The Sky is Waiting.
Search AstroGuyz
Custom Search
Advertise on Astroguyz!
 |
|
 |
 |
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.
Friday Review: Searching for the Fleet by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
On sale on September 18th, and available for pre-order now.
One of the most amazing science fiction series in recent years now has an exciting new installment.
We’re talking about Searching for the Fleet, the latest chapter in the Diving Into the Wreck saga by Kristine Kathryn Rusch out September 18th, 2018 from WMG Publishing. Searching for the Fleet follows Captain Johnathan �Coop� Cooper and Engineer Yash Zarlengo and the crew of the Ivoire as they continue to salvage the spacecraft Boneyard known as The Lost Souls in search of the ancient mythical Fleet.
Think of the Diving universe as an exciting mystery saga, pitting the drama of ship salvage against the dangers of space. Yash and Coop were trained by the best ship diver in the business: Boss, who kicked off the whole saga in the first novel, Diving Into the Wreck.
The Diving series is a unique and intriguing tale of science fiction, and Searching for the Fleet is a worthy addition to the saga. At the heart of the series is the anacapa drive, a spacecraft engine that allows ships and crew to pilot through foldspace and jump immense distances in real space.
What I really love about the world-building in the Diving Saga is how the lost technology of the anacapa warp drive isn’t fully understood, and how we get a glimpse into just how temperamental they truly are in the current series installment, Searching for the Fleet. Though these drives give the modern Fleet dominance, they’re feared at best… and misused at worst.
The anacapa drive is actually a unique way to tackle the standard science fiction writer’s conundrum of faster-than-light travel. What if we really did gain an FTL capability that we didn’t fully understand? The anacapa drive is one of the most innovative science fiction plot devices since Frank Herbert’s spice-fueled Guild Navigators in Dune.
Searching for the Fleet actually gives us some interesting new perspectives on the origins and functioning of the valuable anacapa drives, as the story flashes back over thousands of years… though the mystery only manages to deepen, as we discover that even those who maintained the anacapa drives back in the older days of the Fleet (think thousands of years ago) didn’t fully understand them, and these units become even more strange and mysterious.
But I won’t venture beyond that, lest I introduce any spoilers. I’ve enjoyed following the Diving saga, and would put it up there with some of our all time faves, including The Quiet War and The Strange Tale of Spring-Heeled Jack. Really: it’s that good! Be sure to read Searching for the Fleet for an exciting new dimension in the Diving universe.
Fans and readers of this site and The Diving series will recall our reviews of Skirmishes, Boneyards, City of Ruins and the book that started it all, Diving Into the Wreck.
Kristine Kathryn Rusch is one of the most prolific writers in science fiction, fantasy, mystery and more. Be sure to check out our reviews of Masterminds, Starbase Human and The Peyti Crisis.