Off Topic — HabitableZone

Off Topic » in reply to "Lights in the sky"

re: "Lights in the sky"
ER — (archived)

"Did you notice there was only a 3’ difference in our estimates- using different methods."

Your figures were probably more accurate. My 57.3 deg/rad is only an approximation because pi is a transcendental number. Also, the radian method assumes the arc is equal in length to the chord, which is only the limit for very small angles like us astronomers use. (Look up the definitions of parallax and parsec).

I once did some consulting work for a UFO magazine and analyzed a report in which a nocturnal UFO was displaying a pattern of lights identical to those required by FAA regulations (red to port, green to starboard). When I pointed this out, the response from my editor was "...there is no reason a UFO could not disguise itself as an ordinary aircraft by deliberately showing the appropriate lights."

I have to admit, that logic is difficult to counter from a can't-think- outside-the-box closed-miinded science geek like myself.

BTW, the "string of lights" phenomenon is very much a part of aircraft training, it involves the dropping of flares from aircraft as IR missile countermeasures. They can be seen for immense distances.

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