Inspirational and Meta Sites Threedux

[Norgarth]

Astronomers announce they've discovered another twelve moons orbiting Jupiter.

Because Jupiter didn't have enough moons already.

Of the two stories I've about this found so far, The Register has the more intelligent one overall, while CBC goes into more depth.

Alright, I think it's now clear that Jupiter has a hoarding problem...

[robkelk]

Neptune isn't just a boring blue blob!

Oh, and ground-based telescope technology has come a long way in the last two decades.

[M Fnord]

Scientists find actual no-bullshit water on Mars; Fenspace writers growl in frustration as worldbuilding needs to be changed again.

[robkelk]

Build your own Mars rover

NASA/JPL plans available on GitHub

[robkelk]

Titan's atmosphere is transparent in infrared.

[Dartz]

Message from the President of Ireland to the Convention

Works of speculative fiction can obviously reflect the society and time in which they were created, but they also help to shape and contour the world in which we live, challenging us to look at that world in different ways, encouraging us to push the boundaries and defy and critique the norms of the societies and age into which we have been born.

Creative thinking is a powerful, necessary and vital force in the creation of truly functioning societies. Speculative fiction plays a seminal role in helping us to question received versions of our contemporary world, and to dream of new worlds and new ways of thinking. It affords us a space to look beyond the immediate and utilitarian, to engage in a long form of thinking which places no limits on our curiosity.

By 2019, it's possible we'll have a different President. But it's still a nice thing.

[robkelk]

Water ice discovered on the Moon's surface. (At the poles, of course.)

[classicdrogn]

Scientists may have discovered the very first ‘ghost’ black hole from a different universe

It's not a definite, even by "this is what we think this very faint data about things that happened long ago and far, far away" standards, but an interesting hypothesis either way, and comparing the feed from instruments widely distributed across the solar system (not to mention the others that have been reached by Fen explorers) could help refine a whole lot of astro data as has already been commented on here and there.

[robkelk]

Time for another re-write of the Interstellar section...

Super-Earth discovered orbiting 40 Eridani A.

It appears to be tide-locked... so "hot as Vulcan" might actually be a thing, but only for half the planet.

But if anyone is hoping for a snapshot of the new planet, they'll have to wait. The discovery was made using the 50-inch Dharma Endowment Foundation Telescope, atop Mt. Lemmon in southern Arizona using non-visual spectroscopy

There's a foundation that endows dharma?

[Bob Schroeck]

And Greg, too!

[Norgarth]

[classicdrogn]

I just posted about this in The LEgendary as the general gaming forum, but it's pretty damn Fen:

https://kerbalx.com/CaptainRoach/Blackeye

Yet more proof that Kerbal Space Program is just awesome.

[classicdrogn]

from YouPotato this time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s86-Z-CbaHA

Ow, my brain...

I wonder if the Professor has a Banach-Tarsky Cream Pie, from which he can serve any (countably infinite) number of slices?

[Tennie]

So I happened to find this image, and I immediately thought that it was just such a Fen thing to do:



(Well, maybe not that last part, but definitely the part about the space casino! )

[classicdrogn]

Everybody's marching to Mars!

NASA's InSight probe landed successfully yesterday, and Elon Musk apparently plans to personally take part in colonization. I mean yes, it's Elongated Muskrat, but he's got a pretty solid history of throwing money at his crazy ideas until you could say they worked if you squint hard enough. I can't say I wouldn't do something similar if I had it to spend, though not necessarily on all the same things.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/26/world/nas...index.html
https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8393/insight-...te=insight
https://bgr.com/2018/11/27/elon-musk-mars-trip-chances/

[robkelk]

Here's a destination for real science: There's a planetary accretion disc in a polar orbit around its star in the HD 98800 system.

[robkelk]

Zombies in Antarctica — Isolated researchers enter 'psychological hibernation'

Researchers isolated at remote research stations during the Antarctic winter enter a zombie-like state of "psychological hibernation" to deal with those long, dark, and isolated winter months.

And the team of psychologists who discovered this phenomenon think their finding could give important insights into what it might be like if humans ever embark on long space missions.

That's "psychological hibernation", not physical, so no Onegai Teacher scenarios here - but it's still worth taking into account in stories.

[Star Ranger4]

Another look at what the Roughriders could have been if they'd chosen a different airframe...

https://youtu.be/drnxZlS9gyw

[robkelk]

I've been going through NASA's 3D models (looking for ones that can be used in Poser and Daz Studio) and discovered their latest concept vehicle.

The Space Exploration Vehicle (SEV) concept is designed to be flexible depending on the destination; the pressurized cabin can be used both for in-space missions and for surface exploration of planetary bodies, including near-Earth asteroids and Mars. The surface exploration version of the SEV has the cabin mounted on a chassis, with wheels that can pivot 360 degrees and drive about 10 kilometers per hour in any direction. It's about the size of a pickup truck (with 12 wheels) and can house two astronauts for up to 14 days with sleeping and sanitary facilities. Likewise, the in-space version of the SEV would have the same pressurized cabin on a flying platform; it too would allow two astronauts to stay on-site for 14 days.

If this was in Fenspace, I'd call it a TSAB success story.

[classicdrogn]

The ground clearance looks a little low, though perhaps that's shown with the (presumably actively controlled) suspension "crouching" at maximum compression. Needs a ladder or boarding stairs from the airlock too, and winches on the ends and sides to (help) haul itself out if it gets stuck in a gully or sinkhole, or tipped over. Being so tall, tipping would be a significant hazard, especially if the airlock isn't mirrored on the other side to keep it from rolling right onto its back with that circular longitudinal shape.

ETA: I don't know what that trim item from the front of the cabin back to over the airlock is supposed to be, but it's a pretty good spot for a crane/manipulator arm if it's hinged at the front. Operator console inside the side window maybe? You'd want to have cameras and probably a fisheye mirror or two to see what it was doing better than just peering out through that of course. Not super-high-capacity obviously, but enough to help the astronauts move heavier stuff than they could manage by hand. Also, if the blue is supposed to be solar panels that's approximately the least efficient configuration possible...

[Norgarth]

there's always the old Landmaster vehicle from Damnation Alley.

[LynnInDenver]

Also, if the blue is supposed to be solar panels that's approximately the least efficient configuration possible...

I think the blue is intended to be radiator paneling - the solar appears to be in a strip of black along the roof itself.

[Star Ranger4]

ALso, the low angle would be better for controlling the amount of sun or shade on either side, making that better for collecting or dispersing heat, though that might also be a function of intended environment.

THe model I saw at Kennedy back in January also has a sort of hardsuit dock on the back, to allow astronauts to suit up more quickly and direct access to the outside without having to cycle an airlock

[Star Ranger4]

Courtesy of our own Rob Kelk, who didnt think to post it here...

RE: Oddities spotted in the news
Unread post #168
4 hours ago

Grape balls of fire!

(Well, yes, okay, but the more accurate "grape balls of plasma" loses the pun.)

Video at the end of the article.

So, hydrogel beads, plus a microwave emitter plus Wave....  Hmm?  
New powersource perhaps even more daring than the cold cuke reactor?  
Or perhaps more frightening than those old Fusion models Frigga continues to limp along on?

[Dartz]

Unit 4 met it's annual quota for power generation in just 5 microseconds. That's hardly limping.