Chaotic Astronomy

In this episode, we’ll look at a couple of bogus attempts to undermine science related to Lunar and Solar astrophysics.

I apologise for the somewhat erratic sound/volume in this video. I did not record it all in one go, and I have no idea what I’m doing in iMovie. The next one will be better.

To those who were referred to me by DonExodus2, thank you for checking out my videos and I hope you’ll like what you see enough to subscribe.
To DonExodus2 himself, thank you very much indeed for your support.

Various multimedia in this video was created by NASA/ESA/JAXA/ESO/Berkley/Exeter

Errata:
1. I apologise, this is just completely wrong. It was thought up until 1965 that Mercury was tidally locked to the Sun, but was proven to have 3:2 spin orbit resonance. That means for every 2 years on Mercury, there are 3 days. One Mercurian year is about 88 Terran days and one Mercurian day about 59 Terran days. I think I was once told that Mercury *was* thought to be tidally locked with the Sun, and confused that to mean it was the current consesus. Again, sorry!

Music in this video:
Sven-g-englar – Sigur Ros
Veridis Quo – Daft Punk
Exodus Honey – Honeycut

Duration : 0:9:52

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Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2010/04/24/David_Morrison_Surviving_2012_and_Other_Cosmic_Disasters

NASA scientist David Morrison shares some of the most outrageous questions and comments he has received regarding 2012 and Nibiru (“Planet X”) conspiracies. One of his favorites? “I am getting tired of all the CIA and NSA planes buzzing around my house in circles like I am some freak at a carnival show.”

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This program was recorded in collaboration with the 2010 SkeptiCal Conference, in Berkeley, CA, on April 24, 2010.

Dr. David Morrison is the Director of the NASA Lunar Science Institute and Senior Scientist for Astrobiology at the NASA Ames Research Center. He holds a Ph.D. in astronomy from Harvard and is internationally known for his research on small bodies in the solar system, including advocacy for developing plans to defend the Earth from impacts by comets and asteroids.

A Fellow of CSI, he has written extensively on such fringe science topics as Velikovsky, cosmic catastrophes, UFOs, the creation science movement, and most recently the climate crisis caused by global warming. For the past two years he has been the primary scientist critic of the widespread fear that the world will end in 2012, and of the doomsday sleaze artists who use the Internet, blogs, and cable TV to frighten people for profit.

Dr. Morrison’s discussion largely centers around the hoax of 2012. – SkeptiCal Conference

David Morrison is the senior scientist at the NASA Astrobiology Institute, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., where he participates in a variety of research programs in astrobiology — the study of the living universe.

Dr. Morrison obtained his doctorate in Astronomy from Harvard University. He is the author of more than 155 technical papers and has published a dozen books. He has been a science investigator on NASA’s Mariner, Voyager and Galileo space missions. Morrison is recipient of the Dryden Medal for research of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the Sagan Medal of the American Astronomical Society for public communication, and the Klumpke-Roberts award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for contributions to science education. He has received two NASA Outstanding Leadership medals and he was awarded the Presidential Meritorious Rank for his work as director of space at NASA Ames. Morrison was a founder of the multidisciplinary field of astrobiology, and he provides on-line answers to questions from the public sent to “Ask an Astrobiologist,” found at: http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/astrobio/

Morrison is perhaps best known for his leadership since 1991 in defining the hazard of asteroid impacts and seeking ways to mitigate this risk. Asteroid 2410 Morrison is named in his honor.

Duration : 0:5:29

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The pilot episode of ‘CrAP Debunked’. If you liked this video, please help to spread it. Various images/videos produced by ESA/NASA/ESO.

Errata:
1. The phrase “Infinite volume hypothesis” is incorrect here. I meant to say either “Infinite density hypothesis” or “Zero volume hypothesis” (each implies the other).
2. Typo. The proton is in fact around one TRILLION times smaller than a full stop, not one billion.
3. Typo. This should of course read “..YouTube account”. Thanks to Agnostic1 for making me aware of that!

Please check out the giants of YouTube’s pro science collective:

Thunderf00t – Creator of the ‘Why do People Laugh at Creationists?’ series and many other fine videos.

http://www.youtube.com/thunderf00t

Potholer54 – Creator of the ‘Made Easy’ series as well as the new ‘Debunking Creationist Junk’ series.

http://www.youtube.com/potholer54

http://www.youtube.com/potholer54debunks

AronRa – Creator of the ‘Foundational Falsehoods of Creationism’ series.

http://www.youtube.com/aronra

DonExodus2 – Creator of the ‘How Evolution Works’ series and many other excellent videos.

http://www.youtube.com/donexodus2

Absent from the video but certainly no less important is cdk007! http://www.youtube.com/cdk007

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions. For those asking, the music used in this video in order is:
Chicago – Groove Armada
What We Need More Of Is Science – MC Hawking

Duration : 0:8:56

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