Four hundred years ago this week -- in 1610 -- Galileo Galilei turned his telescope toward Saturn and observed the giant planet's rings. He didn't recognize them as rings, however. (Hubble Space Telescope edge-on view of Saturn's rings. NASA image.) (N.B. I've found three different dates for the event: today, July 30; July 25; and July 15. July 25th shows up more often than the other dates, so I ...
Twenty-five years ago today -- July 29, 1985 -- the Space Shuttle Challenger lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-51F. During the launch, the number one main engine shut down ahead of schedule; NASA declared an "Abort To Orbit," but was able to re-plan the mission to complete all of its objectives. Astronauts Charles G. Fullerton, Roy D. Bridges, Karl G. Henize, Anthony W. England, F. Story Musgrave, Loren W. Acton and John-David E Bartoe conducted life ...
The latest chapter in "what not to do" as an aspiring author.* I find it interesting how many authors craft a cover letter that describes their book in superlative terms ("thrilling," "magnificent," "interesting," etc.) and doesn't provide any details about the story: nothing about the main characters and the hardships they endure, lessons they learn, or worlds they save. Don't do that. Show us your terrific story, don't tell us how terrific ...
THAUMATROPE, a "a Twitter fiction magazine for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror fiction under 140 characters," published my micro-fiction submission yesterday. There's no good way to excerpt from something only 140 characters long -- I'm not even sure how to title the thing -- and it's probably just as quick if I provide the link: Check it out here. If you're on Twitter, you can follow THAUMATROPE for more micro-fiction at http://twitter.com/thaumatrope. ...
A half-century ago today -- July 24, 1950 -- the U.S. conducted its first Cape Canaveral launch. (Bumper-8 launch. NASA image. Note how close the people are to the launch pad, and the gantry that looks like standard construction scaffolding.) The rocket was called a Bumper, and consisted of a single-stage V-2 rocket with a Wac Corporal rocket installed as a second stage. Several Bumper ...
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