[escepticos] No me cabe duda de que el milenio va a empezar más tarde de lo que se pensaba...

[planetario@...>]

Supongo que es cosa del verano, y todo eso... Pero auguro que más de un
medio de comunicación va a ver esta nota de prensa y se va a asustar lo
bastante como para poner a un becario (o becaria, bueno, el típico redactor
canicular...) a trabajar sobre el tema, provocando, cómo no, más de un
desaguisado del que nos reiremos -como es costumbre- en estos sitios..(*). O
no, que hay gente siempre TAN seria... En fin.

A nadie se le escapa que como la Cassini/Huygens nos ha empleado (al plantea
este en que moramos) para acelerarse un tanto, se nos ha llevado energía. De
rotación. Esto va a hacer, dicen los cálculos a que se refiere la nota de
prensa, que el milenio entre por lo menos una billonésima de segundo más
tarde. ¡Ay de nosotros! Que el fin del mundo se nos demora por culpa de
querer conocer Saturno...

La nota tal cual:

Scientist predict start of millennium to be delayed
Posted:  23 August 1999 11:57

The start of the millennium will be delayed due to the recent flyby of the
Cassini-Huygens space mission slowing down the earth's orbital motion
according to University of Kent at Canterbury (UKC)scientist Dr John
Zarnecki. Dr Zarnecki, who is one of a team of UKC scientists involved with
the joint European Space Agency (ESA)and NASA mission to Saturn, emphasised
the delay will only be for one million millionth of a second.

The start of the millennium will be delayed, predict scientists at the
University of Kent at Canterbury (UKC). According to space scientist, Dr
John Zarnecki, the earth's orbital motion has been slowed down by this
morning's flyby of the Cassini-Huygens space mission. However, Dr Zarnecki,
who is one of a team of UKC scientists involved with the joint European
Space Agency (ESA)and NASA mission to Saturn, emphasised there was no need
to put away the balloons and the bubbly as the delay will only be for one
million millionth of a second.

Dr John Zarnecki and the rest of the UKC scientific team are involved with
three experiments on board the spacecraft. One of them is to test the
surface and atmosphere on Titan, Saturn's largest moon and one of the great
unknowns in our solar system. His predictions of a delay in the onset of the
year 2000 are based on the sound scientific principle of conservation of
energy, or as he describes it 'The principle of you don't get something for
nothing. The energy used by Cassini to pick up speed for its outward journey
comes from the Earth's orbit round the sun.'

Having completed its flyby of the Earth, the spacecraft is now heading for
Jupiter where it will pick up a further boost and it is scheduled to reach
Saturn in 2004 when Dr Zarnecki and the rest of the UKC team will start to
receive some of the first results of their Titan experiments. Luckily the
team have already received public acknowledgement of their accomplishment
when they received a coveted Honor Award for Group Achievement from NASA for
their involvement in the Cassini-Huygens space mission as well as a similar
award from ESA.

NOTA:
(*) Y un servidor, cómo no, hará lo propio en su quesito de Radio 5...
jejeje

Javier Armentia
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