Monthly Archives: January 2024

Astronomy News

Exoplanet WASP-69 b is followed by a staggeringly long tail

One hundred and sixty light-years from Earth, an exoplanet orbits the star WASP-69. Although it’s been previously studied, astronomers have just confirmed that the blazing-hot world is trailed by a 350,000-mile-long (563,270 kilometers) gaseous tail
By | Published: January 29, 2024
An artist's impression of exoplanet WASP-69 b orbiting its host star. Credit: Adam Makarenko/W. M. Keck Observatory
An artist’s impression of exoplanet WASP-69 b orbiting its host star. Credit: Adam Makarenko/W. M. Keck Observatory

WASP-69, given the formal name Wouri by the International Astronomical Union in 2019, is a K-type star somewhat like our Sun but slightly smaller. The planet with the tail, however, is much different from anything in our own solar system.

That’s because WASP-69 b, named Makombé in 2019 to match its host star (Wouri and Makombé are both rivers in Cameroon), is a hot Jupiter. This class of planet is defined by two major factors: its size similarity to our own gas giant planets and its close-in orbit around its host star.

WASP-69 b certainly fits the bill: It is about 10 percent bigger than Jupiter — though only 30 percent its mass — and orbits its star at a distance just less than five percent the distance at which the Earth orbits the Sun. This means the exoplanet is constantly scorched by stellar radiation to a degree that would make even Mercury sweat.

WASP-69 b was the subject of considerable attention in the summer of 2022 when it became one of the first targets of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

In new research published Jan. 9 in The Astrophysical Journal, a team led by astrophysicists at UCLA has revealed the planet’s atmosphere is escaping into space, creating a cometlike tail that stretches at least 350,000 miles (563,270 km).

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Fanzines

Zines to share

Zines to Share!

From MonSFFriend Guy Lilian: Spartacus ,SPARTACUS no 70

An update from Bill Burns over at efanzines:

I received a flurry of fanzines following the snow, and here they all are at https://efanzines.com

Guy H. Lillian III’s Spartacus #70

Leybl Botwinik’s CyberCozen – Jan 2024

Andy Hooper’s CAPTAIN FLASHBACK #62

Christopher J. Garcia’s The Drink Tank #453

Octothorpe #101, a regular fannish podcast by John Coxon, Alison Scott and Liz Batty, is now on line

Bill Plott’s Sporadic #78, 78.1, 79 (2023 archive issues)

Opuntia #564, edited by Dale Speirs

Perry Middlemiss’s Perryscope #39 & 40

Christopher J. Garcia’s Claims Department #63, 64, 65

—
Bill

MonSFFA Website

Japan: Moon lander Slim comes back to life and resumes mission

Japan: Moon lander Slim comes back to life and resumes mission
By Kelly Ng BBC News
JAXA Render of Slim's orientation
JAXA
Jaxa produced this render of Slim to show the awkward landing orientation that pointed the solar cells away from the Sun

Japan’s Moon lander has resumed operations after being shut down for a week due to a power supply issue.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) said it re-established contact with the lander on Sunday, indicating that the glitch had been fixed.

Its solar cells are working again after a shift in lighting conditions allowed it to catch sunlight, the agency said.

It could not generate power when it landed on 20 January as the solar cells pointed away from the Sun.

With the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (Slim) spacecraft, Japan became only the fifth country to achieve a soft touchdown on the Moon after the US, the former Soviet Union, China and India.

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Collecting, Fandom

Rare Star Wars Jawa figure found in loft sells for £19,500

That’s a little over 33 000$ Canadian. Start looking through your basements and attics!

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-68118326

Excalibur Auctions Jawa figure
Excalibur Auctions The Jawa character, wearing a vinyl cape on Palitoy packaging, is considered one of the rarest 70s Star Wars figures

An “exceptionally rare” Star Wars figure found in a loft has outstripped its estimate after attracting worldwide interest at auction.

The Jawa character, complete with vinyl cape, is considered the “holy grail” of 1970s Star Wars figures, according to auctioneer Jonathan Torode.

It was snapped up by a UK collector for £19,500 during the Hertfordshire sale.

“I feel honoured to have handled another rare part of Star Wars toy history,” Mr Torode said.

“The Jawa figure is still the absolute ultimate for Star Wars collectors.”

It was the second time in six months that Excalibur Auctions, of Kings Langley, was able to show off such a sought-after collectible.

In July, it sold an identical Jawa figure for £26,670, including commission charges, after it was found by the same owner among memorabilia packed away in boxes.

Each figure was estimated to attain £10,000 to £15,000.

The figure owner, who worked for Marvel UK between 1974 and 1979, received a range of gifts from the UK toy company Palitoy during the promotion of the Star Wars line in Marvel comics.

Only 10 to 15 examples of this type of figure were documented, Excalibur Auctions said, with the vinyl cape substituted for a cloth cape not long into production.

Awards

Hugo controversy in mainstream press

IN THE GUARDIAN.The Guardian’s report “Science fiction awards held in China under fire for excluding authors” includes quotes from Xiran Jay Zhao and Paul Weimer.

…No reason was given for the exclusions, which were only revealed on 20 January when the Hugo awards published the full nomination statistics for last year’s prize. Certain titles were listed as having been given votes, but were marked with an asterisk and the words “not eligible”, with no further details given….

…Concerns have been raised that the authors were targeted for political reasons, connected to the fact that the ruling Chinese Communist party exerts a tight control on all cultural events that take place inside its borders.

Dave McCarty, the head of the 2023 Hugo awards jury, wrote on Facebook: “Nobody has ordered me to do anything … There was no communication between the Hugo administration team and the Chinese government in any official manner.”

McCarty did not respond to a request from the Guardian for comment, but shared what he said was the official response from the awards administration team on Facebook: “After reviewing the constitution and the rules we must follow, the administration team determined those works/persons were not eligible.” He declined to elaborate on what the rules were.

READ MORE:

https://file770.com/hugo-controversy-hits-mainstream-news-a-chengdu-vice-chair-comments-in-social-media/

Astronomy News

JWST turns up even more heavier-than-expected black holes

These young supermassive black holes weigh more relative to their host galaxies than those today, supporting an idea called heavy seeding. By | Published: January 24, 2024

In this artist's conception, a black hole (center) is contained in a small host galaxy in the distant universe (left). In the nearby universe (right), the same sized black hole would be hosted in a much bigger galaxy. Credit: CfA/Melissa Weiss
In this artist’s conception, a black hole (center) is contained in a small host galaxy in the distant universe (left). In the nearby universe (right), the same sized black hole would be hosted in a much bigger galaxy. Credit: CfA/Melissa Weiss

In the two years since the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) launched, astronomers are learning one thing: The early universe is a lot weirder than we thought.

JWST, which is the largest space telescope ever launched, is able to see back in time like never before thanks to a combination of its large mirrors and its sensitivity to infrared light. This means that it can see in stunning clarity objects whose light was emitted billions of years ago in the ultraviolet or visible portion of the spectrum, and has now been stretched by the universe’s expansion to longer wavelengths than optical telescopes like Hubble.

Astronomers are using it to peer back to near “cosmic dawn,” a time when the first stars and galaxies were forming. And JWST is showing that these early galaxies are different than astronomers had anticipated, in a plethora of ways: Some are settling into shapes we didn’t think were possible so early after the Big Bang. Others are unexpectedly large.

And recent research shows that even the black holes in the early universe were odd — they’re way bigger than they should be, relative to the mass of the galaxy around them. Unexpectedly, JWST is spotting mammoth black holes anchoring relatively small galaxies.

READ MOREhttps://www.astronomy.com/science/jwst-turns-up-even-more-heavier-than-expected-black-holes/