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Pictured is a Delta IV rocket launch from Cape Canaveral on November 21st, 2010. The image is a 20 second exposure taken at dusk, shot from about 100 miles west of the launch site. The launch placed a classified payload in orbit for the United States Air Force.
Difficult but not impossible to catch against the dawn or dusk sky, spotting an extreme crescent moon can be a challenge. The slender crescent pictured was shot 30 minutes before sunrise when the Moon was less than 20 hours away from New. A true feat of visual athletics to catch, a good pair of binoculars or a well aimed wide field telescopic view can help with the hunt.
The Sun is our nearest star, and goes through an 11-year cycle of activity. This image was taken via a properly filtered telescope, and shows the Sun as it appeared during its last maximum peak in 2003. This was during solar cycle #23, a period during which the Sun hurled several large flares Earthward. The next solar cycle is due to peak around 2013-14.
Located in the belt of the constellation Orion, Messier 42, also known as the Orion Nebula is one of the finest deep sky objects in the northern hemisphere sky. Just visible as a faint smudge to the naked eye on a clear dark night, the Orion Nebula is a sure star party favorite, as it shows tendrils of gas contrasted with bright stars. M42 is a large stellar nursery, a star forming region about 1,000 light years distant.
Orbiting the planet in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) every 90 minutes, many people fail to realize that you can see the International Space Station (ISS) from most of the planet on a near-weekly basis. In fact, the ISS has been known to make up to four visible passes over the same location in one night. The image pictured is from the Fourth of July, 2011 and is a 20 second exposure of a bright ISS pass.
Next to the Sun, the two brightest objects in the sky are the Moon and the planet Venus. In fact, when Venus is favorably placed next to the Moon, it might just be possible to spot the two in the daytime. Another intriguing effect known as earthshine or ashen light is also seen in the image on the night side of the Moon; this is caused by sunlight reflected back off of the Earth towards our only satellite.
A mosaic of three images taken during the total lunar eclipse of December 21st, 2010. The eclipse occurred the same day as the winter solstice. The curve and size of the Earth’s shadow is apparent in the image.
Review: The Martians by Kim Stanley Robinson.
Creating your very own universe is a tough endeavor in the realm of Sci-Fi. While other “serious” fiction writers have a readymade reality in place for them, science fiction writers must create a believable one from scratch. One of the modern best in the business is Kim Stanley Robinson. Recently, we had a chance to pick up his 1999 book The Martians, and it was worth the wait.
The Martians is a companion piece to his outstanding Red Mars/Blue Mars/Green Mars trilogy. The series covers the terra-forming of the Red Planet and how it changes humanity as we in turn change it. The books put the hard-core Science (with a capital “s”!) into Sci-Fi in a manner that would make Clarke or Asimov proud. Many a scientist that wouldn’t be caught dead with a science fiction book has found a guilty pleasure with the series; they’re really that good!
The Martians interweaves a series of short tales and addendums to the trilogy, and is a unique companion for any fan of the series. In it, you’ll find short stories, poetry, and such pieces of the Red Mars universe as The Constitution of Mars and Abstracts from The Journal of Areological Studies. I particularly like how the 1996 revelation of possible Martian life in the Antarctic meteorite ALH84001 was incorporated into some of the stories such as The Arcaea Plot. One word of warning is in order; although some of the short stories do stand on their own, I wouldn’t read The Martians unless you’ve first read the trilogy. The stories skip around in the timeline a bit, some even covering preparation for Mars colonization in Antarctica and stories that take place centuries hence. (I thought Purple Mars was a nice ending). A couple of stories even touch on alternate timelines!
As in the Red Mars saga, a thread of climate change versus technology runs throughout. Robinson’s message is that while the juggernaut of technology may be unstoppable, even necessary if we’re going to live beyond Earth, human frailty and even short sightedness may still rule the day. His vistas of Mars are so compelling, you can almost imagine standing atop Olympus Mons.
Certainly, the challenges of Martian colonization will be tough, not the least of which will be the lack of an appreciable magnetic field and protection from life-damaging cosmic radiation. But when technology solves these dilemmas, we’ll find a world ripe for the terra-forming… or should we say Martian-forming? The books also question the wisdom of simply turning Mars into a New Earth. Just what will become of humanity as we venture out into the cosmos? As we change worlds to make them habitable, they will make an indelible impact on us, as we become the true Martians.
Do pick up The Martians and Robinson’s Antarctica as companion readers to the Red Mars trilogy, or simply as a way to revisit a wonderful series. First “Mars-fall” may be decades away, but you can live the life of a Martian now through Robinson’s books!