Read Online Stellarium (Origins): A Space-Time Adventure to the Ends of our Universe by Fabricio Simoes - Free Book Online
Authors: Fabricio Simoes
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Frank thought about his family — his wife and two children sitting at the kitchen table, giving
thanks for their food. He also liked to imagine himself kissing his daughter on
the forehead as he carried her off to bed. Frank pictured himself brushing his
youngest son’s teeth, while the kid swallowed a chunk of toothpaste, smiling at
his dad with the silly face of someone who knows they’re doing something wrong.
Frank had kept up with this
routine since leaving Earth. Because, as exciting as the trip had been so far,
he constantly thought about how hard it was to be so far away from his family.
He hadn’t felt this way during his eight months aboard the International Space
Station. Maybe that was because he had been able to communicate with them via text
messages or streaming video on a semi-regular basis. Or maybe it was because he
could see Earth from the ISS, and he was put at ease knowing that they were
safe down below.
Allison had noticed the tears on
her partner’s face the first night of the trip, when they were still traveling
through the solar system. She, on the other hand, was in a totally different
state of mind. There wasn’t much on Earth for her to miss. And the discoveries
they would make on this mission would have a huge impact on the field of
astronomy. It was a strange and frightening sensation, but orbiting that star
in Draco, more than 250,000 light years away from Earth, felt like
"home" to her. She was at peace.
That "night" in
particular, no one followed their routine. It was 3:00 a.m. and they were
flooded with data from the probe. In a span of just two hours, after completing
a full orbit around Sater, the probe had already sent more than 3,000 photos
and more than one hour of video, in addition to numerical data from its atmospheric
composition measuring instruments. Fully focused, Allison analyzed the
information and took notes. Russell, silent and objective as always,
concentrated on the ship’s orbit. He took advantage of that time to write in
his diary:
Today
we completed day seven of the mission. The launch from Earth was amazing. The
vibration caused by the rings on the Orion-II was much less intense that I had
imagined. The SLS placed the ship very close to the expected path, but I had to
correct the course shortly after the completion of the second stage.
The
first five days of travel were arduous. Frank suggested that NASA send a few
board games along on the next mission, because it was hard to find ways to make
the time pass. He was obviously joking, playing without gravity would be quite
strange. It’s great to have Frank on the team. He’s very intelligent, and he
manages to keep a positive atmosphere, as well. Allison is also amazing; she’s
incredibly determined and has an impressive knowledge of astronomy.
We
were able to jump through the wormhole after two attempts. Once we arrived in
Draco, we found ourselves very close to Valkiria. However, the planet that we
were looking for was on the other side of the star. We decided to abort the
mission. We tried to make the jump back, but we didn’t go through the
wormhole... and as a result of the intense gravity produced during the process,
our ship attracted a fair number of asteroids. We escaped by activating the
thrust, and then positioned ourselves in the star’s orbit. That’s how we ended
up finding the planet Sater. It’s truly very beautiful. If it were located in
our solar system, it would be one of the most beautiful planets there. We sent
the probe to Sater, and, now, we’re collecting data. We should complete our
orbit by tomorrow, at which point we will be close to the point where we
arrived. Then, we’ll make the jump back home.
Although
I haven’t said anything to the crew, I’m worried about the fragment that hit us
when we were escaping from the asteroids. Nothing has gone wrong so far, so it
seems like the ship is intact. But it will still take us several days to get
back to Earth. If it doesn’t
thanks for their food. He also liked to imagine himself kissing his daughter on
the forehead as he carried her off to bed. Frank pictured himself brushing his
youngest son’s teeth, while the kid swallowed a chunk of toothpaste, smiling at
his dad with the silly face of someone who knows they’re doing something wrong.
Frank had kept up with this
routine since leaving Earth. Because, as exciting as the trip had been so far,
he constantly thought about how hard it was to be so far away from his family.
He hadn’t felt this way during his eight months aboard the International Space
Station. Maybe that was because he had been able to communicate with them via text
messages or streaming video on a semi-regular basis. Or maybe it was because he
could see Earth from the ISS, and he was put at ease knowing that they were
safe down below.
Allison had noticed the tears on
her partner’s face the first night of the trip, when they were still traveling
through the solar system. She, on the other hand, was in a totally different
state of mind. There wasn’t much on Earth for her to miss. And the discoveries
they would make on this mission would have a huge impact on the field of
astronomy. It was a strange and frightening sensation, but orbiting that star
in Draco, more than 250,000 light years away from Earth, felt like
"home" to her. She was at peace.
That "night" in
particular, no one followed their routine. It was 3:00 a.m. and they were
flooded with data from the probe. In a span of just two hours, after completing
a full orbit around Sater, the probe had already sent more than 3,000 photos
and more than one hour of video, in addition to numerical data from its atmospheric
composition measuring instruments. Fully focused, Allison analyzed the
information and took notes. Russell, silent and objective as always,
concentrated on the ship’s orbit. He took advantage of that time to write in
his diary:
Today
we completed day seven of the mission. The launch from Earth was amazing. The
vibration caused by the rings on the Orion-II was much less intense that I had
imagined. The SLS placed the ship very close to the expected path, but I had to
correct the course shortly after the completion of the second stage.
The
first five days of travel were arduous. Frank suggested that NASA send a few
board games along on the next mission, because it was hard to find ways to make
the time pass. He was obviously joking, playing without gravity would be quite
strange. It’s great to have Frank on the team. He’s very intelligent, and he
manages to keep a positive atmosphere, as well. Allison is also amazing; she’s
incredibly determined and has an impressive knowledge of astronomy.
We
were able to jump through the wormhole after two attempts. Once we arrived in
Draco, we found ourselves very close to Valkiria. However, the planet that we
were looking for was on the other side of the star. We decided to abort the
mission. We tried to make the jump back, but we didn’t go through the
wormhole... and as a result of the intense gravity produced during the process,
our ship attracted a fair number of asteroids. We escaped by activating the
thrust, and then positioned ourselves in the star’s orbit. That’s how we ended
up finding the planet Sater. It’s truly very beautiful. If it were located in
our solar system, it would be one of the most beautiful planets there. We sent
the probe to Sater, and, now, we’re collecting data. We should complete our
orbit by tomorrow, at which point we will be close to the point where we
arrived. Then, we’ll make the jump back home.
Although
I haven’t said anything to the crew, I’m worried about the fragment that hit us
when we were escaping from the asteroids. Nothing has gone wrong so far, so it
seems like the ship is intact. But it will still take us several days to get
back to Earth. If it doesn’t
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