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Philip Stahl

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I have forty years of experience in Astronomy, specifically solar and space physics. My specialties include the physics of solar flares, sunspots, including their effects on Earth and statistics as applied to astronomical investigations.

Experience in the area

Astronomy: more than forty years experience starting with construction of my own simple telescopes. Worked at university observatory in college, doing astrographic measurements. M.Phil. degree in Physics/Solar Physics and more than ten years as researcher.

What do you like about this subject?

The extent and breadth in the cosmic perspective, and basically 'putting humans in their proper place', disabusing them of an exaggerated sense of self-importance.

What do you still hope to achieve/learn in this field?

To achieve: a computer program that can profile different double layer conditions for solar flares. To learn: anything that I haven't already.

Something interesting about this subject that others may not know:

The discovery of Pluto was a pure fluke based on in error in (Percival) Lowell's calculations. (The mass of Pluto was taken to be 6.6 x the Earth's!)It just turned out that Pluto was where Lowell predicted it was- but his calculations were totally wrong! The right result, for the wrong reason.

Something controversial or provocative about this subject

Giordano Bruno was burnt at the stake for daring to speculate that life could exist on other worlds, and writing about it.

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  • Number of Questions (in Past 24 Hours) 1
  • Max Questions to be Asked (in 24 Hour Period) 15
  • Total Questions (since joining AllExperts) 1113
  • Volunteer Since 2000-10-22
  • Prestige Points 5542

Recent Answers from Philip Stahl

2009-11-22 expansion of universe:

Hello, Okay, I think your question emerges as clearer now. The answer, of course, is that no - atoms themselves do not expand. The Hubble law applies strictly to the *space between objects* not to the

2009-11-21 expansion of universe:

Hello, Based on your example, it is impossible for the distance ("0.8X") between two objects to remain the same since it would violate Hubble's law, which has been repeatedly validated. Hubble's

2009-11-19 Crystalline patterns in meteorites:

Hello, Sorry, but I have heard of no such phenomenon. Nor am I aware of any such properties attributed to "crystal meteors". I hasten to add, however, that I don't claim this to be the last word

2009-11-10 Neutron star formation with different forces:

Hi, again, Your speculations are quite interesting (as are Susskind's) - but in general I tend to be leery (extremely so) of anything that remotely smacks of "animism" or teleology. In my purview, which

2009-11-10 Hyper Novas & Galaxies Black Holes:

Hello, First of all, there's no such thing as an "astrologist'. You have astrologers, and astronomers - but no astrologists! Now as to "hyper nova", it is well to bear in mind that astronomers are

 

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