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[hammy_davies_snr] 04/2/2009 15:17

Thanks Scubes

Me and that there TT are b100min well made up for him.

Can you pass on our hope he breaks a leg, eh.

[scuba doo] 04/2/2009 15:14

Thanks chaps , I'll be sure to give you both a mention when I'm next on the old 'dog & bone' with him .

[hammy_davies_snr] 04/2/2009 15:05

I should imagine it's on just after 'Top 100 celebrity road crash horrors'

[ted hankey] 04/2/2009 15:03

Thanks Hammy/Scube.

Channel 5, eh!

I cant b100dy wait!

[scuba doo] 04/2/2009 14:58

Good man Hammy , I doubt you'll be disappointed .

Would you mind reminding TT that it's on .


Thanks in advance .

[hammy_davies_snr] 04/2/2009 14:54

I'm Sky+ ing teh bu$$er, Scubes.

[scuba doo] 04/2/2009 14:43

Just to confirm, Shane will be playing tonight at 9pm on channel Five.

[barnes wallace] 31/1/2009 12:51

I understand. Its the biggest TV secret since Who shot JR was the question of everyones lips imo.

[scuba doo] 31/1/2009 12:49

Shane is playing Arthurs nephew - Archie Daley.

Suffice to say I can't say too much until it goes to air ....

[barnes wallace] 31/1/2009 12:45

Excellent. Whose playing Arfur and Tel ?

[scuba doo] 31/1/2009 12:27

Just a reminder to all of my readers that Shane will be appearing in a new series of Minder which starts at 9pm on channel Five this coming Wednesday.

I can tell you that Shane is very excited about it, and that I am too.


I will be writing a full review on Thursday morning where I also hope to add a few (coloured) pictures and things.

[ariane] 14/1/2009 08:02

January 13, 2009 - 8:48 PM
Science squares up to asteroid threat
Image caption: Experts say that if the 390-metre wide rock struck the Earth it would trigger a massive tsunami (imagepoint)War, collapsing banks and melting polar ice caps aside, humans should count their blessings – at least the planet hasn't been wiped out by a giant asteroid. Yet.
The issue of errant space rocks has become a disquieting one for some of the world's top scientists, who in December asked the United Nations for $100 million (SFr112 million) per year to establish detection mechanisms and more for vessels to fend off the danger from space.

Astronomers say cataclysmic impacts, such as that which is believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs, occur every 60 million to 100 million years – and that Earth is overdue.

A private organisation called the International Panel on Asteroid Threat Mitigation, led by former United States astronaut Russell Schweikart, has calculated the probability of an asteroid larger than 45 metres in diameter striking the earth to be two or three times per 1,000 years.

"We know that Earth has been hit by large objects in the past and it will be hit in the future," said Ingo Leya, a meteorite expert at Bern University's space research and planetary sciences department. "The last time was 75 million years ago, so it's time."

The call for cash comes as both amateur and professional astronomers turn their eyes to the sky: the Swiss launch of the International Year of Astronomy is scheduled for the beginning of February.

But Leya says chances are actually quite slim that there will be a major disaster within our lifetime.

"Fortunately, the bombarding decreased at the beginning of the solar system exponentially," he said.

Massive blowback
"At the moment we know that there are up to 200,000 objects floating around with diameters of up to a few hundred kilometres," Leya told swissinfo. "And usually they stay in their orbits, but the orbits are not stable."

In 2004 an asteroid called Apophis travelled at a trajectory that led scientists to believe there was as high as a 2.7 per cent chance of it colliding with the Earth in 2029.

Those projections were eventually reduced to a one in 45,000 chance and experts say that even if the 390-metre wide rock struck the Earth, it would kill around ten million people in Central America or trigger a massive tsunami but would not wipe out life on Earth.

An asteroid with a diameter of between ten and 40 kilometres, depending on its composition, would produce a massive blowback of atmospheric pressure as it hurtled toward Earth and explode some 20 kilometres above the surface, creating a cloud of dust that would leave the planet without sunlight for four to five years.

« The most important issue is timing. You must know if you have ten years, 15 years or just ten months. »

Axel Deich, chief executive of Oerlikon Space The Earth would suffocate, it would get cold and life would end.

Most experts agree it is better to divert an asteroid than destroy it. Ideally, authorities would attach a solar sail or a super-efficient plasma engine to an asteroid somewhere in deep space. By nudging an asteroid by the smallest of margins, scientists could rule out the possibility of a collision.

"For me, this is very, very exotic," said Axel Deich, the chief executive of Zurich-based Oerlikon Space, a major supplier to the European Space Agency (Esa).

"Solar sails have been developed," he added. "In principle, it's available but I think just to imagine that this type of technology could be fixed to an asteroid, would be very complicated."

Technology shortfall
Apart from the complexities linked to fixing a sail to a rotating asteroid would be the task of actually getting it into space. Today's generation of spacecraft lacks the capacity to transport anything close to a one-square-kilometre foil into deep space.

"At the moment, we have no proper rocket to bring a lot of material outside the earth's gravitational field. And you need a lot," Leya said.

"The most important issue is timing," according to Deich. "You must know if you have ten years, 15 years or just ten months."

With ten to 15 years to play with, engineers might be able to develop vehicles capable of carrying these types loads into outer space. But it takes years to launch a mission, even if most components are already developed, Deich says.

"For a typical mission, you have to qualify the technology, and I would recommend to test it. It takes between six and ten years," he said. Even when Esa developed its Ariane 5 launch vehicle, it borrowed the most critical part, the engine, from the Ariane 4. Developing the new launcher nevertheless took four years.

"The only technology that is available on the spot is ballistic missiles," Deich told swissinfo.

"I think if [the asteroid] is very close to our planet, then nothing else than nuclear... could be envisaged."

swissinfo, Justin Häne

HOLLYWOODAs Earth faced obliteration by an asteroid in the 1998 film Armageddon, authorities dispatched an oil rig worker to land on it and insert a nuclear weapon. In the end, the hero perished in a nuclear blast but the asteroid was destroyed and the world saved.

Ingo Leya of Bern University says that strategy would be "far out of reach" of today's technology. He agrees that sending up a ballistic missile with a nuclear would be more realistic. "Better having some smaller pieces hitting the earth than one big one."

The most effective approach would be what amounts to a game of cosmic billiards, says Axel Deich of Oerlikon. A rocket carrying a large ballast would travel into space, slam into an asteroid and divert its course.

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ASTEROIDSMost asteroids float in a belt between Jupiter and Mars. As the objects bump into each other and because of their interaction with Jupiter, orbits can become elliptical and cross Earth. Solar winds also play a factor, kicking asteroids out of their regular orbits.

Models used by scientists consider the gravitational field for all the planets in the solar system and help with projections for 10-20 years.

The mass of the asteroid belt is around 4% of the mass of the moon, and much of that is made up by a few large rocks.

Roughly 40,000 tons of meteorite material hit the Earth each year. Most of that is dust.

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INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF ASTRONOMYThe International Year of Astronomy is organised by the International Astronomical Union and Unesco, the cultural body of the United Nations. It will highlight the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first use of an astronomical telescope.

The organisers hope to increase awareness, empower astronomical communities in developing countries, develop science education, strengthen ties among scientists and improve the gender balance.

Switzerland's national opening ceremony is on February 5.

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LINKSAsteroid impact simulation: YouTube (
International Year of Astronomy (
Oerlikon Space (
Space Research and Science Department, Bern University (
Asteroid Threats: A Call For Global Response (PDF) (

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[mark hollick] 04/12/2008 11:13

Morning Scuba.

New blood....I know a chap who's certainly met with the high flying public.

His name's jeff.

Is that the sort of new blood you'd be looking for on here?


Just let me know Scuab, and I'll invite him on to your star thread.
'



Your search for Rasta thread's, in my opinion is the finest thread on ADVFN.

Thanks for welcoming me aboard.


Rupes.

[scuba doo] 03/12/2008 12:34

Splendid, your offerings are most welcome Mr Hollick.

Please feel free to call in again to share more of your stories with both me and my readers.


It's always nice to have a bit of new blood IMO .

[hammy_davies_snr] 03/12/2008 02:28

Rupes

Are Tony and Dave Van related?

[mark hollick] 03/12/2008 00:03

Evening chaps.

F8ck the HTD thread lately.

Anyway, Scuba, this picture must surely count, in the light of the current I'm a Celeb get me out of here stuff...




The properties of a picture....never lie.

My brother had that staircase especially built to...look nice, and get him... upstairs.

You know I live very close to Brighton Scuba.

I get free burgers when I stop at Dave's van.

You know yourself I co-host a radio station with Tony Van.


Scuba, I hope this is the sort of thing you're looking for on this thread.

I've got more if you want them.

After all....I live near Brighton. Land of....you name it. (mostly freaks).



Rabbit.

[scuba doo] 27/11/2008 22:23

Hammy - LOL!!!


Max - You're not wrong there, Chief. AP underwear as well ....

[corbys finest] 27/11/2008 19:53

Call me crazy, but does cfol have a bl00dy camels toe?

[hammy_davies_snr] 27/11/2008 17:50

Teh chap in teh stripey shirt reminds me of cfol.

[scuba doo] 27/11/2008 16:24

What harm can it do ?

I've a feeling I'll be getting to know him over the coming weeks ...

[mark hollick] 27/11/2008 16:03

Sorry Scuba.

I know a chap who co-hosts a radio station...if that's any good?


Rupes.