.159 00:22, 9 September 2017 (UTC)

Could Randal's mention of a supernova be interpreted to mean that our sun goes supernova and since that's the last thing he sees, he jsut closes off his bucket list? 108.162.221.58 22:55, 8 September 2017 (UTC)

Nice idea, and fits with Randall's sense of humor, but he knows that while it is possible that a nearby star will go supernova in his lifetime (though unlikely) our sun will never go supernova because it is too small. And the odds of our sun going nova anytime soon are meaningfully zero (on the same order of magnitude of the odds that every atom that makes up the clothing you are wearing suddenly quantum tunneling two feet to your left). 162.158.78.124 14:54, 9 September 2017 (UTC)