Dumb science: Researchers claim Jupiter is 0.0028% thinner than previously measured
Stupidity on display: According to researchers using data from the Jupiter orbiter Juno, Jupiter is a tiny bit thinner at the equator and flatter at the poles than previously measured.
Leading an international team from Italy, the United States, France and Switzerland, Weizmann Institute of Science researchers [Israel] have produced more precise measurements of Jupiter’s size and shape than ever before, using new data from NASA’s Juno spacecraft.
The peer-reviewed research, published today in Nature Astronomy, shows that the radius of Jupiter is about four kilometers (2.5 miles) thinner at its equator and 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) flatter at the poles than believed in earlier assessments. The scientists determined the planet has a radius of 71,484 kilometers (44,418 miles). Earlier data measured it at 71,492 kilometers (44,423 miles).
The absurdity of this research is galling. The revision they claim is tiny, a mere 0.0028% difference at the equator, and 0.0084% at the poles. These numbers are insignificant. Moreover, Jupiter is a gas giant. It has no precisely known surface. Instead, it has an atmosphere that gradually thins as you go up. To claim any precise diameter is absurd, especially because seasonally and over time that atmosphere will expand and shrink.
And of course, at least two mainstream news outlets, Scientific American and The Times of Israel (linked above), report this story without any skepticism, as if this is a Earth-shaking discovery. All that tells me is that when it comes to science, both are incompetent sources of information.
Stupidity on display: According to researchers using data from the Jupiter orbiter Juno, Jupiter is a tiny bit thinner at the equator and flatter at the poles than previously measured.
Leading an international team from Italy, the United States, France and Switzerland, Weizmann Institute of Science researchers [Israel] have produced more precise measurements of Jupiter’s size and shape than ever before, using new data from NASA’s Juno spacecraft.
The peer-reviewed research, published today in Nature Astronomy, shows that the radius of Jupiter is about four kilometers (2.5 miles) thinner at its equator and 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) flatter at the poles than believed in earlier assessments. The scientists determined the planet has a radius of 71,484 kilometers (44,418 miles). Earlier data measured it at 71,492 kilometers (44,423 miles).
The absurdity of this research is galling. The revision they claim is tiny, a mere 0.0028% difference at the equator, and 0.0084% at the poles. These numbers are insignificant. Moreover, Jupiter is a gas giant. It has no precisely known surface. Instead, it has an atmosphere that gradually thins as you go up. To claim any precise diameter is absurd, especially because seasonally and over time that atmosphere will expand and shrink.
And of course, at least two mainstream news outlets, Scientific American and The Times of Israel (linked above), report this story without any skepticism, as if this is a Earth-shaking discovery. All that tells me is that when it comes to science, both are incompetent sources of information.
