Moons of Saturn

On July 29, 2011 the Cassini spacecraft's narrow-angle camera took this snapshot and captured 5 of Saturn's moons, from just above the ringplane. Left to right are small moons Janus and Pandora respectively 179 and 81 kilometers across, shiny 504 kilometer diameter Enceladus, and Mimas, 396 kilometers across, seen just next to Rhea.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap191017.html

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Originally posted on Twitter.

Brand New Again

I'm finally getting to updating the paperbacks with the Amaranthe rebranding (albeit slowly, because Continuum). I was working on Transcendence today, and since there were a few minor interior updates, I was flipping through the PDF proof to make sure everything looked good.

I accidentally started reading at the point where Matei Uttara attacks Caleb. Two hours later I'm still reading, utterly transfixed. And I might have teared up twice.

I know every "thing" that happens in this book like the back of my hand, but 4.5 years later, the words are brand new all over again.🥰

Oh, how I adore these guys.

Oh, how I adore these guys.

Originally posted on Facebook.

Arcalasers On The Way?

“Bendy laser beams fired through the air”: https://www.nature.com/news/2009/090409/full/news.2009.360.html

Yet another example of technology in one highly specific area progressing FAR faster than I had anticipated. We're barely starting to get laser weapons, and already we're bending them!

Though 'arcalaser' is a much cooler name than 'Airy beam,' IMHO....

Granted, the article closes with the following: "Bendy laser beams that can pass through obstacles might, at first sight, also seem ideal for military applications, but that's unlikely, says Kasparian. That's because only beams with small diameters — carrying relatively little energy — can be manipulated to curve significantly. "You are not going to be able to shoot people behind walls with this," says Kasparian."

Well, not YET.😎

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Originally posted on Facebook.

Revisiting A Big Decision

Wow. It's been 2 years since I made STARSHINE free for everyone. I'm thrilled (and more than a little relieved) to be able to look back at this blog post, all full of hope and belief and dice rolls and a twinge of fear as it was, and be able to say that I was right about it all.😎

Making Starshine free was the best thing I've ever done in this career (other than writing 11 more books to follow it, obviously). It's brought tens of thousands of readers to Aurora Rhapsody, many of whom might never have found or taken a chance on it. Readers who are now invested in this amazing journey through Amaranthe as we head into Riven Worlds. I am so glad all of you are here.✨

“Starshine Is Free & Other Outlandish Notions” (10/9/17): https://www.gsjennsen.com/news/2017/10/9/starshine-is-free-other-outlandish-notions

Originally posted on Facebook.

Starship

Say what you will, but the man has panache, and a keen sense of the moment. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1178014342031298561

This is the just-assembled Starship Mk1 Prototype, which will make its first test flight (to 20 km) next month. It's intended to be a reusable spacecraft that will go to the moon and Mars.

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Posted on Facebook and Twitter.

The Shadow of Io

During a recent perijove pass, Juno caught an absolutely incredible image of Io's shadow cast upon Jupiter.😲😍

Unless it's actually millions of monoliths devouring Jupiter's atmosphere. Which is, frankly, equally as likely.

Hi-res quality: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinmgill/48745739051/
Source and credit: https://twitter.com/kevinmgill/status/1173741101515079680

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Originally posted on Facebook.

Space Is Hard, Once Again

For the second time this year, a lunar lander has experienced an error and crashed in the final meters of its descent to the surface.

SPACE IS HARD, guys. I know I make it look easy in my books (as well as cool, fun and exciting 😋), but it's hard. And it's going to continue being hard for a while yet.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/6/20853462/india-chandrayaan-2-lunar-landing-moon-vikram-crash-communication-failure

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Originally posted on Facebook.

Spitzer's Sweet 16

"NASA launched its Spitzer Space Telescope into orbit around the Sun on Aug. 25, 2003. Since then, the observatory has been lifting the veil on the wonders of the cosmos, from our own solar system to faraway galaxies, using infrared light.

Managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, Spitzer enabled scientists to confirm the presence of seven rocky, Earth-size planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system. The telescope has also provided weather maps of hot, gaseous exoplanets and revealed a hidden ring around Saturn. It has illuminated hidden collections of dust in a wide variety of locations, including cosmic nebulas (clouds of gas and dust in space), where young stars form, and swirling galaxies. Spitzer has additionally investigated some of the universe's oldest galaxies and stared at the black hole at the center of the Milky Way.

Spitzer's primary mission lasted five-and-a-half years and ended when it ran out of the liquid helium coolant necessary to operate two of its three instruments. But its passive-cooling design has allowed part of its third instrument to continue operating for more than 10 additional years. The mission is scheduled to end on Jan. 30, 2020.

In honor of Spitzer's Sweet 16 in space, here are 16 amazing images from the mission.": http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/news/2195-ssc2019-15-Sixteen-Images-for-Spitzer-s-Sweet-16

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Originally posted on Facebook and Twitter.