#127: Science Fiction Recommendation

One of the most inspiring sights available to amateur astronomers is the planet Saturn, especially when the rings are opened to their widest angle. Along with most views of this strange world comes the smaller pinprick of light known as Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, and second largest moon in the solar system. It is half as big again as Earth’s moon. Titan is often referred to as a planetary moon, and has proven itself to have one of the most interesting surfaces in the solar system, mainly thanks to the Cassini mission, which began mapping Titan in 2004.

Five years before this, in 1999, Hal Clement’s novel Half-Life was published. Hal Clement (real name Harry Clement Stubbs, 1922-2003) was a hard science fiction writer who really focused on the science angle, and the methods used to gain answers to puzzling questions. The novel details an expedition from Earth to study the atmosphere and surface of Titan, searching for biochemical clues as to why humans are rapidly going extinct. The expedition consists of 23 scientists, men and women, and all of them quite ill, and we follow their means and methods used to search for answers. While an amateur telescope won’t reveal too much about the surface of Titan, Clement’s novel will, and the book will likely increase your interest greatly in this alien world. Of course in 1999 we knew far less about Titan than we do now, but this only makes the novel even more fascinating, as Clement uses every little known scrap of contemporary information about the moon in his book. Reading Clement is almost like reading transcripts from an actual space expedition to Titan, and I’m certain many astronomy enthusiasts, especially those with sturdy science backgrounds, would find his work fascinating. Clement earned a degree in astronomy from Harvard, and went on to earn an M. Ed from Boston, and later an M. S. in chemistry from Simmons.

Not only is he a well educated man, but he is also a master writer, earning the Grand Master title from the Science Fiction Writers of America in 1999, the same year Half-Life was published (the author would have been 77). And if this was the only great book he had written, he would still deserve the title. However, though Half-Life contains no aliens, many of his books do. The way humans and aliens interact in his stories, searching for answers to scientific puzzles, is equally fascinating. Some of his best early writing concerns the planet Mesklin, with its eccentric orbit and even more eccentric inhabitants. Even Clement’s fictional planets have strong basis in science fact, and the way he explores them and attempts to solve their mysteries seems to invite readers along for the ride. Here are a few more titles by Clement that I highly recommend, though it is by no means his entire list. Many of these titles are available on Kindle, and will likely be read by the purchaser more than once.

Mission of Gravity (serialized beginning in 1950)

Iceworld (1951)

Cycle of Fire (1957)

Close to Critical (1958)

Still River (1987)

Half-Life (1999)

Messier of the Moment: M 5, in Serpens Caput

NGC 5904 is one of the finest globular clusters in the sky, and it is quite suitable for smaller apertures. My first view was July 19^th, 1985, when I saw it from Lake Penage, west of Sudbury. I was using my 8” Edmund scope, for which I had made stops of 4” and 6”. Even at 4” of aperture I was able to resolve some stars, though not in the central region. At 72x about 10 stars were winking in and out. Moving up to 6” of aperture, the center now becomes intensely bright. 56X gave good resolution, but again only in the outer haze. At 112x the center was hinting at breaking up, and star patterns began emerging around it. At full aperture, resolution was good even at 36x. At 112x stars begin to finally flicker in the central area. The core is literally blazing now, and streams and spirals of stars surround it. The core showed irregularity at 169x, and at 254x fainter stars to the core can be glimpsed. A very small “inner” inner core can now be seen.

Jump to May 20^th, 2020, from a dark site in Kent County, using a 12” scope. While Messier 5 is a rewarding object for a 6” and 8” mirror, in a 12” scope it can be a bit overwhelming. At 60x the cluster is very large, and there is already good resolution from the core outwards to the limiting edges. At 100x the brilliant core is breaking up, with even more stars seen closer to it. Brighter stars seem to circle the core. At 136x and 187x (the best viewing range, in my opinion) uncountable resolving stars seem to resemble a face-on spiral galaxy that is resolving along its winding arms. Other viewers have also commented on this effect.

At 272x the core appears to thrust upward towards the viewer, giving the impression of viewing a snow-covered volcanic cone from directly above. This is a truly wondrous object for amateur telescopes! Optimum viewing time is 10 pm July 3^rd, though it is still high enough several weeks before and after to make a journey there worthwhile.

Messier 5: Size 23’; Visual mag. 5.7; Brightest star mag. 12.2

Mapman Mike