Thursday Throughput: Jovian Impact Edition
This image, taken by the JunoCam imager on NASA’s Juno spacecraft, highlights a feature on Jupiter where multiple atmospheric conditions appear to collide.. Photo by NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Roman Tkachenko, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
[ThTh1] In 1994, Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 passed a little too close to the planet Jupiter. It was first shredded by the massive planet’s tidal gravity and then, one by one, the pieces smacked into the surface, creating titanic explosions, the largest of which packed a wallop of six million megatons of TNT.
While that spectacular display was unusual, it’s probably not that rare for Jupiter to get hit by asteroids. It is, after all, the largest planet and close to the asteroid belt. Over the last few billion years, it has swept its region of space fairly clean. But there’s still stuff out there. And Jupiter occasionally get a (brief visitor).
It looks like Jupiter got hit again this week. An amateur astronomer captured a brief flash of light on the surface:
Follow-up images show no visible scar on the surface — previous impacts would dark patches from the ignition of gases in the Jovian atmosphere. So, this was probably a small asteroid, not big enough or just not at the right angle to penetrate the deeper atmosphere. But as ever more telescopes get turned to the heavens, we will see more and more events like this.
We live in a dynamic universe. It’s nice, once in a while, to get a clear reminder of that.
[ThTh2] Color me very skeptical that science can bring the wooly mammoth back from the dead.
[ThTh3] This thread is about a preprint but the results dovetail with a growing consensus about boosters and waning immunity. The short version? The vaccines still work. Immunity does wane but mostly for the elderly and those with severe co-morbidities. It is therefore those groups who would benefit the most from boosters. Also, the data continue to support the idea that a longer interval between the two shots of Pfizer and Moderna confers better long-term immunity and resistance.
[ThTh4] Would you really want to take an interstellar trip when the Sun is at maximum activity? Maybe
[ThTh5] Moderna is at work on a combo vaccine that could protect you from COVID, flu and RSV. And an experimental cancer vaccine is beginning trials. And a new Ebola virus vaccine is looking good. It can be given to children as young as one.
[ThTh6] Accurate. All it needs now is a branch for astrophysics.
Flowchart for picking your STEM major pic.twitter.com/Sj88mRhkGH
— Ben Orlin (@benorlin) September 8, 2021
[ThTh7] I’ve said before we’ll have to think of a smart way to deal with pollution from livestock. I didn’t think that solution might be potty training.
I look forward to ThTh5 becoming reality. three for one, built on mRNA technology, is a good thing.Report
Any/all vaccines using mRNA should be the thing. Why should we bother culturing viruses when we don’t have to?
And the potential for cancer or AIDS?Report
I wonder if they can do something about herpes. Everyone and their dog has cold sores, and they suck. Clearly a vaccine won’t cure you if you have it, but perhaps a well primed immune system might deal better with breakouts.
And eventually strangle that damn thing (both strains) to death in the population.Report
ThTh6 – I figure it would be for the guys who want to be a fussy pendant, but also enjoy trolling the other fussy pendants.Report
ThTh1 – I am surprised Juno didn’t catch this. It’s still out there, isn’t it?Report
ThTh2: As awesome as it would be to bring Wooly Mammoths back, we’re not going to be able to bring back their culture. We’ll just have a bunch of Wooly Mammoths that don’t know how to be Wooly Mammoths.
Suitable for zoos, I guess.Report
I’m ok with any scenario, as long as they they substitute any missing DNA sequences with frog DNA.Report
But I bet they taste good with fries.Report
Everybody daydreams about the Fred Flintstone rack of ribs, but, honestly, the choice is between “not as good as beef”, “not as good as chicken”, or “not as good as venison”.Report
Well, AFTER we bring them back, give us a bit of time to do some selective breeding and we’ll get that issue sorted…Report
Two words: mammoth jerky.Report
Hmmm… a quick google hunt says Elephant, and presumably mammoth, ain’t good eatin.
“Elephant meat is dense and fibrous, making it hard to chew. As a result, it tastes mildly of pork but has a more robust flavor than beef or lamb because its muscles get less exercise. The taste is often compared to venison. To make the taste more palatable, it is usually served with a sauce or marinade.”Report
To make the taste more palatable, it is usually served with a sauce or marinade.
Three words: mammoth French dip.Report
I honestly can’t imagine shaved venison in a french dip style sandwich. It may be a simply failing of imagination on my part.Report
Mamburger Helper helps your Mamburger help her… make a great meal!Report
It all is probably awful. But everyone would want to try it once. Even North.Report
Damn right I’d try it, I love food!Report
“Elephant meat is dense and fibrous, making it hard to chew.”
Just need a bigger spit for a longer roast.Report
ThTh3: Something that’s never really been clear to me is whether a third booster dose, several months after the first, is expected to produce a significantly stronger and more durable antibody response. In general, is each dose stronger than the last, and is that why the polio vaccine needs five doses? Or is it just because the early doses are given when the child’s immune system isn’t sufficiently mature?Report
I believe the polio vaccine needs [four] doses because the first three doses are given to infants. I don’t think it’s necessarily because of an insufficiency of the child’s immune system. The infant has gifted immunity from the mother, and this immunity is not strong enough or durable enough to provide long term protection from disease. (Note: People still get infected with polio, they just don’t know it) The gifted immunity limits the effectiveness of each dose. I gathered this mostly from an interview with a researcher looking at vaccinating pregnant mothers as a more effective way to vaccinate infants.Report
Meant to add: the benefit of the boost is contested primarily on grounds that the mRNA vaccines are very effective and haven’t significantly waned. People who were vaccinated early still have been shown to have over 80% effectiveness against infection and over 90% effectiveness against severe disease. So a third dose might boost these numbers for some period of time, but would the gain even be measurable? Does the dial go to11?
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02046-8/fulltextReport
[ThTh1] When I first saw the video, it seemed strange there was no tail. When I looked at it today, I saw it. It makes you realize just how immense Jupiter is that a fiery tail that long is barely visible.Report