[meteorite-list] Self-Destructing Comet to Flash Close By(Schwassmann-Wachmann 3)

From: Sterling K. Webb <sterling_k_webb_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed Apr 26 10:24:14 2006
Message-ID: <01a801c668da$8d50cd80$f124e146_at_ATARIENGINE>

Hi, Darren, List,

    I don't know where to begin... They let this guy
direct air traffic? I can see those headlines now:
"VW-sized Block of Ice Falls in Atlantic; Earth
Destroyed!" (Film at eleven.)

    What does the "Exo-" in Exopolitical Institute
stand for? "Exo-" means "out, outside of, beyond."
Out, as in "out-of-my-mind?" Or Out, as in "far out?"
Or Out, as in "money out of your pocket if you buy
my idiotic book?"

    Seriously now, at the risk of offending the Higher
Intelligences, both the ones that zip about in UFO's
drawing those pretty crop compositions, and the
ones that read this List, let me point out that there
is a tiny, tiny grain of reality in the ravings of
Monsieur Julien. Very tiny.

    Mais Oui! We have no idea why Schwassmann-
Wachmann 3 broke up. Fluffy, dirty snowball bonked
by even a tiny impactor? Overspun itself until it flew
apart (Giaccobini-Zinner did that)? A burst of out-gassing
so violent it blew up its weak structure?

    All these explanations assume very weak structure,
and the continued breakup of the initial fragments seems
to confirm that, but... can we assume that the comet was
composed ENTIRELY of very weakly consolidated ices?
If it was that weak and poorly cohered, how do we explain
the fact that it existed at all? Presumably, it has lasted for
a long time in the inner system. Hmmm. You don't suppose
it could have been heterogeneous in composition, do you?

    You may recall that I posted how evidence that would
force a revision of our simple-minded definition of "a comet"
and "an asteroid" has been piling up (back on April 5, 2006)
from recent missions: "Closer looks at individual asteroids
show us a very wide range of compositional differences."
What if Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 contained a dark, rocky
silicate core or component about which the weak ices had
assembled or aggregated for essential support until it was
recently disrupted? A DARK rocky component not easily
detected now that it has been stripped of those showy
volatiles but still quite intact?

    So, you see, just because M. Julien is a cretin doesn't
mean he's wrong, unfortunately. Nobody's perfect. We will
know for sure if we hear cries from ALL the Atlantic Coasts:
Surf's Up! About 200 meters... Knarly, dude.


Sterling K. Webb
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

----- Original Message -----
From: "Darren Garrison" <cynapse_at_charter.net>
To: "Meteorite Mailing List" <meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Cc: "Ron Baalke" <baalke_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>
Sent: Monday, April 24, 2006 9:26 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Self-Destructing Comet to Flash Close
By(Schwassmann-Wachmann 3)


On Mon, 24 Apr 2006 09:44:31 -0700 (PDT), you wrote:

>Fortunately no threat is posed to Earth since, even at its closest, the
>nearest of the pieces will be twenty times more distant than the Moon.

Ha! Shows what they know! Part ot the comet is projected to hit the Earth
on
May 25th, and it is all Dubbyah's fault!

See:

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=63973

and

http://www.exopoliticsinstitute.org/Eric-Julien-25-MAY-2006-En.htm
Received on Tue 25 Apr 2006 10:38:50 PM PDT