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HI HI' Tonight I learnt a delightful little story that I wish to share with you and all of us TICS :-] Jerry Wiant of Mcdonald University USA has for the last 37 yrs been driving on the same motorbike to a telescope facility near his home, high up in the mountains. The reason for this daily visit is to send a laser beam to the surface of the moon of which is reflected back to his observatory within 2,5 seconds. This timed measurement is used to calculate the way in which the moon turns spins and indeed travles. They have found out that the moon is actually moving away from the earth at rate of 3.8cms per year, which is approimateky the same distance as the average finger nail grows each year ! This project is the only remaining project that is still in operation from the Apollo mission. The laser beam is directed at a series of light reflectors left on the moon by the Apollo mission. WATERMAN

Thanks, Waterman, interesting story indeed! BTW, I was wondering, if the earth itself always stays on place, in relation to the sun, for example. Probably not. Do you know more?

HI HI ' Your super dragon here ; ) Sorry to say that I do not know, I believe it wabbles about due to the polar activity or the varriance of the true north which moves on a cycle, i.e. at one end of the cycle true north is in or near Russia where as teh other end of the cycle it is in or near to Canada ! Anyone correct me if Im wrong but it is something like that :-]

Maybe I ought to post all this on our science forum, they probably know. . . Thanks anyhow, dear superdragon. Btw, did you realise, who got the first prize here?: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/saatchi/31984/