Eclipse

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a nice image of last week's solar eclipse showing the corona and some solar prominences spilling out from the Moon.

Spectrum is Green

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a multi-hued auroral curtain in the skies over Sweden.

Cast a Giant Shadow

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the long shadow cast by MER Opportunity, operating on Mars for more than a decade (pretty good for a ninety-day mission, no?). What a shame NASA has apparently set Opportunity's budget down to zero next year. Why toss away a perfectly good functional vehicle?

Ring Around the Sun

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows shows a multiple-image view of the March 20 solar eclipse. Thanks to the less-than-perfect shape of the Moon, we get to enjoy some beads and a ring.

Spot in the Camel

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows NGC in the constellation of Camelopardalis. Can you spot any other galaxies in the image?

Hunter

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Orion the Hunter in the early spring sky. March, the time for Messier Marathons!

You know Orion always comes up sideways.
Throwing a leg up over our fence of mountains,
And rising on his hands, he looks in on me
Busy outdoors by lantern-light with something
I should have done by daylight, and indeed,
After the ground is frozen, I should have done
Before it froze, and a gust flings a handful
Of waste leaves at my smoky lantern chimney
To make fun of my way of doing things,
Or else fun of Orion's having caught me.
Has a man, I should like to ask, no rights
These forces are obliged to pay respect to?"
So Brad McLaughlin mingled reckless talk
Of heavenly stars with hugger-mugger farming,
Till having failed at hugger-mugger farming,
He burned his house down for the fire insurance
And spent the proceeds on a telescope
To satisfy a lifelong curiosity
About our place among the infinities.

(Robert Frost, The Star-Splitter)

A Bit of a Bang

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a "new star" (nova) in the constellation of Sagittarius. A recently discovered nova has become (for how long) a naked-eye object. You have to get up early to spot Sagittarius this time of the year, but it might be worth the try!

Age of Confusion

Brian Michael Bendis & Company: Age of Ultron—The Complete Event (Marvel; 2013; ISBN 978-0785155652)

I first read this last year as the apparently-not-quite-so-complete event. Great beginning but confusing end with the story going completely off the rails at one point. Seeing a "complete" edition, I decided to give it a try to see if I had missed an important element the first time around.

Well...great beginning, lots of great story elements even for a relative newcomer such as myself, interesting stories around the world...but...the story goes completely off the rails at one point (what in the name of heck does that Dr. Doom story have to do with anything else?) and a very inconclusive ending.

So: complete event or incomplete event, the edition didn't seem to matter.

Note: I liked much of the book. But there was no payoff. Turf battles at Marvel? Lack of an overall guiding hand? Hopefully the movie version brings it all around and in one nice package with a bow!

The Star Wars

The Star Wars; J.W. Rinzler & Company (Dark Horse Books; 2014; ISBN 978-1616553807).

Before there was Star Wars or Star Wars IV: A New Hope, there were a few mentions of The Star Wars in the pages of Starlog (then a new print magazine) and Newsweek (then still a print magazine) featuring a brief plot rundown and some artwork by Ralph McQuarrie (who I had encountered in the past as an illustrator for news coverage of the Apollo missions).

The plot outline was enough to excite me that when we were asked to do a fiction piece in English class in high school, I wrote my version of the movie, based on nothing more than those few sentences.

Several months before the movie came out, I spotted a novelization (with a fantastic cover by Ralph McQuarrie) and grabbed it (the odd thing is, well before we learned that Alan Dean Foster wrote this, I figured he was involved just from a few odd Fosterian phrasings). The plot was different from the summaries and the artwork. Where, for example, did all the laser swords (now called light sabers) that the stormtroopers were carrying go?

Now we know. Working from early concept art and an early script, J.W. Rinzler and a hosts of artists have recreated that first vision and what a strange trip it is. Multiple attacks by the Death Star. Many laser sword battles, including those laser sword-wielding stormtroopers. A wookie planet. Han Solo that is not human. And...if you thought the dialogue was wince-inducing at times in what you saw on the screen...some really wince-inducing dialogue.

Thumbs up to Rinzler and Company for undertaking this effort. What might have been!

Magnitude

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is the classic film Powers of Ten.

MMS Launch

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows an Atlas V lofting the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission on it's way to exploring the space around Earth.

Across the Home Star

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is an image from last week's double solar eclipse.

Hidden

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the solar eclipse from some lovely northern climes.

Different Light

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the Moon, lit by two different lights: direct light from the Sun and reflected earthshine from our own planet.

Active Skies

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is just one image posted of the solar storm that caused auroral activity in both hemispheres this week.

Lunar Shadow

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day gives a different perspective on a total solar eclipse. Here we have the 2006 total eclipse from the viewpoint of the International Space Station.

Long Duration

In light of NASA's stated intention of "zeroing out the budget" (cancelling) missions such as MER Opportunity and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, this article about a mission that has been ongoing for forty years is of interest.

Why cancel Opportunity and LRO, NASA? An operating vehicle is worth a lot more to science and the public interest than a vehicle that is only on paper!

The Plough

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the main part of Ursus Major, The Big Dipper, or The Plough. Do you know how to use the Big Dipper to find the Little Dipper and the North Star?
 ("Mouseover" the image to get a star guide.)

Shadings

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a fantastic image of the complex nebula found in the constellation of Orion. We're not just talking the familiar Messier 42 in the belt and sword here: "mouseover" the image for a guide to the stars to show you how much of the sky is encompassed in this picture!

Polar Solar

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a total eclipse of the Sun. Such events are often photographed by "eclipse chasers" who go through vast amounts of trouble and expense to get that perfect shot. This particular eclipse shot meant an endurance of a different kind: it happened in Antarctica!

At the Cloud Top

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Expedition 42, returning via Soyuz from the International Space Station. A photographer on a chase plane captured this image before the capsule sank beneath the cloud tops and returned to Earth.

All Along the Watchtower

From a great wall in the galaxy to a great wall on the planet. Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the Great Wall of China, at sunset, with a rising full Moon.

On the Back of the Turtle

"I mean," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there in this world that makes living worthwhile?"

Death thought about it.

CATS, he said finally. CATS ARE NICE.

Many thanks for all the books, Sir Pterry.

Good Walls Make for Good Neighbors

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a part of the North American Nebula in the constellation of Cygnus known as the Cygnus Wall.

The Quiet Earth

Above, the silent stars go by. Below, a volcano. Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the Volcan de Fuego in Guatemala. "Mouseover" the image for a constellation guide.

Mirror Universe

Above, the auroral curtains. Below, the stars. Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows auroral activity in the skies of Iceland. Reflected in the lake are the stars. "Mouseover" the image to get a constellation guide.

Lensing

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a great demonstration of gravitational lensing. The light of a distant supernova is bent around a far galaxy and appears as four "separate" supernovas.

Where the Wisdom Stars Are

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a Spitzer Space Telescope image (made up of many images) of our galactic center. By viewing the region in infrared, we can peer past the dust clouds that obscure the center from our eyes. (The title of this post is a throwback to my early days of gaming; let's see if anybody else catches the reference!)

Galactic Lizards

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud (something I hope to see for myself someday!) and star cluster NGC 602. Why the galactic lizard title above? The surrounding nebula is popularly known as The Flying Lizard.

The Hungry Sky

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows "cometary globule" (not surprisingly...as with "planetary" nebula it is a historical misnomer) CG4 in the constellation of Puppis. The cometary globule seems to be ready to feast on a galaxy also in the image.

Hugo Nominations

Once more into the breech, dear friends, once more into the breech...

A plea, again, to magazine and book publishers: there are editor categories in the Hugo Awards. Wouldn't it be nice to have the people that produce the book and stories that we nominate and vote on get nominated as well? Doesn't it make sense to put somewhere...easily seen...a list of your editor folk and the projects they did?

This is the third year I've spent most of my time deciding what to vote on just trying to figure out what editors did what or what editors work where. Next year I may just ditch those two categories out of protest.

Next difficult was the fan category, as I don't don't interact on the forums and sites that much, so I don't really "know" the folks who work there. Fan artist was the hardest.

Comics...oddly...was almost the easiest category this year. What a change from last year!

On to the nominations...

Best Novel:
Proxima: Stephen Baxter
Europe in Autumn: Dave Hutchinson
The Three-Body Problem: Cixin Liu
The Causal Angel: Hannu Rajaniemi
On the Steel Breeze: Alastair Reynolds

Best Novella:
The Adventure of the Ring of Stones: James P. Blaylock/Subterranean
The Regular: Ken Liu/Upgraded
The Madonna and the Starship: James Morrow/Tachyon
Entanglement: Vandanah Singh/Hieroglyph
Kur-A-Len: Lavie Tidhar/Black Gods Kiss

Best Novelette:
Memorials: Aliette de Bodard/Asimov's
The Last Log of the "Lachrimosa": Alastair Reynolds/Subterranean Online
Seventh Sight: Greg Egan/Upgraded
A Hotel in Antarctica: Geoffrey A. Landis/Hieroglyph
Wine: Yoon Ha Lee/Clarkesworld

Best Short Story:
In Babelsburg: Alastair Reynolds/Reach for Infinity
Invisible Planets: Hannu Rajaniemi/Reach for Infinity
Trademark Bugs—A Legal History: Adam Roberts/Reach for Infinity
The Long Haul from the ANNALS OF TRANSPORTATION, The Pacific Monthly, May 2009: Ken Liu/Clarkesworld (needs to win the award for longest story title that I've ever typed into a form!)
The Dust Queen: Aliette de Bodard/Reach for Infinity

Best Related Work:
Greg Egan: Karen Burnham
Handbook of Vance Space: Michael Andre-Driussi
The Art of John Harris—Beyond the Horizon: John Harris
The Art of Ian Miller: Ian Miller
Sibilant Fricative—Essays & Reviews: Adam Roberts

Best Graphic Story:
Trees: Warren Ellis and Jason Howard
Caliban: Garth Ennis and Facundo Percio
Schlock Mercenary—Broken Wind: Howard Tayler
Letter 44: Charles Soule and Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque
Ms Marvel: G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona & Co.

Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form):
Captain America: Winter Soldier
The Grand Budapest Hotel
X-Men: Days of Future Passed
Maleficent
Guardians of the Galaxy

Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form):
I Remember the Future
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Beginning of the End
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Things We Bury
Doctor Who: Listen
Doctor Who: Flatline

Best Professional Editor (Short-Form):
Jaym Gates
Alisa Krasnostein
Andrew Liptak
Julia Rios
Jonathan Strahan

Best Professional Editor (Long-Form):
Anne Clarke
Lee Harris
Marco Palmieri
Anne Perry
William Schaeffer

Best Professional Artist:
Galan Dara
Daniel Dos Santos
Dalve Halverson ("Joey HiFi")
John Picacio
Fiona Staples

Best Semiprozine:

Apex
Beneath Ceaseless Skies
Interzone
Lightspeed
The New York Review of SF

Best Fanzine:

Ansible
The Book Smugglers
A Dribble of Ink
SF Signal
Skiffy and Fanty

Best Fancast:

The Coode Street Podcast
Galactic Suburbia
The Incomprable
The SF Signal Podcast
The Three Hoarsemen (well, DUH!)

Best Fan Writer:
Sarah Chorn
John DeNardo
Jamie Todd Rubin
John Stevens
Pau Weimer

Best Fan Artist:
Winchell Chung
Patrick Hester
Jeff Patterson
(04)
(05)

John W. Campbell Award (Not A Campbell):
Wesley Chu
Michael J. Martinez
Emma J. Newman
Helen Wecker
Django Wexler

The Iron Planet

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is an image taken by a (very much) overlooked mission: NASA's Mercury MESSENGER sent back this enhanced mosaic that points out the geological details of the Caloris basin.

Kerbal Kernal

I'm not much into computer games. That may soon be changing.

Pillars and Jets

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day details the Pelican Nebula in the constellation of Cygnus.

Night Skies

Remember when Arizona was a great place for astronomy because it was so dark at night?

Brrrrr....

NASA's Aqua satellite took a picture of my house...whoops, the Bering Sea.

Crew Trio

The NASA Orion, SpaceX Dragon and Boeing CST-100 (we need a better name, Boeing!) were all displayed side-by-side recently at Kennedy Space Center.

A Pale Blue Dot

Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity appears to be a small blue dot in the chaotic terrain of the "Pahrump Hills" around "Mount Sharp" in Gale Crater in this image taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

MET

Apollo 14 Commander Alan Shepard stands next to the Modular Equipment Transporter (used only on this mission) in the highlands of Fra Mauro.

You Can Put Your Hat On

The Hubble Space Telescope images the dusty highways and byways of NGC 7814 (in the constellation of Pegasus), known as "The Little Sombrero".

Office Work

Once again, with feeling: our workplaces suck compared to this. Nice view!

Old School

Before there was NASA, there was NACA. Here's a blast from the past.

Contrasts

Views from yesterday and today: Astronaut John Glenn crammed into Friendship 7 during the first American orbital mission vs. Astronaut Barry Wilmore on the first of three spacewalks undertaken at the International Space Station last week to prepare it for both commercial crew carriers and for inflatable station modules.

On Approach

The Dawn spacecraft will arrive at dwarf planet Ceres on March 6, 2015! We're already getting a better picture of the main belt asteroid than we've ever had before! Ceres is a place!

Working in Mojave

The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity working the "Mojave" site in Gale Crater. In the background is Aeolis Mons (unofficially tagged "Mount Sharp"). Curiosity has been busy drilling the area.

Forecast

Courtesy of the International Space Station, snow-locked Chicago from orbit. After yesterday's snow and ice storm and the forecast for the week, I'm feeling like I should be having ribs in Chicago.

A Crack in the Star!

A large filament crawls across the face of our home star, looking like a crack between two tectonic plates.

Liftoff of Apollo-Saturn 201

All those…moments…will be lost in time, like [small cough] tears…in…rain.

Live Long and Prosper

Last week saw the passing of Leonard Nimoy, star of Star Trek and so much more. I'll have more (as will my co-hosts) to say about Nimoy on an upcoming episode of The Three Hoarsemen, but in the meantime: the cast of Star Trek (love the fashions!) standing in front of shuttle test vehicle Enterprise and a salute from orbit.

Dust

How about an image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope of NGC 4424 (located in the constellation of Virgo)?

Devils in the Wind

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a dust devil on the surface of Mars captured by an orbiting spacecraft from Earth.


Think about what I just said there the next time you think we haven't accomplished anything as a species.

Take the Lens Cap Off

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a lenticular cloud nearly blocking a view of the further objects of the Moon, Mars (can you spot it?) and Venus.

Coma Bernenices: Galaxies Like Grains of Sand

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is an image of the Coma Cluster, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. How big a volume of space does a cluster of galaxies encompass?