New Zoomable Map of Our Corner of the Milky Way
The most up-to-date map of our corner of the Milky Way, shown as if you were looking down on the Sun from above the plane of the galaxy. The zoomable graphic by @galaxy_map using data from NASA and the GAIA Catalogue of Nearby Stars. Go here to zoom away! https://gruze.org/galaxymap/10pc/
Originally posted on Twitter.
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Starship Test: A Successful Failure
This was INSANE to watch. The NASA Spaceflight commentators were completely nerding out, all cool objectivity tossed out the window.
Basically, SpaceX achieved 9 of 10 of its objectives, and it was amazing to watch this frigging tin can soar through the sky, deploy some fins, hover, flip over on its belly and smoothly descend again.
Until the end of course, which, given no lives were at risk, was one heck of an entertaining explosion as it didn't QUITE stick the landing. And when you're talking about rocket ships, a failure of inches leads to big booms.
SpaceX has already identified the problem and plans to have it fixed for SN9's test run soon.
https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/09/spacex-flies-its-starship-rocket-to-40000-feet-just-misses-the-landing-in-explosive-finale (follow the link for some awesome video)
Image credits: Trevor Mahlmann, SpaceX, National Geographic.
Originally posted on Facebook.
Echo Rift Update
Arrival
Mike, Victor, Shannon, and Soichi are now successfully on their way to the ISS! Crew-1 Dragon marks the first official SpaceX mission to bring humans to space (Bob and Doug's trip was the final "demo" mission). The first of many.
Oh, and they successfully landed the first stage back on Earth, in the dark, because they just do that. Have a few incredible images from the launch.
UPDATE: And they all arrived safely! The last pic is the jaw-dropping view the astronauts enjoyed on their approach to the ISS.
Image credits:
Trevor Mahlmann (https://twitter.com/TrevorMahl.../status/1328135014832332801)
Lori Garver (https://twitter.com/Lori_Garver/status/1328133839403819010)
Jason Major (https://twitter.com/JPMajor/status/1328135200002478082)
Conrad Teves (https://twitter.com/ConradTeves/status/1328136545199644674).
Sawyer R. (https://twitter.com/thenasaman/status/1328542882194657280).
Words in a Cloud
A word cloud of the most-used words in an early chapter of ECHO RIFT. This one caught my fancy.
Originally posted on Facebook.
Concord HQ
For #reasons, I have found myself in need of a somewhat detailed layout of Concord HQ for ECHO RIFT. And if I get one, why shouldn't you?
Also, to continue our tradition of making fun of my truly atrocious handwriting, below the graphic I'll post my original, hand-drawn sketch.
Originally posted on Facebook.
Echo Rift Update
What do 10 MILLION Stars Look Like?
Well, they look like this astonishing image, captured by the Dark Energy Camera on the CTIO 4-meter telescope as part of a survey of the Milky Way's center bulge.
What some more wows? The Milky Way galaxy contains around 400 billion stars in total - or 40,000x the number shown in this image. And the Milky Way's an average, ordinary galaxy, maybe a little on the small side. We believe there are around 2 TRILLION galaxies in the universe. Our brains aren't built to properly comprehend the scale at play - but it fills us with wonder to *try*.
How much of our night sky is pictured here? Well, if you go outside and hold your thumb up, you've about covered it.
The full-sized image pictured here clocks in at a whopping 3GB, so I doubt anyone will be downloading that. But there's a handy online, zoomable version here: https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noirlab2027a/zoomable/
Read more about the science, the numbers and see more awesome images in the article by the always excellent Phil Platt: https://www.syfy.com/.../what-do-10-million-stars-look-like
Originally posted on Facebook.
Sunlit Water on the Moon
To be clear, we already knew there was water on the moon, but until this discovery, we'd only found it deep in shadowy, frozen crevices.The more water that is harvestable on the moon, the easier it will be for us to establish permanent bases and, eventually, colonies, so this is great news!Also, the science is rather interesting, mostly because we don't know *how* water is not being created but retained in these areas of the lunar surface. Also, SOFIA is a very cool telescope, and an example of scientists getting creative with the resources available to them.
“NASA’s SOFIA Discovers Water on Sunlit Surface of Moon”: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-sofia-discovers-water-on-sunlit-surface-of-moon/
Originally posted on Facebook.
Every Author's Dream
There are many, MANY advantages to being an independent author/publisher, and I would never do this any other way. One of the few disadvantages, though, is how difficult (nigh impossible) it is to get my paperbacks onto the shelves of brick-and-mortar bookstores. With no corporate marketing team "telling" the bookstores to shelve my books, the only way they get there is when an individual bookstore manager or employee-with-power decides to order and display them.
So all the gushing thanks to J. S. Bailey and Cincy Book Rack for (a) stocking my books! and (b) sharing this beautiful, bucket-list-worthy picture with me.
Originally posted on Facebook.
Colorado Sunrise
I wish the days weren't getting shorter...but it does mean I get to catch wonders like this. 😍
Originally posted on Instagram.
From Space Opera to Cyberpunk: Influences of 13 Science Fiction Writers
Yes, I'm one of the 13, but my answer won't be a surprise to any of you who've been around here for a while. The others, though? There are some seriously creative and intriguing responses from my fellow sci-fi writers, so go give it a read!
Thanks to Joseph Hurtgen for the opportunity to contribute to this fantastic piece: https://rapidtransmission.blogspot.com/2020/10/from-space-opera-to-cyberpunk.html
Boop!
Horrendous Space Kablooie
I feel like such a failure as a nerd, as I have never heard of this before. *hangs head in shame* And now I have to resist the urge to use it in my books, because I'm too late to the party.
Unless I can think of a *really* clever way to do it....
Via Mark Wallace
Originally posted on Facebook.
Falcon Sunrise
From SpaceX's early morning Falcon 9 launch of Starlink satellites. Photo by astrophotographer Michael Seeley (https://wereportspace.com/team-member/michael-seeley/).
Why do we go to space? Because it inspires us to greatness. Look what we can do. https://twitter.com/Mike_Seeley/status/1313446189820342273
And here's incredible video of the solar transit, by Trevor Mahlmann: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYcfSTK5K2c&feature=youtu.be. Simply astonishing to watch (stick around for the slow-mo version in the second half of the video)
New Amaranthe Swag
Check it out - I've added more "Amaranthe"-branded merchy to the Zazzle store. I have now field-tested the new t-shirt and hoodie, and the design is LIT. You can choose your own t-shirt style, too (some are cheaper than others). If you're so inclined, you can find these and more swag at: https://www.zazzle.com/store/aurorarisingapparel/products
Originally posted on Facebook.
Rhapsody of the Milky Way
Listen to the Rhapsody of the Milky Way here: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/news/data-sonification-sounds-from-around-the-milky-way.html
"Sonification is the process that translates data into sound, and a new project brings the center of the Milky Way to listeners for the first time. The translation begins on the left side of the image and moves to the right, with the sounds representing the position and brightness of the sources. The light of objects located towards the top of the image are heard as higher pitches while the intensity of the light controls the volume. Stars and compact sources are converted to individual notes while extended clouds of gas and dust produce an evolving drone. The crescendo happens when we reach the bright region to the lower right of the image. This is where the 4-million-solar-mass supermassive black hole at the center of the Galaxy, known as Sagittarius A* (A-star), resides, and where the clouds of gas and dust are the brightest."
Much more at the link!
Originally posted on Facebook.
Juno Flyby
Stressed out? Feeling down? Have a gorgeous, awe-inspiring dose of Jupiter to brighten your week: https://www.universetoday.com/147976/heres-jupiter-from-junos-latest-flyby/
Originally posted on Facebook.
Artemis Update
Yesterday NASA published more details on its Artemis plan to return to the moon, to stay.
It's a *very* aggressive schedule, with a budget stratospheric enough to give Congress heartburn at a minimum; they might balk. The SLS rocket has been fraught with delays, problems, and extreme budget overruns - and it still isn't ready.
But this plan has momentum behind it, and the active participation of SpaceX, Blue Origin and other private companies - who are going to push ahead with or without NASA.
Will we put boots on the lunar ground in 2024? I honestly don't know. It might slip a year or two. But I believe this WILL happen. And when it does, we damn well better build a base and an orbital station, then see about getting ourselves to Mars. #footstomp
Much more here: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-publishes-artemis-plan-to-land-first-woman-next-man-on-moon-in-2024/
Originally posted on Facebook.