Issue #110 Jan 2019

I did enjoy this episode. It was a little slow at times, but overall, I did rather enjoy it. It was nice to learn more about the new species. It was also a decent length as well, so it didn't feel rushed, or half finished. It had a decent beginning, middle and end, which are important for any length of story.

This episode is a prequel, to before Saru joins Starfleet, and how he manages to do so. It has a strong sense of religion in the episode, which is nothing new to DS9 fans. Though the thing that's different here is that Kaminar is a pre-warp civilization. We learn that they are not a developed world. They have very little technology. They simply believe in the balance of things. That aliens come and take away a group of their people. This allows the others to continue to live in peace, until the next group of victims are selected.

Saru is one of the few who looks up, and wants to explore. To know more about the universe. When a piece of alien technology falls into his hands, he is quick to learn to manipulate it so that he can turn it into a transmitter. Rather remarkable for someone with no knowledge of technology.

At the end of the episode he meets Lieutenant Philippa Georgiou. Which is interesting since she is the same person who got Michael Burnham to join Starfleet. This also gives some more insight into Sarus reaction when Philippa is killed, as a result of Michael.

It's also interesting since Starfleet is allowing someone from a pre-warp civilization to join Starfleet. Though they do state that he will never be allowed to return home. But, will he? By the looks of it, we do get to see more of Kaminar in Season 2 of Discovery.

"TREKCORE: The Saru short coming in December, "The Brightest Star", looks to be more backstory for the character - would you say that and the episode you discussed at the panel focused on Saru's Kelpien history are connected?

DOUG JONES: They are very much connected, and you\ll see breadcrumbs about both in each that relate to each other. All the shorts are very different from each other, by the way. They take place in different time periods, and with different characters, and [are filmed in] different styles, even. Mine is a direct tie-in with an episode of Season Two."

http://trekcore.com/blog/2018/10/star-trek-discovery-nycc-2018-interviews-alex-kurtzman-heather-kadin/

Maybe we will learn about how some people feel about the Ba'ul using the Kelpien as prey, and how this ritual of theirs began.

• January 1: New Horizons probe to fly by Ultima Thule. New Horizon will fly past the farthest object humanity has ever tried to visit, about 4 billion miles from Earth.
• January 3: China to land probe on the Moon. China plans to become the first nation to land on the far side of the moon with Chang'e-4.
• January 3, 4: Quadrantids Meteor Shower. An above average shower, with up to 40 meteors per hour at its peak. It is thought to be produced by dust grains left behind by an extinct comet known as 2003 EH1, which was discovered in 2003. The moon will be a thin crescent and should not interfere with what could be a good show this year. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Bootes, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
• January 6: Partial Solar Eclipse. A partial solar eclipse occurs when the Moon covers only a part of the Sun, sometimes resembling a bite taken out of a cookie. The partial eclipse will be visible in parts of eastern Asia and the northern Pacific Ocean. It will be best seen from northeastern Russia with 62% coverage. (Be careful looking at the Sun! Use proper protection!)
• January 17: SpaceX plans to launch Dragon 2. SpaceX will launch its Crew Dragon spaceship for the first time. There will be no one on board, but it will dock, and undock with the ISS. If it's a success, a manned mission is planned for later in the year.
• January 21: Total Lunar Eclipse. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes completely through the Earth's dark shadow. The eclipse will be visible throughout most of North America, South America, the eastern Pacific Ocean, western Atlantic Ocean, extreme western Europe, and extreme western Africa.
• January 30: India plans to launch Chandrayaan-2. India will launch the nation's second rocket to the moon. The mission will have an orbiter, lander, and a six-wheeled rover to explore the lunar surface.
• February 13: SpaceIL to launch Sparrow to Moon. SpaceIL plans to be the first private company to launch toward the moon. If successful, Israel will be the 4th country to land on the Moon.
• February 28: Launch of Expedition 59. Astronauts Nick Hague and Christina Hammock Koch and Roscosmos Alexey Ovchininare are scheduled to launch aboard a Soyuz spacecraft from Kazakhstan to the ISS.
• March (TBD): Boeing plans to launch its CST-100. Like SpaceX, Boeing has it's own spacecraft that it's working on. Unmanned, it will fly to ISS and back. The flight has been postponed already due to leaky valves, but they are hopeful for a March test.
• Early 2019 (TBD): SpaceX is expected to launch two Falcon Heavy rockets. Called Space Test Program-2, the first launch will send military satellites into orbit, along with an atomic clock. The second launch will send a satellite called Arabsat 6A into orbit.
• April 4 and September 1: Parker Solar Probe to zoom past the sun. The Parker probe is currently the fastest spacecraft, and it's going to get faster with each trip around the Sun. At the moment, it's traveling fast enough to go from New York to Tokyo in less than a minute.
• April 22, 23: Lyrids Meteor Shower. The Lyrids is an average shower, usually producing about 20 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by dust particles left behind by comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, which was discovered in 1861. These meteors can sometimes produce bright dust trails that last for several seconds. The waning gibbous moon will block out many of the fainter meteors this year, but if you are patient you should still be able to catch a few of the brightest ones. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Lyra, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
• May 6, 7: Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower. The Eta Aquarids is an above average shower, capable of producing up to 60 meteors per hour at its peak. Most of the activity is seen in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, the rate can reach about 30 meteors per hour. It is produced by dust particles left behind by comet Halley. The thin crescent moon will set early in the evening leaving dark skies for what should be a good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Aquarius, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
• June (TBD): China plans to test launch New Generation Manned Spacecraft. China will be testing its new spacecraft which is designed to launch four to six taikonauts into orbit. The test will be unmanned.
• June 17: SpaceX to launch a Crewed Dragon spaceship. This will be SpaceX's first crewed flight, with two NASA astronauts. This is assuming that the January 17th launch of Dragon 2 is a success.
• July 2: Total Solar Eclipse. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon completely blocks the Sun, revealing the Sun's beautiful outer atmosphere known as the corona. The path of totality will only be visible in parts of the southern pacific Ocean, central Chile, and central Argentina. A partial eclipse will be visible in most parts of the southern Pacific Ocean and western South America. (Be careful looking at the Sun! Use proper protection!)
• July 16: Partial Lunar Eclipse. A partial lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth's partial shadow, and only a portion of it passes through the darkest shadow. The eclipse will be visible throughout most of Europe, Africa, central Asia, and the Indian Ocean.
• July 28, 29: Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower. The Delta Aquarids is an average shower that can produce up to 20 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by debris left behind by comets Marsden and Kracht. The waning crescent moon will not be too much of a problem this year. The skies should be dark enough for what could be a good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Aquarius, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
• August (TBD): Boeing Crew Flight Test. This test will be a manned flight, with NASA astronauts Eric Boe and Nicole Aunapu Mann and Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson.
• August 12, 13: Perseids Meteor Shower. The Perseids is one of the best meteor showers to observe, producing up to 60 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by comet Swift-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1862. The Perseids are famous for producing a large number of bright meteors. The nearly full moon will block out most of the fainter meteors this year, but the Perseids are so bright and numerous that it could still be a good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Perseus, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
• October 8: Draconids Meteor Shower. The Draconids is a minor meteor shower producing only about 10 meteors per hour. It is produced by dust grains left behind by comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner, which was first discovered in 1900. The Draconids is an unusual shower in that the best viewing is in the early evening instead of early morning like most other showers. The first quarter moon will set shortly after midnight leaving fairly dark skies for observing. Best viewing will be in the early evening from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Draco, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
• October 21, 22: Orionids Meteor Shower. The Orionids is an average shower producing up to 20 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Halley, which has been known and observed since ancient times. The second quarter moon will block some of the fainter meteors this year, but the Orionids tend to be fairly bright so it could still be a good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Orion, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
• Late 2019 (TBD): China intends to launch Chang'e-5 to bring back samples from the Moon. China is planning a mission to the moon that would return 5 pounds of their first samples of the Moon.
• November 5, 6: Taurids Meteor Shower. The Taurids is a long-running minor meteor shower producing only about 5-10 meteors per hour. It is unusual in that it consists of two separate streams. The first is produced by dust grains left behind by Asteroid 2004 TG10. The second stream is produced by debris left behind by Comet 2P Encke. The first quarter moon will set shortly after midnight leaving dark skies for viewing. Best viewing will be just after midnight from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Taurus, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
• November 11: Rare Transit of Mercury Across the Sun. The planet Mercury will move directly between the Earth and the Sun. Viewers with telescopes and approved solar filters will be able to observe the dark disk of the planet Mercury moving across the face of the Sun. This is a rare event that occurs only once every few years. The next transit of Mercury will not take place until 2039. This transit will be visible throughout all of South America and Central America, and parts of North America, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The best place to view this event in its entirety will be the eastern United States, Central America, and South America.
• November 17, 18: Leonids Meteor Shower. The Leonids is an average shower, producing up to 15 meteors per hour at its peak. This shower is unique in that it has a cyclonic peak about every 33 years where hundreds of meteors per hour can be seen. That last of these occurred in 2001. The Leonids is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Tempel-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1865. The second quarter moon will block many of the fainter meteors this year, but if you are patient you should be able to catch quite a few of the brightest ones. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Leo, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
• December 13, 14: Geminids Meteor Shower. The Geminids is the king of the meteor showers. It is considered by many to be the best shower in the heavens, producing up to 120 multicolored meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by debris left behind by an asteroid known as 3200 Phaethon, which was discovered in 1982. Unfortunately the nearly full moon will block out many of the meteors this year, but the Geminids are so bright and numerous that it could still be a good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Gemini, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
• December 21, 22: Ursids Meteor Shower. The Ursids is a minor meteor shower producing about 5-10 meteors per hour. It is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Tuttle, which was first discovered in 1790. The waning crescent moon should not interfere too much this year. Skies should still be dark enough for what could be a good show. Best viewing will be just after midnight from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Ursa Minor, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
• December 26: Annular Solar Eclipse. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon is too far away from the Earth to completely cover the Sun. This results in a ring of light around the darkened Moon. The Sun's corona is not visible during an annular eclipse. The path of of the eclipse will begin in Saudi Arabia and move east through southern India, northern Sri Lanka, parts of the Indian Ocean, and Indonesia before ending in the Pacific Ocean. A partial eclipse will be visible throughout most of Asia and northern Australia.

Sources:
http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-2019.html
https://www.businessinsider.com/rocket-launches-meteor-showers-2019-space-calendar-2018-11
https://www.nasa.gov/launchschedule/

The small preview that Netflix gives for the movie looked alright. And it has Sandra Bullock in it, so I figured why not? I'll give it a shot. She's been in some good movies.

Basically, the movie is about these aliens, or creatures, or something, that upon viewing them, people want to kill themselves. You can't look at them, or you're dead. A split second is all that it takes. And the ways that people kill themselves is quite creative at times too. So, to avoid looking at them, you have to walk around blindfolded. Need to go to the store for food? Need to get out of town? Need to take your children down a river? Have to do it all blindfolded. Driving to the store? Better paint the windows black. As dangerous as that sounds, it's still safer than staring at.. whatever it is that makes you kill yourself.

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie. I found it interesting, with good acting, good special effects, with an interesting story. It was some of Sandra Bullocks best acting too. The movie had a few good twists that I enjoyed. And, the movie did make me tear up a little as well. I was shocked actually. I wasn't sure how much I was going to like it. I went in with low expectations really. And when I was finished, I was glad that I had decided to watch it.

The ending was great in some ways, but in other ways, it also left so much unanswered as well. I had so many questions after the movie was done, that I was hoping would be answered. Like what the creatures were, where they came from, do they ever leave? And of course, there were a few times during the movie, where you shout at the characters for them to do something, and they simply don't listen..

I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys a good thriller. Do be warned though, the movie is a thriller. So if you get scared easily, or have a bit of a weak stomach, either watch it with someone you can hold onto, so perhaps skip the movie. Or watch it with someone to hold onto anyways. Always a good excuse!