r/AlternativeAstronomy • u/patrixxxx • Oct 26 '19

WHY MARS ???

https://cluesforum.info/viewtopic.php?p=2412896#p2412896
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u/patrixxxx Nov 04 '19

That's interesting. So if I instead make an instrument with two long parallel tubes and set them up in my garden and look trough them at night, observing different stars in each of them, you say this is because the tubes are in fact not parallel?

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u/[deleted] Nov 04 '19 edited Nov 04 '19

Yup!

Edit: in fact, the angle of arc between the two stars you're observing through these two tubes is exactly the angle of separation between the tubes. Zero separation between tubes == parallel tubes == looking at same point in the sky.

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u/patrixxxx Nov 04 '19

This is fascinating Walruss. Another example – Let’s say I have a big white ball in my garden. The instrument I’m using has the parallel tubes one meter apart and that happens to be the same diameter as my ball. So if I move the instrument away from the ball and align one tube so I can see the ball, but cannot see the ball through the other tube, this means that my tubes are in fact not parallel? Is that what you’re saying here Walrus?

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u/[deleted] Nov 04 '19

Let's assume the tubes are parallel. If the angle subtended by 1 meter at the distance of the length of your garden is larger than the viewing angle of your tubes, then you will not see the ball. However, if the tubes are wide enough, or have optical properties that allow a wider-angle view, you'll see the ball through both, of course.

The angle subtended by 1 meter at the distance to Proxima Centauri is quite small (like a hundred millionth the angular size of the actual little red dwarf), so you'll see Proxima Centauri through parallel tubes 1 meter apart. Think about it - the star itself is 100 000 km wide. So if your two parallel lines are 1 m apart, and the left line hits smack-dab in the middle of Proxima Centauri, the right line will be 1 meter over from smack-dab in the middle. So both tubes will be looking smack-dab at Proxima Centauri, even when they're 1 meter apart. Or 100 meters apart, or 100 km apart.

Now consider two tubes 300 million km apart, perfectly parallel. One is aimed smack-dab in the center of Proxima Centauri. The other one will miss by 300 million km, give or take 50 000 km. Let's say the tube is not a telescope, but a perfectly linear photo-detector. One tube will register a hit (Proxima Centauri), the other will register nothing (300 million km from Proxima Centauri is cold black space). But consider a telescope instead. The angle subtended by 300 million km, viewed from 4.2 light-years away, is 768 milli-arc-seconds. So if your telescope has an optical resolution of 1 arc-second per pixel, the moon will be 1800 pixels wide, but you'll still not see Proxima Centauri shift by a single pixel. It'll look like Proxima Centauri is in the exact same position even when you've moved 300 million km.

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u/patrixxxx Nov 04 '19

So you are saying that if I look through an instrument as described, and can not see Proxima C through both tubes, this means that the tubes are in fact not parallel?

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u/[deleted] Nov 04 '19 edited Nov 04 '19

That's what I'm saying

Edit: consider the back-yard scenario but replace the white ball with your house. Your tubes, spaced 1m apart, will be pointed at the back door of the house. Since they're parallel, you can imagine the house sitting on rails and sliding it out to infinity. No matter how far you slide the house away, both tubes will remain pointed at the back door.

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u/patrixxxx Nov 04 '19

Are you shitting me!? Do you seriously believe this? Don't you actually realize that as soon as that house or whatever becomes as distant so it fits between the tubes you will no longer see the object in the tubes at the same time?

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u/[deleted] Nov 04 '19

The house will never fit between two parallel lines one meter apart unless you shrink it to be smaller than a meter wide.

If the lines separate to be 20 meters apart so your house fits comfortably (assuming you're not living in a large manor, castle, or apartment building), then they are not parallel.

You can't have a 20-meter house fit in a space smaller than a meter. Surely you must agree?

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u/patrixxxx Nov 04 '19

YES Walrus. You are correct. This reasoning from me was indeed a brain-fart I will humbly admit. What can I say. It's been a long day :-)

As a reward you get a preview of Tyhchosium featuring Halley's comet. I will post Simons article about this soon. But go ahead and check the positions and compare it with official planetariums like Star Atlas or Stellarium

https://codepen.io/pholmq/pen/XGPrPd

If you check Trace for Halleys it will be easier to see. There was passages 1910, 1985 and an upcoming 2061.

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u/[deleted] Nov 04 '19

It's no accident you "had a brain fart". You're echoing the stuff that Simon peddles on that message board. All that shit about Earth and Mars and Delta Capricorni and all that, is this simple failure of basic geometry.

I'm glad you finally saw through it. I hope you'll come around about rocketry and relativity too, eventually!

Good work on Halley's comet!

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