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[...] fans of this space will recall our recent reviews of Assignment in Eternity and Sixth Column, early Heinlein works also reissued by Baen last year. ��Their latest release [...]
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: Assignment in Eternity by Robert Heinlein
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Why read old scifi? We�ve often heard this question kicked around in the darkened corners of science fiction conventions and on ye� ole cyber webs. Hey, it�s true that we now live in an age where such red-letter sci-fi dates as 2001 and 1984 have come and gone� and even The Terminator�s Skynet was to have been long since operational by now.
But we would counter that even historical science fiction has its contemporary merit as a window into a generation�s hopes, dreams, and yes, even fears and anxieties. It�s quite possible that future historians will study the Hunger Games and Ender�s Game hoping to catch a glimpse of how we really perceived our expectations of the future.
It was this motivation that drove us to grab Robert A. Heinlein�s Assignment in Eternity out of the stack for review this week. Out from Baen Books this month as a reissue, Assignment in Eternity collects together some of Heinlein�s early �pulp� sci-fi under one cover. Fans will also remember our recent review of the controversial Heinlein classic Sixth Column, also out from Baen earlier this year.
Not only does Assignment in Eternity give you a look at the science fiction expectations of yesteryear, but it also provides the reader with a glimpse of �Heinlein before he was Heinlein.� A naval officer during World War II and an astute political and social commentator, Heinlein no less than single-handedly founded the subgenre of military science fiction. Some cite his Starship Troopers � a novel that still cries out for a proper remake, we�re sorry, the cheesy 1990�s flick doesn�t count � as �Star Wars before there was Star Wars.� Heck, we grew up on a steady diet of juvenile Heinlein sci-fi � again, the YA term for �Young Adult fiction� had yet to be coined � with novels such as Space Cadet and Farmer in the Sky.
Assignment in Eternity contains two of Heinlein�s short novelettes Gulf & Lost Legacy, as well as the early Heinlein short stories Jerry Was A Man and Elsewhen. You can see the foreshadowing and the early ideas in the near-future tale Gulf for what would later become the novel Friday, one of Heinlein�s signature and definitive works.
Telepathy, superhuman time-travelers, and Martians abound in these tales. Also, keep an eye out for such prophetic gems of technology as portable personal phones, though of course, travel via pneumatic tube has yet to come to pass. It�s interesting to note that even in his early days, Heinlein was already planting the seed for character versus technology-driven science fiction. Heinlein was interested in telling the tales of what it means to be human, along with the nature of that being. Like so many other authors of the �pulp era,� he saw the empowerment promised by science and technology, but also recognized the impact that it might have on the fundamental nature of humanity finally unleashed.
Be sure to give Assignment in Eternity a read� it�s a must for any good student of science fiction!