Cooling on Uranus

While the "warming solar system is proof the Earth is heating naturally" claim is completely bogus, that hasn't stopped the support of idiots.

So I thought the report that the unfortunately-named planet is getting cooler should receive some more attention than it did. Now in the land of science as opposed to the land of science denialists, the fact that a study found Uranus to be cooling wouldn't do much to disprove "sun did it!" claim. For one thing, it's just one study and could be wrong, and for another, Uranus could be cooling for climatic reasons that have nothing to do solar dynamics.

Doesn't matter though - the claims that planets (other than Mars) are warming are also just based on little more than a single study each, and acknowledgment that Uranus' internal climate can override short-term solar influence pretty much shoots down the stupid, if-Earth-is-warming-only-the-sun-can-cause-it claim. Anyway, the claim is just wrong.

In other solar system events, some friends and I went outside last night to watch the meteor shower and play with a 12" Meade LightBridge telescope that I half-own. Now is a nice time to see Jupiter and its moons in the evening sky. What I really need to find is a good place between San Jose and San Francisco to use the scope though; the place we chose wasn't so great.