Anyone know what the composition of the ice is?
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New Horizons Returns First of the Best Images of Pluto
11–19 of 19 posts
Re: New Horizons Returns First of the Best Images of Pluto
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
I get that 'murica is too stubborn to go full metric, but can't we at least start switching from "Imperial (Metric)" to "Metric (Imperial)" in the popular science media?
For what it's worth, using the term "'Murica" in your post comes across as demeaning, and is thus inappropriate for HN. Given that the image is a product of an American-led project, it seems perfectly reasonable (however unfortunate for the scientific community at large) that standard American units would be used to describe it.
As an American, I think the use of imperial units on nasa.gov is what's demeaning. The term 'murica satirically represents the mindset that led to our rejection of the metric system.
Re: New Horizons Returns First of the Best Images of Pluto
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
For what it's worth, using the term "'Murica" in your post comes across as demeaning, and is thus inappropriate for HN. Given that the image is a product of an American-led project, it seems perfectly reasonable (however unfortunate for the scientific community at large) that standard American units would be used to describe it.
> however unfortunate for the scientific community at large Why is it unfortunate? What difference does it make? The units are completely unimportant. Units are a completely arbitrary thing, it's quite irrelevant what you use as long as you know what you are using. You will never find a real scientist complaining about them, you convert to whatever is easiest for your task and move on. The only people who complain ab…
Funnily enough, half of my family are agricultural scientists and often lament the difference between how yield experiments are measured in the US are somewhat incompatible with those from Europe (and likely much of the world). To be fair, this is beyond just "units" - in the US, yield is usually measured by volume, while elsewhere by weight. The two are pretty difficult to convert between, as the weight of a bushel is both dependent on what specific produce it is, as well as its water content. This leads to some loss of collaboration between the two camps.
Re: New Horizons Returns First of the Best Images of Pluto
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
For what it's worth, using the term "'Murica" in your post comes across as demeaning, and is thus inappropriate for HN. Given that the image is a product of an American-led project, it seems perfectly reasonable (however unfortunate for the scientific community at large) that standard American units would be used to describe it.
> however unfortunate for the scientific community at large Why is it unfortunate? What difference does it make? The units are completely unimportant. Units are a completely arbitrary thing, it's quite irrelevant what you use as long as you know what you are using. You will never find a real scientist complaining about them, you convert to whatever is easiest for your task and move on. The only people who complain ab…
"Why is it unfortunate? What difference does it make? The units are completely unimportant. Units are a completely arbitrary thing, it's quite irrelevant what you use as long as you know what you are using."
In space [0], units matter ~ https://www.google.com/search?q=nasa+technical+problem+units...
[0] And in reporting of news for technical accuracy.
Re: New Horizons Returns First of the Best Images of Pluto
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
I get that 'murica is too stubborn to go full metric, but can't we at least start switching from "Imperial (Metric)" to "Metric (Imperial)" in the popular science media?
For what it's worth, using the term "'Murica" in your post comes across as demeaning, and is thus inappropriate for HN. Given that the image is a product of an American-led project, it seems perfectly reasonable (however unfortunate for the scientific community at large) that standard American units would be used to describe it.
Actually the International System of Units (SI), the modern form of the metric system, is preferred for many uses by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
[1] - http://www.nist.gov/pml/wmd/metric/index.cfm
[2] - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_customary_unit...
Re: New Horizons Returns First of the Best Images of Pluto
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
For what it's worth, using the term "'Murica" in your post comes across as demeaning, and is thus inappropriate for HN. Given that the image is a product of an American-led project, it seems perfectly reasonable (however unfortunate for the scientific community at large) that standard American units would be used to describe it.
Don't worry about the 'Murrica. I'm sure he's from one of those 'Urop startups we're hearing so much about.... :^) On topic I'm pretty sure NASA uses metric units, after they had that one launch in the 90's that messed up do to a conversion error between metric and imperial.
NASA used metric units before and after, and they were right there in the spec. The problem was their contractors at Lockheed using some other units instead.
Re: New Horizons Returns First of the Best Images of Pluto
#17Is "6 miles" a standard unit of length?
Yes[1], very handy.
Re: New Horizons Returns First of the Best Images of Pluto
#18Anyone know what the composition of the ice is?
Phil 'Bad Astronomer' Plait says the mountains are made of water-ice, the plains of nitrogen-ice [1]: "Pluto is so cold water ice is hard as rock, and can form mountains thousands of meters tall. The bright plain was probably lower elevation terrain which filled with nitrogen, which is much less rigid than water at these temperatures. It can flow like glaciers do on Earth. So what you’re seeing there is a shoreline! It really looks like one, too, with the nitrogen ice meeting the highlands at a “constant sea level”."
[1] http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2015/12/05/pluto_hi...
Re: New Horizons Returns First of the Best Images of Pluto
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
For what it's worth, using the term "'Murica" in your post comes across as demeaning, and is thus inappropriate for HN. Given that the image is a product of an American-led project, it seems perfectly reasonable (however unfortunate for the scientific community at large) that standard American units would be used to describe it.
> however unfortunate for the scientific community at large Why is it unfortunate? What difference does it make? The units are completely unimportant. Units are a completely arbitrary thing, it's quite irrelevant what you use as long as you know what you are using. You will never find a real scientist complaining about them, you convert to whatever is easiest for your task and move on. The only people who complain ab…
Note taken. I should clarify that the "however unfortunate" statement wasn't necessarily a personal opinion, but rather a response specifically to the original poster's opinion.
Better-worded, what I meant was 'irrespective of the standards followed by the scientific community'.