The human colony on the planet Argo has long explored and exploited the technology left behind by an extinct alien race. But then an archaeology team accidentally activates a terrible weapon...
Read More.
"Seldom does a storytelling talent come along as potent and fully mature as Mike Brotherton. His complex characters take you on a voyage that is both fiercely credible and astonishingly imaginative. This is Science Fiction."
-- David Brin
"Star Dragon is terrific fare, offering readers a fusion of hard science and grand adventure."
-- Locus Magazine
"Star Dragon is steeped in cosmology, the physics of interstellar travel, exobiology, artificial intelligence, bioscience. Brotherton, author of many scientific articles in refereed journals, has written a dramatic, provocative, utterly convincing hard science sf novel that includes an ironic twist that fans will love."
-- Booklist starred review
"Readers hungry for the thought-provoking extrapolation and rigorous technical detail of old-fashioned hard SF are sure to enjoy astronomer Brotherton's first novel."
-- Publishers Weekly
"Mike Brotherton, himself a trained astrophysicist, combines the technical acuity and ingenuity of Robert Forward with the ironic, postmodern stance and style of M. John Harrison. In this, his debut novel, those twin talents unite to produce a work that is involving on any number of levels. It's just about all you could ask for in a hardcore SF adventure."
-- Paul di Fillippo, SCI-FI.COM
With the loss of NASA and NSF funding (due to grants expiring, funding opportunities being canceled, and dropping application success rates), we have moved to a version of Launch Pad that no longer offers travel stipends and charges tuition. We hate to do this because we feel participants, while gaining valuable personal knowledge, already offer [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »>Still on vacation, with another week plus to go. The internet is pretty flaky here at the hotel in Dumaguete, Philippines where my wife and I are staying, so the blogging hasn’t been there this week. While the internet does seem to be behaving well at the moment, I wanted to share some good news. [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »>The statement can be found here online. Here it is below with some of my thoughts. The American Astronomical Society (AAS) has issued a statement addressing the potential elimination of the education and public outreach (EPO) activities in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, as called for in President Obama’s fiscal year (FY) 2014 budget proposal. The [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »>This has been a rough week for me on the funding front, getting two NSF grant proposals turned down. I expected it at some level, since the odds have gotten so bad (about 10-12% in astronomy, last time I saw hard numbers). So you have to have a great proposal, or at least one that [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments »>Hank Green of Scishow: I have grant proposals in, less likely to be funded now. One source of past Launchpad funding totally gone now, another much harder to get. Instead of oil subsidies, how about science and education investments? Share/Bookmark
Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments »>I wanted to pass on an informational email from the American Astronomical Society on this topic: Informational Email 2012-11 Joel Parriott, Director of Public Policy joel.parriott@aas.org Subject: The Fiscal Cliff and the American Astronomical Society The President and Congressional leaders are in negotiations to forge a compromise to avoid the full array of tax increases [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »>I mentioned Sunday about planetary astronomy getting a big cut. Now, thanks to the American Astronomical Society (AAS), I can report on how the rest of astronomy has fared. Not as badly as I thought, but I also found out today that an educational/public outreach grant program I was going to apply to has been [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »>With the convention over the weekend and wedding planning, some sleeping, I’m behind on these again. Oh, and yesterday’s reading by Steven Drachman was pretty good! I probably won’t get back to being fast and regular blogging until after the wedding, Windycon, and the NSF grant proposal deadline November 15 (and given one of the [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »>Looks like the Senate has restored funding for JWST. This is not the final word. Nothing is final until the thing is in orbit and functioning, unfortunately, and with budget crises continuing I expect more threats to the telescope. Want to know more? There’s a webinar next week: JWST Q&A Session: A Town Hall Webinar [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »>He speaks for himself, and so many of us, so well: Share/Bookmark
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »>Lawrence Krauss on the James Webb Space Telescope: The cancellation of the JWST would likely herald the beginning of the end of US leadership in Space Science, just as the cancellation of the SSC moved the center of gravity in particle physics to Europe. The JWST was designed to take off where the Hubble Space [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »>This is a huge issue to me personally and my professional field, so expect me to continue to post news about this as I get it. I’d heard some grumblings in some quarters about the schedule and budget of the project, as well as the possibility of termination, it’s still shocking to me and the [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »>