nichogenius

nichogenius t1_jeadg48 wrote

Reply to comment by aris_ada in The brightest gamma-ray in human history hit our planet this past Fall by PuzzleheadedOne1428

The first GRB was only detected in 1967. Assuming we have documented every GRB since (we certainly haven't), that means our observational history only covers 0.5% of that 10,000 year expected frequency of occurence.

Assuming our models are accurate, the odds we were just lucky to see this one in our limited observational history are roughly 0.5%. The odds that our models are underestimating the frequency of these events is quite a bit higher.

Time will tell.

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nichogenius t1_j6ge212 wrote

Reply to Eli5....can you dig a well anywhere and hit water...and how did the early ranchers in the West know where to dig for water. Especially in the really dry areas? by pinkshrinkrn

They would hire a water witch who would walk around with a forked stick AKA dowsing. It's basically a superstitious practice to try to find ground water ... which just doesn't hold water.

It's not where to dig for water, but how deep you have to dig to find water at any given place.

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nichogenius t1_j3zee7b wrote

Reply to Why are coastlines crinkly near the poles but smooth in the tropics? by emsot

This might not be the actual cause of what YOU are seeing, but one big difference is caused by many maps using the Mercator projection. The mercator projection (the most common flat map of the world) causes the poles to become very stretched. Smaller features are visible at the poles than at the equator. It's as if you are looking at the poles through a higher magnification than the equator, so your viewpoint is closer to the ground.

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