M Thomas Apple Author Page

Science fiction, actual science, history, and personal ranting about life, the universe, and everything

Venus used to have as much water as Earth. What happened?

May 7, 2024
MThomas

Over time, that water has nearly all been lost. Figuring out how, when and why Venus lost its water helps planetary scientists like me understand what makes a planet habitable — or what can make a habitable planet transform into an uninhabitable world.

https://theconversation.com/venus-is-losing-water-faster-than-previously-thought-heres-what-that-could-mean-for-the-early-planets-habitability-229342

The process in which Venus lost most of its water is called “hydrodynamic escape.” When Venus got too hot, the hydrogen in its atmosphere left. (The linked article explains this using a metaphor of having too many blankets on your bed.)

However, Venus is still losing hydrogen, even though there is too little of it for hydrodynamic escape to work. So, logically, there must be another process at work: “HCO⁺ dissociative recombination,” in which individually positively charged atoms of hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen in the atmosphere react with negatively charged electrons. The process was first examined on Mars, and based on a reexamination of results from previous missions (Pioneer Venus 1 and Pioneer Venus 2), the same research group thinks it’s time to try it on Venus…perhaps a first step to seeing whether Venus had life at some point.

Short story short listed!

May 6, 2024
MThomas

One of my SciFi short stories has been shortlisted for an award (newly created category).

More details when they are available!

(FWIW I referenced the short story in the beginning of Bringer of Light, when Overseer Martin Velasquez asks about the results of a “Marshall” game. Worldbuilding…)

More quotes and quotes about quotes

May 1, 2024
MThomas

Do you have a quote you live your life by or think of often?

I don’t think I “live my life” by a quote (too busy surviving), but I do think a lot about:

“Keep on keeping on.”

“Keep on trucking.”

“何とかなる (nantoka naru – “it’ll work out”)

“Das lassen sein (let it be)”

But also oddly:

“Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead!”

Can you say “Catch-22” in space?

April 30, 2024
MThomas

Japanese space company Astroscale Holdings Inc has unveiled what it calls the world’s first publicly released close-up image taken of space debris, hailing it as progress toward understanding the challenges posed by trash orbiting Earth.

https://japantoday.com/category/tech/update1-japan-startup-reveals-world%27s-first-close-up-space-debris-image?

Hmm.🤔 what will happen to the rocket and the satellite that took this picture?

Well, hello, Voyager 1! The venerable spacecraft is once again making sense

April 23, 2024
MThomas

NASA says it is once again able to get meaningful information back from the Voyager 1 probe, after months of troubleshooting a glitch that had this venerable spacecraft sending home messages that made no sense.

https://www.npr.org/2024/04/23/1246392066/nasa-voyager-1-spacecraft-talks-back

Hmm. Just a short while ago, Voyager’s days were numbered.

I guess these things were built to last… (also built when NASA got a lot more funding…)

The first thing?

April 19, 2024
MThomas

Jot down the first thing that comes to your mind.

No mind.

IndieReader Approved!

April 16, 2024
MThomas

In BRINGER OF LIGHT, M. Thomas Apple crafts a satisfyingly complex future where mankind has moved off Earth but must fight and struggle against the harsh realities of physics—and each other—in order to survive. 

https://indiereader.com/book_review/bringer-of-light/

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Today’s quote

April 13, 2024
MThomas

When you are younger you get blamed for crimes you never committed. And when you’re older you begin to get credit for virtues you never possessed. It evens itself out.

Charlie “Casey” Stengel

WASP-76b is a hellish planet – but with “glory”

April 11, 2024
MThomas

There are many words that could be used to describe WASP-76b — hellish, scorching, turbulent, chaotic, and even violent. This is a planet outside the solar system that sits so close to its star it gets hot enough to vaporize lead. So, as you can imagine, until now, “glorious” wasn’t one of those words.

https://www.space.com/hellish-exoplanet-rainbow-glory-effect-cheops

This planet (located in the constellation Pisces) seems to have a rainbow effect of concentric rings…despite being so hot that iron falls from the sky.

Get ready for the 2024 totality, North Americans!

April 8, 2024
MThomas

Researchers will fly rockets into the path of the eclipse, stand in zoos watching animals, send radio signals across the globe, and peer into space with massive cameras. 

And you don’t need to be a scientist to take part.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-68742516

If you’re lucky enough to have no clouds or rain, that is.

Things the eclipse affects:

  • Radio waves
  • Animal behavior
  • The birds and the bees (seriously; read about what tortoises did last time)

Things scientists can view thanks to an eclipse:

  • The solar wind (plasma on the surface of the Sun)
  • Coronal mass ejections (which interfere with satellites)
  • Dust rings around the Sun and possibly even new asteroids

The East Coast of North America, where most of my relatives live, is currently 13 hours behind me in Japan. So the event will be long over by the time I wake up.

Hope to see video of it on the morning news show tomorrow!

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