Reverend randomblink

May

2140

we-are-star-stuff:

If Earth Had a Ring Like Saturn

Our planet is lucky enough to have a large moon orbiting not too far away, which makes for very pretty moonlit nights. But for spectacular skies it might almost be worth trading in our moon for a ring like Saturn’s.

In fact, the earth did once have a ring - as part of the formation of our moon, ironically enough. When the planet Thea crashed into the earth, a titanic amount of material was blown into space. This went into orbit around the earth, forming a ring until it all eventually coalesced into our present-day satellite. This only happened because the material was orbiting outside of earth’s Roche limit.

In 1848, the French mathematician Edouard Roche calculated that if a large satellite were to approach too closely to a planet, it would be torn apart by the planet’s gravitational forces. This happens because the gravitational attraction of a planet on a moon is not equal. The planet pulls more on the side of the moon closest to it and less on the side further away. If the moon gets too close, this unequal pull can become great enough to tear the moon apart. Every planet has what is called a Roche limit.

Some astronomers believe that Saturn’s rings are material that was unable to form into a moon because it lies within the planet’s Roche limit. The gravitational pull of Saturn prevents particles from clumping together to form a moon. Another idea popular among scientists suggests that during the time when Saturn was first forming, it had one or more moons just outside its Roche limit. The bigger a planet is, the more gravity it has. And the more gravity it has, the bigger its Roche limit is. So as Saturn grew larger, its Roche limit grew, too. The limit soon moved past the inner moons and these moons soon broke apart. The remnants of the destroyed moons eventually formed the magnificent rings we see today. There may still be large pieces of these ancient moons within the rings. They would be much smaller than their ancestors but a thousand times larger than a typical ring particle. Another theory suggests that a few hundred million years ago - at a time when the early ancestors of the dinosaurs were roaming Earth - Saturn may have had no rings at all. The rings formed when one or more small moons wandered too close to Saturn. When they got within the Roche limit, Saturn’s gravity ripped them apart. After millions of years of bumping against one another, the pieces of moon were ground into the tiny particles that form the rings today.

If we had rings in the same proportion to our planet that Saturn’s are to it, it is pretty easy to figure out what they would like like from different places on the earth. From the equator the rings would be passing directly overhead. Since you’d be looking in the same plane as the rings, all you would see is a bright line arching from horizon to horizon. Here is what the rings might look like from Quito, Ecuador:

If we travel just a little further north to Guatemala, the rings begin to spread across the sky. The earthlight illuminating the dark side of the moon is many times brighter than we are accustomed to, due to the increased sunlight being reflected from the rings.

From Washington, DC (at 38° latitude), the rings begin to sink below the horizon, though they would still be an awe-inspiring sight as they dominate the sky both day and night.

At the Arctic Circle, the rings barely reach above the horizon. Seen here from Nome, Alaska, the brilliant rings illuminate the barren landscape scarcely more than a full moon would. Unlike the sun or moon, however, the rings neither rise nor set… they are always visible, day or night, always in exactly the same place.

(via knowledgethroughscience)
Services Offered

It’s not official… but I’ve started helping out friends and family with some basic services using my assorted skills.

I offer web-site creation and design. I currently outsource my web-design services because I am not as comfortable as I want to be in…
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May

287

juliokirk:

Star Trek gadgets: Phaser and communicator.

(via nudityandnerdery)
414513

10knotes:

This post has been featured on a 1000notes.com blog.

(Source: floralbombing)
26560

LOL!
(Source: pleatedjeans, via tumbloler)
24

knifepics:

Balisong (Butterfly Knife)

I miss having a pair of these…
78136

laughingstation:

lipstickndynamite:

One of the best mom moments in TV history. I wish more parents knew how important it is to validate their children’s feelings.

More FUNNY POST here!

(Source: forgofamilyforgofriends)
62859

thatfunnyblog:

Funny Stuff you like?

(Source: lettucefetish)
32661

The Future

svveden:

how dare you call me stupid. i know tons of useless information

This is our future…
(via cosniehaus)
4982

thatscienceguy:

This is a simulation of a rotating 4 dimensional Cube, otherwise known as a Tesseract.

What you are seeing is it Rotating. It is not being distorted, reshaped, or anything like that. it is simply Rotating - It appears to be distorted because you are only seeing the ‘projection’ of it. similarly if you rotated a 3D cube infront of lamp the shadow you would see would appear to distort.

The tesseract is a fascinating concept…
(via we-are-star-stuff)
May 19 - Happy Betray your spouse and abandon your pet day

I just ran into someone from my past the other day… most notably my past with my ex. They were extremely friendly and very welcoming. I learned that apparently my ex is talking/has talked badly about me… and I don’t mean just badly, but I wouldn’t like me if I believed a damn word that comes out of her mouth. I explained that that was why I don’t interact with most friends from my past… I didn’t want to deal with that nonsense.

My ex-wife was/is disabled… so obviously, if she left me… then I must have been a bad guy. And no one is going to look deeper until they have to. So I’ve waited… and it’s actually quite hilarious how many people from our past have come to me and started talking about the new her AFTER they got close to her and believed her.

How she’s a user, gossip, and worse.

And I’m not sure ever whether I should even talk with these people because… if you were stupid enough to know me… know who I am… and what I would or wouldn’t do… and still think that one word coming out of her mouth was true… then I probably don’t wanna hang around you anymore.

So it was nice to know that this person was so vocal about how much they never believed any of the nonsense about me… and it’s true. They’ve communicated with me, shared things with me, and more. But we’ve never talked about the ex until now… so it was nice to clear that hurdle.

My ex betrayed me. I have video of her promising to not do any of the things she did. I caught her in a web of lies and she promised to reform… more than twice. I cared for her for a decade, without me she would not have the gov’t aid that she does now. I made sure that she never went without the basics in life.

She made sure that I never got to live.

Until she betrayed me for the last time…

Now… my life is full to the brim.

I tried to remain friends with her. I tried to make sure that if/when her illness put her in a home, that she could rely on me to help out. She fought that promise until she won… and now we will never speak again.

I don’t burn bridges. I work tirelessly to retain relationships that are worth my time, with people that I believe to be worth my time. She believes in nuking every bridge that she doesn’t need at this moment.

The thing I remember her best for now? She left me with her cat that she had raised from birth. I promised to watch over him because she couldn’t have pets where she was going to be living.

The last time I saw her… she had a German Shepherd.

That… and she wished a major life illness on my then, soon-to-be-born daughter. She laughed at the thought that there was a chance my daughter would be born with this illness, something I carry in my blood.

Something fairly contagious.

But not only did my daughter NOT get this illness… but my new wife hasn’t either. It looks like one of the things that plagued me for years when I was with my ex… is gone… I haven’t had any health issues with it for over a year now.

I feel sorry for her. But I’m probably the only one. Well, the only one who really knows her (or thinks I do).

I would say I wish her the best, but she doesn’t deserve that.

I don’t even think about her anymore… of course then my phone pops up and reminds me that today is her birthday… lol. That is now officially removed from my calendar.

I’m happier now than I ever believed I would be. A decade of living for someone else that doesn’t recognize other peoples donations of time or more… and I thought life and love were like that. Unsatisfying, unhappy, miserable… but no.

Apparently, you can stumble onto the happiest moments of your life and stay there sometimes.

I laugh with my wife now… I tell her that she is my coma dream. I am so happy that it doesn’t seem real. I wish the same for everyone that is a worthwhile part of my life.

Today will probably be the last time I will think about my ex without someone else bringing her up. I haven’t even had her cross my mind except for other people for about 6 months now. It’s been great and getting better.

I hope no one ever has to go through the nonsense I did… but if you do… remember, you decide who you stay with. You decide how much happiness you are willing to barter or sacrifice against the possibility, the barest of hopes of more in the future. Be smart with your life, choose you… this is your only life.

Tagged: betrayal, liars, abandoned, new life,

May

My baby girl

May

306590

telephonoscope:

lacigreen:

must. reblog. infinitely.

I’m so happy that the 4th image was included.

(Source: chotpot)

May

50118

att:

Who gives the best hugs?

Moms do of course. Happy Mother’s day, Mom!

AT&T and Tumblr fucking suck for jumping on my god-damn feed without my permission…
Seeing ads that I don’t want to is bullshit.
This is why I don’t watch TV nor listen to radio…
Fucking AT&T ass holes.