Kate Rauner's Blog, page 51

Wormhole’s Shadow Might Be Detectable, Fascinating and Confusing #poem #poetry #physics #wormhole #space

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Wormhole travel, though maybe only for a microscopic ship

Wormholes are hypothetical,

So hypothetically,

They may leave traces in the sky

That telescopes could see.

Where space-time is so warped,

Photons

might trace a ring,

While others falling through the pipe,

Leave dark where light had been.

Not my own reflector

To search for wormhole tubes,

But radio astronomy

Linked across the globe.

Confirming wormholes would confuse

What we know of gravity,

But since that force still puzzles us

They’d mesh abstractedly.

Kate Rauner

Thanks to livescience for pointing out this possibility. For some reason my poetic creativity has been on vacation for a few weeks – hope it’s back now.

Hey, That’s Me! Latest Author Interview and Book Reviews – Find a New Favorite #review #bookreview #amwriting #author #interview

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Hey, look. That’s me.

Read Georgina Cromarty’s interview of one of your favorite authors, I hope. Me.

Scifi Mars Colony in Big Trouble, But Can’t Be Bummed All the Time #cat #Mars #scifi #sciencefiction #trailer #story

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Click to view

Anxious about her one-way journey, a young roboticist won’t back out despite tragedy in the tiny colony. Admirable, but it may get her killed, because something is terribly wrong on Mars.

While Emma and her friends struggle to save their lives and colony, what’s the cat they brought to Mars doing? It’s fun to imagine in this video.

[image error]All five books in the Mars series are available on Amazon, individually or in a Box Set (great value for hours of reading pleasure.) But you’re not stuck with Amazon! Also available from other favorite stores, individually or in that same Box Set. Join the colony. Read one today.

Astoundingly Beautiful American Southwest – Wonderful and Unexpected #travel #camp #Arizona #Utah #vacation

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White House Trail, popular with school groups

I’ve been camping in the canyons of Arizona and Utah. Most of the time we were out of internet and cell phone range. It’s a wonderful way to unplug. Since I owe you a post, perhaps you’ll indulge me and look at few of my vacation pictures.

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Ancient ruins

Canyon de Chelly is in America’s National Monument system, located entirely on Navajo land. It may not be as big as the Grand Canyon, but it is grand nonetheless. Excellent roads take you around the north and south rims to amazing overlooks. In most places you must hire a Navajo guide to hike down into the canyon, but one exception is the White House trail. This fantastic path clings to the side of the sheer canyon wall, ending at some well preserved ruins from an ancient culture. The hike was popular with school groups the day we were there.

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Junior Rangers are sworn in

I was honored to watch a group of kids sworn in as Junior Rangers at Natural Bridges. We hiked down into the canyon there on a long trek between the largest bridge formations.

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Camped beneath a massive rock formation, overlooking Valley of the Gods. Amost got bogged down in sand! But we made it.

In the nineteenth century, when the American government carved up the conquered western lands, after everyone had their first choice, the remainders were placed under the BLM (Bureau of Land Management). These lands seldom offer anything special in the way of views, but are wonderful for those of us, like me, who want to travel cheaply. You can  camp for free anywhere you want. There will be no rangers to answer questions, and roads may be impassible in rain or snow, which can be a challenge since you’re usually out of cell phone range. But the in Valley of the Gods the BLM has a gem of fantastically carved rocks and mesas. The main gravel road is in good shape, though side roads are dirt tracks that can be dicey. But I’ve never had a better campsite.

A landscape needs two attributes to be named after God or the Devil. First, it must inspire awe. The stare-in-wonder sort of awe. But that’s not enough. It must also be indifferent, even hostile, to humans. The combination leaves me feeling very small and quiet. It would be presumptuous to try to fill such a space with myself. Instead I ache with the grandeur of our world.

 

Mars – We Know So Much and So Little – American Southwest an Inspiration for Scifi #Mars #Mojave #sciencefiction #greatinspiration

The vast volcanoes of Mars have been dead for a long time, but perhaps they left huge deposits of ash. That’s how I saw the Tartarus Mountains in my book Hermit on Mars. Check out this YouTube to see more of my inspiration (right here on Earth) and then read the book – let me know how you like my mountains – and a roboticist’s mid-life crisis in the Mars colony.

Conspiracy on the Moon drives this scifi heroine #bookreview #review #sciencefiction #scifi

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Not the most exciting cover I’ve ever seen

If you enjoyed Andy Weir’s The Martian (the book or the movie) you’ll find his style carries over to Artemis. The story (with maps!) is set on the Moon, in an established (if small) lunar city. The main character, Jazz, is a young woman of Arab and Islamic descent. Her background contributes to the story, but she’s not observant and this isn’t a lecture on religion. It’s a crime story, with more than one criminal, and some of them are willing to murder. What the criminals are after is satisfyingly wonkish and believable, but no spoilers here. You’ll see when you read the book.

Despite being in a completely different setting, Jazz shares some traits with The Martian’s Mark Watney. She uses technology in her schemes, never gives up, wise-cracks a lot, and swears. There are references to sex, though nothing steamy in the story itself.

But Jazz is not a sympathetic character. She’s a young smuggler ready to commit larger crimes. Weir gives her a backstory to explain her willingness, but it never made me like her much.

The story flows well. I enjoyed the lunar colony, which relies on imports from Earth in an economy based on tourism. The Apollo 11 site is a major draw and fun to see through the story’s eyes. The lunar city itself is well presented along with its inhabitants – exactly what I’d want on the Moon.

In an interesting twist on flashbacks, messages back and forth to Jazz’s Earth-bound pen pal provide background and then catch up to the story to participate in the action. Nice touch.

Details of the technology Jazz uses were fun through most of the book, but in the climax I skimmed along, wanting to see how the story turns out.

One odd thing: the story is described as a heist, but it’s not. At least, not in the usual sense of a robbery. My thesaurus claims the word heist can mean attack, so I guess it applies, but why use a secondary definition?

Here’s another thing I find odd. The title of the book is Artemis: A Novel. I didn’t need to be told it’s a novel – there are plenty of clues (read sarcasm here.) I’ve seen other books add “a novel” to their titles, so I guess it’s a fashion of some sort. Doesn’t hurt anything – I just think it’s odd.

I enjoyed the book and recommend it to anyone who likes realistic science in their science fiction, and enjoys a bit of an anti-hero. And would like to visit a small city on the Moon.

What others are saying

At 3.9 stars, with over 1900 reviews on Amazon, it’s no surprise this book is in the top ten (not 10%, but top ten books) in its Amazon categories’ sales ranks. Although, in another oddity, the day I checked one of its Amazon categories was “time travel.” Huh?

Some reviewers had trouble following the science part of the story, while others thought it was too low-tech! Like me, some felt the main character wasn’t likeable, and one said Jazz was “what young boys THINK women are like.” Bit of an ouch there. But most readers enjoyed it,” Mr. Weir’s got humor, wit, snark” and “loved the plot, characters, and one liners.” Artemis by Andy Weir.

Space Station to Crash on April 1st – No Fooling #space #tiangong #tiangonng1 #satellite #China

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Tiangong compared to a school bus

One enormous chunk of space junk is about to crash. What was once China’s first space station, a habitat designed to test docking procedures as well as perform some experiments in orbit, has run out of fuel. Like any satellite or orbiting spacecraft, without periodic altitude boosts, Tiangong will return to Earth in a fiery breakup.

The world is watching as Chinese space station Tiangong-1 hurtles toward Earth and makes a fiery reentry. Chances that space debris will hurt anybody are extremely slim, although when and where the space station’s remains will land is still unknown. aerospace.org

There’s a great video posted here – scroll down.

Fantasy Story to Share With the Kids in Your Life #review #bookreview #fantasy #story #kids

[image error]If you’re looking for a fantasy to keep kids reading over a school vacation, check out this book, and read it yourself, too.

A mysterious portal, which opens at dawn and closes again at dusk, is located deep in the woods and kept secret from the vast majority of the people who inhabit the kingdom of Rastella.

When Ajax, a newly appointed teenaged keeper, takes his post, his first day does not go well. Soon the kingdom’s prince and his best friend have vanished into another world and he must follow them or they will never return.

The story travels through a Land-of-Oz like world, where the characters meet friends and enemies, and battle dangers.

Listed under Amazon’s Children’s eBooks category, this book held my adult interest too. A perfect story to read and share with a youngster in your life.

Happy Discovery Day to Discoverer of Saturn’s Moon Titan

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Congratulations

On March 25, 1655, Saturn’s moon Titan was discovered by the Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens. Titan is the largest moon of Saturn and it was the first of 62 moons to be found orbiting Saturn. space.com

Titan is a fascinating moon. It is the only body aside from Earth with a thick atmosphere and liquid lakes or seas on its surface.

The atmosphere is nearly all nitrogen with some hydrocarbons, and the liquid is methane and ethane, so Titan isn’t very hospitable. With gravity similar to our own Moon, any human visitor would have to worry about bones and muscles wasting away, too. But between a thick atmosphere and Saturn’s expansive magnetic field, cosmic radiation would be less of a worry than on Mars. Besides, who can resist this possibility:

The very high ratio of atmospheric density to surface gravity also greatly reduces the wingspan needed for an aircraft to maintain lift, so much so that a human would be able to strap on wings and easily fly through Titan’s atmosphere while wearing a sort of spacesuit that could be manufactured with today’s technology. wikipedia

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From the Huygens lander

The surface isn’t very pretty, as our first image from a lander shows. And while Saturn would be an amazing sight to see, filling the sky, it may be blotted out by haze and clouds.

Still… what do you think? Good place for a science fiction colony? I’m considering that for my next book. Why would anyone in their right mind want to colonize Titan? Maybe I’ll figure out a reason.

Happy Birthday to Discoverer of Saturn’s Moon Titan

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Congratulations

On March 25, 1655, Saturn’s moon Titan was discovered by the Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens. Titan is the largest moon of Saturn and it was the first of 62 moons to be found orbiting Saturn. space.com

Titan is a fascinating moon. It is the only body aside from Earth with a thick atmosphere and liquid lakes or seas on its surface.

The atmosphere is nearly all nitrogen with some hydrocarbons, and the liquid is methane and ethane, so Titan isn’t very hospitable. With gravity similar to our own Moon, any human visitor would have to worry about bones and muscles wasting away, too. But between a thick atmosphere and Saturn’s expansive magnetic field, cosmic radiation would be less of a worry than on Mars. Besides, who can resist this possibility:

The very high ratio of atmospheric density to surface gravity also greatly reduces the wingspan needed for an aircraft to maintain lift, so much so that a human would be able to strap on wings and easily fly through Titan’s atmosphere while wearing a sort of spacesuit that could be manufactured with today’s technology. wikipedia

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From the Huygens lander

The surface isn’t very pretty, as our first image from a lander shows. And while Saturn would be an amazing sight to see, filling the sky, it may be blotted out by haze and clouds.

Still… what do you think? Good place for a science fiction colony? I’m considering that for my next book. Why would anyone in their right mind want to colonize Titan? Maybe I’ll figure out a reason.