Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Keith Olbermann

2008-07-03T22:58:13Z

Hanfan1: also co-host of football show

{{merge|Olbermann Watch}}

'''Keith Olbermann''' is a [[liberal]] commentator and activist,
<ref>Keith Olbermann ... is notorious for anti-Bush, anti-conservative rants. [http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brad-wilmouth] </ref>
formerly a sportscaster on ESPN. He currently hosts ''Countdown,'' a nightly news and commentary program on [[MSNBC]]. Olbermann's show is known for liberal analysis of the issues, with [[conservatives]] rarely, appearing to discuss news events. Olbermann is also a co-host of NBC's ''Football Night in America''.

==Olbermann sees conspiracies==
In a broadcast after the FBI made an arrest of four [[terror]] suspects for plot to attack JFK International Airport and plant explosives to blow up major jet-fuel supply tanks and pipelines,<ref>[http://newyork.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel07/plot060207.pdf Four Individuals Charged in Plot to Bomb John F. Kennedy International Airport], FBI Press Release New York Field Office, June 2 2007.</ref> Olbermanmn charged the [[Bush adminstration]] with [[conspiracy]]. JFK handles on average over 1,000 flights daily. The plotters were assisted by an international network of Muslim extremists from the United States, Guyana, and Caribbean, including senior leadership of [[Jamaat Al Muslimeen]] (“JAM”), which was responsible for a deadly coup attempt in Trinidad in 1990. In Olbermann
's mind

{{Cquote|the so-called plot happens to be revealed the day before the second [[2008 Presidential Election|Democratic presidential]] debate and, as the scandal continues to unfold over the firings of U.S. attorneys and their replacements by political hacks. The so-called plot is announced by the Bush-appointed U.S. attorney for Brooklyn, New York, and by the police chief of New York City, the father of a correspondent for [[Fox News Channel]]." Olbermann further theorized that President Bush was "fomenting yet another war...a new Cold War with Russia, possibly to obscure the unending nightmare in Iraq. <ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2007/06/05/publiceye/entry2886646.shtml Olbermann Overstates?,] Matthew Felling, ''CBS News'', June 5, 2007.</ref>}}

Matthew Felling of ''CBS News'' noted, "Hammering away at things that aren’t there – or barely there – is a surefire way to dilute your message."

==Nazi salute controversey==
In July of 2006, the [[Anti-Defamation League]] filed a complaint to MSNBC because of Olbermann's repeated use of the [[Nazi]] salute while attacking popular commentator [[Bill O'Reilly]] on his television show and in public.<ref>[http://www.adl.org/media_watch/tv/20060728-MSNBC.htm Anti-Defamation League Letter to MSNBC], July 28, 2006.</ref>

==''24'' controversy==
In January of 2007, Olbermann attacked the popular FOX television series ''24'' with rather bizarre claims.

On the January 16, 2007 edition of Olbermann's show, ''Countdown with Keith Olbermann'', he accused the widely acclaimed ''[[24]]'' of "fearmongering" and being "propaganda designed to keep people thinking about domestic terrorism to keep us scared," asking, "is it a program-length commercial for one political party?" Olbermann also asked the rhetorical question, "if the irrational right can claim that the news is fixed to try to alter people's minds or that networks should be boycotted for nudity or for immorality, shouldn't those same groups be saying ''24'' should be taken off of TV because it's naked [[brainwashing]]?"

This was in response to the January 15 broadcast of ''24'' in which a low-grade nuclear weapon is detonated in the [[Valencia]] community of [[Los Angeles]] by a [[terrorist]] group. Fox Commentator [[Cal Thomas]] had written an editorial in which he advised, "Watch the TV drama 24 for what could be our prophetic and imminent future, with a nuclear device exploding in major cities."

On the February 2, 2007 edition of ''Countdown'', Olbermann gave the show the "bronze" in his nightly "Worst Person in the World" segment.

==See Also==
*[http://media.nationalreview.com/post/?q=N2IwYTc1MTVlMTU0ZDZlN2ViZGI0YzJmZWJiZjBhZTE= Keith Olbermann: "24" is a Right-Wing Plot]

*[http://newsbusters.org/node/10206 Olbermann Denounces '24' as Part of Pro-Bush 'Fearmongering' and 'Brainwashing']

*[http://newsbusters.org/node/10224 Olbermann Hates '24', NewsBusters, and All References to Terrorism]

*[http://www.opinioneditorials.com/freedomwriters/syuhas_20070118.html MSNBC's Very Own Conspiracy Nut: Keith Olbermann & Fox's fictional TV show '24']

*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obADH-gUG5o Video of Olbermann's accusations]

==References==
<references/>

==See Also==
:[[Olbermann Watch]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olbermann, Keith}}

[[Category:Broadcasters|Olbermann, Keith]]
[[Category:Liberal Activists|Olbermann, Keith]]

Precession of the equinoxes

2008-07-03T22:51:56Z

Hanfan1: removing bit about astrology, not the place for it

The '''precession of the equinoxes''' describes an astronomical phenomenon whereby the earth appears to wobble on its axis relative to the stars. This wobble is very slow, taking about 26,000 years to complete.<ref>http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1134/is_10_115/ai_n16883025</ref> The result of this is that the position of stars and constellations overhead at any particular time gradually changes over the years. For example, the constellation that rises above the horizon at the spring equinox gradually cycles through the signs of the zodiac backwards. The star around which all the other stars seem to revolve (to an observer on Earth) also changes over time, meaning that Polaris, or the present North Star, has not always been the star closest to north, and will be replaced by other stars in the future. The Earth's axis pointed to the star Thuban in the year 3000 B.C., and it will point to the bright star Vega in the year A.D. 14,000. <ref>http://cdis.missouri.edu/previews/6412/lesson01.htm</ref>

[[category:astronomy]]

Quasar

2008-07-03T22:48:30Z

Hanfan1: fixing abbreviation, adding content

A '''Quasar''' (abbreviation for of "quasi-stellar radio source") is an unusually energetic object representing the active nucleus of ancient galaxies. Quasars can emit up to 1,000 times as much energy as a normal galaxy, but from a volume about the size of our [[solar system]]. This energy is thought to be the result of superheated material forming an [[accretion disk]] around a supermassive [[black hole]].

[[Category:Astronomy]]

Extrasolar planets

2008-07-03T22:43:35Z

Hanfan1: /* Current count */ updating planet count

'''Extrasolar planets''' or '''exoplanets''' are planets that orbit stars other than the sun.

Planets have no light source of their own, and most extrasolar planets are too far away to be seen by the light they reflect from their own suns, however some have been detected by the methods described below.

== Methods of detection ==

=== Astrometry ===
A star and planet orbit about a spot that is the center of gravity of the system known as the [[barycenter]]. For the Sun and Jupiter, the barycenter is 1.068 solar radii. With larger planets orbiting closer to the star, it is possible to detect the movement of the star against the distant background. This method was used to detect a planet orbiting Gliese 876.

=== Radial velocity ===
Instead of mapping the position of the star against the background, it is also possible to detect the minute [[Doppler shift]] in the star's spectrum as it is tugged by the planet. This method is responsible for the majority of extrasolar planet detection.

=== Transit method ===
When a planet passes in front of its star, it blocks some of the light of the star. By measuring this periodic momentary dimming of the light, it is possible to identify a planet that is properly aligned. This method does not work if the planet itself does not eclipse the star from our perspective.

=== Direct imaging ===
In the situation where a star is not extremely bright, it is possible to detect a planet orbiting it. Such was the case with the brown dwarf 2M1207 which had a detectable companion that was named 2M1207b.

== Current count ==
As of 2008, the number of extrasolar planets detected stands at more than 300. Since the detection methods devised to date favor large, gaseous planets, most detected planets are quite dissimilar to Earth, and they are not thought to be good candidates for finding life. However, the planet [[Gliese_581c|Gliese 581c]] orbiting the red dwarf star Gliese 581 (approximately 20 light-years from earth) appears to be a terrestrial (that is, rocky) planet that orbits in the "habitable zone" of space surrounding its star. The term "habitable" in this context simply means that the stellar light flux it receives is similar to that of Earth, and it therefore might have an Earthlike temperature. Whether it is in fact habitable depends on many other factors, and is pure speculation at present.

==See also==
*[[Extraterrestrial life]]
*[[Essay: Extraterrestrial Life and the Bible]]
*[[Exotheology]]

==External links==

[http://www.explanet.eu Extrasolar planet list]

[[category:astronomy]]

Nebula hypothesis

2008-07-03T22:41:29Z

Hanfan1: has nothing to do with big bang

The '''nebula hypothesis''' (alternately, '''nebular hypothesis''') is model of the formation of a [[solar system]]. It theorizes that a solar system begins as a rotating cloud of [[gas]] and [[dust]] that contracts to create a flat disk with a [[star]] at its center. [[Planet]]s grow from the [[particle]]s surrounding the star, creating a solar system.

[[Category:Astronomy]][[Category:Physics]]

Accretion Disk

2008-07-03T22:38:31Z

Hanfan1:

An '''accretion disk''' is the term for a rapidly rotating disk of material that forms around a high-mass compact object, often a [[black hole]]. Accretion disks can also be associated with other high mass, compact objects such as [[white dwarf]] stars and [[neutron stars]].<ref>[http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/dictionary/index.cfm?Display=Dictionary&Letter=A NASA Dictionary].</ref> In order to conserve angular momentum, as material in the disk moves towards the central mass, it's rotational speed increases as does it's temperature. As a result, accretion disks often emit radiation in the [[x-ray]] and [[gamma ray]] portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Astronomy]]

Accretion Disk

2008-07-03T22:38:13Z

Hanfan1: rewriting, better grammar and info

An '''accretion disk''' is the term for a rapidly rotating disk of material that forms around a high-mass compact object, often a [[black hole]]. Accretion disks can also be associated with other high mass, compact objects such as [[white dwarf]] stars and [[[neutron stars]].<ref>[http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/dictionary/index.cfm?Display=Dictionary&Letter=A NASA Dictionary].</ref> In order to conserve angular momentum, as material in the disk moves towards the central mass, it's rotational speed increases as does it's temperature. As a result, accretion disks often emit radiation in the [[x-ray]] and [[gamma ray]] portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Astronomy]]

Hubble Space Telescope

2008-07-03T22:28:39Z

Hanfan1: spelling, grammar

[[Image:Hubble 01.jpg|right|thumb|350px|Hubble Space Telescope as seen from the Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-82.]]
The '''Hubble Space Telescope''' is an American space probe in Low-Earth orbit that is used to study and image celestial objects. It is operated by [[NASA]]'s [http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html Goddard Space Flight Center] and the [http://www.stsci.edu/resources/ Space Telescope Science Institute]. The [[telescope]] was launched April 25, 1990 and began operations soon thereafter.

After launch, it was found that all of the images from the telescope were out of focus. An investigation found that the primary mirror of the telescope had been ground to the wrong radius, preventing the telescope from properly focusing. In December, 1993, the [[Space_shuttle|Space Shuttle]] Endeavor, during mission STS-61, captured the telescope and added a lens correcting for the defect in the primary mirror. Since then, the Hubble Space Telescope has been an invaluable tool to [[astronomy|astronomers]].

The current mission of the telescope was recently extended by NASA. On January 17, 2004, primarily due to the recent [[Colombia]] shuttle accident and the perceived risk of shuttle flights, NASA announced that the final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope would not be funded. Scientists around the world and members of congress put pressure on NASA to reconsider, and on October 31, 2006, NASA announced it would go ahead with a Hubble Space Telescope service mission in 2008. This fourth mission to Hubble should effectively extend the life of the telescope by another decade.

The telescope is named after astronomer [[Edwin Hubble]] whose observations of galaxies led him to the discovery that the universe is expanding.
<br /><br /><br /><br />

== Photography ==

'''The Hubble Ultra Deep Field''' is a picture taken by [[Hubble Telescope]]'s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-object Spectrometer (NICMOS) of an "empty area" one tenth the diameter of a full moon when viewed from Earth. The 11.5 square [[arc minute]] area is equivalent to a grain of sand held at arm's length. Taken over a period of almost 11 days, the picture required 400 orbits around Earth and 800 exposures, which is equivalent to approximately 1 million seconds of exposure time. With an estimated 10,000 [[galaxy|galaxies]] in this image, nearly every speck of light is an entire galaxy or group of galaxies.
<gallery>
Image:udf.jpg|The Hubble Ultra Deep Field, Click for a high resolution view.
Image:Hudf-illustration.jpg|Location of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field in the sky.
</gallery>

==Also See==
[[NASA]]

==External Links==
[http://hubblesite.org/ HubbleSite]

[http://www.aerospaceguide.net/spacehistory/hubble-history.html Hubble Space Telescope History]

[http://www.mindspring.com/~deline/ Jim's Hubble Telescope Photo Gallery]

[[category:astronomy]]

Starlight problem

2008-07-03T22:23:02Z

Hanfan1: /* The size of the universe */ galaxy cluster, not star cluster

The '''starlight problem''', or '''starlight travel-time problem''' is an objection against the [[Young Earth Creationism|young-Earth creationist]] argument that the universe is only 6,000 years old, in which the age of the universe is based primarily on the [[Genesis]] narrative.
The problem is that if the universe is only 6,000 years old, one has to explain how light from stars more than 6,000 light years from Earth has reached us in the time available.

Despite this frequently being put as an argument against young-Earth creationism, light travel time is also a problem for the [[Big Bang theory]].

Creationists have proposed a number of solutions. The currently-favoured solutions involve time dilation, in which time passed slower on Earth than in other parts of the universe.
[[image:Crab composite cx.jpg|right|thumb|250px|The Crab nebula, a supernova remnant]]

== The size of the universe ==

Using parallax calculations, the [[Milky Way]] galaxy alone can be directly observed to have a diameter of approximately 80-100,000 light years. Calculations based on the observed brightness of [[supernova]]e of known energy output can determine the distance to more distant objects. The most distant object known is a galaxy cluster approximately thirteen billion light-years away from Earth, observed by the [[Hubble Telescope]] using gravitational lensing.<ref>Amos, 2004</ref>

Although creationists have at times disputed the size of the [[universe]], virtually none propose that it is less than 12,000 light years across.<ref>Fangrad, Richard, 2007.</ref>

== Suggested solutions to the problem ==

Several solutions have been proposed by creationists to explain how a young universe may be reconciled with these observations.

They also point out that there is a logical fallacy in the argument, as the observation that many stars are millions of light years away is one of ''distance'', not ''time''. No matter how reasonable, it is a ''deduction'', not an ''observation'', that the starlight from stars millions of light years away would have required millions of years to reach Earth.

=== Light created in transit ===
Some creationists have proposed that the light we see from stars more than 6,000 light years away was not emitted by those stars, but was created 'in transit' by God.
However, most creationists reject this explanation, as the light contains images of events that would therefore never have actually happened, including [[supernova]]e, meaning that we are seeing an image of a star exploding, even though the star never existed.
This would make the creator a deceiver.<ref>Humphreys, 1994, p.43-46.</ref>

=== Moon-Spencer theory ===
Some creationists promoted an idea by Parry Moon and Domina Spencer that light somehow takes a shortcut through "Riemannian Space", taking no more than 15 years to reach Earth from the outer limits of the universe.
However, this idea never really caught on and appears to no longer have adherents.<ref>Humphreys, 1994, p. 46.</ref>

=== Decrease in the speed of light ===

[[Image:Barry_setterfield.jpg‎|right|thumb|150px|[[Barry Setterfield]]]]
Creationist [[Barry Setterfield]] has proposed that the speed of light was faster in the past. <ref>Norman and Setterfield, 1986</ref>
This idea initially found wide acceptance by creationists, but is now widely rejected, although some still hold to the idea.

One criticism of it by anticreationists was that if the speed of light had changed, we should see the difference in the [[Fine Structure Constant]] as measured by nearby stars versus distant stars, but this was not observed.
Yet in 1999, John Webb, a professor at the University of New South Wales in [[Sydney]], Australia, and his colleagues reported astronomical observations suggesting that the value of the fine-structure constant may indeed have changed. They subsequently published this in ''[[Physical Review Letters]]''.<ref>Physical Review Letters 091301, 2001</ref><ref>Sarfati, 2001</ref>
However, although this showed that mainstream scientists are prepared to entertain the idea of a change in the speed of light when it suits them, the size of the change did not provide specific support for Setterfield's idea.

In addition, there were other problems with the theory, leading most creationists to drop the idea, although some credit it with stimulating further research.<ref>Humphreys, 1994, p.128</ref>

=== Humphreys' model ===
In 1994 Dr. [[Russell Humphreys]] proposed a new cosmology<ref>Batten et. al., 2007, p.90, Humphreys, 1994</ref> that includes a bounded universe with a center and an edge, that God had created 6,000 years ago as a much smaller body than today, then stretched it out, making it much larger.
In Humphreys' model, because the universe has a center and an edge (unlike the unbounded model of the Big Bang universe), the center of the universe is also the center of a [[gravity well]], meaning that gravity is stronger at the center of the universe than at the edge.

As gravity can affect the rate at which time passes, he calculated that while the six days of [[creation week]] were passing on Earth, billions of years' of time was passing at the edge of the universe.
According to this idea, the Biblical references to time are according to an observer (real or imaginary) on Earth, so ages are given in "Earth time".

This model receives cautious but wide support among creationists.

=== Time dilation field ===

Dr. [[John Hartnett]], a creationist physicist, spurred by Humphreys' model, has proposed an alternative [[time dilation]] model, by theorizing the Earth was in a time-dilation field during the first few days of creation, from Earth's point of view, while billions of years passed for the rest of the universe.
According to the Bible, God "stretched out"<ref>For example, {{Bible ref|Isaiah|40:22}}</ref> the heavens (space), and this movement during [[creation week]] caused time to travel faster for those objects, in accordance with [[Albert Einstein|Einstein's]] [[Special Theory of Relativity]], adding to the time dilation caused by [[gravity]], per Humphreys, in accordance with Einstein's [[General Theory of Relativity]].<ref>Hartnett, 2003, Hartnett 2007</ref>

==Starlight Problem for the Big Bang Theory==

Despite the use of the Starlight Problem in arguing against young-Earth creationism, the [[Big Bang theory]] has its own light travel problem, known as the horizon problem.

The Big Bang model proposes that the temperature of the [[Cosmic Microwave Background]] (CMB) would have varied considerably from place to place early in the universe, yet because the speed at which this radiation can disperse from hotter to colder parts of the universe is limited by the speed of light, there has not been enough time for the radiation to even out, yet observations today show it to be extremely uniform<ref name="Lisle">Lisle, 2003</ref> (with fluctuations at the part-per-million level<ref>[http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_uni/uni_101Flucts.html Fluctuations in the Cosmic Microwave Background]</ref>).
{{QuoteBox|The problem is this: even assuming the big bang timescale, there has not been enough time for light to travel between widely separated regions of space. So, how can the different regions of the current CMB have such precisely uniform temperatures if they have never communicated with each other? This is a light-travel–time problem.<ref name="Lisle" />}}

A number of solutions to this problem have been proposed, including several versions of an "inflationary model", in which space itself expanded faster than the speed of light early in the Big Bang, but ''after'' different areas exchanged radiation to even out the temperature.
However, there is no consensus on which explanation is correct, and each of the proposed solutions have their own problems.<ref name="Lisle" />

== Bibliography ==
* [http://www.nature.com/physics/highlights/6849-3.html#ref1 Inconstant constant?] ''Physical Review Letters 091301'' (9th August 2001)</ref>
* Amos, Jonathan, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3490657.stm Hubble sees 'most distant object'], BBC News, 15th February, 2004.
* Batten, Don, Catchpoole, David, Sarfati, Jonathan, Wieland, Carl, [http://www.creationontheweb.com/images/pdfs/cabook/chapter5.pdf How can we see distant stars in a young universe?], chapter 5 of The Creation Answers Book, 2007.
* Fangrad, Richard, [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/5425 The media spin on the creationists] (Creation Ministries International), 14th November, 2007.
* Hartnett, John C., A new cosmology: solution to the starlight travel time problem, ''Journal of Creation'' 17(2):98–102, August 2003. [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/1616/ HTML] [http://www.creationontheweb.com/images/pdfs/tj/j17_2/j17_2_98-102.pdf PDF]
* Hartnett, John, Starlight, Time and the New Physics, Creation Book Publishers, 2007 ISBN 978-0-949906-68-7
* Humphreys, D. Russell, Starlight and Time, Master Books, 1994, ISBN 0-89051-202-7.
* Laird, Jeff, [http://swordofthemind.blogspot.com/2008/05/starlight-time-and-new-physics-review.html "Starlight, Time, and the New Physics" (Review)], Gladio Mentis, 26th May, 2008.
* Lisle, Jason, [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/167/ Light-travel time: a problem for the big bang], ''Creation'' 25(4):48–49, September 2003.
* Norman, T.G. and Setterfield, B., ''The Atomic Constants, Light and Time'', SRI International Invited Research Report, Menlo Park, 1986.
* Sarfati, Jonathan, [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/2430 Have fundamental constants changed, and what would it prove?] 22nd August, 2001 (Creation Ministries International).
* Wieland, Carl, [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/2551/ Speed of light slowing down after all?], 9th August 2002 (Creation Ministries International).

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]