Wednesday, February 1, 2023

What's New? by Diane Burton

 

How do you like the picture of Thor's Helmet Nebula? I've never seen it before. Actually, I never heard of it before, until I read about it in EarthSkyNews. I'm fascinated by how much information and so many pictures of scientific "stuff" are available online. Why should anyone care, especially if you're not a scientist? Those of us who write science fiction--any of the various subgenres--can always find inspiration from what's new today in science.

Here are some recent headlines from LifeScience.com,  

* Life is possible on Io, an active volcanic moon. But it would have to be underground. 

* Green comet comes closest to Earth today and tomorrow for the first time since the Stone Age. 

* Archeologists in Egypt discover a 52-foot-long papyrus containing sections from the Book of the Dead.

* A widening chasm in Antarctica's Brunt Ice Shelf split, calving a 20-mile wide iceberg.

* Betelgeuse set to explode.

* Doomsday Clock is at 90 seconds to midnight, closest it's ever been.

See what I mean? So many cool ideas for a story. For me, and I'm sure others, the first thing we think of is "what if . . ."

Do any of the headlines spark something for you?


If you're interested, NASA.gov, EarthSkyNews (earthsky.org), and Space.com bring stories of scientific interest to your inbox.




9 comments:

Nancy Gideon said...

You science geek you! Exploding moons and living underground - these are not signs of a fab future in my book (or books) but I bet they have your scientific gears spinning. Hope they spin into a new book for me to read!

Diane Burton said...

LOL Thanks, Nancy. My chem teacher would disagree about me being a science geek, esp. after my partner and I tried to burn down the lab. And that's another story.

The archeology find sparked my interest. Imagine if you touched the scroll and were transported--oops, better not tell anymore. LOL

Maureen said...

Plenty of inspiration for stories!

Jessica E. Subject said...

Oh, there is so much inspiration for us sci-fi authors! I just learned that there is an ion-drive aircraft out there, like in Star Trek. It's been around since 2018, but I just heard about it. Always more for us to use in our stories!

I hope you have a wonderful February!

D. V. STONE said...

I love this. I hope to see the green comet.

Diane Burton said...

Thanks, Maureen and Jessica. Inspiration is all around us. I didn't know about the ion drive aircraft. Thanks for sharing that, Jess.

Diane Burton said...

Donna, I hope you see that comet. Too much cloud cover here in Michigan.

Tena Stetler said...

Wow, interesting post Diane! Everyone of the headlines sparked my imagination! Green Comet, volcanic moon, lots of ideas. I can see a story forming. Thanks for sharing!

Diane Burton said...

Love it, Tena. Glad my post gave you some sparks.