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mysticstronomy · 4 months ago

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DID MARS EVER CONTAIN WATER??

Blog#428

Saturday, August 17th, 2024.

Welcome back,

While the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn contain water, Mars remains dry. Despite dozens of space missions, the Red Planet has yet to provide convincing proof that it conceals significant water reserves beneath its surface.

Yet Earth's little cousin hasn't always been so secretive. Various studies have shown that a little over 4 billion years ago, it experienced a "watery" era when lakes, rivers and perhaps even oceans could maintain themselves on its soil. Branching valleys and ancient terrains rich in hydrated clays are evidence of this blissful period of abundance.

Subsequently, the loss of part of the Martian atmosphere led to a reduction in the greenhouse effect followed by a gradual disappearance of water. The question is how long this process lasted and under what conditions. This is what the American Space Agency's (NASA) Curiosity and Perseverance spacecraft have been trying to establish since their arrival in 2012 and 2021 in the Gale and Jezero craters.

"Lakes occupied these depressions 3.5 or 3.6 billion years ago," explained Nicolas Mangold, a director of research at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) Laboratory of Planetology and Geosciences in Nantes.

By studying the sedimentary and clay deposits left by the former and exploring the ancient river delta that fed the latter, the aim is to determine whether the climate at the time was wet and cold, or dry and hot. The Perseverance rover is also collecting samples, to be brought back to Earth as part of the MSR mission [Mars Sample Return, NASA-European Space Agency (ESA)]. They should provide precise information."

For the moment, things are hazy. If water has flowed on Mars, where has it gone? Was it sucked up into space with the Martian atmosphere or did some of it remain on site, buried underground? Many teams around the world are working to find answers by searching for clues to its presence other than those offered by polar ice caps and glaciers.

As water cannot remain in a liquid state for long on the surface of Mars, these investigations often consist of spotting recent traces of its passage using instruments placed in orbit. This opens the way to all kinds of controversy about how to interpret observations of this world, whose morphology is radically different from that of Earth. "Some of these controversies, such as those concerning gullies – ravines 1 or 2 kilometers long, discovered by the hundreds along certain landforms in the early 2000s – have finally been settled," said Susan Conway, a CNRS researcher at the Laboratory of Planetology and Geosciences in Nantes.

Her team recently demonstrated in the journal Nature Communications that seasonal deposits of dry ice explain the phenomenon, and not water flows.

Other clues continue to fuel debate and even controversy among scientists. The nature of "equatorial dark flows," the background noise of radar signals suggesting the existence of an underground sea beneath the North Cap, the presence of possible channels in the ejecta of impact craters and the hypothetical formation of "rides" in areas of glacial retreat. If water exists on Mars, it is well camouflaged.

Why not deep underground, frozen in the cryosphere? Or preserved in liquid form in aquifers, or inside the thin film of perchlorate brine that supposedly exists at the base of the permafrost that covers Mars at high latitudes? The Marsis and Sharad radars of the Mars Express (ESA) and MRO (NASA) probes have pinpointed promising regions. And when NASA's Phoenix lander dug a few centimeters into the frozen ground just after it arrived in 2008, it immediately uncovered blocks of water ice – a further reason for hypothesis and speculation.

Originally published on https://www.lemonde.fr

COMING UP!!

(Wednesday, August 21st, 2024)

"DID LIFE EXIST ON VENUS??"

#astronomy #outer space #alternate universe #astrophysics #universe #spacecraft #white universe #space #parallel universe #astrophotography

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livingforstars · 5 months ago

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A View from Venus: Rift Valley - June 24th, 1996.

"Colour information from the Soviet Venera landers and radar data from the Magellan spacecraft were used to construct this striking perspective view of the Venusian landscape. In this computer generated image, the vertical scale has been exagerated. In the foreground is the edge of a rift valley created by faulting in the crust of Venus. The valley runs all the way to the base of Gula Mons, a 2 mile high volcano seen here on the right, some 450 miles in the distance. On the left is another volcano, Sif Mons. Using radar to pierce the dense clouds continuously shrouding the face of Venus, Magellan was able to explore over 98% of the Venusian surface, revealing a diverse and tantalising topography."

#nasa #space #cosmos #universe #astronomy #astrophysics #astrophotography #venus

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scifigeneration · 25 days ago

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Carl Sagan’s scientific legacy extends far beyond ‘Cosmos’

by Jean-Luc Margot, Professor of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles

On Nov. 9, 2024, the world will mark Carl Sagan’s 90th birthday – but sadly without Sagan, who died in 1996 at the age of 62.

Most people remember him as the co-creator and host of the 1980 “Cosmos” television series, watched worldwide by hundreds of millions of people. Others read “Contact,” his best-selling science fiction novel, or “The Dragons of Eden,” his Pulitzer Prize-winning nonfiction book. Millions more saw him popularize astronomy on “The Tonight Show.”

What most people don’t know about Sagan, and what has been somewhat obscured by his fame, is the far-reaching impact of his science, which resonates to this day. Sagan was an unequaled science communicator, astute advocate and prolific writer. But he was also an outstanding scientist.

Sagan propelled science forward in at least three important ways. He produced notable results and insights described in over 600 scientific papers. He enabled new scientific disciplines to flourish. And he inspired multiple generations of scientists. As a planetary astronomer, I believe such a combination of talents and accomplishments is rare and may occur only once in my lifetime.

Scientific accomplishments

Very little was known in the 1960s about Venus. Sagan investigated how the greenhouse effect in its carbon dioxide atmosphere might explain the unbearably high temperature on Venus – approximately 870 degrees Fahrenheit (465 degrees Celsius). His research remains a cautionary tale about the dangers of fossil fuel emissions here on Earth.

Sagan proposed a compelling explanation for seasonal changes in the brightness of Mars, which had been incorrectly attributed to vegetation or volcanic activity. Wind-blown dust was responsible for the mysterious variations, he explained.

Sagan and his students studied how changes to the reflectivity of Earth’s surface and atmosphere affect our climate. They considered how the detonation of nuclear bombs could inject so much soot into the atmosphere that it would lead to a yearslong period of substantial cooling, a phenomenon known as nuclear winter.

With unusual breadth in astronomy, physics, chemistry and biology, Sagan pushed forward the nascent discipline of astrobiology – the study of life in the universe. Together with the research scientist Bishun Khare at Cornell University, Sagan conducted pioneering laboratory experiments and showed that certain ingredients of prebiotic chemistry, called tholins, and certain building blocks of life, known as amino acids, form naturally in laboratory environments that mimic planetary settings.

He also modeled the delivery of prebiotic molecules to the early Earth by asteroids and comets, and he was deeply engaged in the biological experiments onboard the Mars Viking landers. Sagan also speculated about the possibility of balloon-shaped organisms floating in the atmospheres of Venus and Jupiter.

His passion for finding life elsewhere extended far beyond the solar system. He was a champion of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, also known as SETI. He helped fund and participated in a systematic search for extraterrestrial radio beacons by scanning 70% of the sky with the physicist and electrical engineer Paul Horowitz.

He proposed and co-designed the plaques and the “Golden Records” now affixed to humanity’s most distant ambassadors, the Pioneer and Voyager spacecrafts. It is unlikely that extraterrestrials will ever find these artifacts, but Sagan wanted people to contemplate the possibility of communication with other civilizations.

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Carl Sagan, offering his unique commentary in a scene from ‘Cosmos.’

Advocacy

Sagan’s scientific output repeatedly led him to become an eloquent advocate on issues of societal and scientific significance. He testified before Congress about the dangers of climate change. He was an antinuclear activist and spoke out against the Strategic Defense Initiative, also known as “Star Wars.” He urged collaborations and a joint space mission with the Soviet Union, in an attempt to improve U.S.-Soviet relations. He spoke directly with members of Congress about the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and organized a petition signed by dozens of prominent scientists urging support for the search.

Carl Sagan, speaking out against the use of nuclear weapons, at the Great Peace March in 1986. Visions of America LLC/Corbis via Getty Images

But perhaps his most important gift to society was his promotion of truth-seeking and critical thinking. He encouraged people to muster the humility and discipline to confront their most cherished beliefs – and to rely on evidence to obtain a more accurate view of the world. His most cited book, “The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark,” is a precious resource for anyone trying to navigate this age of disinformation.

Impact

A scientist’s impact can sometimes be gauged by the number of times their scholarly work is cited by other scientists. According to Sagan’s Google Scholar page, his work continues to accumulate more than 1,000 citations per year.

Indeed, his current citation rate exceeds that of many members of the National Academy of Sciences, who are “elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research,” according to the academy’s website, and is “one of the highest honors a scientist can receive.”

Sagan was nominated for election into the academy during the 1991-1992 cycle, but his nomination was challenged at the annual meeting; more than one-third of the members voted to keep him out, which doomed his admission. An observer at that meeting wrote to Sagan, “It is the worst of human frailties that keeps you out: jealousy.” This belief was affirmed by others in attendance. In my opinion, the academy’s failure to admit Sagan remains an enduring stain on the organization.

No amount of jealousy can diminish Sagan’s profound and wide-ranging legacy. In addition to his scientific accomplishments, Sagan has inspired generations of scientists and brought an appreciation of science to countless nonscientists. He has demonstrated what is possible in the realms of science, communication and advocacy. Those accomplishments required truth-seeking, hard work and self-improvement. On the 90th anniversary of Sagan’s birth, a renewed commitment to these values would honor his memory.

#science #science communication #Carl Sagan #astronomy #space #SETI #astrophysics #astrobiology #Mars #Venus #space exploration #extraterrestial life #Comos #Outer space #Youtube

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yesterdays-xkcd · 3 months ago

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Interestingly, on a true vertical log plot, I think the Eiffel Tower's sides would really be straight lines.

Height [Explained]

Transcript

Caption: Top of observable universe.

[Black Hat is standing on top, throwing a black kitty down.] Black Cat: Mrowl!

[Map of the universe from observable universe to Earth. Each area of item is labeled. Labels left to right, up to down:]

(46 billion light years up) Hubble Deep Field Objects One billion light years: Great Attractor. Antennae Galaxies (colliding). Andromeda.

Holy crap lots of space.

One million light years: Magellanic Clouds. Edge of galaxy. Galactic center. Crab Nebula. Orion Nebula. Horsehead Nebula. Romulan neutral zone. The Pleiades, duh!. Rigel. Betelgeuse. Ford Prefect.

[Three arrows are pointing up above three lines labelled “expanding shell of radio transmissions”.] Edge of federation sector 0-0-1.

Pollux. Arcturus. Missing WMDs. Sirius. Barnard's Star. Alpha Centauri.

One parsec:

One light year: Oort Cloud (?). Bupkis. Comet which will destroy Earth in late 2063. Pioneer 10. Voyager I. Eris (All hail Discordia!). Pluto. (Not a planet. Neener neener.) Neptune. Uranus. Saturn. [Two arrows labelled “life” point to two moons, one next to Saturn and the other Jupiter.] Jupiter. Asteroids. Mars. Venus. Sun. Mercury. Spaceship Planet Express: Hey, a heaping bowl of salt! Spaceship Discovery One: Open the fridge door, Hal. Moon. Human altitude record (Apollo 13). 2nd place: Snoop Dogg. Space elevator - One of these days, promise! Geosynchronous Orbit. GPS satellites. Lunar lander: In retrospect, they shouldn't have sent a poet. I have no idea how to land. International Space Station. Space junk.

Official edge of space (100 km): Meteors.

1/10 ATM: High altitude balloons. Airliners. Shuttle Columbia lost.

1/2 ATM: Cory Doctrow [In an hot air balloon]. Everest. Helicopters (6000 m). Cueball: Woo Python!

[A vertical scale is drawn along the right side of the picture, starting at 1 km and getting progressively smaller and smaller.]

1 km. 800 m: Burj Dubai (~800 m). 500. 400. Eiffel Tower (325 m). 200. Kites. Great Pyramid (140 m). Pop fly. Redwood (115 m).

100m. Oak (20 m). A person in the oak: Hey squirrels! Tallest stilts. Brachiosaur (13 m). Giraffe (8 m).

[Megan and Cueball holding the kite are labeled:] Folks.

Title: The observable universe, from top to bottom: on a log scale.

Caption: Sizes are not to scale, but heights above the Earth's surface are accurate on a log scale. (That is, each step up is double the height.)

#xkcd #xkcd 482 #height #2000s #2008

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erijuice · 2 months ago

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Bugtober - Day 8 - Lore:

For the Lore prompt, I will be doing something differently today. Instead of posting artwork, this is a collection of written lore books specifically for my Tales of Bugaria canon.

The Gift

Whether we're dealing with Leafbugs, Roaches, or Giants, we face many hurdles with the language barrier, and thus it can be difficult to decipher their languages.

Fortunately, the Gods have granted a special ability unto a lucky few that gives them the ability to speak and understand both languages. It is what we simply call “The Gift.”

Some acquire it at birth, others acquire it by touching one of the ancient crystals that carry the data and language, and maybe even the souls, of those who have touched it in the past.

I remember there was one bug who could read and decipher the ancient Roach texts. Even so, there are still very few bugs who acquired the Gift, which - to me - is quite a shame!

Just imagine all the amazing things we could learn about our mysterious neighbors if we were to find these blessed bugs living amongst us!

The Flower Gods

Soon after the Day of Awakening, a family of Flower Gods was created. Many bugs have believed that they were the creation of Roaches.

Mars was the first to be "born," ruling over the Eastern Lands beyond the Giant's Lair, followed shortly after by Bugaria's very own Venus. The two were joined by their younger siblings Mercury, Juno, Jupiter, and many others, who ruled over distant bug kingdoms far beyond Bugaria. The youngest of them all is Pluto, who rules over the Northern Lands.

Their different personalities granted them unique abilities. Some of their buds can only speak and hear the outside world, while some of their buds can only see beyond their home, but never be able to speak for themselves.

The question is how did the Roaches - out of all forms of life - create omnipotent beings that control the weather? I have no clue, but this raises even more questions about the ancient Roaches.

Margaret Dolittle

For centuries, we have always believed that the Giants were a long-gone myth. That was until the unexpected arrival of Margaret Dolittle.

This young Giantess, a teenage scavenger from the ashes of a Giant kingdom, had possessed the magic of the ancient crystals inside her bloodstream, thus granting her the Gift to speak and understand Bugnish.

Margaret had famously slain the dreaded Dead Lander Omega, and brought upon a prosperous industrial revolution for the Ant Kingdom. Given her gargantuan size and overwhelming power, Margaret would often ingest a magical potion to shrink herself down and live amongst bugkind.

We know nothing about the kingdom where the Giantess came from, but we are grateful that we got to know more about Maggie's species, we even learned that the Giants refer to themselves as "Humans".

She is still living at the time I'm writing this, and I have to say, all of Bugaria has been a paradise under her protection. She's such a great help to us, probably the greatest help we've ever gotten.

The Wishing Stone

Many children's tales tell of a magical rock that could grant wishes. It was said to have fallen from the sky during the Day of Awakening, or maybe even later.

Legends speak of the Wishing Stone and its omnipotent ability to alter reality unless the wishes are renounced for good.

Some bugs believe that it had a connection with the Roaches, hence why it was hidden in Snakemouth Den. Maybe it was for the best to hide it away, because any bug who would misuse its power would face grave consequences.

It remains somewhere hidden in Snakemouth Den, though it would be very difficult to retrieve it when the caverns of Snakemouth Den are already filled with life-threatening dangers.

#bug fables #bug fables oc #bug fables tales of bugaria #bug fables spoilers #ocs #written prompts #lore books #bugtober #bugtober 2024

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mechahero · 4 months ago

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There's a whoooole bunch of undead guys in Motor City! And while I can't go over every single one of them, here's a small selection of zombies you'll see here! You don't have to use the nicknames for them though, we are all aware of how dumb they sound.

YOU try coming up with a way to tell different zombies apart without sounding like a complete dumbass though. >:/

ROMEROS- Your classic zombie. Slow, shambling and trouble in large crowds. These guys outnumber most of the zombie types here 2 to 1. Compared the zombies they're named after, they're far more smarter than them. While you won't catch them using a rock to bash open a window, you'll at the very least be able to hold normal conversations with them as they're well... normal people still more or less!

You could always ask one what brought them back and sometimes they'll tell that it was due to a satellite that came back from Venus. Don't take it to heart though, it's mostly a joke.

LANDERS- Said to be the victims of a disease (probably rabies or mad cow disease or something, we don't fricking know), these zombies are bit uh... complicated. These guys take the longest to get back on track and get them acting like the humans they used to be. It's no fault of their own obviously, but man is their particular strain of zombification a complete BITCH to work with. It makes them bitey, spew-y and all around JERKS the first few months of unlife.

They're alright once you get them back down to normal but you really gotta stick it out through those months to do it. And the kicker? They can only make more of themselves via biting. Or if they've got a cold and are inconsiderate enough to not cover their mouths when they sneeze. Not that you'll catch any of the ones here biting people though. That's rude and they're more likely to be chowing down on junk food than people. They looove stuff like Ding Dongs and stuff like that.

Not every Lander is the same though, since some of them seem to act completely differently to the regular Landers. One of them snuck up on me the other day, it wasn't fun.

TRAINRUNNERS- Okay, forget what I said about the Landers. THESE guys are complicated. Kind of, I mean. They're fast, super durable for the most part and their strain is also spread through bite and boy, does it spread FAST. It's probably for the best that there's so few of them living here. That's nothing against them, of course but uh... it's not fun to deal with?

And if takes a while to get a Lander back on track, then it takes even longer for a Trainrunner. Which is not as pleasant as you can imagine when they get out of control but hey, we push through. Some of them are kind of prickly people to deal with though. We're not sure if that's because of the way their strain affects their brains or if some of them are natural born jerks. But either way, if you see some literally rotten looking people with varicose like veins and wearing sunglasses (their eyes ARE kind of gross looking), then you're seeing a Trainrunner. Just be cool around them and you'll be okay.

I dunno who originally coined their nickname though. We don't even have trains here?

NEWDEADS- A sort of catchall term for zombies that don't fit in the standard definition of zombie but are similar enough to their regular counterparts to qualify as one. It's not too uncommon to see a Newdead with a pulse (That's me!) but as long as they have a couple of traits seen in either Romeros, Landers, or Trainrunners, they can count as a Newdead. The one difference between a Newdead and the other zombie types though is that Newdeads don't have to worry about losing control and going on a complete rampage just to eat some dang flesh. Newdeads are kind of like humans the most? But also kind of not? They're stuck in a weird in between of being both and neither.

Don't ask how a zombie can have a pulse though. Yeah, I know it doesn't make sense but we're all made and sometimes rot and decompose in different ways and you'll break your brain trying to understand it so don't fricking question it. We're all kind of dead and that's just it! :>

Anyways, that should be just about every type of zombie seen here mostly! Might have missed a few but I can always edit this thing. Or just make new pamphlets. Either one. Next one's going to be about vampires and let me tell you that one's gonna be wayyyy easier! Well bye! ^_^b <- (me giving you a thumbs up)

#//yeah don't ask how much time this took to put together. it took enough and we'll leave it at that DBSHJFHNJ #//was originally going to make this a photopost but it got a little wordy so i turned it into a post that was written ic by lambda #//also keeping to what i said on my last post these guys all have traits that are taken from different zombie movies! right up to their-#//-nicknames being references or allusions to the movies their brand of undead is from #//i wanted to work in dead.ites too but didn't have anything past a short 'these guys are demons using people's corpses to get around.-'#//'- no they are not super old school vampires. there's a difference.' but nothing else was coming up so their section got scrapped rip #//'mocha does that mean most of motor city qualifies as newdeads?' perhaps #//anyways if it wasn't obvious romeros are your classic day/dawn of the de.ad zombie #//landers take cues from zombie.land and its sequel double tap #//and trainrunners are based off of the ones from train to bu.san #//might go and tweak these later but basically the gist is these movies do exist in lambda's universe and there's enough undead for people-#//-to be like 'huh you guys kind of remind me of this movie' for there to be little silly names for it #//ANYWAYS ZOMBIE POST GO THROWS IT AT YOU ALL #hidden depths {info}#city of second chances {motor city}

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thefiresontheheight · 2 years ago

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Wait this is important

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sepdet · 1 year ago

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Venus Is Not Nekkid

aka what does Venus really look like?

Ok so you've probably seen pics of Venus like:

which is amazing 1990s radar data from NASA's Magellan spacecraft that discovered its surprisingly young, almost crater-free surface and fissures and lava flows and shield volcanoes:

Which was a vast improvement, because apart from 6 photos of the surface by Russian landers asking "why me?", all we had before were grainy Mariner & Pioneer images from the 1970s showing Venus wrapped in featureless clouds in visible light or striped in ultraviolet:

Magellan's radar peered through the clouds to reveal a surface less than 500,000 years old. Without plate tectonics to release heat, hotspots ooze continually, resurfacing the planet in a way that may resemble primitive Earth before plate tectonics.

More terrifyingly, Venus may have been habitable for billions of years until it had a massive flood lava catastrophe like the Earth at the end of the Permian, when 95% of life on our planet died. Except on Venus it was even worse, setting off a runaway greenhouse effect that boiled away the oceans.

Most solar system "family portraits" show Venus with Magellan's false-color radar data, naked, stripped of her thick blanket of clouds:

US "Views of Our Planets" stamps (Mercury also false color, Jupiter & Uranus UV I think)

But that's not how Venus looks through a backyard telescope. She's a shining white pearl, which was why the Greeks & Romans recognized her as Aphrodite/Venus.

In 2020, JPL engineer Kevin M Gill reconstructed a visible-spectrum portrait of Venus from old 1974 Mariner 10 probe data using UV and other odd wavelengths:

See this writeup on the image with a discussion of Venus' crazy clouds racing around the planet like a toxic hurricane.

A whole community of astronomers and image wizards has grown up hunting through old missions for data they can crunch and de-noise with data processing tools to create new, better images. Space agencies have taken note and now post data for them to play with.

So when 2015 Japan's dogged Akatsuki spacecraft finally made it to Venus after several mishaps, we got its first [UV images]:

Then they started posting raw data from all their instruments (UV and near-IR, because a white pearl is pretty but not as useful for science) and the image wizards went to work.

[two UV images combined by Damia Bouic]

Citizen scientist Damia Bouic has a whole blog post of gorgeous Venus images she's processed from Akatsuki data: Here's just a few. They're false color to bring out details, but I think (?) she's using the visible-spectrum colors of Venus for the color and the UV and/or IR data for saturation and brightness.

Venus' night side in infrared (detects heat). Check out that funky wave. clouds at the equator move the fastest, but I'm not sure what's causing that.

Another UV image processed by Damia Bouic

TL;DR: Venus is Beauty in visible light, the Beast on the surface, and I guess you'd call UV/IR views "I have a bad feeling about this."

#venus #space #solar system #SCIENCING #cool #nasa #jaxa #space exploration #space photography #science #til

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inkwolvesandcoffee · 2 years ago

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GRAND! NOW I CAN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT WEREWOLF!THORIN😤

RA Masterlist

Thorin is moody and bad-tempered, which doesn’t make him particularly popular with the villagers. Hence is why he’s the outsider.

Not that he minds. He keeps himself occupied with woodworking and carpeting, perfectly content to be left alone and only conduct business when necessary.

Tends to wear his hair in a messy though charming man bun.

Also, lots of flannel shirts.

You two get off on the wrong foot, meeting a few days after your arrival in the village.

''So, this is the city dweller.” Arms crossed, he appeared at your side when you went to check out the venue for your business. “Tell me, miss, what's a woman like you doing in Scotland?''

“I could ask the same of you,” you said, triggered by the condescending tone in his voice. “What’s a Mid-lander doing up north?”

“Answer the question.”

''I'm here to fix up this building.''

''Why?''

''My grandmother left it to me.''

''Doesn't mean you have to do anything with it. Might as well demolish it or sell it. Look at the place. It's in shambles.''

''But it's what my Nan left me.''

''Wow, what an inheritance.''

''Well, if you must know, I have some people willing to help fix this place. All of who told me they'd appreciate a bakery in town.''

''Any experience running a business?''

''N- No...'' you admitted, avoiding his icy blue eyes.

''Thought as much. You look more like an office worker than a baker.'' He snorted. ''Good luck. It's as dilapidated as the castle ruins.''

Nevertheless, he ended up helping with the renovation after seeing you struggle carrying furniture assembly kits, covered in paint.

Thorin didn’t know how to respond when you told him to take a break and have a cup of coffee.

Neither did he know why he followed your movements and felt awkward when your eyes met for a second. Feigning nonchalance, he averted his gaze to something in the distance, feeling rather hot under the collar.

He’s more wolf than man, so he’s not one for conversation and can be rather rough around the edges.

But he also leaves you flowers or berries he finds in the woods when he makes his usual rounds around his territory.

At first they showed up on your doorstep in a rattan basket without a trace of who sent them. However, when he walked by and saw the happiness on your face when you put the flowers in a vase, he added a note.

His handwriting isn’t the best, but that didn’t matter.

What did is that you finally knew his name.

Yes, only then did you learn it because he didn’t introduce himself while helping you set up the bakery and the villagers only refer to him as “sassenach” or worse.

Lycanthropy has already fully erased the memory of his cousins, who live nearby and keep an eye on him.

Appreciates how you make him breakfast ever since he first showed up on your doorstep after the full moon.

And how could you have turned him away when he's naked, panting, and looking awfully pale?

Thinks it’s adorable how you’re so concerned for him.

But you are because you believe he isn’t the monster the others make him out to be. Deep down, he’s a good man.

It takes some bloody work to help clear his atrocious reputation, though.

Let me clarify what makes it incredibly hard:

He frequently hunts in wolf form and returns all bloody dragging a carcass.

Fights tend to break out in the pub whenever he goes there for a bevvy.

He growls and snarls.

People have seen him skulking around the castle ruins naked early in the morning, sometimes covered in blood and grime.

Thorin gives you apologetic puppy eyes whenever you tell him to be a little nicer.

Recently, he went through a drastic change. It left you gobsmacked to the point you had to consciously make an effort to put down the hot tray with freshly baked bread and properly inspect the man standing at the counter.

“Who are you and what have you done to Thorin?”

“Very funny,” he grumbled, self-consciously rubbing the back of his neck.

“Seriously, though. What’s the reason for this?”

“You told me to be a little more human, so I cut my hair.”

“I meant in demeanour, not appearance! Also, why listen to what I say? I thought you were too bloody stubborn for that.”

“Be a bit clearer next time. Just because I don’t respond doesn’t mean I’m not listening.” He averted his gaze to the ground. “All that effort for nothing.”

“You look good, though.”

“I do?”

“Yeah.” You crossed your arms and smiled at him to ease his discomfort. “It’s weird to see you with short hair, but I’m sure we’ll both get used to it. Anyway, what do you want for breakfast?”

“The usual.”

“The rough night one?”

“Mhm.”

“Got it. By the way, thank you for the flowers.” You turned back to him for a moment and bounced on your heels. “I really like them.”

“My pleasure.”

He briefly watched you set off to make your famous deluxe breakfast club sandwich as he sat down on one of the stools and leaned on the counter.

There’s a lot he still doesn’t understand when it comes to you.

However, what he knows for sure is that he doesn’t want to forget you. Moreover, the Wolf and him both are strangely fond of you.

And you’re prettier than any flower in the world.

#Richard Armitage #The Hobbit #Thorin Oakenshield #Thorin Oakenshield imagine #Thorin Oakenshield x Reader #werewolf #Gods; I have a novel right here. Actually wanna write this😅

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longwindedbore · 4 months ago

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Adds “more evidence”.

Proof is sufficient and verifiable evidence.

In this case scientists are attempting to verify the existence of gases which - on Earth - are byproducts of living organisms.

Once there is proof the gases exist then they’ll start looking for non-living conditions on Venus which might produce also the gases. At the same time figuring where on Venus there might be life.

Venturing to Venus to find Life? The Soviet Union landed increasing armored unmanned landers on Venus.. Their 12th - and all time champion improvement - lasted a whopping 110 minutes before succumbing to the Venusian surface hellscape.

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letslipthehounds · 11 months ago

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A Short Tour of The System

Hello Everyone, and Happy New Year!

I am pleased to present my @secretsolenoid-revived gift to @rinovarka!

She asked for G1 Cosmos and Omega Supreme chilling in space, so here we go!

Summary: Omega Supreme is on a short patrol of the nearest planets when Cosmos joins him. They both agree that this system is very interesting, and very pretty

AO3 link

Omega Supreme caught a glint just to the side. He turned a sensor that direction, and it registered a smaller space craft heading toward him.

He tensed for a moment, then realized that it was a familiar spacecraft.

Cosmos slid to a relative stop next to him. "Hi, Omega," Cosmos transmitted. "I noticed that you were in this part of the system. Is anything wrong?"

"No, nothing is wrong," Omega responded. "I am just on a patrol. Prime suggested that I might like a chance to fly a longer route than just back and forth."

"I see," Cosmos said. "Have you found anything interesting?"

"No," Omega said. "There was a very small rocky asteroid that looks like it's temporarily orbiting Venus, but that's it."

"I like it when Asteroids do that," Cosmos said. "It's like they're visiting the planet for a bit."

"Yes," Omega said. "Wasn't there one orbiting Earth, too?"

"It's left Earth orbit," Cosmos said. "It'll probably return soon, but I haven't done the math. There's one- I think that one's a comet- that's around Jupiter, though. I saw it a few passes through the system ago."

Omega nodded. "I saw it. But Jupiter is so big, it has lots of small bits of rock around it."

"I think this one is different," Cosmos said. "It's really erratic. I think if things don't change, it’ll go back to orbiting the sun."

Omega considered that. "That might be interesting to watch."

"I'd need to do some math to make sure," Cosmos said. "But it might happen next year."

Omega nodded. "We might have to go and see, if we have time," Omega said.

"And if the Decepticons don't try something."

"Yes, that is true," Omega said. “They are always trying something.”

They flew on, side by side, for a while.

The orbit of the fourth planet was approaching. Mars was a quarter of the orbit ahead of them and they wouldn’t see the planet if they kept this direction of travel. Omega let Cosmos know and they altered their paths. “I have to check on Mars, make sure the Decepticons haven’t set up a base there again.”

“One thing about the Decepticons,” Cosmos said. “They keep trying, but at least they keep trying in new ways.”

“True,” Omega said. “But Jazz did point out that sometimes they’ll use old strategies, thinking we won’t expect them to try again.”

Cosmos hummed along the comm line, just letting Omega know he heard.

“Well, it won’t take long,” Cosmos said. “And maybe we can look for some of the old landers.

“That would be fun,” Omega said. “They’re small, though.”

“True,” Cosmos replied.

They flew on, side by side without speaking for a while. As they approached Mars and slid into orbit around the small red planet, Omega broke the silence. “Cosmos, look out!”

Reflexively, Cosmos dove down. As he did, he realized that he had been about to crash into Deimos.

“Thanks,” he said as he stabilized his flight.

“You really should pay more attention to where you’re flying,” Omega scolded mildly.

“Everything’s just so pretty, it’s hard,” Cosmos said. “Even Deimos.”

“Deimos is a tiny rock in space, just like so many others.”

“It’s a tiny rock that has interesting craters,” Cosmos retorted. “And I like the color.”

“It’s gray.”

“It’s a pretty gray,” Cosmos said.

Omega chuckled at that. “I suppose it is,” he conceded. “Will you help me scan Mars? From a safe distance, of course.”

“Sure,” Cosmos said. “I’d love to.”

They split up, Cosmos taking north to south and Omega east to west. That way, they’d both cover the entire planet, but at different times and they could hope that if one of them missed something, the other would find it.

It was companionable, even if they were separated by quite a bit of space, and at times, the entire bulk of the planet. They finally met back up just outside Phobos’ orbit. Omega hadn’t found any sign of the Decepticons.

“Nothing Decepticon,” Cosmos said. “I found what I think is Mars 3, and what is definitely Viking 1.” He sounded happy about it.”

“I didn’t find any evidence of Decepticons either,” Omega said.

“I bet Jazz will want us to scan it a few more times in the next year or so, just to be safe,” Cosmos said.

“Probably,” Omega agreed. “I’m going to send my report to Earth, then head for the outer giants. I’m supposed to check the larger moons of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, as well as the planets themselves, in the next year or so. Jupiter is in a good position right now, so I’m going to check.”

“Do you want someone to travel with?” Cosmos asked.

“I would enjoy the company, if you don’t mind.

“I would enjoy it,” Cosmos said. “I can check on that little rock. If I’m right, Jupiter will slingshot it closer to Earth. The humans might be able to find it.”

Omega chuckled. “Transmitting my report,” he said as he contacted Teletraan One.

He finished chatting with the bot on duty- Sideswipe- and turned his attention back to the space around him. Cosmos was idly orbiting around him as he waited.

“Jupiter?” Cosmos asked.

“It’s in a good position right now,” Omega agreed.

They headed out. After a quick scan of the area between the fourth and fifth planets, they chose their path. Jupiter and Mars were fairly close to each other right now, so it would not be a long journey.

Omega didn’t go full speed, mostly because Cosmos was slower than he was, and he was enjoying having someone to talk to.

"This system is really pretty," Cosmos said, as they passed through the area marked as an asteroid belt. Of course, there weren’t any of the rocks in this part, they had made sure it was safe before traveling through the belt.

They passed by the nearest asteroid- a small rocky blob less than kilometer long that was still only on the edge of their sensors. Aside from an increase in space dust, that was the only indication they were in a belt.

Cosmos deployed a scoop and let it gather some of the dust. “Perceptor asked me to pick up some dust next time I travelled through the asteroid belt,” he said. “He wanted to check for rare minerals, I think.”

“Perceptor is always focused on his science,” Omega said. “I wonder if he just wants to know, or if he thinks it might be useful.”

Cosmos giggled. “Probably he just wants to know, but he’ll find something useful anyway.”

Omega had to admit, Cosmos was probably right.

As they angled toward the spot of light that their sensors showed was a gas giant, Cosmos reeled in the scoop. “The Great Red Spot won’t be in view when we arrive,” he said. “But it should be visible before we finish scanning the moons.”

“Depending on how long it takes, we might see it several times.”

“That’d be nice,” Cosmos said. “I wonder why we don’t use Jupiter’s storms for power,” he said. “It would take some effort to get out here and build a power station, but the wind speeds could power a large energon factory.”

“We’ll suggest it to Prime when we get back,” Omega said. “He and the command team could decide if it’s possible.”

Cosmos hummed. “And the scientists,” he added.

They slid into orbit around Jupiter just inside of Callisto’s orbit. “Might as well check out Callisto first,” Cosmos declared.

“Yes,” Omega said.

They scanned the larger moons, and found no sign of Decepticon activity, though Cosmos got very exited about Europa for a moment, and Omega had to calm him down- he was drifting a little too close to the icy moon.

Cosmos laughingly thanked him, and they lingered over Europa. “I wish my scanners weren’t tuned for Cybertronian matters,” Cosmos said. “Or I’d check for signs of microbiology.”

Omega rumbled an agreement. “Someday, I’ll bring Perceptor out, or maybe we’ll get Skyfire to come,” he said. “They’d be able to scan it easily.”

“I bet we could bring some of the humans, too,” Cosmos said. “They’d love that.”

Omega nodded. “Some of the scientists would be ecstatic,” he agreed.

“Oh yes,” Cosmos said. “It’s one of the things I like about humans,” he admitted. “They’re just as curious about the universe as we are. They just haven’t had as much time to explore.”

Omega hadn’t thought about it like that. “I suppose that is true. They’re a lot like us, in a lot of ways.”

Cosmos sent a careful humming sound back at him. It didn’t really mean anything other than agreement. “That’s why Bumblebee and Spike get along so well, I think,” he said after a while.

Omega let himself scan Europa one more time, just because.

Cosmos turned and made his way toward the smaller moons. There were plenty that weren’t visible from Earth, but were still big enough for a small outpost, so they had to scan them.

Once all the moons large enough to hide a Decepticon were scanned- and there were plenty of those- they turned their attention to Jupiter itself.

The largest planet in this system rotated serenely under them, but they both knew the appearance was deceiving. The clouds that, from a distance, were so calm were deadly storms, even for them. If either of them weren’t careful, they could die in those storms.

“If we want to set up an energon station here, we’d have to be very careful,” Omega said. “I hope Preceptor or maybe Ratchet knows how they harvested gas giant wind power in the Golden Age.”

“I hope so too,” Cosmos said. He was hanging back from the giant as they scanned. “But I don’t see any signs that the Decepticons are using the planet, either.”

“Neither do I,” Omega said. “I’m going to take a closer scan, for Perceptor. You stay back here.”

“Absolutely,” Cosmos agreed. He transformed into his root form and spread his solar panels.

Omega approached the giant and carefully scanned it one more time. This time, he engaged his energy scanners for Perceptor. Hopefully, the cheerful scientist would be able to tell them if there was any point in even trying to use Jupiter.

He returned to Cosmos, who seemed to be distracted. He was looking at one of the smaller bits of rock in Jupiter’s orbit. “That comet is pretty close,” Cosmos said.

Omega looked at it, and had to agree. It was likely an icy comet, probably from the outer cloud around the system. He didn’t try to calculate its orbit, not when he only had one reference.

Too late, Omega realized that Cosmos had drifted too close to the comet. “Cosmos!” he shouted. Cosmos jolted… and hit the comet.

Thankfully not hard, but since it was only around a kilometer long, the little bit of ice and rock started rotating harder, and the orbit was almost certainly changed.

Cosmos stood up on the comet and stared up at Omega. Even from here, Omega could see the extremely chagrined expression on Cosmos’ face.

“I’m ok,” Cosmos sent him. He transformed and carefully took off. “I’m not hurt,” he added. “Managed to get some dust in a couple of seams, but otherwise fine.”

“I’m glad,” Omega said.

They both watched the new, slightly wobbly orbit the comet was on.

“I wonder what it’ll do now,” Cosmos finally said.

Omega didn’t say anything, but he was curious too.

“I’ll have to come back and check it out some time,” Cosmos added.

Omega shifted. “We should probably head back to Earth,” he said.

Cosmos nodded. “We’re not in a good position to go directly to Earth,” he said. “We’ll have to slingshot Venus.”

“Venus is a pretty planet,” Omega said as they started their journey.

“It’s too bad that it’s so hot,” Cosmos agreed.

“The fate of all planets too close to their suns,” Omega said.

“Yes,” Cosmos agreed. “But if it had less carbon dioxide, it might be cooler. Not as cold as Earth, but cool enough that organic life could survive it. Right now, there’s only a few microbes that could survive there, I think.”

“And the lack of the magnetic field is a challenge too,” Omega said.

“Yes,” Cosmos agreed. “I don’t think even we would enjoy the planet.”

“No, we wouldn’t,” Omega said. “We could survive there, but there’s no energy to be found, and the atmospheric pressure would require extra armor. Even for you and me.”

“The clouds are still pretty, though,” Cosmos said.

They were quiet for a while as they slingshot around Venus and headed for Earth. As the blue planet got closer, Omega scanned the only planet in this system they were sure life existed. “I think Earth is my favorite planet in this system, though,” he admitted. “It’s so rare to see such a blue and green world.”

Cosmos sent him a quick agreement. “It’s a gorgeous water world,” he agreed. “And the plants that turn it green are pretty,” he added. “I like how it’s so alive, too.”

“Organic life is so fast,” Omega agreed. “They do so much in so little time.”

“And there’s so much of it, all over the planet.”

“That’s why we’re still here. Because there’s so much life, even with all the energy this planet has. If we left, the Decepticons would destroy the life trying to get the energy.”

“Exactly,” Cosmos said. “But they don’t need to,” he added. “I mean, we’ve already got the geothermal collectors and the solar panels going, and that’s more than enough energy for everyone on the Ark. And if we can capture the spacebridge, we can send so much to Cybertron.”

“And if we can get something started on Jupiter, that’ll be even more true.”

“This system has so much,” Cosmos said. “Perhaps, if we’re careful, the means to revive Cybertron and save our home world.”

“Someday, maybe,” Omega agreed.

“Someday. We have to stop Megatron and the Decepticons first. And take down Shockwave.”

Omega chuckled and hailed the Ark. Blaster was on duty and got them a reentry path.

“Thank you for joining me,” Omega said as the dumped heat and speed as they approached the Ark.

“Thank you for letting me,” Cosmos said. “And. Maybe don’t tell anyone about the comet?”

“I won’t,” Omega agreed. “Come on. Let’s get this information to Jazz and Prowl, and the Jupiter scans to the scientists. Hopefully, it’ll all be useful.”

Cosmos laughed. “Even if it’s just to say that there’s nothing there, we can cross that off the list, it’s useful,” he said as he landed right in front of Omega.

They both transformed, and Omega offered his hand to Cosmos, and Optimus Prime, who was waiting for them. “Hello, Prime,” Cosmos said as Omega brought his hand up.

“Hello, my friends,” Prime said. “Did your expedition go well?”

“Well enough,” Omega said. “We have a lot of information, and Cosmos had an idea about Jupiter that he needs to talk to the science team about.”

“I look forward to hearing all about it,” Prime said. “For now, the new geothermally heated baths are finally completed, and you both probably want to soak the space dust off. And yes, we made sure at least one of the baths would fit you, Omega,” Prime added.

“Thank you, Prime,” Omega said.

“I’ll give the reports, Omega,” Cosmos said cheerfully. “Go enjoy the baths!”

Omega smiled down at them. “Thank you,” he said.

Omega lowered his hand and as Cosmos and Prime entered the Ark, he turned toward where the baths had been under construction. He was going to enjoy a warm soak, and getting clean. There were a few space pebbles stuck under his armor that he would love to get out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two years later, Omega chuckled as he got a message from Cosmos. It was rambling and embarrassed.

“So, you know that comet? The humans have found it. Jupiter tore it apart, and it got bright enough for them to see it. And now they think it’s going to hit Jupiter next July!”

He thought for a moment, and sent a message to Wheeljack, saying he’d be willing to carry a scientific team for the impact. He added that the discoverers of the comet might like to come along.

After another moment, Omega started laughing, startling a few birds that had been perched on him.

Only Cosmos.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's notes: The comet around Jupiter they're talking about (and that Cosmos ran into) is Shoemaker-Levi 9, one of the scientific events that got me interested in astronomy in the first place. Look it up, it's such a great story. Also, yes, I did imply that the comet broke up the way it did because Cosmos ran into it.

Deimos is one of Mars’ moons. It’s a tiny little potato shaped rock, and the smaller of Mars’ moons. Phobos is the larger of Mars’s moons, and is… uh… also a tiny little potato shaped rock, but it’s a larger tiny little potato shaped rock.

Mars 3 was the first semi-successful Mars lander. It landed, and transmitted, but only for less than 2 minutes and the only picture it sent back was just gray. Viking 1 was the first successful Mars Lander. It was operational for over 6 years.

The Great Red Spot is a large storm on Jupiter that’s possibly been in existence for four hundred years. And when I say large, I mean larger than Earth.

Yes, Jupiter has tons and tons and tons (literally and figuratively) of moons. I think the last count was 95. They’ve stopped naming the smaller ones. Europa is one of the best candidates in our solar system for extraterrestrial life. It’s covered in ice, but likely has a large ocean under the ice. And just a few months ago, the JWST found carbon!

Venus does have a massive atmosphere of mostly carbon dioxide.

I… uh… kinda dumped a good bit of solar system knowledge on you, hope you don’t mind. Some of the more exact information was from Wikipedia and NASA, to make sure I got the information right. However, you hit one of my many interests by asking about space. I hope you enjoyed!

#my fic #transformers #transformers g1 #cosmos #omega supreme #secret solenoid #gift fic

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