Baseball In Space
by Graham MacAree on Jul 20, 2009 11:52 AM PDT
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PrintNASA have released a map (below) of the extents of the Apollo 11 expedition on the lunar surface mapped onto a baseball diamond. It's a really cool way of showing the scale of the mission 40 years ago, as well as being a gorgeous picture:
(Click image for full-size)
Hat-tip Paul in the OT.
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If you squint it kinda looks like a Betancourt fly-ball chart
by Poochie on Jul 20, 2009 12:01 PM PDT reply actions 9 recs
Can't be, one of them left the infield
by Graham MacAree on Jul 20, 2009 12:07 PM PDT up reply actions 7 recs
I'll give you the two kentroyals stole from me
by Poochie on Jul 20, 2009 2:02 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Too bad Attractive Nuisances has single-handedly de-valued recs to the point of near worthlessness
by seattlebruin on Jul 20, 2009 2:03 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
And hilariously, it's not even really his fault
by seattlebruin on Jul 20, 2009 2:03 PM PDT up reply actions
I think that I will start taking credit for this season
God knows we wouldn’t be 6+ games over .500 if anybody had made this bet
I have to update that chart now, don't I.
at work tomorrow. I promise.
by seattlebruin on Jul 21, 2009 12:44 AM PDT up reply actions
And if the chart were set up in Left Field
It would look like the path Raul would commonly take to chase down a routine fly-ball
I want to poop at your house - Thingray
by tootthekazoo on Jul 20, 2009 12:32 PM PDT up reply actions
Crater creator!
I fucking hate you Mariners
by kentroyals5 on Jul 20, 2009 1:07 PM PDT up reply actions 3 recs
This never gets old.
The Yankees suck-a-doodle-doo!
by JamMasterJesus on Jul 20, 2009 2:26 PM PDT up reply actions
I just showed my wife this gif.
She laughed and simply said, “How did he make it as a professional player?”
by jimmylauderdale on Jul 20, 2009 5:02 PM PDT up reply actions
So is it me
Or is that a really small baseball field?
by Manzanillos Cup on Jul 20, 2009 12:03 PM PDT reply actions
Or the LEM is gigantic.
I will smash your face into a jelly.
by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Jul 20, 2009 1:13 PM PDT up reply actions
LM, stupid, this isn't 1964.
I will smash your face into a jelly.
by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Jul 20, 2009 1:31 PM PDT up reply actions
It was a fake
per Pravda
De Gutibus non disputandum est
by Bearskin Rugburn on Jul 20, 2009 12:53 PM PDT up reply actions
Do you have a flag?
I will smash your face into a jelly.
by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Jul 20, 2009 1:16 PM PDT up reply actions
INERTIA!!!!
THE SAME REASON A PENDULUM SWINGS!!!!
I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.
Where is the baby at this stage in the uterus?
I fucking hate you Mariners
It just has that look of a baby growth chart.
I fucking hate you Mariners
by kentroyals5 on Jul 20, 2009 12:50 PM PDT up reply actions
Only if your mother is Jackson Pollock.
Or drank a lot.
Do you mean in that comment or as a human being
De Gutibus non disputandum est
by Bearskin Rugburn on Jul 20, 2009 12:54 PM PDT up reply actions
Think of how far Russell Branyan could hit a home run on the moon.
by I Lick Squirrels on Jul 20, 2009 12:54 PM PDT reply actions
Because I am a geek
According to Hittracker one of Russ’ homers left the bat at 110.7 mph.
Neglecting the curvature of the moon and air resistance and assuming he launches the ball at a perfect 45 degrees we get a simple formula for distance.
You have to convert mph into ft/sec (I get 162.4 ft/sec) and assume the moon’s gravity is exactly 1/6 that of earth’s.
I get 819ft * 6 or 4,912ft or 0.93 miles.
819ft is how far the ball would go on earth with no wind resistance.
by PDXTai on Jul 20, 2009 1:55 PM PDT up reply actions 4 recs
Big Russell!
He can hit ’em a Lunar mile!
Big Russell!
I will smash your face into a jelly.
by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Jul 20, 2009 1:57 PM PDT up reply actions
Not wind resistance, it's friction from air, which is basically drag.
wind resistance = velocity of wind acting in relation to ball in flight.
by seattlebruin on Jul 20, 2009 2:00 PM PDT up reply actions
You don't need to account for air resistance as the moon has no atmosphere.
Also, the moon’s circumference is close to 7,000 miles, curvature would be minimally important.
True.
If you wanted to pick a smaller nit, you could argue that the space near the moon is not a perfect vacuum and the ball would likely encounter dust particles during its flight, slowing it down.
A bigger factor might be that Russ would have to wear some sort of suit which would reduce his swing efficiency. He’d also probably be hitting off a tee which reduce the amount of energy imparted to the ball (as compared to an incoming fastball) which would reduce the distance.
Of course, no friction from air could increase hit bat speed which might offset the above.
No nit too small!
I'd say the worst assumption is the launch angle
You could probably derive the actual angle from hit tracker data, yes?
by Graham MacAree on Jul 20, 2009 2:10 PM PDT up reply actions
I interpreted the question to be "how far could Russ hit one?"
which implies optimal conditions. You are correct that we could take the angle data from hit tracker instead. I’ll leave that as an exercise for the reader.
Fuck the suits.
Let’s just build a massive domed ballpark with 4800 foot fences. You’d probably want to get some good outfielders.
angels fan in seattle
Well until 2035 when jetpacks are legalized
then you just need dorks who can catch a baseball and calculate vectors on the fly (and maybe repair jetpacks mid-inning)
by seattlebruin on Jul 20, 2009 3:35 PM PDT up reply actions
TRAGEDY STRIKES DURING BASEBALL GAME ON MOON
April 2, 2078 – GoogleDome, The Moon
26,972 perished today during the first Major League Baseball game held on the Moon, as a massive homerun ball hit by Russell Branyan IV punctured the roof of the newly christened GoogleDome, which lead to a total loss of atmospheric pressure. All of those in attendance, including the fans, stadium personnel, umpiring crew and the entire 28-man rosters of both the Moon Beams and the Montreal Astros quickly succumbed to a lack of oxygen and trauma due to the vacuum. Chief architect of the GoogleDome, reportedly fleeing to Mars Orbital Base II, was reported to have remarked, “My bad, guys. I should have thought that one through.”
angels fan in seattle
by Eyebrows on Jul 20, 2009 3:35 PM PDT up reply actions 7 recs
I would have expected Google's name to be attached to the moon, not the Moon Dome
I want to poop at your house - Thingray
by tootthekazoo on Jul 20, 2009 3:52 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
They bought the moon and automatically got the rights to name the dome.
Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.
Well then that's a classy move by Google to not re-name the moon
I want to poop at your house - Thingray
by tootthekazoo on Jul 20, 2009 4:35 PM PDT up reply actions
Yeah, they gave the rights to Google because Apple wanted to buy it and name it the iMoon
by seattlebruin on Jul 20, 2009 4:37 PM PDT up reply actions
And Microsoft was left out of the bidding...
Because they didn’t want the Moon to crash.
This signature space for rent.
by PositivePaul on Jul 21, 2009 9:48 AM PDT up reply actions
Jamie Moyer will probably not be alive in 2078.
I don’t see how making fun of his passing would be in good taste.
I bet veteran Nick Adenhart will be on the MoonBeams roster by then
by seattlebruin on Jul 20, 2009 4:04 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
Well they'd have to chop off Maddux's head first
not sure he’d allow that while he’s still alive
by seattlebruin on Jul 20, 2009 4:18 PM PDT up reply actions
A cure for aging was discovered in 2013.
Which leads to massive overpopulation and the need to colonize the Moon and Mars. This is third-grade history, c’mon people!
angels fan in seattle
It does have an atmosphere, it's just less than one trillionth as dense as Earth's.
But, yeah, for all intents and purposes, the moon has no atmosphere.
I will smash your face into a jelly.
by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Jul 20, 2009 2:09 PM PDT up reply actions
I just want to see him hit one that acheives escape velocity and goes flying off towards Mars
by seattlebruin on Jul 20, 2009 2:09 PM PDT up reply actions
He'd have to hit it pretty hard, as the moon's escape velocity is ~2.5 km/sec if I remember correctly.
I will smash your face into a jelly.
by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Jul 20, 2009 2:10 PM PDT up reply actions
Hrm. 2.38 km/sec
I will smash your face into a jelly.
by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Jul 20, 2009 2:11 PM PDT up reply actions
If Yuni hits a baseball on the moon is it still an infield pop-up?
by PDXTai on Jul 20, 2009 2:17 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
The question is where Yuni could hit a baseball and it wouldn't be an infield popup
the answer is probably Little League on the moon
by seattlebruin on Jul 20, 2009 2:18 PM PDT up reply actions
We'd have to set the tee low and away to get him to swing at it though.
by PDXTai on Jul 20, 2009 2:23 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
Beltre would swing at it first.
Luckily, you wouldn’t have to bother resetting it for Yuni.
angels fan in seattle
Hmmm.
Only on the moon can we have a 1-9-3 Armstrong-Armstrong-Armstrong DP…
Niehaus with the call:
“And here’s the pitch from Armstrong.
Kenji swings AND IT’S A LONG FLY BALL DEEP….
Back to the pitcher.
Armstrong catches the ball, and what’s he doing now –
HE’S throwing it out to right field?!?
Where’d this guy learn how to play defense???
And he’s kangaroo-hopping out to right field,
AND HE CATCHES THE BALL! Fires back to first —
WHAT’S THIS?!? Armstrong’s hopping back to first!?!
I DON’T BELIEVE IT! Armstrong makes it back to first base and grabs his own throw!
Jose Lopez is caught napping on the play and is thrown out at first.
I guess you’d call that a 1-9-3 double play, folks!
One small whack from Joh; One giant blunder from Jose!”
This signature space for rent.
Shouldn't need to be explained...
But I was looking at the route to the pink dot…
Of course, details… details… The arrows suggest Neil’s the first baseman and in my crazy interpretation he’d somehow make the DP at the pitcher’s mound…
Just ignore my ramblings. I’m deeply buried in an impossibly-timelined web coding project at work and my brain is fried.
This signature space for rent.
by PositivePaul on Jul 21, 2009 11:41 AM PDT up reply actions
which would have been awesome had we not been trying to land on Mars
Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.
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