Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, astronomy, supermoon on August 20, 2024| 1 Comment »
Last night there was a dramatic super blue moon. If you missed it, try looking up tonight, it should seem almost as impressive.
Supermoon Blue Moon 2024 — Top photos from around the world | Space
And if clouds or smoke block your view, not to worry! The next three full moons will be super, too.
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Posted in Entertainment, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, NASA, science, space, Thoughts on August 15, 2024| Leave a Comment »
The folder where I keep post ideas is filling up with space stories. Many of them are about Mars, but let’s start with something a little closer to home and go more than 250 miles above Earth to the International Space Station.
NASA’s site has lots of info and fun facts like these.
Did you know that the ISS has been continuously occupied since November 2000? That you can track its position live? Or that the station’s live/work space is larger than a six-bedroom house?
Sounds like the place is downright homey. And that’s a good thing, as Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, the two astronauts who have been stuck at the ISS due to problems with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, will no doubt attest.
How Two Stranded Astronauts Are Camping Out in Space | TIME
Williams’ and Wilmore’s short stay may now not be over until February—stretching an eight-day mission to an eight-month one….
Initially, they were to spend most of their eight days aloft working in the Starliner—checking its communications, life support, power, and other systems. But they long since finished up that checklist and have instead been assisting the rest of the crew with science experiments and maintenance chores, including such unglamorous work as repairing a urine processing pump.
That sounds super fun (actually, it kind of does), but it’s not all work up there. Are they staring out the viewport at Earth, pointing out their house sixteen times a day? Competing in the Space Olympics? (Not a thing, as far as I know, but astronauts do have to exercise two hours a day to maintain muscle mass and general health.) Have they used their spare time to compose a space-themed version of the Gilligan’s Island theme song? (Did I ask AI to do this? Maaaaaybe. But if I did, it wasn’t very good.)
Speaking of television, perhaps they’re catching up on their favorite shows. Did you know that astronauts can binge-watch just like the rest of us?
Every TV Show Astronauts Can Watch on the ISS Right Now
There are, of course, space-themed shows like Hulu’s The First with Sean Penn from 2018, the critically acclaimed alt-history drama For All Mankind, and the Trump-era comedy Space Force. Other new series include Book of Bobba Fett, The Crown, and the cooking show Chopped. Other sci-fi series include Andor, Star Trek Discovery, Firefly, and Battlestar Galactica.
Still no word on who gets to hold the remote.
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Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, learning@lunch, nonfiction, science, Thoughts, Writers, writing on August 13, 2024| Leave a Comment »
I’m reading a nonfiction book that is fascinating, detailed and (so far, at least) very well written. My favorite sentence from the bit I read at lunch is this perfect illustration of how to set the tone as well as the stage:
The lighting is subtle, the decor an elegant symphony of beige.
— Gretchen Bakke, The Grid: The Fraying Wires Between Americans and Our Energy Future
Can’t wait to read the rest!
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Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, #wotf39, creativity, genre fiction, inspiration, learning, science fiction, sff, Thoughts, Writers, Writers of the Future, writing on August 5, 2024| Leave a Comment »
It’s Monday and my day job brain is a little tired. So why not take a little time to stretch my mind in other ways, like listening to a couple of cool dudes chat about a nice light topic… like controversies in quantum mechanics;)
Neil deGrasse Tyson and Sean Carroll Discuss Controversies in Quantum Mechanics
(We’re also watching 3 Body Problem, the series based on Liu Cixin’s award-winning novel, so it’s maybe kind of like semi-related big brain study material?)
Yeah, I don’t understand most of this at a deep level but I really like that there are other humans on this planet who do.
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Speaking of science, this is also an excellent opportunity to celebrate a new blog by scientist, award-winning author and friend Arthur H. Manners. He is currently working on The Sci-Fi Writer’s Guide to Reality, a series with the goal of helping SF writers understand the fundamentals of science.
I love this idea so much. One great session at last year’s Writers of the Future workshop was given by Dr. Beatrice Kondo. It was Day 6 of a long week. Many of us were half asleep, until the good doctor started talking in a serious, straightforward way about what it would take to make some of the crazy stuff in our heads work in real life. Really terrific stuff.
Writers & Illustrators of the Future Workshop Week 2023 – Day 6
Kondo talked the writers through the science of several common writing scenarios. Why can a submarine only travel at certain speeds underwater? What would happen to someone’s body if they tried to lift a car? How do exoskeletons work?
Then she touched on tissue engineering, stem cells, 3D bio-printing, breathing underwater, genetic engineering, and whether human wings or human photosynthesis would actually work.
Chatting after the session, a lot of the writers expressed a desire for a collection of introductory information on various scientific topics. Not a thick textbook for students of the field, but the sort of material one might need to both ground a story and to better imagine the possibilities of those topics.
I am so happy to see that Arthur has taken up this challenge.
New Release: Writing About Remote Sensing in Sci-Fi – Arthur H. Manners
I’ve just finished the first 6-part primer in my new blog called the Sci-fi Writer’s Guide to Reality. The blog aims to help science fiction writers with the fundamentals of science. The first primer focuses on remote sensing (the act of trying to determine what’s going on over there, i.e., at a distance, through means other than physical contact). This topic is rich and essential to many aspects of science fiction, from spaceship sensors to astronomical observations.
Yes, please!
Here’s the first installment of his six-part primer on remote sensing:
Sci-fi Primers- Remote Sensing – Part 1
Ensign: “Captain, the long-range scanners indicate that the aliens’ blood-type is O-negative.”
Captain: “My God… Universal donors. What else is on the scanners?”
Ensign: “That the aliens think Star Wars Episodes Seven through Nine were the best.”
Captain: “Monsters! Arm the photon torpedoes!”
So if you’re wondering how remote sensing works, what is handwavium (official writer terminology alert!), and what crosses the boundaries between science and magic, check out this guide:
Sci-fi Primers- Remote Sensing – Part 1
Sci-fi Primers- Remote Sensing – Part 2
Sci-fi Primers- Remote Sensing – Part 3
Sci-fi Primers- Remote Sensing – Part 4
Go, science!
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Posted in Likes, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, chill, Thoughts, Tuesdays on July 16, 2024| Leave a Comment »
On this hot day, here’s a little chill.
Relax to Mesmerizing Aerial Views of Iceland’s ‘Glacial Flour’ Pulsing Through Waterways — Colossal
As glaciers expand and recede, they have the capacity to grind rock so fine that geologists refer to the pulverized material as glacial flour. It slips down rivers and into lakes, carrying the otherworldly turquoise hue through a unique and resilient ecosystem. In Iceland, the blue-green color is complemented by rivers that flow yellow, thanks to sulfur from nearby volcanoes, or red from dissolved ferrous iron—also known as bog iron. Coursing over rock and black sand, the streams take on dazzling, rhythmic patterns.
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Posted in Entertainment, Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, Doctor Who, physics, research, Thoughts, time travel, Writers, writing on June 29, 2024| 1 Comment »
For those of you who enjoy time travel, thought exercises, physics, Doctor Who, or just hate bad time travel concepts (me!), here’s a fun and informative article.
The invisible dangers of travelling through time
The mishaps caused by time travellers exploring the past are a staple of science fiction. But what does physics think?
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Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, #DutchConspiracy, oceans, science, Thoughts on June 24, 2024| Leave a Comment »
I’m a simple person with simple questions. Fortunately, xkcd is here to answer at least some of them. Like this, for example:
* Fascinating, and also possibly sponsored by the Dutch.
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Posted in Holidays, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, inspiration, nature, Thoughts on June 20, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Wait, today is the summer solstice already? Not quite sure how that happened but here we are, almost halfway through the year. That’s a little scary (time, it flies!) and a lot reassuring: the world keeps turning, no matter what.
So here we go again!
Summer solstice: Everything you need to know about the longest day of the year
The summer solstice is Thursday, June 20. It’s the longest day and shortest night in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s also the first official day of summer.
Happy summer!
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Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, astronomy, science, space on June 2, 2024| 1 Comment »
Apologies for the late notice but this is a public service announcement. Please be aware that there will be a parade in your neighborhood about twenty minutes before sunrise, on the morning of June 3rd, and everyone is invited!
Planet Parade 2024: How To See Rare Celestial Event
This rare event, often referred to as a “planet parade,” will occur on June 3, 2024, and feature Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune all lining up close together.
Unfortunately, most of the planets won’t be visible to the naked eye, but it’s fun just to know that it’s happening.
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Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, astronauts, NASA, space, space exploration on May 15, 2024| Leave a Comment »
What’s in an astronaut’s closet? (And seriously, how do scratch your face in one of those things?)
All this and more answers to your space-suit-related questions below!
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