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I just finished watching the first episode of the new Cosmos with Neil Degrasse Tyson. It was pretty good. This episode he addressed the basics of where the universe came from. He did it in a interesting fashion. He started with where we are in the universe and a brief history of some of the things that led to the change from a small Earth centered universe to a huge free flowing universe. After that he ran us through the good old cosmic calendar ploy. The life of the universe in one year. Not new, but he did it pretty well.

The biggest problem I had with the show was that his voice was out of sync with his mouth. I don't know if that was problem with the source or if it was a local problem, but it was bit disconcerting.

I saw it on the Fox network. It will also run on a number of the cable channels, I couldn't say what the schedule will be for that.

Bill Gill

In our backwater we will probably have to wait for its release on DVD. Please keep us posted so we can judge if it is worth buying.

I just watched Cosmos episode 5. The age of the earth was estimated by the ratio of uranium to lead in the Arizona meteorite. The premise seemed to be that the “clock” started when the rocks of our solar system were formed, became solid.

My thought: uranium and lead were created in a supernova. The uranium decay began at that time. Would not the ratio of uranium to lead found in a meteorite indicate the original ratio of uranium to lead, adjusted for the decay of uranium from the time of its (and that of the lead’s) creation? If so, this the age of the supernova not the age of the earth.

Am I missing something?

With respect,

Mike C