Cosmic Howlers
October 2023
A PUZZLE INDEED
While there may not be as many pieces in this space-themed mini jigsaw as there are stars in the solar system… (Lakeland Christmas Catalogue 2021, p18)
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There is only one star in the solar system – the Sun! So if there are fewer pieces in the mini jigsaw than that, the puzzle must have no pieces whatsoever. They possibly meant stars in the Milky Way.
HUBBLE CONSTANT TAKES A KNOCK
The galaxy is at a redshift 0.193 (about 3 million light-years from Earth) and associated with a persistent radio source, also of unknown nature. (Astronomy & Geophysics, 59, 2.21, 2018)
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A redshift of that size would equate to a distance more like 3 billion light-years (ie a thousand times greater). Alternatively, if the distance is correct, the redshift would need to be 0.000193 (ie a thousand times smaller).
NOT ON THIS PLANET!
An inaccuracy of a second will, on the equator, mean an error of a mile in the calculated ship’s position. (Daily Telegraph, 2018, January 13, Letter to the Editor)
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More like 0.29 miles (just over 500 yards)…! The radius of the Earth is about 4000 miles, so its circumference is about 25,000 miles. The Earth takes a day to rotate once (ie 86,400 seconds), so in 1 second a point on the equator moves 25,000 miles divided by 86,400.
MUST HAVE THE (MAGNETIC) BRAKES ON
…the fastest speed clocked for a neutron star…at around 1100 km per hour… (Astronomy & Geophysics, 46, 2005 October, 5, 5)
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The fastest-spinning neutron star known is PSR J1748-2446ad, rotating at a rate of 716 times per second, giving a linear speed at the surface of the order of just under a quarter of the speed of light (ie 270 million km per hour).
BY JOVE!
Quick Quiz, Question 5: How many moons in our solar system are bigger than Mercury? Answer, Page 55: Two, Ganymede and Titan, which orbit Jupiter. (New Scientist, 2022 February 12, p53)
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While Ganymede is one of the moons of Jupiter, Titan is most definitely not – it belongs to Saturn and is the planet’s largest moon.