David M. Kelly

Science Fiction Writer

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New Post has been published on http://davidmkelly.net/2019/04/30/lunacy-back-in-style/

Lunacy-Back In Style!

Last week China announced its intention to establish a base on the Moon within ten years. Exciting news for sure, conjuring up images of a lunar colony (dare I say Moonbase Alpha?), and certainly an idea set to warm the cockles of any sci-fi fan.

The timeline would have to be described as aggressive, though. Certainly, NASA’s Apollo program managed to land astronauts on the moon in that time-frame, but that was only a “simple” land-and-return mission. Still, China has demonstrated many times that it is willing to spend money to achieve big results, so they probably have as good a chance as any.

Launcher

And now, barely a week later, we hear that under direction of the Great Cheeto, NASA plans to do the same, and they’re going to do it in five years. This timeline isn’t aggressive, it;s insane and quite possibly suicidal. There are three things necessary to envision a lunar mission, and here’s where things start to falter right-away.

First of all, you need a launcher capable of taking a large payload (by space standards) to the moon. In the Apollo days, this was the mighty Saturn V rocket. But now? The US doesn’t have anything currently capable of such a mission. NASA says it’s looking for partners in the industry, which basically means either the United Launch Agency (ULA), the SpaceX Dragon Heavy, or Boeing’s Space Launch System (SLS).

ULA Delta IV Heavy

The ULA currently has the Boeing-built Delta IV Heavy rocket. This is probably NASA’s best option as it is NASA Launch Services Program (LSP) certified (but only for non-crewed launches). The SLS hasn’t carried out a single launch yet, and delays in the program presently put the first launches in 2020, at the earliest and, according to some observers, the program may even get scrapped entirely.

The only other possibility would be SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy. This rocket has only launched once, and future launches are all listed as TBD. Plus, the system has no LSP certification (crewed or uncrewed). The Falcon Heavy program is also suffering from delays, and the company recently had to defer what would have been the rocket’s first commercial launch.

So, for any of these options to be viable, they would have to go through NASA LSP certification–not an easy or short program, although possible given the five-year timeline, if resources were thrown at it.

Capsule

SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule

To get people to and from the moon, you need some form of capsule. Again, the US doesn’t have one. SpaceX has the Crew Dragon, and Boeing is developing the CST-100 Starliner, but neither is close to being ready. The Crew Dragon has a slight advantage because it’s based on the Dragon capsule used to deliver cargo to the ISS, but it isn’t LSP crew certified and recently suffered a setback when it exploded uring ground testing, seriously delaying its certification chances.

So the question here becomes “Is NASA going to rush testing both the launcher AND capsule?”

Lander

Lunar Lander (visualization)

Now we get to the real kicker in all of this. Forgetting the issues of the launcher and capsule, the US has no lander–not even a design on the table. And here, even the commercial options fail. Neither SpaceX, Boeing, nor the ULA has a lander even on the drawing board. The only people who (maybe) do are the Chinese, and I’m pretty sure they won’t be rushing to help the US. It’s worth remembering that it takes somewhere around three years to design, certify, and build a new car–and all that has to do is sit on the ground. Building a craft capable of landing a crew safely on the moon is several orders of magnitude more difficult.

Bigelow Moon Habitat (visualization)

So far I’ve not discussed the idea of creating a station for the astronauts on the moon. Both Bigelow and Sierra Nevada Corporation have expandable units that might work, but again, none of these have been tested or validated for crew use, plus they’re more designed for operation in orbit rather than on the lunar surface. And if the plans don’t include setting up some kind of station, that would make the whole exercise pretty much a win for the Chinese efforts. Let’s face it, we don’t need another mission to the Moon just to leave dusty footprints.

Sustainability

Lunar Orbital Gateway (visualization)

There are no new funds for this project. NASA is already operating at a shoestring level compared to the Apollo era and in fact their funding peaked in 1966! The Apollo lander alone cost $11 billion–half the current estimated allocation for 2020. So, in order to do this, NASA would have to cut back on almost every other program it operates, and that would include the planned Lunar Orbital Gateway.

The Gateway is an international project with the goal of building a space station in lunar orbit. Building this would offer untold scientific opportunities and also act as a staging post for lunar operations, as well as missions to other planets such as Mars. I talked about this idea in a previous post discussing sustainable approaches to space travel. Essentially, any mission that works on the idea of traveling directly from Earth to another celestial body can only ever be a glorified publicity stunt.

The cost in terms of resources and hardships involved make such ventures so risky and unsustainable that they really aren’t worth contemplating. So, returning to the idea used on the Apollo program to rush through yet another badly thought-out lunar flag-waving exercise is not only a step backward, but also, given the potentially disastrous short timeline, precipitates an unconscionable risk.

Unfortunately, this is a continuation of the space pissing contest that has plagued NASA from its early days. First, they were in a competition with the Soviets. Now its China (or maybe Space ISIS…). All its major programs and missions were designed to push political goals with any scientific ones entirely secondary, and sustainability and safety have always been compromised. As a result, less viable missions have been pushed forward, while better ones that would have supported sustainable strategies have been notoriously underfunded or defunded entirely.

Certainly the certification process could be rushed, but I hope that won’t happen–that kind of approach almost inevitably costs lives. As my character Joe Ballen says “space is always dangerous, and a single mistake can easily kill you.” The big problem with all of these systems is that this is rocket science, and that isn’t easy.

I’d love to see the US pull this off. I’d be overjoyed to see humanity developing its first permanent off-world base. But with this timeline, such a program will only likely puts people in danger, and no one wants another tragedy in space. It will be interesting to see how this story develops.

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New Post has been published on http://davidmkelly.net/2019/04/24/getting-my-writers-retreat-ready-for-summer/

Getting my writers retreat ready for summer

I’ve posted before about my favorite summer writing spot–a screened-in area on our deck that’s a wonderful sun-trap in the afternoon. Well, this winter it became a casualty.

We had so much snow that it was above the floor of the deck (which is a good 60 centimeters off the ground) and the pressure from the piled up white stuff was so great it pulled the screen out of the channel!

Obviously, we couldn’t allow that to go unfixed. Not only is it my warm weather writing spot, it’s also where we eat most of our evening meals and partake of the finest of wines too! It’s not an understatement to say that the screen room changed our whole perception of the outdoors in summer–bug- free living is the best.

Fixing the screen would have been an easy task in normal circumstances. But now it’s complicated due to the problems with my foot, entailing a careful climb up the ladder. But I made it up there and took the opportunity to add a few more screws to the trim piece to make it even more tightly sealed.

Considering this was the day after the Barrie comicon, I was pleased that it turned out not to be a huge problem and we’re now back in action and all ready for the good weather (coming soon!?)

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New Post has been published on http://davidmkelly.net/2019/03/26/space-tourist-should-i-stay-or-should-i-go/

Space Tourist? Should I stay or should I go?

There’s so much space-related news these days that it’s hard to know which way to look sometimes. After decades of seemingly drifting dead in a cold lonely orbit, it seems like space exploration, and business, are hotting up again.

A few weeks ago I spotted a story on the BBC website about a new private space hotel venture called Aurora Station, asking the question”Would you want to stay in a space hotel?” to which my answer was a resounding “yes!” And then today I came across a video from the Gateway Foundation, an organization dedicated to building the first rotating space station.

The marketing is very slick and emphasizes the need for a rotating station in order to produce artificial gravity to make it comfortable, and in fact practical, for ordinary people to visit and stay. As astronauts have found, even relatively short stays in zero gravity are difficult and bring with them a host of medical after-effects fit to scare anyone far away.

The video also lists some of the very frightening details of the problems suffered by Commander Scott Kelly after his year-long stint on the International Space Station. (No relation, despite the name and the fact that we use the same hair stylist!)

Their plans call for a “Von Braun-type” station to be built, with modules for rent (or possibly purchase) by space agencies, hotels, space companies, and individuals. The idea being to provide the same type of facilities we’re used to having here on Earth such as rooms, workplaces, restaurants, gymnasiums, and all the other comforts of home, but in orbit. The shots are remarkably reminiscent of the imagery in the classic science fiction move, “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

I’m all for this kind of thinking. But to me, there are a couple of “gotchas” in the enterprise. Firstly, their cost estimates are based on public statements from SpaceX’s Elon Musk, and he has a habit of, let’s say, stretching the truth.

Secondly, at 14:44 you can see people disembarking some kind of shuttle, much like you would an airplane at an airport. The problem with this is that the shuttles have to dock at the center of the station, where there is no artificial gravity of any significance–a rather basic mistake for a company proposing to build such a station, and in a video that stresses many times the importance of gravity!

But perhaps that’s just me being mean. I wish them lots of success and would love to stay at the Von Braun Hilton someday. I’m sure I could provide a suitably complimentary review on spacetripadvisor.com in return for an all-expenses paid trip 🙂

In my second Joe Ballen novel, Perimeter, I feature a Lunar colony (Luna Free State) as being a holiday playground, complete with underground “beaches,” sun rooms, and low gravity sports such as GlydeBall(tm). My vision for it is a little like an off-world version of Florida, where wealthy older people retire to ease tired limbs in the reduced gravity, and younger party-goers go to, well, party 🙂

A few years ago, NASA released a number of space-themed “holiday posters” such as this one. (After this winter, a holiday under the ice of Europa wouldn’t be my first choice!) Perhaps I should design a similar one for Luna Free State.

Where would your favorite space holiday be? If you’re feeling creative, make a poster, and I’ll share it on here and through social media!

Safe landings 🙂

[davidmkelly]

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New Post has been published on http://davidmkelly.net/2019/03/20/how-to-find-your-next-great-read/

How to find your next great read

We all know that feeling. You’ve reached the end–the end of the book that was so good you rationed the last few chapters because you couldn’t bear to finish it. Or maybe your “to be read” list is looking a bit thin and is in dire need of some extra zing! If you find yourself suffering from this affliction–known as Book Emergency Syndrome (TM), here are a few remedies to help.

GoodReads (now owned by Amazon) or the smaller (and also, sadly, Amazon-owned) LibraryThing are the most well known reader sites these days. They are excellent sources for new reading ideas and book talk, but you may not feel comfortable making your reading tastes public knowledge.

FictionDB offers a nice alternative, allowing you to track your reading privately, including rating and tagging. Most of the features are free to use, including the extensive list of forthcoming releases.

Bookbrowse.com has new releases, read-alikes, and the ability to browse books by time period, theme, setting etc. Some content is free, but membership is required to view the whole site ($39 US per year).

For some truly hardcore fiction analysis, take a look at Allreaders.com. I tried out the Science Fiction Precision Book/Movie search and I can tell you they aren’t joking about that “precision” bit. I picked a male engineer as my main character (I wonder why 🙂 ), although when it came to selecting “really unusual traits,” I think Joe Ballen has a little of every one!

Public library web sites and their newsletters are fantastic resources for finding out about new books or discovering themed reading lists. Some even offer personalized reading suggestions via a form on their web site such as Multnomah Country Library or Williamsburg Regional Library.

And if you prefer a more face-to-face option, you can always visit the library (or your local indie bookstore), browse the shelves, or ask the staff for recommendations in areas you enjoy. Remember these guys are the pros when it comes to books.

If you use social media (and who doesn’t these days!) you can also search for posts on new and up-and-coming authors. Try searching for hashtags such as #bynr (be your next read), #amwriting (for new authors who are actively in the process of writing), #books for books in general, and add tags for your favorite genre. You’ll be surprised how many new authors will come up. Your next great read is out there waiting for you, guaranteed!

Want to talk sci-fi or science reads? Connect with me on GoodReads. Have I missed some of your favorite reader sites? Let me know in the comments!

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New Post has been published on http://davidmkelly.net/2019/03/06/to-block-or-not-to-block/

To Block, Or Not To Block

I run some fairly wide-ranging ad-blockers on my web browser (UBlock and Privacy Badger on Firefox) in general, and on social media (Social Fixer on Facebook) specifically, and have to confess at being torn by this choice.

I’m aware that many sites are struggling for revenue and need every penny they can get in order to keep going. Even though the payouts from most ad systems are terrible (I’m looking at you, Google), that small income can make a big difference.

But when, out of desperation, sites load up their pages with more and more ads, they become unusable, and the pages take so long to load you could die from old age waiting for them. And when they finally do load, you struggle to find the actual content. (You should hear my wife swearing at recipe sites!)

And I’m not just talking blogs and small business sites here. Have you ever waited for The Weather Network to load, when all you want to do is check the current temperature? By the time you get there the season has changed! Even news sites like the CBC and BBC are slowed to a crawl by ads these days.

On top of this, most, if not all, of these ad systems come absolutely loaded with privacy-busting data-harvesting code (oh I’m looking at you again, Google!) that tries to track every single thing you do on the web and sell it to the highest bidder. This intrusion into people’s activities is now a multi-billion dollar “industry” and even has its own name–the “surveillance economy” or sometimes “surveillance capitalism.”

Although I run my blockers, and do as much as I can to curtail such spying–it’s a battle that I, as an individual, can only do so much about. What we need are real limits on what information can be gathered and how it’s processed. It’s probably time that several companies (Oh hi Google, fancy seeing you here again) were broken up and had their wings clipped, and we need our governments to make these things happen because such groups are far too big for individuals to fight.

So, what do you think? Should we expect more privacy? Should we give up the fight, and say we don’t care what companies know about us? Should we lobby for spy-groups like Google and Facebook to be broken up? How do you protect yourself?

Let me know in the comments.

[davidmkelly]

New #blogpost Joe Ballen, Book three cover reveal

http://davidmkelly.net/2019/01/29/jb3-cover-reveal/ #sci-fi #coverreveal

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New Post has been published on http://davidmkelly.net/2018/12/21/why-new-years-day-is-wrong/

Why New Year's Day is wrong

Everyone knows that the new year starts on January the 1st, often a somewhat bleary day in a lot of households (including mine!) because of the celebrating the night before. But here’s a thing:

New Year’s day is wrong by about 10 days

As theEearth goes around the sun days get longer and shorter depending on where it is in its orbit about the Sun (and whether you’re in the Northern or Southern hemisphere). This happens because the Earth’s rotation axis is tilted by approximately 23 degrees.

As a result, when it’s winter (in the Northern hemisphere) any point on the Earth’s surface spends more time shadowed by the planet making the nights “longer.” While in summer, the point would spend more time in daylight and the nights are shorter. In the southern hemisphere the opposite is the case, which is why for example, Australians celebrate the New Year in searing temperatures wearing beach wear!

Australian Santa

The summer solstice, when the nights are shortest (in the northern hemisphere) falls around June 20th (which is correspondingly the winter solstice in the south). So, what about the winter solstice?  It falls around December 21, 10 days before New Year’s Day!

Has someone stuffed up the calendar, or is the solstice wrong? Or did aliens change earth’s orbit to make it a better place to colonize?

Strykxx evil knows no bounds

In many early cultures, the changing of the seasons was more important than it is now because of the need to plant crops and follow patterns of wildlife movement. So the calendar was crucial to their lives, and people made use of the solstices as a means to stay in step with the seasons. This is why so many ancient monuments are aligned with the sun, and why the time the new year started was so important – it marked the beginning of a new cycle of regeneration and growth.

The problem was that it wasn’t easy to determine the shortest day/longest night marking the changes, so they could be a day or so off here and there. But evidence shows that centuries of observing the skies paid off, and for the most part they were pretty close.

Later, humans invented calendars to help with this important task and track the days closely. This was a big step up, because it meant you could keep track of the changing seasons even if you couldn’t observe the sky closely for some reason (like cloud). In fact the earliest known calendar is one that has been found in northern Scotland and was created around 10,000 years ago!

Of course, it’s not quite that simple. We now know that there are 365.24 days in a year, so there was bound to be some drifting. Though it should only amount to a day here and there, so how did we end up being 10 days out?

For that we need to thank Julius Caesar

At the time Julius was emperor, he formalized the calendar to be used by Rome and all its settlements, which at the time spanned a large fraction of the known world. This became known as the Julian Calendar in his honor, was adopted by the Christian church and spread throughout Europe and its various dominions.

Julius Caesar confesses

Unfortunately, the Julian calendar had a big flaw – it too did not take into account the leap year correctly and implemented a “leap” every three years. This led to the calendar getting increasingly out of time with the seasons and astronomical observances. Especially important to Catholics was the observation of Easter, which by the time Pope Gregory came to lead the church had drifted significantly because of the mis-calculation of the leap year.

As a result, in 1582, Gregory introduced a modified calendar that corrected the discrepancy and made other adjustments to ensure that it would stay in step with the solar year. Unfortunately by this point the difference was about 10 days, resulting in a rather big shift in the start of the year and was introduced to much protest as people believed they were losing 10 days from their lives!

Although Gregory had no direct power to enforce the new calendar, the influence of the Vatican at the time was so great that most countries followed suit in the following years until now we have the situation where the calendar and the solstice are so far apart.

Interestingly, Christmas is closer to the solstice and start of the new solar year than the calendar “New Year”. This is because the holiday derives from the older mid-winter festivals of the pagans and was co-opted by the Christians when they conquered pagan held lands.  This is also why there are more than 40 “holidays” and festivals in the period from mid-December to mid-January most of which were initially inspired by the winter solstice!

So, whatever reason you have to celebrate, enjoy it, and I wish you all the best for the new solar (and calendar) year! 

Season’s Greetings

[davidmkelly]

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New Post has been published on https://davidmkelly.net/2018/11/08/are-we-there-yet-or-why-the-moon-is-closer-than-toronto/

Are we there yet? (Or why the Moon is closer than Toronto!)

When I was younger on family vacations with my siblings, you could guarantee that within an hour of setting off, we’d be chorusing the phrase “Are we there yet?” much to the annoyance of our parents. They’d do their best to keep us occupied, making up games along the way, and we’d always have a few books with us. A far cry from the mobile entertainment we have now! My dad, always the joker, would tease us, asking if we could smell the sea yet (or claiming that he could) or see Blackpool Tower, or some other landmark at our destination.

Now I live in Ontario, Canada–a province far larger than England–where distances are so large that we talk about them in terms of time, rather than a number of kilometers.

So, where I live is, for example, five hours north of Toronto. We’re also two hours west of North Bay, and Ottawa is about five hours east. Of course, the travel speeds vary depending on traffic, (and how far someone is willing to risk getting a ticket!), but these averages work well for most people to get a feel for how far somewhere is.

So, how does distance in space measure up?

Let’s channel our inner Carl Sagan–or Neil deGrasse Tyson–and imagine we have a spaceship that can take us anywhere we want. We need to be comfortable during the journey, so let’s say that this spaceship can accelerate at one g (1g). This is the rate of gravity we feel here on earth, and what our bodies are accustomed to dealing with. In low g environments such as the ISS, astronauts have to be careful of problems such as muscle wasting and bone loss over long time periods, so we want to avoid that.

So we have a ship that can accelerate at a constant one g, all the way to our destination. Of course we want to stop when we get there so we can look around, buy postcards, check out the local nightlife etc. Which means we also have to slow down, so we don’t just zip straight past our destination. To do that and still keep our 1g acceleration-induced pseudo-gravity, we need to decelerate at the same rate. So, what we end up doing is accelerate for half the distance, then decelerate for half the distance. Like this:

This will get us to our destination in comfort, then we don’t need to worry about things like being too weak to party when we get to the Martian nightclubs, or failing to harvest all that kelp in the oceans of Jupiter…

So how long would it take to get places?

Well, the moon is approximately 360,000 km away.  So, if we calculate the acceleration and travel time, we get a travel time of just over three hours. Wow, the moon is closer than Toronto!

Interesting too, looking at the velocity at the midpoint, our ship would reach an impressive speed of over 213,000 km/h. That’s traveling at a fair old clip for sure.

Let’s see. How about Mars? That’s where everybody wants to go, isn’t it? Well, Mars is roughly 56 million km, so at a constant 1g acceleration and deceleration, the journey would take 41 hours, or about 1.75 days. Not exactly a quick run down to the local store, but manageable. The midpoint speed would be around 2.6 million km/h, certainly fast enough to satisfy any speed junkie (even me!)

So, how do the other planets measure up on this scale? Well let’s see:

Mercury is about 91 million km away. The travel time would take 2.25 days, with a maximum velocity of 3.4 million km/h. Venus is 41.8 million km, which would give us a travel time of 1.5 days, with a top speed of 2.3 million km/h. Here’s a list of all the planets (see my definition of a planet):

Name Distance (million km) Travel Time (Days) Highest Vel (million km/h) Mercury 91 2.25 3.4 Venus 41.8 1.5 2.3 Earth – – – Mars 56 1.75 2.6 Ceres (Asteroid Belt) 264.8 3.8 5.8 Jupiter 591 5.7 8.6 Saturn 1197 8 12.3 Uranus 2586 11.9 181 Pluto (Kuiper Belt) 4685 16 24.3 Haumea (Kuiper Belt) 6484 18.8 28.6 Makemake (Kuiper Belt) 6850 19.3 29.5 Eris (Kuiper Belt) 10210 23.6 35.9

None of the figures there look beyond the realms of possibility for a bunch of intrepid explorers, do they? Even Pluto is only 16 days away by these terms, and Eris, the furthest planet we know of in our solar system, is just over three weeks away. Pretty “close” when you consider the average time for people to cross the Atlantic in the 1700s was about 7 weeks.

The speed or velocity at the midpoint for these journeys looks impressive. For Eris, at a distance of over ten billion kilometers, the highest speed reached is a staggering thirty-six million km/h! This compares with the New Horizons probe (the fastest so far launched) which had a heliocentric (Sun-relative) velocity of “just” 162000km/h–less than 200th of the calculated Eris journey top speed. Also, to give another perspective, this is “only” three percent of the speed of light.

So why don’t we all start hopping about the Solar System at will? Well the elephant in this particular room is fuel. A rocket has to carry all of its supplies, including fuel (plus atmosphere and food for a crewed ship) on-board. If we could create a fusion engine, turning Hydrogen into Helium with near perfect conversion of energy to propulsion, a 25 tonne spaceship would require 215 tonnes of fuel to make the journey, and as yet we haven’t succeeded in creating any kind of sustained nuclear fusion reaction. If we assume a more practical fuel conversion of perhaps half that, the amount of fuel for the same ship would jump to 431 tonnes. And at current possible technologies, the fuel conversion rate amount would be closer to 1% of that, leaving a spaceship that requires over 21500 tonnes of fuel. Plus if it was chemical rocket powered we’d need approximately twice as much oxidizer to burn the fuel, adding another 49000 tonnes. This would mean the ship would be well over 99% fuel and oxidizer.

Perhaps that could be done. The whole thing would need to be built in orbit, and would certainly strain our resourcefulness but it would be an incredible sight and a fantastic achievement. Imagine the visuals as the first astronauts send back video of their first steps on Pluto or Eris. They’d be genuine heroes. Especially as we just sent them to their deaths… we didn’t allow for any fuel to get them back! If we don’t want a glorious sacrifice, we’re looking at nearly 45000 tonnes of fuel and over 10000 tonnes of oxidizer.

What happens if we look further out? The nearest star system to us, Proxima Centauri, is 4.3 light-years away. Using the same figures as above, this would mean that the crew’s travel time would be 5.9 years, as measured on earth. Though because of relativistic time dilation, their elapsed time would seem to be just 3.56 years. The speed reached in the midpoint of such a journey would be 95% of the speed of light, and at this speed the ship and crew would shorten to about one third their usual length, before contracting to normal length on arrival. Fuel required would be 12 million tonnes, with 27 million tonnes of oxidizer–for a one-way journey.

This is one of the things that makes writing realistic science fiction so challenging. In my Joe Ballen series, I imagine a couple of technology breakthroughs to help, which allows the ships in those books to accelerate at 0.3g almost constantly, the trick being that they use Casimir-effect (Zero-point energy fields) to create energy out of virtual particles. This eliminates the need for the fuel, but will only work in outer space–the reactors won’t function in an atmosphere and so are useless for landing and taking off from earth. So Joe, Dollie, and Logan can move around most of the solar system in a few months, but that’s as quick as they can get using “normal” engines.

As my dad might have said, “Can you smell the green cheese yet?” 😉

[davidmkelly]

New Post has been published on David M. Kelly #science #astronomy

New Post - What makes a planet? - has been published on http://davidmkelly.net/2018/10/23/what-is-a-planet/

What makes a planet?

Astronomers have struggled with the definition of a planet for several years now, and the debate resulted in the controversial decision by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to demote Pluto to the status of “dwarf planet” in 2006. Many people, including myself, were unhappy with this, having been raised on the idea that it was the ninth planet of our solar system. You can’t bring up a whole generation of kids and drill them into thinking there are nine planets–including Pluto–then suddenly turn around and say “Nyah! Nyah! Fooled you!”

The IAUs definition says:

The object must be in orbit around the Sun.

The object must be massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity. More specifically, its own gravity should pull it into a shape defined by hydrostatic equilibrium.

It must have cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.

Pluto fails on the third point–it hasn’t cleared its orbit. Pluto is in a region called the Kuiper Belt, and this region contains a large quantity of other objects in similar orbits, some of which (Eris, for example) have more mass (though Eris is smaller than Pluto in volume).

The trouble is that strict application of the IAU definition would mean that Jupiter, Neptune, Earth, and Mars would also not be planets as they all share their orbits with a number of asteroids (i.e. not cleared). This has led many astronomers (and lay people) to reject the definition and say we need something better. Well, I’m not an astronomer (and don’t play one on TV!) But I have a definition that I think fits the bill.

If you ask anyone, from a kid to an adult, to draw a planet, they’ll draw the same thing–a circular object floating in space. So that has to be the first point of definition.

1. A planet must have achieved hydrostatic equilibrium through self-gravitation–in other words it must be large enough that it forms a spherical shape.

Again, pretty much everyone would agree that a planet is in orbit around a star, not another planet. So that gets the next point:

2. A planet must be in orbit around a star, and not another planet.

That’s it!

So a “planet” that qualifies under rule 1 but fails rule 2 is a moon or satellite. Anything that meets both is a planet. But there are other cases. Some people call Pluto and Charon, its moon, a double planet. So what could the definition be for that?

A double planet is where two planets are so closely sized relative to each other, that they would both qualify as planets in their own right, if they were on their own. In such a formation neither of the planets orbits the other one in a traditional sense, but instead they orbit a common point known as the barycenter–a point at which the mutual gravitation between the objects balances. This point varies depending on the relative mass of the two bodies and may be inside the radius of one or the other, or external to both.

To me it seems clear that if the barycenter is outside both objects, they are mutually orbiting each other, rather than one orbiting another. So a double planet would then be defined as:

3. A system where two (or more!) planets are in orbit around a barycenter that lies outside both (all) of the bodies. Which would mean that in Pluto’s case, it would be both a planet, and a double planet, with Charon. Interestingly, the Moon is moving away from the Earth at approximately four centimeters a year, so in a few million years the earth moon barycenter will be outside both bodies, and would therefore change classification to a double planet (by my ‘rules”).

Under this definition the solar system would have several more planets. For example Ceres, in the asteroid belt would be classed as a planet as well as both Pluto, and Charon, and several of the other KBOs, such as Makemake, Eris, Sedna, Quaoar, and others.

For what it’s worth, that would make me happy–I see no reason why we should artificially limit the number of planets we recognize–how about you?

Do my non professional ramblings sound plausible, or way off the mark? Let me know! 🙂

[davidmkelly]

New Post has been published on http://davidmkelly.net/2018/04/30/partying-with-klingons/

How I ended up partying with the Klingons!

After meeting some of Crimson Dawn, a group of Klingons from Timmins at the Sudbury Graphic-Con last year, I followed them via social media and heard about the Timmins Comicon, which was held last weekend. Most of the events I hear about tend to be in southern Ontario, so I thought it might be interesting to try something more northern for a change.

The Timmins comicon was a large, two day event, and there was a steady stream of people all day, interspersed with moments where it seemed like everyone in town had shown up simultaneously! As we’ve experienced before, “con” people are typically very friendly and the Timmins crowd was no exception. I enjoyed chatting with many of the people I met there and made friends with a couple of other authors too.As we’ve found at other events, “con” people typically seem very friendly and the Timmins crowd was no exception, and I enjoyed chatting with people I met there and got to know a couple of other authors too.

My Booth

Batmobiling

There were some impressive costumes on display. I spotted Ironman, Spiderman, Wonderwoman, Batgirl, and not one–but two–Batmans (Batmen?), and there was even a fully working Batmobile! With plenty of photo opportunities some of the superheroes (and especially the batmobile) were surrounded by crowds almost constantly!

My favorite costume though has to be the 10 foot high Groot. This guy was seriously dedicated, wondering through the aisles for hours, lighting up the faces of kids or occasionally causing them to hide behind their parents 🙂 .

I am Groot

Avengers Assemble!

On the Saturday evening the Timmins Klingons were holding a charity auction to raise money for the Wounded Warriors Canada PTSD Service Dog program, and I was happy to donate some of my books to the cause. They also invited us to the event, which was a social affair at a local bar in the evening.

Star Wars Bounty Hunters

Batmobiling

To say that partying with a bunch of Klingons is among the more unusual moments in my life would be an understatement to say the least, but with music provided by the incredibly talented Klingon Pop Warrior, it’s safe to say that no one parties quite like the Klingons! It was daft, it was goofy, it was fun, and 100% geeky, and the fact that it was in aid of such a good cause made it even better 🙂

Partying with the Klingons

All in all, it was a fun weekend, and now I’m looking forward to my local con coming up on June 9th!

[davidmkelly]

New Post has been published on http://davidmkelly.net/2018/04/08/perimeter-release/

My latest novel now available to pre-order

It’s finally here! The time is right to release the second novel in the Joe Ballen series. The ebook is ready to go and the print version is all wrapped up, ready to fly into the hands of eager readers.

The official release date is April 21st, 2018 and we’ll be launching it at the comicon in Timmins, Ontario. Timmins is a small town even further north than Sudbury, so it will be a bit of a drive up. It’s not the best of weather right now, so hopefully that will clear up for the journey.

I had a lot of fun writing the new book, and it came out very quickly compared to the first–only six months for the first draft. It brings back several of the original characters, plus a healthy number of new ones to get to know, and is set approximately two years after the first.

The series name is now officially “Joe Ballen.” I struggled over that one for quite a while. Initially I was thinking of naming it after the first book, but “Mathematics Of Eternity, Book Two” seemed a bit long winded. And many people seemed a little put off by the “mathematics” part of the first book’s title too 🙂

Final print formatting was also a bit of a struggle. A combination of me managing to get the wrong cover template and the Createspace site throwing a bit of a wobbly. Unfortunately, when you make a change and upload a new cover, it takes 24 hours to process–making it a time consuming and frustrating process.

What now? Well, Joe will return. Some editing decisions in book two mean that book three will have to change extensively, and there will probably be a delay before the next one.  I have several other projects in the pipeline though and hope to release at least another novel this year, and with luck even more!

You can read chapter one here and pre-order the ebook from Amazon. The paperback version will be available from the 21st. I hope you enjoy reading!

I’m also offering a new opportunity to read my books and this one is entirely free! I’m putting together a “street team”–a group of fans and readers who like my writing and want to help spread the word about it. Anyone who joins would receive a free ebook copy of everything I publish while they’re an active member.

In exchange, I’d ask you to review my books, share information about new releases, promos, and reviews with your contacts on social media and in the real world. My plan is not for this to be too intensive–I don’t expect people to constantly shout about my books. I’ll be setting up a Facebook group to organize it, so, if you like reading my work and the idea appeals to you, drop me a line to let me know.

[davidmkelly]

New Post has been published on http://davidmkelly.net/2018/04/06/ten-spaceships/

Spaceships: a love story (my top ten)

Like any science fiction fan, I love spaceships. Whether they’re real or fictional doesn’t matter too much. It’s just the idea of being to fly off into space and (ultimately) the awesome thought of being able to visit other worlds. But everyone knows not all space ships are created equal, so here are my top ten!

Liberator (Blake’s 7)

The Liberator was featured in the BBC series “Blake’s 7” and was so much a part of the show that it was considered one of the main characters (there were only 6 human characters in the show originally, with the Liberator making up the eponymous seventh). I watched this after seeing the original Star Trek shows, and it was the second ship I really fell in love with. When the ship was destroyed, I have to admit to crying at its loss. It was replaced in the final series by the Scorpio, which was nice, but not even close to the place the Liberator had in all fan’s hearts.

Eagle Transporter (Space 1999)

The Eagle was Space 1999’s all-purpose vehicle created by Brian Johnson (who later worked on the Alien and Star Wars movies). It used an open frame concept and looked very much like the kind of thing that NASA might design. This was a ship that you really could imagine stepping into and flying around the moon. Although designed to work in the lunar environment, they did appear to work in atmospheres successfully too and were a mainstay of the show.

Orion III (2001: A Space Odyssey)

The Orion III was the beautiful spaceplane that appeared in the balletic sequence docking with the space station in 2001 A Space Odyssey, to the luscious sound of Strauss’s Blue Danube. When I saw the movie I was mesmerized by the incredible artistry of these sequences and how they managed to look so incredible and real. The ship itself was a two-stage design that launched on a reusable winged booster, which unfortunately was never seen in the movie.

X-Wing (Star Wars)

I‘m not a big fan of the Star Wars movies, but they did feature a long list of spaceships, many of which were very impressive (and highly merchandisable!). The one I liked the most though was the X-Wing, a small single seat fighter that looked like the kind of thing any boy would want to jump into and head for the nearest battle. Though to be honest, I could have done without the bleeping fire-hydrant stuck in the back!

Klingon Bird Of Prey (Star Trek movies)

Although the good guys have plenty of nice ships, I sometimes think that it’s the bad guys who have some of the coolest. The Bird of Prey in the original Star Trek series wasn’t much to look at, to be honest (especially compared to the Enterprise). But the new design that came with the movies was simply breathtaking and almost reversed the situation in a stroke. The detail is amazing and the design would scare the pants off any space traveler, especially with those folding eagle-like wings.

Starfury (Babylon 5)

I wasn’t a fan of many of the ship designs in B5. Although many were deliberately alien, they often appeared rather ridiculous and simply impractical. But the Starfury was the exact opposite. It looked largely functional and convincing and had the “just cool” factor reminiscent of the F-16 jet fighter. In some ways similar to the X-Wing, this pulled off a similar design with more bravado and looked tough enough to fly through a star.

Enterprise (Star Trek movies)

While I loved the Enterprise from the original series, for me it was beaten hands-down by the “refitted” version that we saw in the original-cast movies (before Abrams came along and screwed everything up!). This was a subtle reworking of the original that added a modern update, while staying in harmony with the original. It was time to fall in love all over again, and I did. And when the ship was destroyed in Star Trek 3, I cried even more than I had at the destruction of the Liberator!

Defiant (Star Trek: Deep Space 9)

For me, this was the ship that gave the Federation something as cool as the Klingon Bird Of Prey. It threw the typical Trek design book largely out of the window and yet still managed to look complimentary with the other ships featured in the various series. According to the show, the ship was originally designed to fight off the threat of the Borg invasion and was described by Chief O’Brien as “overgunned and overpowered for a vessel of its size.” The ship was so powerful that it nearly tore itself apart before the Chief did extensive work on perfecting the design. When you add in that it was the only Federation ship to have a Romulan cloaking device–that just adds to the cool factor. I want one!

Ananta (Mathematics Of Eternity)

Okay I said ten, but here’s a bonus 11th and a shameless plug! My first novel “Mathematics Of Eternity” featured the Ananta (Sanskrit for The Infinite), a prototype starship that could potentially take people to other star-systems. The Ananta is an uncrewed research vessel but important as the springboard for the Joe Ballen series. The series is set approximately one-hundred and fifty years in the future and focuses on the first tentative steps of humanity reaching out into interstellar space. This is an idea I find fascinating, as in most books/movies/shows interstellar flight is commonplace, and people are already “out there.” The ship makes use of Casimir reactors to produce endless power from virtual particles, and is equipped with a Jump drive that can open Bronikov Fissures allowing the ship to slip through tears in Manifold space. The Jump itself is instantaneous, but the fissures can only travel a certain spatial length before collapsing, limiting the maximum Jump length.

There you have it, that’s my round up of favorite spaceships. On a list this short, there are lots I had to miss out. What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Let me know 🙂

[davidmkelly]

New Post has been published on http://davidmkelly.net/2017/12/04/signed-copies-now-available/

Signed Copies Now Available

Just in time for the holiday season, I’m pleased to announce a new purchasing option for anyone interested in buying print copies of my books! At the moment, the only ones available in print are my novel Mathematics Of Eternity, and my short story collection, Dead Reckoning and Other Stories, but the sequel to “Mathematics” will be coming soon!

Perfect as a gift for someone or even if you want to treat yourself. I’m making these available at the price I normally charge for direct sales at conferences (less than Amazon!) plus postage.

You can have your choice of inscription, and if you want them as a gift for someone else during the holiday season, I’ll even gift wrap them for you!

To take advantage of this, simply fill out the form!

[davidmkelly]

New Post has been published on David M. Kelly

New Post has been published on http://davidmkelly.net/free-fiction-a-place-in-the-sun-expired/

Free-fiction: A Place In The Sun (Expired)

A Place In The Sun

By David M. Kelly

Jim Harding was just about as regular a guy as any you could ever hope to meet. He was the kind of man that other men liked and respected and the kind of man women swooned over. Heck, he was so nice that he’d come with a full Mother-In-Law seal of approval if such a thing ever existed.     He was a big shot over at the World Congress and spent his days dealing with the intricacies of international crises and probably averted a war or two–not that he’d ever claim that. You see Jim was not only nice but also disarmingly humble. Did I mention he could always be relied on too? If you needed a hand he’d be there. Some friendly advice? He was the veritable oracle. A buddy to share a few drinks with when the clouds started to gather? Yep, Jim was your guy there too.     He also had the perfect home life with a perfectly beautiful wife, Joan, who loved him devotedly, and two perfectly behaved children who also loved and respected him. They lived in a perfectly wonderful apartment in the fashionable part of the city, and rented a perfectly adorable cottage nestled in the Blue Hills when the summer heat made the city just that little bit too bustling and tropical for comfort.     Despite the importance of his job and the seriousness with which he took it, not to mention the wholesomeness of his family life, Jim had once revealed his frustrations to me over a few too many Martinis. You see, his real love was space travel. You know–spaceships, trips to other planets, little green men and the like–and the fact that it didn’t really exist outside crusty government and scientific circles drove him nuts. If he’d had his choice, Jim would have been living on the Moon, or Mars, or maybe a space-station.     So, he was the last person I expected to drop in to my offices to discuss the business of moving home. And not just any home either but one of the new Excelsior homes offered by Nuevo Mondo inc.     You’ve no doubt seen their ads. “A World For Everyone.” Don’t ask me to explain it–I’m a lawyer not a multi-dimensional engineer. I know it has something to do with probability and alternate realities or histories. But beyond that I’m just as lost as anyone. 

Sorry, this story is no longer available.

[davidmkelly]

New Post has been published on David M. Kelly

New Post has been published on http://davidmkelly.net/signed-copies/

Signed Copies

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[davidmkelly]

New Post has been published on David M. Kelly

New Post has been published on http://davidmkelly.net/2017/11/24/short-reads/

Short Reads For Shorter Days

I talked earlier about how I started writing short stories to help develop my writing skills more quickly, but that isn’t the entire reason why I took to them. When I first started reading science fiction heavily, shorts were a great way to try out new authors and sample the “flavor” of their writing. Many of the writers I came to love had written in the big name magazines, such as Analog and Astounding. Being able to dive into their work quickly was a great opportunity to get that amazing buzz of finding another author who works their way inside your brain to wrap themselves in a choke-hold around your cerebral cortex. (huhhh… not literally!)

Like most people, in summer I like to take it a little easy and take advantage of the good weather (especially important with the long winters up here in Northern Ontario). But then as the nights get longer, well, it’s time to buckle down to more indoor activities. So, it’s a perfect time for catching up with that always growing to-be-read list, right?

Except now we’re all busy gearing up for the joys (or trials!) of the holiday season. Putting yet another squeeze on precious reading time–as if that were needed…

If you’re an avid reader, you’re probably part of the Goodreads community and perhaps taking part in the annual Reading Challenge, pledging to read a certain number of books before year’s end. Now, as 2018 looms as close as humanity’s demise, it’s time to pull out all the stops and knuckle down to making up the numbers. And what better way to build up your profile than by reading a few short stories?

For those who don’t know, shorts (not the itchy, hairy kind!) count toward your reading challenge just as much as any other book. So, instead of having to do a last minute banzai marathon through five or ten novels, you can relax, sit back, and enjoy bumping up your list while sipping on a mulled wine (or hot toddy) with stories that are much more bite-sized!

With that in mind, myself and several other cunningly creative author friends have come together to help you boost your stats and soothe your troubled reading conscience (or furnish the perfect excuse to read more!).

The following eleven authors not only turn out awesome novels, but they’re also masterfully-inventive short story writers. Take a look at the offerings below, covering everything from short novellas to tales so scanty they’d probably be illegal on a French beach!

Of course, you don’t have to be falling behind on your reading challenge to enjoy a short story! You don’t even have to be on Goodreads! Perhaps you just don’t have a lot of time to invest in a long novel right now. Or maybe you really want to start reading for pleasure but want to take baby steps. And if you’re a scrooge at this time of year, most of the books are only 99c or free! Whatever your reason, we’re here to help.

So without further diatribe, here are a few short read recommendations from some seriously talented indie authors:

Amanda Siegrist

Follow Me, Sweet Darling 99¢

Paint By Murder 99¢

(All above are available through Kindle Unlimited)

  Jane Jago

Bolded Hearts 99¢

(Also available through Kindle Unlimited)

Team Holly 99¢

(Pre-order for release on Dec 1st)

  Bea Cannon

Why I Started Smokin’ Cigarettes 99¢

Adams and Eves 99¢

Interruptions FREE

(All above also available through other ebook retailers such as Kobo & Nook)

Dwayne Fry

Old Pops’ Last Beer 99¢

The Six People You Meet In Creative Writing Workshop 99¢

Snipe Hunt 99¢

Pretty Eyes 99¢

Austism 99¢

Ladybug Boy 99¢

(All above are available through Kindle Unlimited)

  Kathryn Meyer Griffith

Christmas Magic 1959 FREE

(Also available through other ebook retailers such as Kobo & Nook)

  Lyra Shanti

The Lion and the Tiger 99¢

The Dragon Warrior of Kri $2.99

Zin’s Wild Ride 99¢

(All above are available through Kindle Unlimited)

  V.M. Sawh

Cinders 99¢

(Also available through Kindle Unlimited)

  David M. Kelly

Three Lives of Mary 99¢

Atoll 99¢

How Much Is That Doggy? 99¢

Fenton Treeby Is Missing 99¢

(All above are available through Kindle Unlimited)

  Kimelene Carr

Sans Espoir 99¢

(Also available through Kindle Unlimited)

C.B. Archer

      Vambrace 99¢

Fallin 99¢

Tango Gourmet: Waltz of Salsa 99¢

Assailant’s Greed 99¢

Navals of War 99¢

Karta Monstra 99¢

All Men’s Space: In Space! 99¢

Elite Fighter II: Quickie 99¢

Slime Pop! Saga 99¢

Where in Hard-Boiled City is Carmella Sanfrancisco? 99¢

Need for Seed 99¢

(All above are available through Kindle Unlimited)

  Christina McMullen

SELIA’s Promise 99¢

 Dissonant 99¢

All the Nothing We’ve Done 99¢

(All available through Kindle Unlimited)

[davidmkelly]

New Post has been published on David M. Kelly

New Post has been published on http://davidmkelly.net/2017/11/24/short-reads/

Short Reads For Shorter Days

I talked earlier about how I started writing short stories to help develop my writing skills more quickly, but that isn’t the entire reason why I took to them. When I first started reading science fiction heavily, shorts were a great way to try out new authors and sample the “flavor” of their writing. Many of the writers I came to love had written in the big name magazines, such as Analog and Astounding. Being able to dive into their work quickly was a great opportunity to get that amazing buzz of finding another author who works their way inside your brain to wrap themselves in a choke-hold around your cerebral cortex. (huhhh… not literally!)

Like most people, in summer I like to take it a little easy and take advantage of the good weather (especially important with the long winters up here in Northern Ontario). But then as the nights get longer, well, it’s time to buckle down to more indoor activities. So, it’s a perfect time for catching up with that always growing to-be-read list, right?

Except now we’re all busy gearing up for the joys (or trials!) of the holiday season. Putting yet another squeeze on precious reading time–as if that were needed…

If you’re an avid reader, you’re probably part of the Goodreads community and perhaps taking part in the annual Reading Challenge, pledging to read a certain number of books before year’s end. Now, as 2018 looms as close as humanity’s demise, it’s time to pull out all the stops and knuckle down to making up the numbers. And what better way to build up your profile than by reading a few short stories?

For those who don’t know, shorts (not the itchy, hairy kind!) count toward your reading challenge just as much as any other book. So, instead of having to do a last minute banzai marathon through five or ten novels, you can relax, sit back, and enjoy bumping up your list while sipping on a mulled wine (or hot toddy) with stories that are much more bite-sized!

With that in mind, myself and several other cunningly creative author friends have come together to help you boost your stats and soothe your troubled reading conscience (or furnish the perfect excuse to read more!).

The following eleven authors not only turn out awesome novels, but they’re also masterfully-inventive short story writers. Take a look at the offerings below, covering everything from short novellas to tales so scanty they’d probably be illegal on a French beach!

Of course, you don’t have to be falling behind on your reading challenge to enjoy a short story! You don’t even have to be on Goodreads! Perhaps you just don’t have a lot of time to invest in a long novel right now. Or maybe you really want to start reading for pleasure but want to take baby steps. And if you’re a scrooge at this time of year, most of the books are only 99c or free! Whatever your reason, we’re here to help.

So without further diatribe, here are a few short read recommendations from some seriously talented indie authors:

Amanda Siegrist

Follow Me, Sweet Darling 99¢

Paint By Murder 99¢

(All above are available through Kindle Unlimited)

  Jane Jago

Bolded Hearts 99¢

(Also available through Kindle Unlimited)

Team Holly 99¢

(Pre-order for release on Dec 1st)

  Bea Cannon

Why I Started Smokin’ Cigarettes 99¢

Adams and Eves 99¢

Interruptions FREE

(All above also available through other ebook retailers such as Kobo & Nook)

Dwayne Fry

Old Pops’ Last Beer 99¢

The Six People You Meet In Creative Writing Workshop 99¢

Snipe Hunt 99¢

Pretty Eyes 99¢

Austism 99¢

Ladybug Boy 99¢

(All above are available through Kindle Unlimited)

  Kathryn Meyer Griffith

Christmas Magic 1959 FREE

(Also available through other ebook retailers such as Kobo & Nook)

  Lyra Shanti

The Lion and the Tiger 99¢

The Dragon Warrior of Kri $2.99

Zin’s Wild Ride 99¢

(All above are available through Kindle Unlimited)

  V.M. Sawh

Cinders 99¢

(Also available through Kindle Unlimited)

  David M. Kelly

Three Lives of Mary 99¢

Atoll 99¢

How Much Is That Doggy? 99¢

Fenton Treeby Is Missing 99¢

(All above are available through Kindle Unlimited)

  Kimelene Carr

Sans Espoir 99¢

(Also available through Kindle Unlimited)

C.B. Archer

      Vambrace 99¢

Fallin 99¢

Tango Gourmet: Waltz of Salsa 99¢

Assailant’s Greed 99¢

Navals of War 99¢

Karta Monstra 99¢

All Men’s Space: In Space! 99¢

Elite Fighter II: Quickie 99¢

Slime Pop! Saga 99¢

Where in Hard-Boiled City is Carmella Sanfrancisco? 99¢

Need for Seed 99¢

(All above are available through Kindle Unlimited)

  Christina McMullen

SELIA’s Promise 99¢

 Dissonant 99¢

All the Nothing We’ve Done 99¢

(All available through Kindle Unlimited)