June 2014

Robert A. Heinlein omnibus containing Orphans of the Sky, Starship Troopers and The Moon is A Harsh Mistress (Italian Edition)

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The novel “Orphans of the Sky” by Robert A. Heinlein was published for the first time in 1941 as two novellas titled “Universe” and “Common Sense” in the magazine “Astounding Science Fiction” and in 1963 as a book.

Hugh Hoyland was able to be admitted among the scientist apprentices. Like other young people, he refuses certain mystical interpretations of the older generation about the Trip. His ideas are turned upside down when he’s captured by a group of mutants and meets Joe-Jim, the most important of their leaders, a man with two heads.

Joe-Jim brings Hugh to places he had never seen before and forces him to get into central control, where he shows him the universe outside the Ship. For Hugh it’s a big trauma because his people think that the Ship is the universe. His discovery changes everything but how to convince the scientists without being taken for a heretic and killed?

The flying saucer part of the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) system (Photo NASA/JPL-Caltech)

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A few hours ago a prototype of a new NASA system called Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) which will be used to land vehicles that might be very heavy on Mars completed its first real test. A big balloon brought the prototype in the stratosphere, at an altitude of about 36,600 meters high (120,000 feet), over the Pacific Ocean. There, it was released for the test, which had only partial success due to a problem with the parachute.

Artistic concept of the pulsar PSR J2222-0137 and its white dwarf companion (Image courtesy B. Saxton (NRAO/AUI/NSF). All rights reserved)

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Astronomical research are getting us used to really bizarre discoveries and sometimes astronomers can truly say they found a jewel in space. In the past, the analysis of the planet 55 Cancri e led to theorize that part of it is a huge diamond, now a team of astronomers has identified a white dwarf that may have turned into a diamond the size of the Earth.

The CoRoT space probe (Image ESA)

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CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales), the French space agency, officially announced the end of of the CoRoT (Convection Rotation et Transits planétaires) spacecraft’s mission, which had among its purposes the search for exoplanets. In fact, the probe stopped transmitting data after a failure in November 2012 but in the months after several attempts to restore communications were made.

Artistic representation of the planet Gliese 832c neart the Earth (Image courtesy PHL @ UPR Arecibo)

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An international team of astronomers led by Robert A. Wittenmyer of UNSW Australia has announced the discovery of the planet Gliese 832c, about sixteen light years from Earth. According to preliminary assessments carried out on the similarity of this planet with the Earth, it’s one of the best candidates for potential habitability found so far.