Breaking News & Random Musings on Space, Technology, Sci-Fi & the View From A Writer’s Window
Everyone who joined EJ Fisch, Tammy Salyer and me for the live chat Sunday evening, thank you so much for coming, and I hope you enjoyed listening to us babble for an hour. We certainly had a good time - you can tell because we're all laughing in the screenshot!
If you missed the event, it's all good, because now you can watch the recording at your leisure on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq69z_rFFxg
Originally posted on Facebook.
Terry Goodkind passed away on Thursday, and wow, this one stings. We don't talk about it a lot here, but most sci-fi fans I know read at least a little fantasy (and sometimes a lot). The genres are intimately connected in so many ways.
As a teenager, I read Terry Brooks and Weis/Hickman. As an adult, I fell in love with Sara Douglass, Elizabeth Haydon, Guy Gavriel Kay - and Terry Goodkind. My husband introduced me to Wizard's First Rule, and we eagerly read every book that followed, side by side, racing each other to the end.
The Sword of Truth series is a masterclass in what you can do with a story, given the time and space to tell it your way. It greatly influenced my understanding of how writing could and should be done. Wizard's First Rule all the way through Confessor? Damn near perfection.
We've lost a great storyteller. We're all lesser for it, but his books will live on forever. Godspeed, sir.
From his Facebook page: “This morning, Thursday, September 17th, we lost Terry Goodkind. It is a great loss. An unimaginable loss. It is impossible to put into few words just how amazing of a man, a husband, a writer, a friend, and a human, Terry Goodkind truly was. He is already desperately missed. We are forever grateful for him having shared his life’s work with all of us, as he was always grateful to be held in our hearts.
“To exist in this vast universe for a speck of time is the great gift of life. It is our only life. The universe will go on, indifferent to our brief existence, but while we are here, we touch not just part of that vastness, but also the lives around us. Life is the gift each of us has been given. Each life is our own and no one else's. It is precious beyond all counting. It is the greatest value we can have. Cherish it for what it truly is . . . Your life is yours alone. Rise up and live it.” - Terry Goodkind
We love you, Terry.”
Originally posted on Facebook.
Tomorrow is my live Hangout with SFF authors EJ Fisch and Tammy Salyer! Have you registered yet? You can do so by going here: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/live-hangoutqa-with-sci/register.
Thought of any questions? This is all about what YOU want to know. You can submit them ahead of time by hitting the "Ask a Question" button here: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/live-hangoutqa-with-sci, or by posting a comment below, or you can ask your question during the hangout. See you there!
HYPE-WORTHY SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY ALERT
Cue the hype in 3...2...1...go! Alien life on Venus? Well...maybe. Just maybe. For today, feel free to let your imagination run wild about Venusites (Venusians?) floating around in the toxic clouds of the planet next door, doing things that life does.
"Deep within the acidic clouds of Venus, astronomers have detected a tantalizing gas never found on the planet before — a gas that, remarkably, could be a sign of life on the hellish world. The gas’s presence isn’t enough to say for sure that Venus hosts life forms, but the fact that it exists in the planet’s clouds indicates that something is going on there that we don’t fully understand.
"Phosphine is a toxic and explosive molecule with a lingering odor of garlic and dead fish. Astronomers discovered the putrid gas lurking within a layer of clouds on Venus, where temperatures are pretty close to those on our planet. Phosphine is considered a "biosignature"—a molecule strongly associated with the chemistry of life that has few non-life methods of production, particularly on a rocky planet like Venus.
"But finding even a small amount of phosphine on Venus is enticing because of how the gas is made here on Earth. Either it is manufactured artificially by humans — into products like fumigants or biological weapons — or it is a natural byproduct of life. Phosphine can be found in swamps and marshlands, where it’s thought to be produced by microbes. It can also be found in the guts of animals or in the poop they leave behind. Above all, it’s a gas that is almost exclusively associated with life on Earth, raising the possibility that it could be a sign of microbes floating in the Venusian clouds.
“Or it could be coming from something that we can’t yet comprehend.
"Ultimately, everything comes back to one question: are we alone? Microbes on Venus may not seem that impressive, but if life can form on two worlds right next to each other, that opens up the possibility that life is much more abundant in the Universe than we think.
"No matter what, this detection is just the beginning of a long journey to discovering more about Venus and its potential for habitability. Right now, there’s no definitive answer. There may never be. “As they say, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence,” says Clements of the Imperial College of London. “We’ve got pretty good evidence, I wouldn’t say it’s extraordinary yet.”
Here are a few of the million+ articles that have been published about this announcement in the last two days:
The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/21428796/venus-gas-life-sign-discovery-phosphine-biosignature (source of most of the text above)
Space.com: https://www.space.com/venus-clouds-possible-life-chemical-discovery.html
The Planetary Society: https://www.planetary.org/articles/venus-phosphine-biosignature
Sky News: https://news.sky.com/story/signs-of-alien-life-detected-on-venus-12071625
Originally posted on Facebook.
Well this looks simply fantastic, doesn't it? Nothing more for me to say - just go watch it!
Dune movie trailer on YouTube: https://youtu.be/n9xhJrPXop4
Way back in 1995, Hubble took this image of spiral galaxy NGC 4414 as part of the HST Key Project on the Extragalactic Distance Scale. An international team of astronomers, led by Dr. Wendy Freedman of the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, observed this galaxy on 13 different occasions over the course of two months.
Images were obtained with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) through three different colour filters. Based on their discovery and careful brightness measurements of variable stars in NGC 4414, the Key Project astronomers were able to make an accurate determination of the distance to the galaxy.
The galaxy’s central region contains older and more red and yellow stars. In the spiral arms, stars are being born all the time, and therefore these arms contain more blue stars - and also large amounts of dust.
Originally shared on Twitter.
Astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy took an 85 megapixel shot of the moon last night by blending together 24,000 individual image frames. What an incredible image!
Link: https://twitter.com/AJamesMcCarthy/status/1298740657259868160
High res prints: https://www.imagekind.com/first-quarter-in-august_art?IMID=5392a72e-88db-4d46-b6b4-b00c9782a559
Originally posted on Twitter.
Check it out - I have government sanction now! Papers with an official seal and everything.
Seriously, what is this? Well, it's a certificate from the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office formally issuing my trademark for "AMARANTHE," as it relates to a series of science fiction works!
...and only for a series of science fiction works. The Swedish metalcore band was here first, and we are no threat to one another - so long as they don't start writing sci-fi books and I don't start screeching out chords on a guitar?
But SERIOUSLY, what does this do? Basically - besides giving me something else to frame and stick on a wall - this gives me a legal route to respond should someone try to capitalize on the Amaranthe brand name I've built by sticking the word on their sci-fi books and hoping to get sales due to reader confusion. So if you ever see someone trying that, let me know.
The former lawyer in me is very proud.
An avalanche on Mars.... a Marsvalance, if you will. Captured by @HiRISE on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter back in 2019. The rocks and regolith are plunging down a cliff 500 metres high.
Learn more here: https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/capturing-an-avalanche-on-mars
Originally posted on Twitter.
“From Earth, Saturn never shows a crescent phase. But when viewed from a spacecraft the majestic giant planet can show just a sunlit slice. This image of crescent Saturn in natural color was taken by the robotic Cassini spacecraft in 2007. It captures Saturn's rings from the side of the ring plane opposite the Sun -- the unilluminated side -- another vista not visible from Earth. Visible are subtle colors of cloud bands, the complex shadows of the rings on the planet, and the shadow of the planet on the rings. The moons Mimas, at 2 o'clock, and Janus 4 o'clock, can be seen as specks of light, but the real challenge is to find Pandora (8 o'clock). From Earth, Saturn's disk is nearly full now and opposite the Sun. Along with bright fellow giant planet Jupiter it rises in the early evening.
Originally posted on Twitter.
Gamer friends: this weekend I did a 2.5-day breakneck sprint through the main storyline of Horizon Zero Dawn (with pauses to write a few words, of course ;) ). What a gorgeous, compelling and fun game. I realize I'm 3 years late to the party (boo to PS4 exclusivity), but Aloy is a wonderful protagonist. 4.5 stars.
I now return you to your regularly scheduled sci-fi.
How cool is this? We are starstuff indeed.
"The hydrogen in your body, present in every molecule of water, came from the Big Bang. There are no other appreciable sources of hydrogen in the universe. The carbon in your body was made by nuclear fusion in the interior of stars, as was the oxygen. Much of the iron in your body was made during supernovas of stars that occurred long ago and far away. The gold in your jewelry was likely made from neutron stars during collisions that may have been visible as short-duration gamma-ray bursts or gravitational wave events. Elements like phosphorus and copper are present in our bodies in only small amounts but are essential to the functioning of all known life.
"The featured periodic table is color coded to indicate humanity's best guess as to the nuclear origin of all known elements. The sites of nuclear creation of some elements, such as copper, are not really well known and are continuing topics of observational and computational research."
Prometheus orbiting Saturn just inside the F ring—a color composite made from images acquired by #Cassini's narrow-angle ISS camera on April 13, 2007. Via Jason Major: https://twitter.com/JPMajor/status/1291452836631511040
Originally posted on Twitter.
The Mars rover touched down on the red planet 8 years ago on August 5th.
"Since touchdown, the rover journeyed more than 14 miles (23 kilometers), drilling 26 rock samples and scooping six soil samples along the way as it revealed that ancient Mars was indeed suitable for life. Studying the textures and compositions of ancient rock strata is helping scientists piece together how the Martian climate changed over time, losing its lakes and streams until it became the cold desert it is today."
It's also taken as many selfies as a teenage girl on Instagram.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/curiosity-celebrates-8-years-on-the-red-planet
Originally posted on Facebook.
You guys did it, and it wasn't even close. Thank you for making INVERSION the Best Sci-Fi Book of 2020 (So Far). Free virtual cupcakes and libations for everyone! 🧁🧁🍻🥂
You can read all about the Top 10 books here: https://discoverscifi.com/top-10-sci-fi-books-of-2020-so-far/, and I'll copy/paste Inversion's entry below. As the post says, nearly 1/3 of the 1,000 votes cast were cast for Inversion. That is...beyond any superlative I can find in the dictionary.
And, hey, consider signing up for Discover Sci-Fi's newsletter (https://discoverscifi.com/). They're pretty awesome.
*
"1. Inversion: Riven Worlds Book Two (Amaranthe 15) G. S. Jennsen
“Voting for Inversion, GS Jennsen. It's part of an awesome series. Strong character development, creative technology, intriguing plot, and exciting space battles.” —DSF Facebook Group Member
We agree! Jennsen’s mastery of her craft has earned a loyal and passionate fanbase, and they turned out to support Inversion in record numbers, casting nearly a third of over 1000 votes for the entry. We reached out to Jennsen to ask what she thought it was about this story that resonated with readers and she had this to share:
"Inversion resonates with readers because it grounds the classic “triumph over impossible odds” story arc in the personal struggles of a cast of characters those readers have come to care deeply about. The book opens with our heroes facing some of the most dire circumstances they’ve ever encountered (which is saying something). Trapped underground beneath a city besieged by powerful aliens. Held captive in an enemy prison and thought dead by the world. Killed in action only to be resurrected in a new body using risky and unproven technology.
It’s dark, it’s ugly, it’s desperate. But no one is willing to give up and accept their fate. Instead they climb to their feet, brush the dirt off and, together and alone, fight and claw their way back to freedom, to safety, to victory. And because the readers were there alongside the characters as they fought those battles, they feel like they earned the triumph as much as the characters did."
If you haven’t started the series yet, these results should tell you: you are missing something really special!
"Nothing has prepared humanity for an enemy on the scale of the Rasu. Now, after a devastating defeat no one saw coming, the dream of victory has become a battle for survival.""
Originally posted on Facebook.
The awesome people at Discover Sci-Fi are running a poll for the best sci-fi book of 2020 (so far). I'm thrilled to announce that a certain little book named "Inversion" has made the final ballot! So if you enjoyed Inversion and are so inclined, go forth and vote: https://discoverscifi.com/time-to-decide-best-books-2020/
It's official! The Perseverance rover and it's little helicopter buddy, Ingenuity, are on their way to Mars!
They are scheduled to arrive in February, at a target landing zone found in what’s known as Jezero Crater. "This location on Mars was once a lake, long ago when the atmosphere on Mars was quite different than the dry, dusty and cold environment we know today. This has been chosen specifically because it’s a prime spot for finding any evidence of microbiological life that might exist, since it contains one of the best-preserved deposits of a river delta on Mars."
Image by Mike Seeley (https://twitter.com/Mike_Seeley/status/1288812959322591237).
Originally posted on Facebook.
INVERSION paperbacks are now in stock! Get a personalized, signed paperback of any of my books here: https://www.gsjennsen.com/store
Feast your eyes and hearts on 10 minutes of 4K, ultra high-definition video from Mars. The video was rendered entirely from images sent back by the Curiosity, Oppy and Spirit rovers.
The narration is hilariously dry, but the visuals are literally out of this world (*hides*).
Originally posted on Facebook.
