Personally, I think he is being extremely oversensitive - how many of these objects are there in the Solar System anyway?

http://www.brianmay.com/brian/brians...ssbjun05a.html

I do not see how else there is to study the comet. And it's just a big frozen rock not like we are slashing/burning a rainforest or something. Not very often these things come close enough to study. We should use this opportunity.

And it is the first time that a comet is hit by some artificial object, but surely not the first time a comet is hit at all.

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"Flying in space is risky business, but just staying on this planet is risky business too." - John Young, astronaut

Comets tend to break apart without our help. So little assistance make no difference.

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Science is a way of trying not to fool yourself. The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.
-- Richard Feynman

I don't get the hullabaloo over this mission. We have people complaining about the astrological effects who don't say boo about their satellite TV connection or cell phone service, other's claiming is a government plot to blow the thing up with nukes for no apparent reason, or that the impact will result in non-specific "Earth changing events" while they drive their SUVs and run their 1970's era air conditioners while throwing out antiqued freezer units. And let's not forget the whole "comets are made of anti-matter, you fools!' sect. Or better yet, let's.

Now we have people worrying about us causing an "irreversable mess" by blowing a hole in an object that's more than happy to sublime every time it nears the sun. We can watch these things in SOHO images as they approach the sun, and then witness as they never come back again. The things practically self destruct. I don't see what the big deal is.

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"The plan does not involve mayonaise."
"... I knew there was a catch."

You can't take the sky from me.

I think it's another hole in the mystique of "heavenly bodies." Landing on another planet is all well and good - but blowing up part of a comet... somehow this triggers the more base unscientific thought to yell "Hey! Don't hurt the heavens! That dome is right over our heads, and if you start shooting it, it's likely to come down!"

Scale still seems to be beyond the grasp of many.

May is to be respected for his interest in astronomy and astrophysics, but isn't that doctorate honorary? I guess the CBE is an honorary title as well, eh?

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Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.

Even if we mess this comet up, there are plenty more out there.

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Everything I need to know I learned through Googling.

I don't know about his doctorate, but I have heard that he graduated with a 1st class degree in astrophysics from Cambridge. If so, then he probably does have a reasonable idea what he's talking about.

I think I disagree with him here, though. I'm no fan of vandalism, but there are an awful lot of comets, so breaking one of them won't really matter. If this bothers you, I hope you never find out what big burly geologists do to pretty, defenceless little rocks.

[Edit: ToSeeked #-o ]

CBE and all this stuff is always honorary.

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"Flying in space is risky business, but just staying on this planet is risky business too." - John Young, astronaut

IIRC Brian May was in graduate studies in astronomy when he left to join Queen. I think the Ph.D is honourary but he is definately got a decent background in astronomy and continues to be an amateur astronomer (I recall seeing him on BBC with various telescopes talking about the Venus transit).

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Now while I might be amused by Cthulhians, I don't necessarily distrust them to carry out the functions of government. -- JayUtah

What's it like being a skeptic in the Middle East? Check out my blog.

All I can says is: Brian, stick to playing guitar!

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Andy

Manager Ukweatherworld

A few terms come to mind personally, and oversensitive is not one of them. I won't go there.

This data gathered from this mission can help answer a host of questions and further our understanding of the cosmos. I have a difficult time grasping this sort of fervent opposition.

FWIW: you might want to edit your post to remove the quote; there's a rather stern warning at the top of that URL you provided stating that the text is not to be copied or republished.

I'd underline that part about scale. If you don't realize how tiny comets are compared to the Solar System (and Hale-Bopp sure looked big, didn't it?), blowing a hole in one sounds like blowing a hole in a planet or a star. That doesn't explain what Brian May's problem is, though.

People can be remarkably opinionated when their opinions don't really count for anything. (Think of sports fans.)

After considering all the comets that have left their mark on earth, I think it's about time earth got some payback.

Actually, I was kinda hoping they would nuke it --what a nice firework for American Independence Day. But I suspect we'll learn more by smacking it. I don't believe that organisms live on a comet. I think the building blocks may be there, but not living organisms.

I hope we get a good show, with lots of spectral data, but I'd be just as happy if the impactor blows it to smithereens. Knowing we can do that would be a weight off of our shoulders. After this test, I think we should send a nuclear sequel --Deep Impact II: This Time We Mean It! BTW, did anyone else get the pun of shooting a bullet into the Tempel?

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"Oh no no no I'm a rocket man Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone." -- Sir Elton John

J Pax

I find it difficult to be "personally outraged" by most space missions. if I'm reading it right, he seems to be "personally outraged" by the mere possibility that we might, maybe, destroy the comet and/or any life on it. as has been pointed out repeatedly, though, comets self-destruct faster than substitutes in kindergarten classes, and there's no evidence of any life.

(oh, and you don't actually have the right to tell people not to quote you. that article is covered by the same "fair use" standards we're discussing in the thread about National Geographic v. Lucas--and we were discussing in Banned Posters.)

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Gillian

"Now everyone was giving her that kind of look UFOlogists get when they suddenly say, 'Hey, if you shade your eyes you can see it is just a flock of geese after all.'"

"You can't erase icing."

"I can't believe it doesn't work! I found it on the internet, man!"

I demand the discontinuation of the use of my last name!

Travis J. May

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Feynman
>~~~~<
Science is a way of trying not to fool yourself. The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.

Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt.

May I use it for this post?

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Old laser physicists never die, they just become incoherent.
These days, every Tom, Dick, and Harry thinks he knows what a photon is, but he is wrong. - Albert Einstein