M. Thomas Apple's Blog, page 9

Yet another “super-Earth” – maybe with a sibling?

So, astronomers need to know both mass and diameter to determine whether a planet is truly similar enough to ours to host some form of Earth-like life. If the planet has a low mass and a large radius, it is likely like a so-called mini-Neptune with a gassy atmosphere and little rock. If it has a higher mass but a smaller radius, it’s probably a rocky planet like ours.

The possibility that TOI-715 b is rocky “would be exciting because that supports it being more of a habitable planet versus some sort of other world,” says Moran.

https://www.astronomy.com/science/recently-discovered-super-earth-might-be-habitable/

TOI-715 orbits a red dwarf star around 137 light years away, so we won’t be getting there any time soon. But after finding this planet last year, astronomers also are trying to confirm the existence of another smaller, closer to Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone (i.e., in an orbit that permits liquid water necessary for life to evolve).

And the name of the possibly new “sibling” planet?

“TIC 271971130.02”

Uh. We gotta come up with cooler names, folks.

For starters, they orbit a dwarf star.

Eat a sun a day…

Astronomers have discovered what may be the brightest object in the universe, a quasar with a black hole at its heart growing so fast that it swallows the equivalent of a sun a day.

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/black-hole-devouring-sun-day-may-universes-brightest-object-rcna139507

Have a nice day!

From the Thought Police files…

If you could permanently ban a word from general usage, which one would it be? Why?

I would not ban any words from any language, ever. I am not a Language Nazi.

People should learn that words have power, words hurt, and words heal. People should learn when to say or write what to whom, when and where. Banning language does not prevent people from using language, and in fact simply adds to language power.

Only Nazis ban language. Think for yourself. Grow up!

That’s no m…no, wait, sorry, it is!

Astronomers have found three previously unknown moons in our solar system — two additional moons circling Neptune and one around Uranus.

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/astronomers-spot-new-tiny-moons-neptune-uranus-rcna140285

One takes nearly 27 years to circle Neptune.

The “new” moon of Uranus is only 8 kilometers (5 miles) in diameter.

And there are likely many more yet to be discovered.

Intuitive touches down…is a bizarre sentence…

A robotic spacecraft made history Thursday becoming the first privately built craft to touch down on the lunar surface, as well as the first American vehicle to accomplish the feat in more than 50 years.

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/moon-landing-odysseus-touches-down-lunar-surface-n1308924

Congratulations!

You now have one week before shutting down permanently.

Jeez. Really? That’s a very expensive week at $118,000,000. Glad the taxpayers approve (?)

Booooooring

What bores you?

What doesn’t?

OK, I guess I’ll play along…

Boring peoplePeople who talk a lot but say very little Morning “news”Talk showsGame showsMost TV, to be quite honestPop music. Of any era.DancingPoliticiansBusiness peoplePointless paperworkActivities that require no thought or skill Card games (seriously…sorry, I just don’t get the attraction)Long lists about boring things (hey!)

Today’s quote

Never attempt to reason with people who know they are right!

Lord Leto

Bringer of Light: Background Notes (1)

It’s been well-known for some time now that the building blocks of life called amino acids can be found on asteroids strewn throughout the solar system.

It’s also thought that water on Earth is largely (or entirely) the result of comets and asteroids bombarding it (it remains debatable to what degree Earth already had water, but since when it formed the Earth was first molten lava and then dry as a bone, I think it far more likely that water came here from elsewhere, and science tends to agree).

I’ve already blogged about the origins of Bringer of Light, when I (finally) finished the first draft back in early September. In a sense, I’ve been constantly blogging the science behind the story.

But I haven’t discussed the characters at all. And despite what some old-fashioned writers may think (just finished a particularly badly-written snarky “why your books don’t sell” piece of trash that claimed science fiction shouldn’t have any emotions in it…say what? sorry not sorry), if the characters of a story aren’t interesting, there isn’t much point in reading a story.

So for the next couple of weeks, I’ll write a bit about the characters — the crew of the Artemis, the crew of the Sagittarius, the UN flunkies (sorry, career politicos) on Mars and Luna and so forth. There are lots of characters, and their interaction is complicated. Or is it?

I would get into my scifi influences at this point, but long blogs are slogs. So I’ll come back to that tomorrow!

Coffee time. Also to finish up at least one unrelated project and also the hardcover manuscript (which needs to be a different paper size than the paperback for some reason).

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Daily writing = this is necessary

Daily writing promptWhat is your favorite drink?View all responses

Coffee. Hot and keep it coming.

Today’s literary quote

It is wise to have decisions of great moment monitored by generalists. Experts and specialists lead you quickly into chaos. They are a source of useless nit-picking, the ferocious quibble over a comma….The expert looks backward; he looks into the narrow standards of his own speciality. The generalist looks outward; he looks for living principle, knowing full well that such principles change, that they develop.

Frank Herbert (Children of Dune)