All posts by Cathy Palmer-Lister

Astronomy News

COSMIC RAY SHOWERS CAUSE LIGHTNING

Space Weather News for March 20, 2025
https://spaceweather.com
https://www.spaceweatheralerts.com

COSMIC RAY SHOWERS CAUSE LIGHTNING:  A new study by researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory links lightning to antimatter in cosmic ray showers. This could solve a centuries-old mystery of what causes electrical outbursts in thunderstorms. Full story @ Spaceweather.com

Above: 3D images of lightning over New Mexico. Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory used these data to link lightning to cosmic rays.

Fanzines

fanzine roundup

Zines to share!

Update from Bill Burns, who writes:

Reminder: Voting on the FAAn awards for work published in 2024 closes at midnight (Pacific time) Saturday March 29, 2025. Full details in Nic Farey’s The Incompleat Register: https://efanzines.com/TIR/index.htm.

A busy week for fanzine production!  These new issues are now at

https://efanzines.com

  • J.L. Farey’s JenZine #11
  • Christopher J. Garcia’s Claims Department #82
  • Robert Jennings’ Fadeaway #68
  • Octothorpe #130, a regular fannish podcast by John Coxon, Alison Scott and Liz Batty, is now on line
  • Henry Grynnsten’s Wild Ideas #57
  • Rich Lynch’s You’re Still on My Mind #8, a letterzine companion to My Back Pages
  • Christopher J. Garcia’s The Drink Tank #461–
    Bill

The Obdurate Eye, From Garth Spencer, who writes:

So she went into the garden to cut a cabbage leaf to make an apple pie; and while she was there, a great she-bear in the street put its head through the kitchen window. “What! No soap?” So he died, and she very imprudently married the gardener; and there were the Joblillies, and the Pickninnies, and the Grand Panjandrum with the little round button at top, and they all fell to playing catch-as-catch-can, until the gunpowder ran out at the heels of their boots.

Zines from the N3F:

Eldritch Science from the N3F has a gorgeous cover by Alan White.

FanAct202503

Tightbeam366

NAPA275

From Israel: CCMar2025-v01

And from Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society.

De Profundis #606 – March 2025 OCR-C

 

News items

Two VERY important stories

It’s very common for fans to travel on a tourist visa, sometimes as a guest of a con.  I, for instance, had been invited to be a fan GoH at an American convention. I cannot make commitments more than a few months in advance, and even then there is a risk I have to cancel, so I regretfully declined.  If I accepted such an invitation today, I could be arrested by ICE. It’s illegal to work while on a tourist visa, and accepting free room and flight counts as payment. Who knew?!

READ, especially the second link.

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/british-comics-artist-r-e-burke-still-being-held-in-us-detention-camp/

https://comicon.com/2025/03/18/fresh-risks-to-foreign-comic-creators-doing-comic-cons-in-the-usa-canada-emerge/

Astronomy News

LUNAR ECLIPSE OBSERVED FROM THE MOON

LUNAR ECLIPSE OBSERVED FROM THE MOON:  For the first time in almost 60 years, a lunar lander has photographed an eclipse from the surface of the Moon. During last night’s lunar eclipse, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost recorded the sky show from Mare Crisium. Full story with photos @ Spaceweather.com.

Above: A two-planet view of last night’s lunar eclipse. Credit: Eric Allen and Firefly Aerospace.

Cosplay / Costuming

Interesting costuming exhibit at the McCord

The McCord Museum in Montreal has an exhibition on costume balls that might interest many SFF fans.

McCord Stewart Museum
690 Sherbrooke Street West
Montreal, (Quebec) H3A 1E

Costume Balls

“Over 40 dazzling outfits worn will be on display as well as photographs of guests in costume, souvenir publications and more —that capture the spirit and prestige of these grand events. This exhibition and the accompanying publication represent the culmination of a research effort which draws on the quintessential strengths of the McCord Stewart Museum’s rich collections. Many remarkable discoveries, unveiled to the public for the first time.”

Astronomy News, Science and technology

Space Snapshot

Good morning, Moon! This image captured by Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander on March 3 shows sunrise on the lunar surface. This marked the beginning of the lunar day and the start of Blue Ghost’s surface operations, which will last throughout one lunar day (about 14 Earth days). Image credit: Firefly Aerospace.

PlanetVac is sampling the Moon! Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost successfully landed on the Moon on March 2, carrying with it 10 NASA science and technology instruments, including Lunar PlanetVac. This sample collection technology was developed and tested by Honeybee Robotics, with key tests funded by Planetary Society members and donors. Firefly Aerospace confirmed this week that Lunar PlanetVac has been deployed to begin collecting samples of lunar regolith.

Moon illustrationWithout an atmosphere, the temperature on the surface of the Moon depends almost entirely on direct sunlight. Near the Moon’s equator, temperatures can reach around 120 degrees Celsius (250 degrees Fahrenheit) in the daytime and ten drop to -130 degrees Celsius (-208 degrees Fahrenheit) at night.

Lunar planetvac
The Lunar PlanetVac instrument on the end of Blue Ghost’s Surface Access Arm. Image credit: Firefly Aerospace.

PlanetVac is sampling the Moon! Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost successfully landed on the Moon on March 2, carrying with it 10 NASA science and technology instruments, including Lunar PlanetVac. This sample collection technology was developed and tested by Honeybee Robotics, with key tests funded by Planetary Society members and donors. Firefly Aerospace confirmed this week that Lunar PlanetVac has been deployed to begin collecting samples of lunar regolith.

Fanzines

Fanzine roundup

Zines to share!

Added today at https://efanzines.com:

Andy Hooper’s CAPTAIN FLASHBACK #75

Perry Middlemiss’s Perryscope #51

Nic Farey’s This Here…#84

Octothorpe #129, a regular fannish podcast by John Coxon, Alison Scott and Liz Batty, is now on line

Christopher J. Garcia’s The Drink Tank #460

Bill Plott’s Sporadic #87, 88, 89 and archive issues 66b, 67

From N3F:

With this mailing I am sending a copy of Tightbeam 366. There has been one change. We are moving the longer articles toward the rear of the magazine, so Jesse Silver’s wonderful anime reviews now appear late rather than early in the magazine.

https://www.monsffa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Tightbeam366.pdf

Books

Locus list of Forthcoming Books

MAR 2025

  • KATHERINE ADDISON • The Tomb of Dragons • Rebel­lion/Solaris UK, Mar 2025 (tp, eb)
  • KATHERINE ADDISON • The Tomb of Dragons • Tor, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • KEVIN J. ANDERSON • Stiffs & Stones • WordFire Press, Mar 2025 (c, tp, hc, eb)
  • CLIVE BARKER • Jump Tribe • Subterranean Press, Mar 2025 (c, hc, eb)
  • AGUSTINA BAZTERRICA • The Unworthy • Simon & Schus­ter/Scribner, Mar 2025 (tp, eb)
  • JEDEDIAH BERRY • The Naming Song • Titan Books UK, Mar 2025 (1st UK, tp,eb)
  • TERRY BROOKS • Galaphile • Penguin Random House/Del Rey, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • JAMES J. BUTCHER • Cold Iron Task • Ace, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • M.R. CAREY • Once Was Willem • Orbit UK, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • M.R. CAREY • Once Was Willem • Orbit US, Mar 2025 (tp, eb)
  • V. CASTRO • The Pink Agave Motel and Other Stories • Clash Books, Mar 2025 (c, tp, eb)
  • CASSANDRA CLARE • The Ragpicker King • Penguin Random House/Del Rey, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • CASSANDRA CLARE • The Ragpicker King • Macmillan/Tor UK, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • TRACY DEONN • Oathbound • Simon & Schuster, Mar 2025 (ya, hc, eb)
  • AMAL EL-MOHTAR • The River Has Roots • Tordotcom, Mar 2025 (na, hc, eb)
  • ERIC FLINT & IVER P. COOPER • 1637: The Pacific Initiative • Baen, Mar 2025 (tp, eb)
  • ERIC FLINT & WALTER H. HUNT • 1637: The French Connection • Baen, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • CHARLIE N. HOLMBERG • Wizard of Most Wicked Ways • Amazon/47North, Mar 2025 (tp, eb)
  • STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES • The Buffalo Hunter Hunter • Simon & Schuster/Saga Press, Mar 2025 (h, hc, eb)
  • STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES • The Buffalo Hunter Hunter • Titan Books UK, Mar 2025 (h, hc, eb)
  • ALLAN KASTER, ED. • 3 Hard Shots at the Moon • Au­dioText/Infinivox, Mar 2025 (an, tp, eb)
  • MARY ROBINETTE KOWAL • The Martian Contingency • Tor, Mar 2025 (tp, hc, eb)
  • JONATHAN MABERRY • Burn to Shine • St. Martin’s Grif­fin, Mar 2025 (h, tp, eb)
  • GREGORY MAGUIRE • Elphie • HarperCollins/Morrow, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • SEANAN MCGUIRE • Installment Immortality • Tor, Mar 2025 (tp, eb)
  • NATASHA PULLEY • The Hymn to Dionysus • Blooms­bury USA, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • EMERY ROBIN • The Sea Eternal • Orbit UK, Mar 2025 (tp, eb)
  • EMERY ROBIN • The Sea Eternal • Orbit US, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • JOHN SCALZI • When the Moon Hits Your Eye • Tor, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • JOHN SCALZI • When the Moon Hits Your Eye • Macmillan/Tor UK, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • S.M. STIRLING • Lords of Creation • Arc Manor/Caezik SF & Fantasy, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • HARRY TURTLEDOVE • Twice as Dead • Arc Manor/Caezik SF & Fantasy, Mar 2025 (hc, eb)
  • MOSES OSE UTOMI • Children of Useyi • Simon & Schuster/Atheneum, Mar 2025 (ya, hc, eb)
  • DAVID WEBER & JANE LINDS­KOLD • Friends Indeed • Baen, Mar 2025 (ya, hc, eb)
  • EDWARD WILLETT • Shapers of Worlds Volume V • Shadowpaw Press, Mar 2025 (an, tp, eb)
  • AMÉLIE WEN ZHAO • The Scorpion and the Night Blos­som • Penguin Random House/Delacorte, Mar 2025 (1st US, ya, v, hc, eb)
Astronomy News

ASTEROID 2024 YR4 UPDATE

Space Weather News for Feb. 18, 2025
https://spaceweather.com
https://www.spaceweatheralerts.com

 ASTEROID 2024 YR4 UPDATE: The odds just increased again. Asteroid 2024 YR4 now has a 2.6% chance of hitting Earth on Dec. 22, 2032, up from 2.2% a week ago, and 1.3% in January. Current probabilities are based on 368 observations spanning 54 days. This growing arc of data is improving our knowledge of the asteroid’s orbit and, so far, steadily increasing the odds of a strike.


Click to view and play with an interactive orbit of asteroid 2024 YR4

That was the bad news. The good news is, even if it hits, 2024 YR4 will not wipe us out. With an estimated diameter of 40 to 70 meters, it is only a few times larger than the Chelyabinsk meteor that hit Russia in 2013. That space rock exploded in the atmosphere, creating shock waves that shattered glass windows and injured hundreds of people (mainly from broken glass). The estimated size of 2024 YR4 reminds researchers even more of the Tunguska impactor, which leveled a forest in Russia in 1908. You wouldn’t want to be at ground zero, but Earth would survive.

The risk profile of 2024 YR4 is unusual. Often we see sensational headlines predicting some newly-discovered asteroid might hit Earth. These are space rocks with huge error bars on their orbits because they haven’t been tracked for very long. As soon as more data are collected, the odds of impact go down. For 2024 YR4, however, the odds are still going up, which makes it interesting.

Reminder: There’s still a 97.4% chance of a miss. Stay tuned for updates.