Breaking News & Random Musings on Space, Technology, Sci-Fi & the View From A Writer’s Window
WHELP, that didn't take long! CHAOTICA is now firmly on track to overtake Continuum as the 2nd-longest book in the series (will anyone ever unseat Starshine? I doubt it. ).
ALSO, the Chaotica cover art is almost ready, and oh boy, am I ecstatic about this one. Giddy, even.
Perseverance took the gold medal on February 4 for the longest drive made by a Mars rover in a single Martian day, after it traveled more than 245 meters (806 feet), beating the record held by NASA's Opportunity rover since 2015.
And just look at that image it captured when it did…. <3
Originally posted on Twitter.
And that is a wrap on the CHAOTICA First Draft!
I'll be honest - I don't think I've ever loved a book so much this early in the process as I do this one. I LOVE IT. I am so frigging excited to share it with you all! After a lot more work....
I also don't think I've ever met the word count goal on the first draft.... I've gone ahead and upped the goal to 135K; we'll see how much I blow through that one, too.
Originally posted on Facebook.
This is a rather close visualization of how I imagine the Anaden Gateways looking. It's not dead-on - the Gateway rings are smoother (so Eren can run on them, obviously (see the Re/Genesis short story)), the plasma is amber (only the Kats' Mosaic gateway is icy blue), and based on the traversing ships, the Gateways are much larger, but on whole...yeah.
https://www.deviantart.com/redwoodjedi/art/Jump-Gate-905088441
Originally posted on Facebook.
The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) has released new MeerKAT radio telescope images of the radio emissions at the center of our galaxy, and they are INCREDIBLE! I am once again in awe of our universe. Who wishes they could see radio waves now? Me, that’s who.
The primary image (first below) show nearly 1,000 strands of magnetic filaments, measuring up to 150 light-years in length. "It's unclear what they are, or how they came into existence. What we do know is that they contain cosmic-ray electrons, spinning around in filaments of magnetic fields at close to light-speeds."
"The image captures radio emission from numerous phenomena, including outbursting stars, stellar nurseries, and the chaotic region around the 4 million solar mass supermassive black hole that lurks in the centre of our Galaxy."
About the second image: "The complex, cirrus-like emission from the Galactic centre super bubble dominates this image. This is traversed by the Radio Arc, a complex of many parallel radio filaments. The radio bubble nestles against the diffuse Sagittarius A region in the lower centre of the image. The bright dot near the centre of this region is Sagittarius A*, a 4 million solar mass black hole."
And the third: "In the centre of the image is the supernova remnant G359.1-0.5. To the left is ‘the Mouse’, a runaway pulsar possibly formed and ejected by the supernova event. To the upper right is one of the longest and most famous radio filaments, known as ‘the Snake’."
More about the research here: https://www.sciencealert.com/jaw-dropping-new-image-of... and here: https://www.sarao.ac.za/.../new-meerkat-radio-image.../
Originally posted on Facebook.
…puzzle edition. ;)
Props to Blue Kazoo (https://bluekazoo.games) for a beautiful and challenging puzzle. I have another space one from them in the queue!
Originally posted on Instagram.
The James Webb Space Telescope is home! On Monday it completed its orbital burn and inserted itself perfectly into orbit at the L2 Lagrange Point.
What's next? A three-month process of aligning the telescope’s optics to nearly nanometer precision so it can bring us those sweet, sweet images of the cosmos.
Learn more: https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2022/01/24/orbital-insertion-burn-a-success-webb-arrives-at-l2/
Originally posted on Facebook.
Well my goodness does discovering this make my day! To see one's own words quoted back at me atop a tapestry of beautiful images? It makes me all giddy inside.
(The pic is just of the first 2. There are many more at the link.)
Originally posted on Facebook.
We went skiing in our backyard today.
Yes, I exaggerate - but only by the tiniest amount. It was so beautiful, and I am so damn lucky to be here. #grateful
Our next-door neighbor took the picture of #MrJennsen and I - because, yes, we ran into our next-door neighbor at the ski resort, lol. Also the guy who brought us firewood this fall and the owner of the local burger joint.
And if you worry I'm getting distracted by the mountains' majesty, don't - I'll hit 100,000 words on Chaotica this week.
Well, The Expanse series finale was simply wonderful.
(**Warning: Spoilers** Don't click on the image if you want to experience it for yourself when you watch the episode.)
Was the final season too short? Yes. Did it at times feel both rushed and meandering, leaving some threads dangling? Yes. But they stuck the landing in a beautiful way, showing the power of human goodness and determination to persevere and win the day - and also how humans still remain very, very complicated. Flawed, imperfect, but trying to be better.
Also, they included one of the best Easter Eggs I've ever seen - a cornucopia of sci-fi love packed into one image that was only on the screen for a few seconds. Massive props to #MrJennsen for a keen eye and swift pause finger. Can you identify them all? It's okay, you can cheat (here's the full list): https://winteriscoming.net/2022/01/14/the-expanse-finale-awesome-easter-egg-sci-fi-references/
Originally posted on Facebook.
So it turns out, it DOES snow in Montana. Total shock to us all, I know. In Colorado, we gave storms that dumped this much snow names. Here, we apparently call it "Friday."
#MrJennsen is not short of stature, and yep, it's up past his knees. Also, we lost a tiny tree limb to the weight of the snow that had perched atop it. "Firewood for next year" is the mantra to be uttered whenever this happens.
P.S.: It's wonderful and beautiful - all light and fluffy - and we're so glad we don't need to leave the house for several days!
OMG. This is easily the most insane thing I've ever seen - and that's just the trailer. Science? What science! Doesn't matter. I cannot overstate how excited I am to see this absurdity we call a "film."
”NEW MOONFALL TRAILER COULDN’T BE MORE PERFECTLY RIDICULOUS”: https://nerdist.com/article/moonfall-movie-trailer-halle-berry-patrick-wilson
“Moonfall” trailer on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ivIwdQBlS10
Originally posted on Facebook.
Guys, "Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir is an amazing book.
I realize I might be late to the party here. What can I say - it was a busy year. But here's my endorsement, tardy or otherwise.
Is it as good as The Martian? Maybe, maybe not. Probably not quite. Doesn't really matter.
Is it the same as The Martian? In several ways, yes. There's no question that Weir writes with a very strong "voice" and a very distinctive style; this means that PHM often "feels" like The Martian. In fact, this might be the only type of book that Weir ever writes. But that will be okay, because it's an excellent type of book to write. One way it *isn't* like The Martian, though is the addition of a second, very unique and interesting character for the main character to interact with (I don't think I'm spoiling much here, and I won't say more on it). And that does make all the difference.
No dissertation here. No intellectual analysis or critique. I'm simply of the opinion that this is an excellent book, and as fellow sci-fi lovers, I thought you might like to know.
“Project Hail Mary” on Amazon: https://amzn.to/34lXoau
Originally posted on Facebook.
50% update on CHAOTICA!
Just kidding. No way am I 50% finished with this book. You all totally knew I was joking with that 120K target, right?
Originally posted on Facebook.
Had an awesome weekend playing in the snow with rock star fantasy author and dear friend Katie Cross. Magical portals and quantum wormholes alike were carved through the ice (but, strangely, it was still snowy on the other side...).
Who's very nervous about this launch? I am very nervous about this launch. Next Friday, Christmas Eve, is the moment of truth....
“5 critical moments will determine the success or failure of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope”: https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/5-moments-nasas-james-webb/.
“NASA confirms next Friday for Webb Space Telescope launch”: https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/nasa-confirms-friday-webb-space-telescope-launch-81816784
JWST has been so expensive and delayed so many times, and it's so important (Hubble is on its 18th life now), and it's such a complex yet delicate device.... The article points out 5 big things that can go wrong, but so can 1,000 smaller ones. And if it does fail, will we build another one? Will it take another 20 years to do so? Will we have to wait until one of the billionaires takes pity on the scientists and builds one on the moon?
But I also realize that, excepting the exorbitant cost and absurd delays, these risks apply to every launch. We've lost several rovers to Mars on the landing attempt, but we keep going back. We thought we'd lost Hubble not long after launch, but we fixed it, and look what it's done. So, yes, I'm always nervous at big launches.
Originally posted on Facebook.
This video of the Parker Solar Probe's dive through the sun's corona is absolutely mind-blowing. It's only 13 seconds, so take those seconds to watch it - you won't regret it: https://youtu.be/IQXNqhQzBLM
And look at the Milky Way in the background! WOW. I am amazed and humbled at these incredible images.
More info on the event:
"For the first time ever, a spacecraft has flown through the Sun’s outer atmosphere. The Parker Solar Probe passed through the out portion of the Sun’s corona in April of 2021, passing directly through streamers of solar plasma. Not only are the solar particles and dust visible streaming past the spacecraft, astronomer Karl Battams confirmed that other objects visible in the video are Mercury, Venus, THE MILKY WAY (the large vertical structure seen in the video, which is stunning/jarring when you realize it) then Saturn, Earth and Jupiter. https://www.universetoday.com/.../parker-solar-probe.../
(Note: this video is actually from the probe's previous pass - data from its most recent dive will begin arriving Dec. 23. Might it include an even *more* astounding video?)
Originally posted on Facebook.
NASA’s Curiosity rover captured a remarkable image from its most recent perch on the side of Mars’ Mount Sharp. The mission team was so inspired by the beauty of the landscape, they combined two versions of the black-and-white images from different times of the day and added colors to create a rare postcard from the Red Planet.
More about how the image was created here: https://mars.nasa.gov/news/9080/nasas-curiosity-rover-sends-a-picture-postcard-from-mars/
Originally posted on Twitter.
