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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.
Book Review: The Castle in Cassiopeia by Mike Resnick
On sale now.
There’s nothing like the swashbuckling action of jumping from one globular cluster to another. We recently came across just such a fast-moving tale, with The Castle in Cassiopeia by Mike Resnick, the latest in his Dead Enders saga out from Pyr Books.
The Castle in Cassiopeia follows the further exploits of Pretorius and his band of space mercenaries the Dead Enders, and their first time out as a team. The Dead Enders run into trouble when they place a clone of the captured General Michkag in the galaxy spanning Traanskei Coalition � and the clone promptly follows the genetic impulse of its predecessor, and dominates the multi-world coalition. His privileged position also puts Michkag in a prime position to do the same for Earth.
It’s up to Pretorius and his newly formed band of Dead Enders to stop Pretorius on his plans of conquest, if they can. What follows is an action-packed dive though the ranks of Michkag’s alien army, as the Dead Enders seek to either kill or capture the cloned general, or die trying.
As with most of Mike Resnick’s scifi tales, The Castle in Cassiopeia really storms the fortress, with non-stop action-packed adventure… be sure to give it a read!
Editor’s note: As many of you have noted, our posts here and across ye’ ole web have become far and few between as we work away at a book project for the end of 2018… I can always tell if a blogger is working on a book, as they disappear from the interwebs into monastic seclusion. We’re hoping to resume the drumbeat of weekly reviews soon… stay tuned!