why are blueberries so damned tasty?

I don't know, but they are pretty wonderful. I've discovered dried blueberries, which sound kind of meh, but are delicious when fresh aren't available. They're like virtuous candy.

What is it about the planet that needs a moon for stabilisation of its orbit?

Dunno. I've been curious about that for a while. I would tend to think that the earth's rotation would make it stable like a gyroscope, but I guess not. Although the fact that Earth has a molten core and/or oceans might mess up stability. (Just a guess.)

TAR just started here (50 minutes late).

ETA: Of course, I just got back from Texas so I'm still watching last week's episode.

Didn't they just decide Plato isn't a planet??

You, young lady, are to go sit in the corner and feel sorry for yourself and your smart mouth.

I need more blueberries. They are in my fridge, but I've been eating them by handfuls all afternoon, and we have a dinner reservation in just over an hour.

Maybe I should just drink water instead.

I would tend to think that the earth's rotation would make it stable like a gyroscope, but I guess not

Hmm. I would have too. Do any of the other planets in our system have wacky wobbles? In my head, I think I was imagining that the moon was part of the irregularity we already experience. Hmm again.

Tangentially, in a discussion of how I eat oranges, the word oblate came up, with both parties saying it at the same time. I'm pretty sure I've never co-said oblate before. And won't be surprised if I don't again.

And oranges aren't even that oblate.

You, young lady, are to go sit in the corner and feel sorry for yourself and your smart mouth.

You're not my mother!!!!

My newest crack is Trader Joe's Golden Berry Blend--Dried raisins, cranberries, blueberries and cherries. It is Da Bomb.

why are blueberries so damned tasty?

Don't know buy my kids agree with you. They can't get enough of them.

Okay, this is just a guess I'm pulling out of my back pocket, but I think maybe the earth and the moon are like dance partners, holding each other's hands and whirling around. They're stable as long as they both hold on and keep a constant speed. But if one suddenly lets go - as if the moon somehow disappeared - the other would go careening off, spinning erratically. The earth couldn't really go flying off, because the sun's gravity keeps it in its orbit, but its spin would lose stability.

The moon arrived - whether it was captured or broken off the earth itself - a long long time ago, so the "dance partner" interaction has been stable since well before we evolved. The moon is slowly getting farther away from the earth, so that's affecting the partnership, but it's so gradual, we're never going to notice any difference.

A planet doesn't need a relatively big moon to be stable, but ours has had its big moon for so long, the sudden loss of it would severely disturb its rotation.

My theory does not involve dancing.

OK, the earth is not quite spherical - it's somewhat "flat" at the poles and a little wider at the equator, due to the earth's rotation. So the earth at the equator is a little closer to the moon than the earth at other places. So I guess that's enough to keep the earth's equator and the moon's orbit mostly synced up.

Why that's necessary, I don't know....

Googling on the subject's very interesting. So far I haven't hit anything that has the Space:1999 profile, but I'm sure that's just because I haven't put "space" and "1999" into my search. Yet.

Hey! Should I wear a crinoline to dinner, or is that too much?