Rocky, as in NOT a dirty snowball... November 29, 2014 Greetings, EU Friends! There are occasions in the evolution of science and discovery that call for a radical change in perspective, even if that change produces a phase of “cognitive dissonance.” In the history of comet explorations, no probe has offered more promise than the Rosetta Mission to Comet 67P/Churyumov Gerasimenko. Long before the conclusion of this mission in 2015, it is already opening new windows to the electrical nature of comets. A longstanding scientific consensus states that comets become active as they are warmed by the Sun. But a decade of comet discovery suggests that this assumption no longer holds. It is not the heat of the Sun but charged particles from the Sun that are responsible for cometary displays. A good hypothesis leads to concrete predictions that can be tested against accumulated knowledge and new knowledge to come. When two incompatible explanations of a phenomenon arise, the contrasting predictions offer the most efficient opportunity for assessing evidence. The electric comet hypothesis, as forged in recent decades, invites numerous comparative tests. These will provide content for a series of Rosetta Mission Updates, beginning with Wal Thornhill’s most recent assessment. ~David Talbott
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 04:15:05 +0000
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