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[...] What do Christmas and science fiction have in common? Not much, or it may seem at least not as much as say, much more science fiction-oriented holidays, such as Halloween. [...]
The Sky is Waiting.
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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.
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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: Christmas Ghosts edited by Kristine Grayson
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A strange dichotomy exists between Halloween and Christmas.� Not only to the two holidays have their roots in pre-Christian celebrations� Hallows Eve marks an approaching cross quarter day, and Christmas stakes out the Winter Solstice �but both seem to strike a primal chord of fear and hope.
And as stories such as Tim Burton�s The Nightmare Before Christmas and Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol remind us, the two holidays go hand in hand. And hey, Halloween is the closest thing to a traditional holiday that speculative fiction has, right?
And romance, the supernatural, and the holiday season is the topic of this week�s review, Christmas Ghosts. An original Fiction River anthology out just in time for Halloween from WMG Publishing, Christmas Ghosts features eight short stories for the season by top authors in the field. If you think writing romance is easy, think again. In fact, we discussed the dilemmas of nailing the essence of the genre, and especially the problems of melding it with science fiction in our recent review of The Mammoth Book of Futuristic Romance earlier this year. It takes most authors several attempts to get a romance tale right� heck, it took us several tries just to finish Jane Eyre (the non-vampire version) back in high school.
But Christmas Ghosts was a fun read. The anthology was edited by Kristine Grayson, who may be familiar to many by her science fiction pen name Kristine Kathryn Rusch. We�ve become a big fan of Rusch�s Diving saga, which includes City of Ruins, Boneyards, Diving into the Wreck & and�Skirmishes, as well as her non-Diving books Snipers and Blowback.
But beyond just chain rattling apparitions with cautionary tales, Christmas Ghosts has plenty to offer by way of cross-genre literary intrigue:
In The Farwell Gift by Louise Marley, the author ties in the devastation of World War I and trench warfare on a personal level and its effects on a Midwestern U.S. family.
In A Ghost of Time by Dean Wesley Smith, the author weaves a tale of time travel intrigue. This is no mean feat to pull off on top of a romance paranormal Christmas tale!
But Miss Merriweather�s Christmas Follies by Carole Nelson Douglas was our fave in the book, and not just because it follows the life and times of a mega-rock star, though that certainly helped. Adrian Lord is the man, Dark Angel is the band, and Goth/Death Metal is the tunes that these modern minstrels ply. But in the case of this Christmas tale, Mr. Lord�s own death at the hands of rabid fans is just the beginning.
We thoroughly enjoyed every tale in Christmas Ghosts. The collection offers a unique cross-genre take all within one solid tome of tales. Enjoy it with a glass of your favorite eggnog by a roaring, crackling fire this holiday season� and hey, it goes great with Halloween coming up next week as well!
Next Friday: So you think you know the Man of Steel? Get ready for a look at the comic book superhero that started it all with Superman: The Unauthorized Biography by Glen Weldon!