Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!ihnp4!zehntel!hplabs!sri-unix!REM@MIT-MC
From: REM%MIT-MC@sri-unix.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Death Star?
Message-ID: <17364@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 9-Mar-84 07:30:00 EST
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.17364
Posted: Fri Mar  9 07:30:00 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 13-Mar-84 00:47:32 EST
Lines: 21

From:  Robert Elton Maas 

The previous message was something I wanted to say for a week or so
but forgot. Now I've read the news story that ihuxb!alle sent us, and
I have one more thing to say: It seems the original gallactic-plane
was half-baked, since it was immediately refuted by the fact we're at
this very time passing through the plane of the galaxy but not getting
the comet barrage, while the new theory is just grasping at straws to
try to cover up the first theory. The whole periodicity observed in
the first place might just be sampling error, everything looks vaguely
periodic when examined in retrospect, yet only true periodicities can
be used to predict the future. The scientists need to do a test of the
periodicity by dividing the geologic history of Earth into two equal
time periods, using Fourier analysis of the older data to predict a
periodicity in meteor/comet impacts and then comparing that predicted
periodicity with actual events during the latter half. I seriously
doubt that has been done, but I don't know.

In any case, if we're still alive a few million years hence, I think
we'll be able to defend against the comets. I'm worried more about the
next 5 years (subject of Arms-D).