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Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!seismo!hao!cires!nbires!opus!rcd
From: rcd@opus.UUCP (Dick Dunn)
Newsgroups: net.origins
Subject: Re: retrograde moons
Message-ID: <356@opus.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 13-Apr-84 00:48:18 EST
Article-I.D.: opus.356
Posted: Fri Apr 13 00:48:18 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 15-Apr-84 01:22:18 EST
References: <145@utastro.UUCP>
Organization: NBI, Boulder
Lines: 21

<>
In regard to the Henry Morris creationism text, discussion quoted on
retrograde planetary orbits:
>    . . .
>  >     4. The fact that one-third of the planetary satellites have
>  >       retrograde orbits with respect to the rotational direction
>  >      of their respective planets.
...
Ethan Vishniac responds - among other things, he finds that one-third
turns out to be 6/44.  You thought pi=3 or pi=4 was bad! :-) But also:

>...All of the retrograde
>moons have large orbital tilts with respect to the equator of the planet
>they orbit...
Ethan didn't explain this, but a large orbital tilt fits well with these
moons being anomalous to the model for most of the moons - the large tilt
suggests capture from outside the solar system or as the result of an
"unusual" event.
-- 
"A friend of the devil is a friend of mine."		Dick Dunn
{hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd				(303) 444-5710 x3086