The Sky is Waiting.
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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. [Read more...]
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�� No story format is better suited to good science fiction than that of the short story. This allows the writer to present us with a glimpse of a unique and fresh universe, complete with the �hook� or novel idea that the Twilight Zone�s Rod Serling later made famous. A writer must build, adapt and maneuver in a tight literary space; lengthy expositions or side plots are not allowed. [Read more...]
Coming to a December sky near you: The beginning of the month of December finds Astroguyz south of the equator exploring the environs of Quito, Ecuador and the surrounding area. Expect posts on such southern sky wonders as the Large & Small Magellanic Clouds, and perhaps a tour of the oldest observatory in South America. Will we endure the pseudo-science and contraversy that is the equator? Stay tuned. In more familiar skies, we visit an unfamiliar object:�Groombridge 34.
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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: The Man Who Sold the Moon & Orphans of the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein
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This week, we return to �Lessons from Science Fiction 101,� with a look at a master of scifi.
We�re talking, of course, about American science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein. One of the �Big 3� next to Clarke and Asimov when it comes to golden age science fiction, no one was better a weaving in sociological issues into their future mythology. [Read more...]