Very questionable statement by the then Scottish Agricultural Minister.
Though I notice he says vaguely Scottish Oats SEEM to have more Oil and Protein. Suggesting more research needed.
Well, I have done the research, and Canadian planet10 (dave) is the clear winner in the Protein department!
5g versus 4.4g per 40g! Scotland seems to narrowly beat Canada in the Fat contest with 3.2g versus 3g.
Canadian Oats have 27g of carbs. Scottish ones 24g. But that may just be a function of water content and local humidity, Scotland being a very damp place...
Adding milk is a game changer, All looks more substantial to me. Certainly more calories.
Anyway, I have had two bowls of porage today. One with milk and sugar, and one with water and salt just to compare.
That's over 400 Calories!
I do want to get back on-topic and mention Alpha Geminorum (Castor) which is a most INTERESTING star.
In historical times brighter than Pollux, hence the Alpha designation according to Sir Patrick Moore.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castor_(star)
A telescopic double (AB 6'' separation, Magnitude 1.9 and 3.0) which even I might attempt to resolve with my toy telescope, it is in fact SIX stars, and an exotic example of the solvable restricted three body problem.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-body_problem
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I read that the Castor system consists of 6 stars, which are organised in 3 close binaries which then orbit each other.
Thanx for the analysis. I expect most important is buy “local”.
For the first time in my life i have to work to keep my weight up, so some extra “good” calories are welcome.
dave
For the first time in my life i have to work to keep my weight up, so some extra “good” calories are welcome.
dave
Clearly debateable, Galu. I distrust neat circular solutions.
A and B orbit in 445 years, C goes round And B in 14,000 years.
I prefer this speculative more elliptical solution, which is also a restricted three body problem.
Other 6 star systems have been discovered:
https://www.iflscience.com/nasa-fou...ars-are-constantly-eclipsing-each-other-58543
A and C orbit each other in 4 years, they orbit B in 2,000 years. The central point must be the centre of mass of the whole conglomorate.
And there is a proof by Laplace or Lagrange (Can't remember...) that the n-body solution always tends towards a larger and larger overall radius of the system.
The small binaries orbit in a matter of days. Thus don't affect things too much.
The overall idea is it is effectively a 2 body problem to be reasonably stable. It's not wildly different to the Earth and Moon going round the sun.
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I'm sure the circles were merely an artistic convenience, Steve.
Besides, the circle is a degenerate form of an ellipse.
Half a cup isn't enough for breakfast. 2 cups for me! With milk it's amino complete which is handy for a vegetarian.
I think enough has been said about Porage now. I am keen to continue vaguely on-topic.
Firstly, more disappointing news for the European Space project. Another of our rockets has blown up taking two valuable satellites with it:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64838254
At this rate, the American Cousins are a shoo-in to win the latest Moon Race!
Was it only three weeks ago we were using my Portsmouth Observatory widefield camera to watch the Venus, Moon, Jupiter conjunction?
An update into the current situation. Jupiter is slipping away lower into the twilight. Venus continues to rise and brighten and shall present an easily observed Moon-like crescent by late June. Moon long gone to the last quarter.
I will make an attempt to resolve Alpha Geminorum ( Castor in the Constellation of Gemini ) tonight into a double star with my toy telescope. The skies look clear for a change.
Firstly, more disappointing news for the European Space project. Another of our rockets has blown up taking two valuable satellites with it:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64838254
At this rate, the American Cousins are a shoo-in to win the latest Moon Race!
Was it only three weeks ago we were using my Portsmouth Observatory widefield camera to watch the Venus, Moon, Jupiter conjunction?
An update into the current situation. Jupiter is slipping away lower into the twilight. Venus continues to rise and brighten and shall present an easily observed Moon-like crescent by late June. Moon long gone to the last quarter.
I will make an attempt to resolve Alpha Geminorum ( Castor in the Constellation of Gemini ) tonight into a double star with my toy telescope. The skies look clear for a change.
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Two Earth imaging satellites no less.
The planet will soon be running out of selfie opportunities!
I saw an episode of "Abandoned Engineering" on the Yesterday channel and was intrigued by Project HARP, short for High Altitude Research Project.
The giant HARP space gun in Barbados, shown above, was capable of firing a Martlet projectile 57 miles into the sky - well into the ionosphere.
Shades of Jules Verne, but without the human passengers!
On November 18, 1966, a HARP gun at the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona launched an 84 kg Martlet 2 missile at 4698 mph, sending it briefly into space and setting a world altitude record of 111 miles. This has remained the world altitude record for any fired projectile.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_HARP
The giant HARP space gun in Barbados, shown above, was capable of firing a Martlet projectile 57 miles into the sky - well into the ionosphere.
Shades of Jules Verne, but without the human passengers!
On November 18, 1966, a HARP gun at the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona launched an 84 kg Martlet 2 missile at 4698 mph, sending it briefly into space and setting a world altitude record of 111 miles. This has remained the world altitude record for any fired projectile.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_HARP
The entity known as "system7" appears to have pulled off a significant Mathematical and Physical and Astronomical Coup tonight!
Bravely defying the wretched cloudy British weather on April 2nd. 2023, I got out and about with my (frankly dismal) Nikon Coolpix A100 camera, plus tripod...
Results were spectacular:
Not many people can see that. But I can.
Thing is, without Mercury, even Einstein's Theory of General Relativity falls apart. There would be no precession of the perihelion of Mercury.
Happily, Mercury is alive and well. As I can confirm tonight. PHEW! It was close run thing.
Bravely defying the wretched cloudy British weather on April 2nd. 2023, I got out and about with my (frankly dismal) Nikon Coolpix A100 camera, plus tripod...
Results were spectacular:
Not many people can see that. But I can.
Thing is, without Mercury, even Einstein's Theory of General Relativity falls apart. There would be no precession of the perihelion of Mercury.
Happily, Mercury is alive and well. As I can confirm tonight. PHEW! It was close run thing.
I'm afraid I can't see Mercury in the image, Steve. It's either lost in the twilight or smaller than a pixel on my screen!
I read that viewing conditions will improve over the coming days as Mercury rises higher in the sky.
Over the same time, Venus will be approaching closer to the Pleiades.
https://www.space.com/mercury-venus-pleiades-skywatching-april-2023
I read that viewing conditions will improve over the coming days as Mercury rises higher in the sky.
Over the same time, Venus will be approaching closer to the Pleiades.
https://www.space.com/mercury-venus-pleiades-skywatching-april-2023
You have to get these shots when the weather is exceptionally clear in the UK. This is a rarity.
I was perplexed that my camera was so poor at photographing Mercury too. I could see Mercury spartkling as clear as anything with my eyes, and the camera could pick up fainter stars in other pictures of the approx 10 day old Moon against a darker sky.
The explanation seems to lie in the jpeg file compression on the planet image against a lighter sky. The algorithm interprets Mercury as noise, and smooths it over if I have got it right.
Easter Bank Holiday is set by the first Sunday after the first full Moon after the Spring equinox. Seems reasonable.
I was perplexed that my camera was so poor at photographing Mercury too. I could see Mercury spartkling as clear as anything with my eyes, and the camera could pick up fainter stars in other pictures of the approx 10 day old Moon against a darker sky.
The explanation seems to lie in the jpeg file compression on the planet image against a lighter sky. The algorithm interprets Mercury as noise, and smooths it over if I have got it right.
Easter Bank Holiday is set by the first Sunday after the first full Moon after the Spring equinox. Seems reasonable.
Perfect skies tonight for seeing Mercury. About 2030 to 2045 HRS GMT...
Would have looked a tiny bit brighter in a png file, but jpg is OK I think. I was pointing it out to some passers-by as a rarity to see.
It's actually going to get a magnitude fainter over the next week, going from -1.0 to 0.0, but greater Eastern elongation. And a rising equinox in Spring which helps.
Venus is about -3.5 right now, and will hit about -4.5 in June when even binoculars should see a crescent. You would find even Venus hard to spot in late autumn as it was nearly three years back. Very low indeed.
About 10 degrees high when it gets dark enough to see it, and it sets quite rapidly.
Would have looked a tiny bit brighter in a png file, but jpg is OK I think. I was pointing it out to some passers-by as a rarity to see.
It's actually going to get a magnitude fainter over the next week, going from -1.0 to 0.0, but greater Eastern elongation. And a rising equinox in Spring which helps.
Venus is about -3.5 right now, and will hit about -4.5 in June when even binoculars should see a crescent. You would find even Venus hard to spot in late autumn as it was nearly three years back. Very low indeed.
About 10 degrees high when it gets dark enough to see it, and it sets quite rapidly.
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