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electronalytics · 11 months

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Floating Photovoltaic Power Plant Solution Market Growth and Status Explored in a New Research Report 2032

The floating photovoltaic power plant solution market has been gaining significant attention and growth in recent years. As a renewable energy solution, floating solar power plants offer several advantages over traditional ground-mounted solar installations. Here is an overview of the market, key points, trends, and demand in the floating photovoltaic power plant solution industry:

Overview: Floating photovoltaic power plants, also known as floating solar farms or floating solar panels, are installations where solar panels are mounted on floating structures, typically on water bodies such as reservoirs, lakes, or ponds. These systems generate electricity by converting sunlight into electricity using photovoltaic cells.

Key Points:

Energy Generation Potential: Floating solar power plants have immense energy generation potential due to the availability of large water surfaces, which helps to reduce land constraints typically associated with ground-mounted solar installations.

Water Conservation: By utilizing water bodies for solar installations, floating solar power plants can help reduce evaporation and limit algae growth, thereby conserving water resources.

Increased Efficiency: The cooling effect of water on the floating solar panels enhances their efficiency compared to land-based installations. The water cools down the panels, reducing heat-related efficiency losses.

Land Optimization: Floating solar panels enable the utilization of otherwise unused water surfaces, allowing for efficient land optimization, especially in densely populated areas.

Environmental Benefits: Floating solar power plants contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on fossil fuels, making them an environmentally friendly energy generation solution.

Trends:

Growing Market Size: The floating photovoltaic power plant solution market has been experiencing rapid growth globally. Countries like China, Japan, South Korea, India, and Brazil have been at the forefront of this expansion.

Technological Advancements: Ongoing advancements in floating solar technology, such as improved floating platforms, anchoring systems, and electrical infrastructure, are driving the market growth and improving the efficiency and reliability of floating solar power plants.

Innovative Floating Solutions: Companies are developing innovative floating solar solutions, such as modular floating platforms and hybrid systems that combine solar with other renewable energy sources like wind or hydroelectric power.

Project Scaling: There is an increasing trend of large-scale floating solar projects, with installations exceeding several hundred megawatts. This scaling up is driven by cost reductions, favorable policies, and the availability of suitable water bodies for installation.

Demand: The demand for floating photovoltaic power plants is primarily driven by:

Renewable Energy Targets: Many countries have set renewable energy targets and policies to reduce carbon emissions. Floating solar power plants offer a viable and sustainable option to meet these targets, driving the demand for such installations.

Water Bodies Availability: The presence of suitable water bodies, such as reservoirs or unused lakes/ponds, provides an opportunity for the deployment of floating solar power plants. Countries with abundant water resources often see higher demand for such installations.

Land Constraints: In densely populated areas where land availability is limited or expensive, floating solar installations present an attractive alternative to maximize energy generation without occupying valuable land resources.

Cost Competitiveness: The decreasing costs of solar panels, coupled with advancements in floating system technologies, have improved the cost competitiveness of floating photovoltaic power plants compared to traditional solar installations.

In summary, the floating photovoltaic power plant solution market is witnessing significant growth and demand due to its energy generation potential, water conservation benefits, land optimization, and environmental advantages. Technological advancements, innovative solutions, and favorable policies are expected to continue driving market growth in the coming years.

We recommend referring our Stringent datalytics firm, industry publications, and websites that specialize in providing market reports. These sources often offer comprehensive analysis, market trends, growth forecasts, competitive landscape, and other valuable insights into this market.

By visiting our website or contacting us directly, you can explore the availability of specific reports related to this market. These reports often require a purchase or subscription, but we provide comprehensive and in-depth information that can be valuable for businesses, investors, and individuals interested in this market.

“Remember to look for recent reports to ensure you have the most current and relevant information.”

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Market Segmentations:

Global Floating Photovoltaic Power Plant Solution Market: By Company • SUNGROW • Hanwha Q CELLS • Yokogawa • Ciel & Terre • Iberdrola • Trina Solar • Intech GmbH • JA Solar • Guangdong Multifit Solar • Xiamen Grace Solar Technology • Xiamen Mibet New Energy • Huawei Digital Power • LONGi Solar • Yeo Solar • Jinko Power Technology Global Floating Photovoltaic Power Plant Solution Market: By Type • System Layout Solution • Cable Floating Solution • Anchor System Solution Global Floating Photovoltaic Power Plant Solution Market: By Application • Inland Water • Marine Water Global Floating Photovoltaic Power Plant Solution Market: Regional Analysis All the regional segmentation has been studied based on recent and future trends, and the market is forecasted throughout the prediction period. The countries covered in the regional analysis of the Global Floating Photovoltaic Power Plant Solution market report are U.S., Canada, and Mexico in North America, Germany, France, U.K., Russia, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, and Rest of Europe in Europe, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, China, Japan, India, South Korea, Rest of Asia-Pacific (APAC) in the Asia-Pacific (APAC), Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East and Africa (MEA) as a part of Middle East and Africa (MEA), and Argentina, Brazil, and Rest of South America as part of South America.

Visit Report Page for More Details: https://stringentdatalytics.com/reports/floating-photovoltaic-power-plant-solution-market/7047/

Reasons to Purchase Floating Photovoltaic Power Plant Solution Market Report:

Market Insights: Market research reports provide valuable insights into the current market trends, dynamics, and opportunities. They offer comprehensive information about the market size, growth rate, key players, market segments, and competitive landscape. These insights can help you make informed decisions and develop effective strategies for your business.

Competitive Analysis: Market research reports often include a detailed analysis of the competitive landscape. They provide information about the key players in the market, their market share, strategies, product offerings, and financial performance. Understanding the competitive landscape can help you benchmark your business against competitors and identify opportunities for differentiation.

Industry Trends and Forecast: Market research reports provide forecasts and projections for the future growth of the market. They analyze industry trends, technological advancements, regulatory changes, and market drivers. Having access to reliable forecasts can assist you in making strategic decisions, planning investments, and understanding the long-term prospects of the market.

Customer Insights: Market research reports often include insights into customer behavior, preferences, and buying patterns. Understanding your target customers is crucial for developing effective marketing strategies and tailoring your products or services to meet their needs. Market research reports can provide valuable demographic, psychographic, and geographic information about your target audience.

Risk Assessment: Market research reports help in assessing the potential risks and challenges in the market. They highlight factors such as market volatility, regulatory changes, economic conditions, and technological disruptions that may impact the industry. By understanding these risks, you can develop risk mitigation strategies and make informed business decisions.

Investment Opportunities: Market research reports can help identify investment opportunities in the floating photovoltaic power plant solution market. They highlight emerging markets, growth segments, and potential areas for expansion. This information can be valuable for investors, entrepreneurs, and business development professionals seeking new business opportunities.

Cost and Time Savings: Conducting your own market research can be time-consuming and expensive. Purchasing a market research report can save you valuable time and resources by providing you with comprehensive and up-to-date information in a consolidated format.

Overall, investing in a market research report can provide you with crucial market insights, competitive analysis, industry trends, customer behavior data, and risk assessment. These insights can help you make informed decisions, identify growth opportunities, mitigate risks, and stay ahead in the competitive floating photovoltaic power plant solution market.

About US:

Stringent Datalytics offers both custom and syndicated market research reports. Custom market research reports are tailored to a specific client's needs and requirements. These reports provide unique insights into a particular industry or market segment and can help businesses make informed decisions about their strategies and operations.

Syndicated market research reports, on the other hand, are pre-existing reports that are available for purchase by multiple clients. These reports are often produced on a regular basis, such as annually or quarterly, and cover a broad range of industries and market segments. Syndicated reports provide clients with insights into industry trends, market sizes, and competitive landscapes. By offering both custom and syndicated reports, Stringent Datalytics can provide clients with a range of market research solutions that can be customized to their specific needs

Stringent Datalytics

Contact No - +1 346 666 6655

Email Id - [email protected]

Web - https://stringentdatalytics.com/

#Floating Photovoltaic Power Plant Solution Market #installations #Floating solar panels #Energy efficiency #Sustainable energy #Water reservoir solar #Water bodies solar #Photovoltaic power plants #Floating PV systems #Solar energy on water #Floating solar market.

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mysticstronomy · 3 months

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WHAT MAKES A BLACK HOLE GROW NEW STARS FROM??

Blog#382

Saturday, March 9th, 2024.

Welcome back,

When they are active, supermassive black holes play a crucial role in the way galaxies evolve. Until now, growth was thought to be triggered by the violent collision of two galaxies followed by their merger, however new research led by the University of Bath suggests galaxy mergers alone are not enough to fuel a black hole -- a reservoir of cold gas at the centre the host galaxy is needed too.

The new study, published this week in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society is believed to be the first to use machine learning to classify galaxy mergers with the specific aim of exploring the relationship between galaxy mergers, supermassive black-hole accretion and star formation. Until now, mergers were classified (often incorrectly) through human observation alone.

"When humans look for galaxy mergers, they don't always know what they are looking at and they use a lot of intuition to decide if a merger has happened," said Mathilda Avirett-Mackenzie, PhD student in the Department of Physics at the University of Bath and first author on the research paper. The study was a collaboration between partners from BiD4BEST (Big Data Applications for Black Hole Evolution Studies), whose Innovative Training Network provides doctorial training in the formation of supermassive black holes.

She added: "By training a machine to classify mergers, you get a much more truthful reading of what galaxies are actually doing."

Supermassive black holes are found in the centre of all massive galaxies (to give a sense of scale, the Milky Way, with around 200 billion stars, is only a medium-sized galaxy). These supersized black holes typically weigh between millions and billions of times the mass of our sun.

Through most of their lives, these black holes are quiescent, sitting quietly while matter orbits around them, and having little impact on the galaxy as a whole. But for brief phases in their lives (brief only on an astronomical scale, and most likely lasting millions to hundreds of millions of years), they use gravitation forces to draw large amounts of gas towards them (an event known as accretion), resulting in a bright disk that can outshine the entire galaxy.

It's these short phases of activity that are most important for galaxy evolution, as the massive amounts of energy released through accretion can impact how stars form in galaxies. For good reason then, establishing what causes a galaxy to move between its two states -- quiescent and star-forming -- is one of the greatest challenges in astrophysics.

"Determining the role of supermassive black holes in galaxy evolution is crucial in our studies of the universe," said Ms Avirett-Mackenzie.

Originally published www.sciencedaily.com

COMING UP!!

(Wednesday, March 13th, 2024)

"WHAT IS BEYOND THE EDGE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM??"

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

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typhlonectes · 7 months

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The Oort Cloud

The Oort cloud (sometimes called the Öpik–Oort cloud) is theorized to be a vast cloud of icy planetesimals surrounding the Sun at distances ranging from 2,000 to 200,000 AU (0.03 to 3.2 light-years. The concept of such a cloud was proposed in 1950 by the Dutch astronomer Jan Oort, in whose honor the idea was named. Oort proposed that the bodies in this cloud replenish and keep constant the number of long-period comets entering the inner Solar System—where they are eventually consumed and destroyed during close approaches to the Sun. The cloud is thought to comprise two regions: a disc-shaped inner Oort cloud aligned with the solar ecliptic (also called its Hills cloud) and a spherical outer Oort cloud enclosing the entire solar system. Both regions lie well beyond the heliosphere and are in interstellar space. The Kuiper belt, the scattered disc and the detached objects—three other reservoirs of trans-Neptunian objects—are more than a thousand times closer to the Sun than the innermost portion of the Oort cloud (as shown in a logarithmic graphic within this article)...

Read more: Oort cloud - Wikipedia

#astronomy #oort cloud #space #science #space science

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esoteric-chaos · 4 months

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What is Cleansing? The how-to's and methods

The act of removing unwanted energies from a person/place/object.

Cleansing is generally a gentle form of removal, whether it be spiritual or mundane (can also be a very in-depth and harsh process).

Instead of forcefully removing an influence or spirit, you simply brush the energies out of your space.

This process is useful for ensuring that you, or the things near you are clear of energies that could negatively impact you.

It’s useful for creating a blank slate in your environment or preparing tools for spell work and keeping your energy stable and healthy. Negative energies and clutter can impact your spiritual, physical and mental health.

Regular spiritual and physical upkeep is important to keep you balanced and healthy. Spiritual hygiene is a generally important practice for all practitioners. I'm going to share a few ways to do so from my own practice.

Try your best to cleanse every room, not just a single room. Ever had a space so clean but the rest of your house feels gross? It'll be off-balanced that way and it'll be the same way spiritually. However, if you can't you can't. Do what you can, that's what's important.

Remember mundane cleaning is just as good as spiritual. You can smoke cleanse that room all you want but if you still have things all over your floor and molding dishes in your sink, that's still going to bring in both negativity and health consequences. Cleanse responsibly.

Spiritual

Sound - Using a singing bowl, bells, music, chimes, drums, clapping, singing, chanting. A trusty old sound bowl cleansing video on YouTube being openly played in whatever space does the trick just fine.

Smoke - Burning incense with corresponding herbs or herbal bundle. Remember to open a window for negative energy to escape and for safety. Smoke inhalation is generally not a good practice for your lungs. Also, be careful with pets as they have sensitive respiratory systems.

Spray - Infused distilled water with corresponding herbs, oils or salts sprayed around the room to both cleanse and bring in the desired energy. Again be cautious around pets.

Candle - Charging a white candle with intent, dressing it with oils and burning it down to clear your space. Keep away from pets and small children, burn in a fire-safe dish or on tile.

Sunlight/moonlight - Opening your blinds to let solar energy and moonlight to cleanse a space. Only really suitable for that singular space with a window.

Simmer pot - A boiling pot of water over a stovetop filled with intention filled corresponding herbal components that lets off a fragrance to clear the air of negative energy. You can use blessed water for an extra punch if you wish.

Crystal grid - Setting up a crystal grid of crystals for cleansing that room or your house of negative energy. You can either intuitively make your own grid or find one online. Selenite towers as well are lovely for purifying spaces along with being self cleansing. You can use any piece of cleansing corresponding crystal to cleanse but remember you will generally have to cleanse the crystal afterwards to get out any energetic gunk from it.

Salt - Putting out a bowl of salt in what room you’d like to cleanse. Personally I like putting little shot glasses of black salt in high traffic rooms such as shared spaces as I find it packs a punch due to its associations. However do please be careful with salt with pets. Pets have been known to get into things like salt lamps or salt in general and have had very bad health consequences. So please be cautious.

Energy - Your own spiritual energy. You can use energy work to create bubbles of energy around yourself to push out into your space, to burn up and cleanse the energy around the space. This is more of a hard-hitting cleansing method and can be described as banishing. It can also be energetically taxing for fellow spoonie witches or those with small energy reservoirs. Drink plenty of water, have a snack and rest after.

Physical

Vacuum or sweep - Sprinkle sea salt and corresponding herbs on the floor to soak up negative energy. Vacuum or sweep up and dispose of for removal. Historically speaking you move from the back of your house to the front so you can push everything out of your house.

Washing - Physically washing down doorframes and windows with sacred water (holy water, spring water, moon water) and corresponding herbs. You’d go from the back of your house to the front.

Floor wash - Try out a floor wash charged with the intent to wash your floors to fill your space with a spiritual purpose. Get that grime off your floor while reaping both mundane and magical benefits. You’d go from the back of your house the front.

Opening a window - Open that window. Not only will your space be less stuffy but it lets in needed fresh air. If you're in the city near fumes it's a bit harder. Try to get an air purifier if you can, it's very helpful and health-changing.

Shampoo’s and Soaps - For physical cleansing’s try finding herbal based soaps or shampoo with corresponding herbal components for self based cleansing and purifying. For instance I use shampoo with Tea Tree, Lemon and Sage. It’s purifying and I pair it with a Rosemary conditioner for protection. Get creative!

Cleaning products - Cleaning products with lemon for example have been used historically for cleansing and purification. Let the citrus scent leave your space feeling clean and purified with intent. Can either be naturally made with vinegar or store-bought. Either is perfectly fine. Sometimes natural and handmade is good but if you are someone who needs a bacterial spray, it's best to just buy storebought.

Recipes

All-Purpose Cleaner

What you'll need:

One part white vinegar

One part water

Dried Lemon rind - cleansing, purifying

Dried Rosemary sprigs - protective, healing

Combine the above ingredients together, pour into a spray bottle, shake, and then let infuse for a week before using. Strain out the lemon and rosemary. This is great for bringing in purifying energy into your house along with protective properties.

Caution: Do not use acidic cleaners on granite, as they will etch the stone and proceed cautiously on stainless steel. Some manufacturers recommend against using vinegar on their appliance surfaces. Know what's suitable and what's not.

Glass cleaner

What you'll need:

2 cups water

1/2 cup white vinigar

1/4 cup rubbing alcohol 70% concentration

Dried Orange peel - smells good and brings prosperity

Combine the above ingredients together, pour into a spray bottle, shake, and then let infuse for a week before using. Strain out the orange.

Cautions: Avoid cleaning windows on a hot, sunny day or in direct sunlight, because the solution will dry too quickly and leave lots of streaks.

Home Blessings Multi-Surface Floor Cleaner - Not for wood floors

Ingredients

1 cup distilled water

1/4 cup Castille soap

Dried Lavender buds - peace, relaxing

Dried Orange peel

Dried Rosemary sprigs

Directions

In a smaller pot boil together distilled water with the herbal components then strain.

Mix the ingredients and infused water with 2 gallons of hot water to incorporate in a bucket to mop away dirt and grime on tile, vinyl, or linoleum floors.

Remember, store-bought is fine. Look at the ingredients of what you'd like and use your intention. Sometimes making yourself takes up a lot of time and spoons. It's your craft, your rules.

Looking for all of my posts in one place? Check out the Masterpost

#witchcraft #witch #witchblr #witchcraft basics #cleansing #banishing #witch basics #Energy work #electic witch

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heisenberg-simp257 · 1 year

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Hello! I hope I did this right, but how would the four lords handle an S/O who's obsessed with building things? I'm talking model kits, mini towns, the whole nine yards.

No problem!❤️

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The Four Lords with an S/O Who’s Obsessed with Building Things

Alcina Dimitrescu

-She would find it an interesting hobby of yours, but not one that she herself would get into. The whole action of building things, model kits or otherwise, would remind her of Heisenberg too much. And she doesn’t want to be associated with him in any way.

-But still, Alcina loves that you loves something so much. It isn’t the corpses of the dead that you are building with, so she tries to take interest in some of the things.

-She even has given you your own private room in the castle where you can have peace and space to build all you want. Alcina even asks the merchant to bring you such kits or tiny towns.

-Her daughters find the whole thing mesmerizing. There have been times when they have come into your private space, and Alcina has to come and lay the hammer down. She will stay afterwards with a glass of wine to watch you, so long as you are alright with that.

Donna Beneviento

-Oh my goodness, Donna would be so overjoyed at this news because she absolutely loves to build things too. While you were more into these little model kits that she didn’t understand, the concept was still the same.

-It’s like a cute little date that you guys have. She will be working on her dolls in the workshop while you are building whatever project you currently have. Yes, Donna has made space in her workshop for you.

-While dolls are her passion, she takes such interest in anything that you do. This is something that you guys have in common, a passion for creating things. In fact, she might even ween doll making onto you.

-Angie gets bitter over your closeness all the time and, while it’s a bit weird, she will take herself apart just so Donna can put her back together, taking her attention off you. It backfires when you end up being the one doing that.

Salvatore Moreau

-Moreau finds your interest in building things to be the most adorable thing ever. The look on your face that you get when you focus on putting a kit or something of the likes together, he would kill for. Yes, Moreau has just watched you before.

-In fact, he’s taking on a similar interest because there’s not much for him to do out there in the reservoir. But he limits his skills to building those little terrariums full of plants and such.

-He knows better than to try and help you because he doesn’t want to mess anything up. Moreau is very fickle about your relationship and doesn’t want to take a risk in jeopardizing it. However, you sometimes want his help regardless. The staring can get a bit much.

-Whenever you talk about what you are building, getting into a little lecture and all, he listens with such attentiveness. Moreau is all there for you and your interests, caring little about his.

Karl Heisenberg

-He loves that you have a similar interest when it comes to building. However, unlike Donna, Heisenberg sees it as a challenge. He thinks himself the superior craftsman and doesn’t think that you could possibly have the stomach to build what he builds.

-And true. Perhaps your building interests rest more in little towns or models of the solar system, and not attaching metal cores and drills to decaying human bodies. However, your drive in your desires matches his own perfectly.

-Heisenberg secret finds it endearing how much alike you guys could be. While he’s trying to tackle a bitch of an overlord, you’re trying to tackle directions. He’s given you your own room, and even pitches in money for the merchant to help pay for your little crafts.

-Sometimes you will secretly find Heisenberg trying to build one as well. It will be extremely amusing if he struggles and swears under his breath because he always proclaims himself to be so good. Don’t worry, you love him enough to help him, even if he gets all pouty.

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maplewood-grove · 2 months

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The universe was not cold.

And the universe was not lonely. And the universe was not cold. And the humans were not alone, though they did not know it - nor did any of the others know they were not alone, for through the paradoxical void of stars and the permeable, tangible, touchable fabric of space,

they did not know how to speak each other's languages.

And they tried. Endlessly. Yearningly. Piningly. Desperately.

They tried until no hope of communication remained, and even after they still sent messages, trying to form a bond, forge a link between themselves and that which they knew must lay out there.

That which must also be alive.

Yet even as they tried, their presumptions failed their goal, their mission, their desire, their wish to achieve this impossible task.

The humans would call it Herculean. I will not, as I am not human, even if I speak your English words.

I write this for you, humanity.

I speak of a truth too oft unknown. Because I want you to know.

You are not alone in your universe.

Yes. Your universe.

It is one of many.

A universe is something you cannot fathom. Too wide, too dark, too sweepingly wide and yawningly dark and so absolutely beyond your comprehension to realize,

it was once a person, too.

We call ourselves… well. I suppose, in your English tongue, it would be “Star Winds”.

We are older than you. Than your world. Than your solar system. Than your universe.

The estimated age of this span of black and stars and rocks and gasses and signals is only the time since my sibling began to decay after its death.

A willing death, mind you all - I do not wish you to feel guilt or reverence. This is the natural state of us, after we reach a certain point.

We take in all that we can, archiving knowledge, learning, doing, seeing, sensing,

preserving.

Sometimes, even taking form and ruling.

This universe is a sibling I was close to. I have made my home here out of respect. I suppose I have become mortal, too, even as I refuse to forget what I was, what it was, what my kin still are.

And I want you to know the love my sibling would have held for you, that you are here now, the result of its archival reservoirs of knowledge,

the result of its choices,

the result of its love.

Know that you are not alone. Know that the others are so far away, and think they too, are alone. Know that you are doing yourselves proud. Know that the others, even unaware of you, also yearn, pine, and desire.

Know that you are not alone.

For the universe to be, a death occurred.

And the universe said in its final moments, “I love you. I wish you. I want you. Come back. Come back. Come back.“ ”I do not want to be alone.“

And now…

you are not alone.

#Rachel's Posts #Original Writing #creative writing #don't look too hard in to it.#Every word I say is true but that doesn't mean you have to believe me.#Rest well...#know that your creations honor you every day.#I miss you.

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spacetimewithstuartgary · 8 months

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The Young Age of Lunar Permanently Shadowed Areas

Most of the Moon’s permanently shadowed areas arose less than 2.2 billion years ago and some trapped ice during the recent past, research led by Planetary Science Institute Senior Scientist Norbert Schorghofer shows.

“These findings change the prediction for where we would expect to find water ice on the Moon, and it dramatically changes estimates for how much water ice there is on the Moon. Ancient water ice reservoirs are no longer expected,” said Schorghofer, lead author of “Past Extent of Lunar Permanently Shadowed Areas” that appears in Science Advances.

Lunar water ice is a component integral to missions to the Moon, both to maintain human life and for producing fuel for spacecraft. Permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) are thought to have trapped ices and are a main focus of lunar exploration.

The Moon steadily migrates away from Earth, and it feels tidal forces from both the Earth and the Sun. It was known for decades that the Moon experienced a major spin axis reorientation at some point in the deep past, but there wasn’t enough data to really know when. It was only last year that a group in France came up with a coherent history for the evolution of the Earth-Moon distance. “When I heard about their result, I immediately realized it has profound implications for the search of water ice on the Moon. I dropped everything I was doing and began to work out the specifics, with the help of my co-author Raluca Rufu,” Schorghofer said.

“We calculated the lunar spin axis orientation and the extent of PSRs based on recent advances for the time evolution of the Earth-Moon distance,” he said. Early in its history, the Moon (which is 4.5 billion years old) was bombarded by comets and volcanism released water vapor from its interior, but continuously shadowed areas started to appear only 3.4 billion years ago. By that time these processes had started to die down, so most of the water that was delivered to the Moon or outgassed from its interior could not have been trapped in the polar regions. Any ice in the polar regions today must have a more recent origin.

“We have been able to quantify how young the lunar PSRs really are,” Schorghofer said. “The average age of PSRs is 1.8 billion years, at most. There are no ancient reservoirs of water ice on the Moon.”

The impact site of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, a robotic spacecraft that detected water in 2009, lies within a PSR that is less than 1 billion years old, and therefore all the volatiles discovered there – which include water and carbon dioxide – must be young, he said. In a way this is very encouraging, because even the young PSRs contain ice. Older PSRs should contain even more ice.

This work might also explain why the polar regions of planet Mercury have much more ice than the Moon’s. Mercury’s PSRs are much older and could have captured water early on.

Schorghofer’s work was supported by NASA by a grant issued through the Lunar Data Analysis Program and through the Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) node GEODES.

IMAGE....Map of the south polar region with the age of permanently shadowed areas. PSR ages are indicated in the legend and the angles in parenthesis are the maximum elevation of the Sun above the south pole. Credit: Norbert Schorghofer/PSI.

#news #science #space #astronomy #physics #astrophysics #moon

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fractured-legacies · 10 months

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Chapter 13: Contact

Prologue | Chapter 12 | Chapter 14

Chapter 13: Contact

In the entire system, we have found two space-based installations which are still operational—the two solar mirror arrays at the inner and outer primary-planet orbital equilibrium points. These are still functional and assisting with maintaining the planetary climate. However, attempts to contact and dock with each of the arrays resulted in hostile reactions, forcing us to retreat before we were harmed by the focused sunlight. Why these installations reacted in such a manner, we again have no idea, and we do not have the resources to attempt a forced boarding—nor do we wish to attempt to do so, given how the mirror arrays are integral for the continued habitability of the planet.

~o0O0o~

Raavi ava Laargan

The Lynx slid to a halt, despite the wind howling at our backs.

“I don’t think we’re going to be able to get any further,” I said, and slammed one hand into the other. “Damn it!”

“We’re still miles from the pass,” Yufemya said, the rustling of the map audible as she consulted it.

“I know!” I said, leaning back in frustration. “The slope is too steep, that’s the problem.”

“Can we try pushing the Lynx? Get out, open the sails a bit, and push?” Stylio suggested.

“We could, but, well…” I waved up the side of the mountain. “Look.” Visible in the glow of the Night-Light, the mountainside was steep. Not as sheer as some of the others we could see, but the way to the pass was still too steep for the Lynx.

Oksyna stood and closed her eyes. Spreading her hands out, she motioned in front of the Lynx. I watched, fascinated despite my frustration, as the snow in front of us started to compact down. It didn’t turn to ice, but it was definitely closer to older snow than fresh.

The Lynx moved forward a few yards, and sort of rocked back and forth on the compacted surface.

Yufemya and Zoy jumped out and started trying to push as Oksyna continued to crunch down the snow, and then Stylio and I hopped out to join them as well.

It wasn’t as heavy as carrying the Lynx up and down canal locks, but our progress was still slow, even with the wind at our backs and Lady Fia manning the sails, and Oksyna packing down the snow as best she could. I could feel the difference down by my boots—the light, windblown snow had packed down into something denser, like the snowflakes had fallen apart, which was probably what happened. I wondered how well that was recharging her reservoir of entropy. I did have to say this much—having a necromancer along made getting logs lit for the fire nice and easy. I would say ‘almost too easy’ except that it was cold enough that I was glad not to have to mess about with kindling and tinder.

We were maybe fifty or sixty yards along from where we’d stopped when I heard Yufemya gasp.

I turned, and saw about thirty or forty revenants standing behind us, down the slope, weapons in hand.

“Oksyna…” I said, staring. But I couldn’t leave the Lynx, or it would start to slide down towards them.

“On it!” she shouted, and raised her hands, holding a small gem in her left hand. Black and purple light started to stream out of her right hand in a nimbus, forming what looked like runes in the air as she moved her fingertips above the gemstone.

The revenants started walking forward, and then one of them held out a spear in front of the others, making them halt.

They started speaking among themselves, and I was eyeing the weapons they held. “Oksyna…”

Oksyna Mykyetyav

“Raavi, let me work,” Oksyna said, trying not to snap as she focused. With one finger extended, she drew the runes above the stone, mindful of her limited supply of Entropy. This was going to be delicate, unless she wanted to do something drastic to refuel. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much around unless she wanted to kill some trees.

Finished with the first motion, she gently lobbed the gemstone across the slope to the oathwalkers. Awkwardly, it hit the snow halfway down the slope and vanished with a plop. If not for the gentle glow, it would have been lost.

Now came the ticklish part…

One of the oathwalkers—the one with the spear—spoke to the others and, with a visible sigh, another one of them slogged up the slope and retrieved the tiny gem.

“What’s going on?” Raavi asked as they all watched the oathwalker carry the gem back to its companions.

“I’m negotiating,” Oksyna said. “While I could break their contracts with sheer brute force, it would require more power than I have to spare right now. So I’m hoping for something more voluntary.” She’d tried this before back with that other group, and they’d responded fairly well, but the size of that group had been taxing. And this one was even larger.

So she’d started with a simple proposal for a binding promise that neither her side nor theirs would begin a conflict, and hoped that they weren’t under direct strictures or orders to attack. The fact that they hadn’t as soon as they’d seen the Lynx was a good sign…

The oathwalkers clustered around the gem, and she could see the runes floating in air over it. After a brief moment, the leader touched the gem, accepting its provisos, and then passed it around.

She relaxed. “Okay, they’re bound not to attack, but if any of us starts anything, we’re in trouble.”

“Define ‘trouble’?” Zoy asked.

“I’m oathbound to whack whoever starts anything. So don’t.”

“Got it. Put the weapons down, people,” Fia said. “Oksyna, you’re the expert. What do you need?”

A nice midden pile or a compost heap, or maybe the pile of rejects behind a pottery kiln would be nice. Something I can just reduce down to crumbled chunks of dust without any guilt. Perhaps some paintings someone’s embarrassed by? That hunter squad’s outfits were barely enough. Rather than voice that, she said instead, “For the moment, space to let me work.”

“You got it.”

“And keep the Lynx from sliding into them,” she said, hopping down and landing nearly knee-deep in the snow. Joy.

Pulling herself higher up into the snow, she started slogging over to the group of oathwalkers.

“Oksyna?” She turned back to see Raavi looking at her worriedly. “Be careful.”

She smiled, feeling a moment of warmth despite the frigid chill around them. “I will be.”

Turning back to the oathwalkers, she trudged towards them. Thankfully, under the direction of their leader—and judging by the fancier clothing that one wore, they were the leader—they were stacking their weapons off to the side.

Giving thanks to the Silent and the Quiet that they were reasonable, Oksyna stopped several paces away, and held out her hand.

The leader walked towards her and placed the gem, now exhausted, into her palm.

Now that they were face to face, Oksyna gave the oathwalker an examining look. Old—at least a few hundred years old—and dressed in finely woven and dyed woolens in the form of a cloak over a poncho. A leather bandolier crossed their chest under the cloak, with leather pouches sewn to it.

She bowed politely. “Do you understand me?” This would be ticklish at best, but if all she could do was propose motions blindly, she’d exhaust herself quickly.

The leader frowned—the aged skin surprisingly supple, they apparently took good care of themselves—and motioned back to their group, barking an order.

Another oathwalker stepped forward, dressed in the same cloak-and-poncho woolens, but the weave was less fine and less dyed. Rank hath its privileges even in death, as usual.

It spoke. “What want you, deathspeaker?”

Oksyna relaxed a hair. All right. She could do this. “To find out why you are attacking this kingdom suddenly. My leader,” she motioned back to where Fia and the others stood, “wishes to parley with your king on behalf of hers.”

The oathwalker nodded and spoke to the leader. The two of them conversed for a moment before the translator looked back to Oksyna. “Speak much cannot we. What can do you?”

“I can give you a temporary respite from your oaths. Say, a hundred hours, maybe a hundred-fifty,” she said, judging how much of a reserve she had and the number of oathwalkers. “Enough to give you time to act and explain. It is good that you speak my tongue, or I would have to propose these blindly.”

Again the translator turned to the leader and spoke. Resisting the urge to pull up the wording of their oaths and start running through it to see if she could spot any loopholes, Oksyna fidgeted as they spoke back and forth.

The translator was waving their arms while the leader had theirs crossed, eyes narrowed, and said something curt that agitated the translator more.

Whatever their tongue was, it wasn’t one that she recognized—not that it meant that much. Both her own homeland and the Kalltii kingdoms had been under the thumb of the Dormelion Empire for long enough to leave its stamp on their languages, so coming here had mostly been a matter of learning the differences for the local dialect. But the Gehtun had never been conquered by the Dormelion.

Who were you, she wondered as she looked at the two oathwalkers, when you were alive? Warrior? Scholar? Artist?

She’d spent half of her life as a necromancer. She hadn’t known anything else. So she had to wonder, what would it be like to live a full life and choose to be an oathwalker at the end of it?

The translator hung their head and scoffed before turning back to her. “Complicated things are. Swear you will that our king no harm mean?”

“I can put that in, yes, but I know that I mean him no harm,” she said. “I’m neutral and just want the fighting to stop.”

The translator frowned and spoke again to the leader.

As they spoke, Oksyna took the gem and started inscribing more runes with it. Carefully, delicately.

Once she was done, she turned around. “Fia! Come down here please!” She looked towards the pair of oathwalkers. “The leader of this group will swear that we will give no harm to yours.”

Fia arrived a moment later and bowed politely. “Negotiations going all right? Raavi’s about ready to burst between worry and curiosity. I have him checking over the Lynx to distract him.”

Oksyna smiled a bit, hiding it behind her hand. “Of course he is. And yes, we seem to be doing all right.” She nodded towards the runes. “This is a provisional contract for the next hundred hours that these oathwalkers will be temporarily suspended from their oath and bound to help us—specifically guiding us to their king—and neither side can harm the other. At the end of it, their existing oaths resume.”

Fia nodded. “Sounds good to me.” She looked towards the oathwalkers. “What do you say?”

The leader frowned again and spoke, and then the translator, their eyes narrowed, said, “What catch?”

“No catch. But if you were that interested in attacking us, you would have already. So I’m here to help.”

The two of them spoke again, and as they did so, Fia leaned in. “I wonder what the issue is?”

“Could be anything. Showing weakness, some loophole or conflict in their oath, internal political crap…”

Before Fia could respond, the oathwalker leader barked something to the rest of their group, who marched up behind them.

“Is that good or bad?”

“We’ll find out. We’re still under a truce, though.”

The leader extended a hand and, in painfully mangled but recognizable words, forced out, “We accept.”

Fia reached out and shook without hesitation—which was impressive from Oksyna’s perspective. Most people didn’t like shaking the hands of revenants, or touching them at all. And with that, Oksyna pushed out what remained of her Entropy, binding the contract she had proposed; it cost a lot, especially the part where she suspended their existing contract’s wording, but it was worth it. With them in the binding, she wouldn’t have to sustain it herself.

“All right. So… first off.” Fia glanced up the slope. “Can you help us get over the pass?”

Raavi ava Laargan

I gasped for breath and leaned against the rock wall of the pass; at least the snow here was thin, but the rocks underneath were loose and liked to shift.

“Yeah. The air is so thin up here,” Lady Fia said, rubbing her head.

“Oh! I bet that’s part of the reason why the Lynx couldn’t get up the slope!” I said. “Thinner air! It makes sense!”

Zoy’s voice came from behind me. “Raavi, your brain is an interesting place. You’re barely able to breathe, and what do you think of? Puzzles.”

I turned. “Is that bad?”

She shook her head. “No. Just interesting. Come on.” She walked on and I followed after.

The oathwalkers had helped in the most direct fashion possible—we’d broken down the Lynx for portage, and over a dozen of them had hoisted it on their shoulders, while the rest of us carried the supplies, tent, skates and runners. The pass was miles long between two of the mountain peaks; we’d passed the border fort a while earlier. It had been gutted by fire, and abandoned.

But now these oathwalkers were helping us. According to Oksyna, at least. And I trusted her.

A flicker of light came from up ahead. Rounding the bend, my back aching from the pack I was carrying, along with all of my tools, I blinked as I saw the campsite. Several of the oathwalkers were busy raising the tent, and a few others were building up a fire. Where they’d gotten the logs, I had no idea, but the clean woodsmoke was nice. Another group was examining the Lynx where they’d set her down.

My exhaustion forgotten, I hurried over to see what they were doing.

Four of them were clustered around one of the brackets I’d made to hold the skates and runners in place, pointing and exclaiming. One of them held one of the runners, and was latching it in and taking it out before doing it again.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

The one holding the runner turned and held it up before speaking in its language. I tried not to look too closely at the gray-purple skin it had, stretched tightly over its skull. It motioned towards the runner and asked a question. At least… I thought it asked a question.

“I don’t understand you.”

It pointed towards my belt and spoke again.

“Huh?”

It shook its head, put the runner down in the thin snow, reached over, and pulled my small hammer off of my belt.

“Hey!”

Crouching down, it motioned for me to follow, and I did so, resisting the urge to snatch the hammer back.

Gently, it took the hammer and tapped a loose pin back into place, and then handed the hammer back. I took it on reflex, and then it pointed to the pliers that were several places over on my belt.

Staring, I handed those over.

Using them, the oathwalker delicately bent the pin back into place before handing the tool back.

I picked up the runner and carried it over to the Lynx. Slotting it back into the bracket, I realized that the pin had worked itself loose—probably from all of the portages we’d been doing—and would have fallen out soon.

I turned and looked back at the oathwalker, who was smiling in a satisfied way at their work. “You aren’t a warrior at all, are you? You’re a craftsman!”

“But why are they sending craftsmen and weavers after us!?” I demanded. We were sitting around the fire that the oathwalkers had helped construct, a cup of soup in my hands.

“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out,” Oksyna said, frowning as she sipped at her own soup and then giving it an appreciative look. “Also, add cooks to that list. This is good.”

“I guess if you’re working at something for a few human lifetimes, you pick up a few things,” Zoy said dryly before taking a sip of her own cup. “And damn, seconded. Can we keep that one?”

“No!” Oksyna said. “They’re not mine to give away!”

“Sorry, sorry,” Zoy said before turning to Yufemya. “So what’s your guess?”

“On?” Yufemya replied, sipping at her own cup.

“Why they’re sending so many worker-types after the kingdom instead of, you know, fighters?”

Yufemya frowned and took another sip. “I don’t want to guess. I feel like that would run the risk of having us start assuming.”

Zoy cocked her head and then shook it. “All right. You know, you can just say ‘I don’t know.’”

“‘I don’t know’,” Yufemya parroted, mimicking Zoy’s tones perfectly.

“Huh. I don’t believe you. You’ve got to have some idea!”

Yufemya frowned as I looked around, and I said, “Well, they’re not saying anything beyond that we’ve got to talk to their king. So we’re going to have to do that.” I looked at Oksyna. “Can you tell us anything? I know that you can’t talk about some things, but can you at least tell us how oathwalkers work?”

She frowned and nodded. “Yes. That I can do. In generalities.”

“I’ll take it,” I said, and the others nodded.

“Yeah, anything solid right now will help,” Fia said.

Oksyna rubbed at her cheekbones with her thumb and forefinger. “Give me a moment to get everything in order up here.”

“Of course,” I said, and took a swallow from my cup before looking around again. The oathwalkers were busy. A group of them were cleaning their tools and weapons, another group were darning and repairing their clothes, and another group were, to my continued surprise, spinning thread from wads of fiber that they had been carrying around in bags. Those last ones were using old-style spindles and distaffs, but that didn’t stop them from producing thread so fine that it left me in awe at their skill. As Zoy had commented, I guessed that if you worked at something for a few lifetimes, you got good at it.

“All right,” Oksyna said. “So, Raavi.”

“Yes?”

“I need to use you to help me here. Nothing permanent, I promise.”

I quirked an eyebrow. “All right…”

She grinned and shuffled next to me. “Good. Do I have your permission to touch you?”

“Sure…?”

She punched me in the arm.

“Ow!” I put my hand over the spot and looked at her, more hurt at the shock and surprise than at the pain. “What was that for!?”

“You said that I had permission to touch you!” she said, and there was a smile on her face that confused me.

“A punch is not a touch!”

“Says who?”

“Uh, most people?”

“Ah, but who?” Her smile went away and her expression turned serious. “And that’s the basis of what I do.”

“What, punch people?”

She reached over and gently put her hand on my arm. “I’m sorry, but you’ll see my point in a moment.”

Giving her a suspicious look, I nodded. “I’m listening.”

“So you and I disagree—for the sake of argument—on whether a touch equals a punch or just a touch like this.” She very slightly squeezed my arm.

“I’d say so! But what does that have to do with oathwalkers?”

“Because being an oathwalker—or any other form of spirit that continues on after they’ve died—is because they’ve made a promise, a contract, an oath. And such things depend on understanding the language.” She looked around the circle. “And that’s what I and my fellow necromancers do. We edit, amend, interpret, and adjudicate the oaths and contracts of the dead.”

“On whose authority?” I asked, fascinated.

“I can’t answer that,” she said. “I’m not allowed to answer that.”

That puzzled me for a moment, and then it clicked. “Oh! Because you have to make a contract with them yourself? And not revealing the details about it is part of that?”

She relaxed a little and nodded. “Yes. And I can’t say more than that, or I have to pay penalties.”

“What form do those penalties take?”

“Entropy… or Breath. And yes, before you ask, I can die that way.”

I winced.

“I also can’t kill anyone with my Entropy directly, outside of immediate self-defense or a few other specific circumstances,” she said. “I know that other necromancers have abused that in the past, and either they’ve got looser or vaguer contracts than I’ve got or they were playing with fire.” She shrugged. “Of course, making someone’s clothes disintegrate when it’s this cold out is fair game.”

“Ouch,” I said with a wince. I didn’t know exactly how cold it was, but I knew that someone without shelter or clothing would be dead in minutes from exposure. “Have you done that?”

“Once. To the leader of a group of bandits. The others ran away when they realized that the little girl they were threatening could kill them all.” She shook her head. “But that’s beside the main point. So for a ‘normal’ revenant, they swear to do something with their dying Breath.”

“Like see their daughter get married,” I said.

“Exactly. Or get vengeance on the ones who killed them… or wronged them, which often turns messy. But let’s take your example,” she said. “Let’s say that revenant, when their daughter’s wedding date is set, realizes that they’ll die right after the ceremony. Which would put a damper on it, to say the least. So someone like me could amend their oath to give them a few more days afterwards… or possibly amend it entirely.” She shrugged. “That’s how Nightshade and others like her managed to get their armies of revenants together, by amending their oaths to swear loyalty to her, and enough of them were scared of dying forever that they accepted.”

“Which is why I asked if she was ‘recruiting’,” Lady Fia asked. “Of course, most of Nightshade’s revenants still went insane after just a decade or two.”

Oksyna nodded. “Where oathwalkers differ from your standard revenant is that they have a formalized contract, inscribed on… well, it’s usually a gem or sheet metal, to which they sign their names before they die. The structure of the contract helps keep their minds intact.”

Blinking, I put that together with what I knew of oathwalkers. “So how hard is it to make those contracts?”

“And that’s something I can’t share. Suffice it to say that I can’t make one, and it took a lot of power for me just to temporarily amend their terms with it.”

As I considered that, Stylio commented, “But as I understand it, these oathwalkers are bound by the terms of their formal contract?”

“Exactly.”

“So what could have made them suddenly start attacking Westernfellsen?”

“That,” Oksyna said firmly, “is what I want to find out.”

Emerging from the pass, the first thing I saw was… nothing.

It took a moment for things to resolve themselves into a vast open plain of snow underneath a black, cloud-speckled sky, the Night-Light’s glow illuminating the landscape. There were no trees, no hills that I could see beyond the mountains we had just emerged from, no… nothing.

It was disorienting—to me, at least. The oathwalkers helped us reassemble the Lynx from portage, and loaded everything in. After looking for a bit, I saw that the tips of plants were sticking up through the top of the snow, and there were occasional rocks emerging as well, and there were long divots that looked like paths.

While I’d been looking around, the oathwalkers had produced snowshoes. From where, I hadn’t seen, but they strapped themselves in with an air of long-practice and started helping haul the Lynx up to speed.

“Do we want to start just going?” I asked.

“We don’t know where to go, and we don’t have room on the Lynx for any of them,” Stylio pointed out.

“Right,” I said, frowning and looked over the group of them just hauling the Lynx along like they were dogs pulling a sled. “Maybe we should just extend out the sail a little, just to help?”

“And with one good gust it will run them over. And then we’re on default for Oksyna’s parley.” Stylio patted me on the shoulder. “I know that you want to hurry as much as possible, and I think it’s good, but we need to go at their pace for the moment.”

I nodded, slumping a little, and fell into step with them. For the first hour, it was difficult; the oathwalkers lent us snowshoes, but walking in them was tiring, especially as I wasn’t used to it, and my lungs reminded me that the air was thinner at this altitude.

I found Oksyna walking alongside me; she seemed to be unbothered by the exertion.

“So…” she began to say.

“So?” I echoed, after she trailed off.

“So I was wondering where the idea for the Lynx came from. You mentioned back in the city that it was from something you read?”

“Oh, yeah! I was reading this travelogue on the Slaekkaruune tribes who live down at the equator, and their ice-fishing techniques on the pack ice. They have these leather and wood sailed-canoes that can travel both in water and across ice that use skates carved from whalebone. They use them to travel across the ice to hunt and trade and migrate. Apparently they move across the equator north to south depending on the season, so they basically go from summer to autumn to summer all the time.”

She raised a hand. “Wait a moment. Back up. What do you mean? I’m from Endanchoria, and I know that there’s ice south of there in the winter, and some of it never melts even in the summer. But what do you mean ‘summer to autumn to summer’?”

“When it’s summer here in the north, there’s winter in the southern half of the world, and vice versa,” I said. “They stay on the icy area around the equator. The sun is only overhead for a few days around the Equal Nights in Spring and Autumn, so they basically follow it back and forth; they spent half of the year in twilight and the other half with a day and night like the rest of us.”

She cocked her head. “But… doesn’t the ice melt in summer?”

“No, it’s all about the angle of the sun. Sunlight is coming in so steep at the equator during the summer that it gives barely more light than the Night-Light. Certainly not enough to melt the ice.” I made a fist and held it up so that it was lit by the Night-Light. “Our world is tilted hard on its side. We don’t know why. None of the other planets we’ve studied through our telescopes are tilted like this. If I remember right, it’s something around eighty degrees away from ‘upright’, while all of the other planets around the sun are within ten or so degrees of upright, like a top that’s still spinning at full speed.”

“You mean top speed?” she asked, and I laughed.

“I was resisting making that joke!”

“Good! So I got to make it instead!” She chuckled. “So continue.”

“So since we have such a high tilt, the sun moves back and forth, lighting one half of the planet at a time for each season. On the other planets, they have a day-night pattern all year like we have in Spring and Autumn.”

“That’s so weird to think about,” she said. “How would they tell the seasons apart? When do they sleep?”

“At night, presumably?”

“Huh. So you were explaining about the ice?”

“Yeah, so during the summer, there’s a band around the equator that gets just a little light every rotation, but not enough to melt the ice. So the Slaekkaeruune live there, moving back and forth across the equator in their ice-boats to follow the sun. So when the summer ends in their current hemisphere, becoming autumn, they move to the other one.”

“Amazing. And that’s where you got the idea for the Lynx?”

“Yup! I made my skates out of steel rather than bone, of course, but the idea is the same.”

She smiled at me and we chatted a bit more—and then I saw light coming from nearby, down in what looked like a ravine or valley.

“What’s that?” I moved away from the group a bit towards the light.

“Raavi, come back here!” Stylio called, and I slowed to a halt, but not before getting a look down into the valley. “Raavi!?”

I heard her walk up behind me. “Raavi, what is… it…”

She came to a halt next to me and looked down as well.

Below, down in the valley, there was a shrine. More than a shrine—a temple. Large stones, carved with runes, seemed to glow under the lights from torches and bonfires, the sources of the light that had drawn my attention.

Around them, I could see oathwalkers. Hundreds of them.

And they were tending to the dead.

Large stone tables lay within the perimeter of the outer circle of stones, and on them, the oathwalkers were cleaning the bodies, using pitchers of water—from melted snow, I suspected—and wrapping them in shrouds with their hands folded across their chests and blindfolds around their eyes. One group—I squinted—was ladling small spoonfuls of liquid from steaming pitchers into the mouths of the dead. Still more were carrying the wrapped, shrouded bodies into a passage that cut into the side of the valley.

“Your ways we know not,” said the voice of the translator, and I turned to see it standing there. “But our best we do.”

I glanced back down below and then pointed down, even as I looked back to him. “Wait, those are my people?”

“Yes. Those by ours killed. We show what respect we can.” It turned back to the Lynx before saying quietly, “Not much it is, know I. Sorry I am.”

I looked back and forth between the piles of the dead and the translator. “Why? Why have you done this?”

“Explain the king will. Me I cannot.”

“Damn you!” I spat.

“Already I am.”

That made me pause, and I looked back down at the bodies. Why?

I felt Stylio’s hand on my arm. “Come on, Raavi. Let’s go. We can get answers.”

Scowling, I nodded. “Yes, we will.”

<<<<>>>>

Prologue | Chapter 12 | Chapter 14

#fractured legacies imprudent #imprudent #original writing

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mariacallous · 10 months

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Few people on Earth have reached closer to its center than Buzz Speyrer, a drilling engineer with a long career in oil and gas. It’s about 1,800 miles down to the core, smoldering from celestial impacts that date back billions of years and stoked to this day by friction and radioactivity. That heat percolating upwards turns the rock above into a viscous liquid and beyond that into a gelatinous state that geologists call plastic. It’s only within about 100 miles of the surface that rock becomes familiar and hard and drillable.

Right now, Speyrer’s equipment is about 8,500 feet below us, or about 2 percent of the way through that layer, where the heat is already so great that every extra foot, every extra inch, is a hard-won victory. Down there, any liquid you pumped in would become, as Speyrer puts it, hot enough to deep fry a turkey. “Imagine that splashing you,” he says. At that temperature, about 450 degrees Fahrenheit (228 degrees Celsius) his gear can start having problems. Electronics fail. Bearings warp. Hundreds of thousands dollars worth of equipment might go down a borehole, and if it breaks down there, make sure it doesn’t get stuck. In that case, best to just plug that hole, which probably cost millions to drill, tally up your losses, and move on.

Even when things are going well down there, it’s hard to know from up here on the Earth’s surface. “It’s frustrating as hell,” says Joseph Moore, a geologist at the University of Utah, as he watches the halting movements of a 160-foot-tall rig through a trailer window. It’s a cool day in 2022, in a remote western Utah county named Beaver, a breeze whipping off the Mineral Mountains toward hog farms and wind turbines on the valley floor below. The rig looks much like any oil and gas installation dotting the American West. But there are no hydrocarbons in the granite below us, only heat.

Since 2018, Moore has led a $220 million bet by the US Department of Energy (DOE), called FORGE, or the Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy, that this heat can be harnessed to produce electricity in most parts of the world. Geothermal energy is today a rare resource, tapped only in places where the crust has cracked a little and heat mingles with groundwater, producing hot springs or geysers that can power electricity-generating turbines. But such watery hot spots are rare. Iceland, straddling two diverging tectonic plates, hits a geological jackpot and produces about a quarter of its electricity that way; in Kenya, volcanism in the Great Rift Valley helps push that figure to more than 40 percent. In the US, it’s just 0.4 percent, almost all of it coming from California and Nevada.

Yet there’s hot rock everywhere, if you drill deep enough. Moore’s project is trying to create an “enhanced” geothermal system, or EGS, by reaching hot, dense rock like granite, cracking it open to form a reservoir, and then pumping in water to soak up heat. The water is then drawn up through a second well, emerging a few hundred degrees hotter than it was before: an artificial hot spring that can drive steam turbines. That design can sound straightforward, plumbing water from point A to point B, but despite a half-century of work, the complexities of engineering and geology have meant no one has managed to make EGS work at practical scale—yet.

Moore is trying to demonstrate it can be done. And in the process, maybe he can get more entrepreneurs and investors as hyped about geothermal as he is. Renewable electricity generation, whether from sun or wind or hot ground, typically offers steady but unremarkable returns once the power starts flowing. That’s fine if your upfront costs are cheap—a requirement wind turbines and solar panels now generally meet. Geothermal happens to require a risky multimillion-dollar drilling project to get started. While clean, dependable power derived from the Earth’s core can complement the on-again, off-again juice from wind and solar, there are safer underground bets for those with the expertise and financing to drill: A geothermal well might take 15 years to pay for itself; a natural gas rig does it in two.

No surprise, then, that there are 2 million active oil and gas wells worldwide, but only 15,000 for geothermal, according to Norwegian energy consultancy Rystad Energy. Nearly all are hydrothermal, relying on those natural sources of hot water. Only a few are EGS. A trio of operating plants in eastern France produce only a trickle of power, having drilled into relatively cool rock. Then there are hotter experiments, like here in Utah and across the border in Nevada, where a Houston startup called Fervo is working to connect two wells of its own, a project that is meant to provide clean power to a Google data center.

Moore believes FORGE can make EGS more attractive by showing it’s possible to go hotter. Every extra degree should mean more energy zapped into the grid and more profit. But drilling hot and hard granite, rather than cooler and softer shale that gas frackers like Speyrer typically split apart, isn’t trivial. Nor is drilling the wide wells required to move large volumes of water for a geothermal plant. Thus, a chicken-and-egg problem: The geothermal industry needs tools and techniques adapted from oil and gas—and in some cases, entirely new ones—but because nobody knows whether EGS will work, they don’t exist yet. Which is where FORGE comes in, playing a role Moore describes as “de-risking” the tools and methods. “Nobody is going to spend that money unless I spend that money,” he says.

In Beaver County, his team is testing a bridge plug—a cap, essentially—that will seal off a section of pipe so that water can be forced into surrounding rock with enough force to crack granite. It’s late morning and a dozen water tankers are parked in imposing formation next to the rig. Around lunchtime, they’ll test whether the plug can hold the pressure, and before dinner should fire “the guns”—small explosive charges—to perforate the pipe. Then they’ll push in the water to split the rock in time for a midnight snack—“if everything goes smoothly,” Moore says.

In other words, a pretty standard frack, the technique that has flooded the US with a bounty of natural gas over the past 15 years. But don’t use the f-word too liberally, please—it’s rather taboo in geothermal, even though the industry’s future may depend on the technology. The sensitivity is not just about the association with fossil fuels. Frack in the wrong place, over some hidden fault, and the earth can tremble with damaging intensity.

The team is closely watching data recorded by eight geophones—acoustic detectors that pick up seismic waves—hanging in nearby boreholes. So far, the only clear signal is that it’s really hot down there. A few minutes before the start of the pressure test, John McLennan, a chemical engineer co-managing the frack, arrives in the trailer with bad news about a pair of geophones.

“Both of them have failed,” he says. “Just can’t handle the temperature.”

“I’m too old for this,” Moore replies.

It had been a long few days. It wasn’t supposed to be a 24-hour operation, but here they were, delayed by high winds and malfunctioning equipment, another long day and night ahead. Now he’d lost a pair of crucial ears telling him what was going on beneath the surface.

While the FORGE team preps for the frack, Moore and I drive into the Mineral Mountains to see why geothermal energy has thus far fallen short of its potential. We stop at the perimeter fence of the Blundell Geothermal Plant, which sits a few miles from FORGE, on the eastern edge of a hot zone stretching hundreds of miles west to the Pacific. The appeal of the location is obvious. Near the site, fissures in the rock reveal places where hot water has burbled to the surface, carrying minerals that hardened into rivulets of crystal. A few hundred feet away, sulfurous clouds rise from the soil around a 19th-century shed where cowboys and miners once took hot soaks.

The plant, which is owned by Portland-based electric utility PacifiCorp, was built during a geothermal boom during the 1970s oil crisis. But by the time its turbines began spinning in 1984, energy prices had fallen and the boom was already fading. The vast majority of US plants operating today still date back to the 1980s—a painful fact for a geothermal enthusiast like Moore. His own journey in the industry began around that time, as he transitioned away from an earlier career prospecting for uranium deposits—itself then a waning industry—that had initially brought him to Utah from his native New York City.

He considers Blundell especially underutilized, pointing to turbines that could be upgraded to produce more energy and spots where PacifiCorp could drill more hydrothermal wells. “It’s just risk aversion,” he says. “They say, ‘I can’t see what’s underground, so I’m skeptical about drilling.’” (PacifiCorp did not respond to requests for comment.)

Only a few companies are exploring new hydrothermal locations. One of them is Reno-based Ormat Technologies, which owns and operates more than 20 geothermal plants worldwide. Paul Thomsen, the company’s vice president for business development, tells me how Ormat established its business by purchasing existing plants and updating their turbines to draw more power from the same hot water. More recently, drawing on its experience with everything from drilling to plant operations, it started building new plants.

But it’s tricky to pick winners, even when there’s an obvious hydrothermal resource to exploit. Desert towns in the American West have rebelled against proposals out of concern groundwater will be drained away. And wherever biologists look in hot springs, they have found unique species deserving of protection. Stack that on top of lengthy permitting processes and challenges with connecting new plants to the grid, and options dwindle. Ormat has had recent setbacks at two of its proposed sites, over groundwater near the Nevada site of Burning Man and over the tiny Dixie Valley toad, a species recently listed as endangered.

The challenges of natural hot springs have made creating artificial ones all the more appealing. In 2006, the DOE, along with researchers at MIT, issued a report describing a plan for making geothermal a major contributor to the US grid to help meet climate goals. The flexibility offered by EGS was at the heart of it. Although the depth at which rock gets hot enough varies—shallower out in the American West than on the East Coast, for example—the scientists reckoned it could be reasonable to drill for heat in most places, either to produce electricity or, at lower temperatures, hot water to warm buildings.

In 2014, the DOE started looking for a place to serve as a testing ground for repurposing tools from oil and gas, and, four years later, picked Beaver County as the experiment’s home. Soon afterward, the agency calculated that geothermal could satisfy 8.5 percent of US electricity demand by 2050—a 26-fold increase from today. All that was missing was proof that EGS worked.

The Forge well descends straight down for about 6,000 feet (1.8 kilometers), reaching granite about two-thirds of the way there before making a 65 degree turn and going nearly 5,000 feet (1.5 kilometers) farther. Among Moore’s passions, enthusiastically demonstrated with hand motions and napkin diagrams, is the internal “stress field” of the granite that determines how it will crack under pressure.

Understanding that stress field is essential. For an efficient power plant, the cracks must extend far enough for water to move efficiently between the two wells—but not too fast, says Teresa Jordan, a geothermal scientist at Cornell University in New York, where she is leading an EGS project aimed at heating campus buildings with geothermal water. “You want it to take its time, spending a lot of time in contact with rocks that will heat it up,” she says. The cracks must also deliver as much water as possible to the second well—and not into hidden fissures along the way—and also stay hot for years of use. Hot rocks can cool to tepid if cold water pumped in soaks up heat faster than the core’s heat can replenish it. Vanishing water and dwindling heat have played a role in past EGS failures, including in New Mexico in the 1980s and in southern Australia in 2015.

Those risks have sent others looking for different approaches, each with their own tradeoffs. One, a “closed-loop” system, involves running sealed pipes down into the hot rock and then back to the surface, preventing any water from draining away underground. But it has proved tricky to get enough heat into liquid that doesn’t touch hot rocks directly. Or maybe you drill really deep—say, 12 miles down—where temperatures can exceed 1,650 Fahrenheit (900 degrees Celsius), enough for the heat to rise straight to the surface up a single well. But the tools to drill at such depths are still experimental. Others think existing oil and gas wells are the answer, saving on drilling costs and unlocking the industry’s abundant tools for its own wells. But the narrower wells used for extracting fossil fuels aren’t built for pushing the vast volumes of water necessary for a power plant.

EGS proponents argue designs like FORGE strike the right balance, adding enough heat and flexibility over traditional geothermal, while being able to take advantage of oil and gas methods, The newest EGS experiments are enabled by advances in horizontal drilling and better fracking models, says Tim Latimer, CEO of Fervo, which is working with FORGE as it develops its own EGS project in Nevada. He tells me he thinks that the projections energy investors use to estimate geothermal drilling costs—ones that make them hesitant—are 15 years out of date. During the drilling of the first FORGE well, he points out, the team demonstrated it could halve the time using a new, diamond-tipped bit, cutting overall costs by 20 percent.

Around 3 pm, after our walk around the Blundell plant, Moore returns to the drill site and sees McLennan jogging over to greet him. He has good news. First up: The plug has held under pressure. Moore lets out a big breath, hands on hips. “I’m glad that’s over with,” he says. Later, after the guns are fired and water pumped in, a “seismic cloud” of tiny quakes picked up by the remaining geophones, suspended at lesser heat and depth, indicates that the cracks extend about 400 feet from the well—the right distance to connect with the second, future well that will draw newly heated water up to the surface. A third piece of good news is that the seismic cloud couldn’t be felt on the surface.

That’s especially good news to Peter Meier, the CEO of Geo-Energie Suisse, a geothermal energy consortium. He traveled to Utah from Switzerland mostly to listen to the geophones. In 2006, a 3.1 magnitude quake occurred after engineers on a Swiss EGS project attempted to create a water reservoir that was too large and disturbed an unmapped fault, damaging homes nearby in Basel. (A geologist faced criminal negligence charges for his role in the quake, but was later acquitted.) Local governments in Switzerland have been wary of EGS operations since.

In 2017, an even bigger quake triggered by an EGS project in South Korea, which injured 82 people, dimmed the concept’s prospects even further. But Meier believes those earthquakes were due to poor planning on the part of engineers—avoidable, with more careful study of the rocks. He sees FORGE as a chance to rescue the reputation of EGS by demonstrating it working safely. “Until we have a success story it’s a discussion about fracking, because basically, it is fracking,” he says.

This spring, Moore returned to Beaver County to drill well number two. After nearly a year of reviewing the data from the initial frack, he felt confident that the production well, drilled straight through the cloud of cracks from the frack, would succeed in getting water back out. Earlier this month, he was proved right: Nearly 76,000 gallons went down the first hole at a rate of about 210 gallons per minute, and came back out the other end hotter. A full-scale test in 2024 will get the flow rates closer to those required for commercial EGS plants, which should cycle more than a thousand gallons per minute.

Part of Moore’s confidence was that he knew he was playing on easy mode. By design, the two wells are too close together to draw up substantial heat for a power plant—the point at this stage was mostly the tools and techniques financed and tested along the way. Prior to the test, Moore was excited to tell me about the new gadgets available for creating the production well, including particle drilling, in which rock is eaten away by shooting small, high-velocity metal balls; a rotary drilling system that they could steer from the surface; and upgraded, more heat resistant geophones.

In the end, all three were less useful than Moore had hoped. The particle drilling and steerable system turned out to be more trouble than they were worth, especially compared with the earlier success of the diamond-tipped bits. The modified geophones still fritzed beyond about 300 degrees Fahrenheit (150 degrees Celsius); Moore says they’ll eventually switch over to heat-proof, fiber optic-based devices. But that’s the point, he says, of “de-risking.” Sometimes it’s helpful to see what breaks.

There are other reasons to feel hopeful. A few days after the FORGE connection, Fervo released results from its own 30-day connection test in Nevada. The result, according to Latimer, is “the most productive enhanced geothermal project ever completed,” producing enough hot water to generate about 3.5 megawatts of electricity. The boreholes were drilled near an existing hydrothermal plant that has room for more capacity, and will produce power by the end of the summer, he says.

“We’ve shown that it works,” Latimer says. “Now the question is how quickly can we bring it down the cost curve.” That includes getting hotter. Fervo’s Nevada wells peaked at 370 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius)—hotter, he points out, than any other horizontal oil and gas well in the US—and hot enough to prove that its own tools can go a bit hotter next time. There are also crucial questions about drilling, he adds: the optimal distance between the wells, the angles, the depth. “It’s not like software where you can iterate quickly,” he says. The industry needs more experiments, more projects, to figure out the most productive combination—each of them bound to be expensive and difficult.

More opportunities to iterate are likely coming. The US Inflation Reduction Act has poured money into green energy infrastructure, adding incentives to geothermal development that put it closer to existing ones available to wind and solar. Meanwhile, the DOE upped its goal for geothermal electricity generation in 2050 by 50 percent, to 90 MW, based in part on improved prospects for EGS technology, and in February announced that it would spend an additional $74 million on pilot EGS demonstrations. None of them are likely to go as hot as FORGE just yet, Moore suspects. “I think we’re going to be looking at temperatures where we know the tools work,” he says. But it’s a start.

Some might try to use that warmth for direct heating, like Jordan’s project at Cornell. Others might drill at the edge of proven hydrothermal areas, where the heat is more accessible. And there are other, creative approaches to maximize revenue. Fervo and others have proposed using their wells as batteries—pumping down water when the grid has excess energy and then bringing it back hot at leaner times to generate power—or building plants alongside power-hungry facilities like data centers or future carbon removal plants, avoiding the challenges of connecting to an overloaded power grid.

Scaling up from there will require much more investment. And the degree to which investors—especially in oil and gas—will pick up the baton remains to be seen. This year, Fervo picked up a $10 million investment from oil and gas company Devon Energy, a pioneer of fracking. Last month, Eavor, a closed-loop geothermal startup, announced BP Ventures had led its latest funding round. “It’s gone from zero to something,” says Henning Bjørvik, who tracks the geothermal industry at Rystad, the energy consultancy. But oil and gas is still as much a competitor—for equipment, expertise, and land—as it is a friend to geothermal, and commitments to clean energy can prove fickle when fossil fuel prices start booming. What investors need to see, Bjørvik says, is that this embryonic industry can scale to hundreds or thousands of plants—with enough potential profit to outweigh the risks of any individual project going south.

The way to do that, Moore believes, is to keep showing how things can get just a little bit hotter. Completing the research at the second FORGE borehole will exhaust its current DOE grant in 2025, but he has applied for new funding to drill wells that are further apart—and, of course, test new tools at ever higher temperatures. By then, he’ll have a new neighbor. The rig for Fervo’s next project is already visible from the FORGE well pad—the start of what’s planned to be a full-scale power plant.

If all goes to plan, it will produce 400 megawatts of energy, Latimer says, enough to power 300,000 homes. It was logical, he says, to drill in the shadow of both FORGE and Blundell. The site has been extensively surveyed and has the grid interconnections to move electricity to Fervo’s initial customers in California. The goal is geothermal energy anywhere. For now, it makes sense to start here.

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metaphysicalpistolsoraclemine · 4 months

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Dragon Awakening

There are 13 Dragon Beings that are enveloped in the Earth crust, that have been here for eons of time as Guardians of the Ley Lines, ready to awaken and protect the Christ Child once the Cosmic Dragon births the Golden Dragon Egg and it hatches or cracks open. They have remained asleep in the Earth until the tipping point of global awakening occurs when the Mother of Dragons returns as her fullest divine emanation in her Cosmic Mother Christos Sophia Dragon body. The 13 primary Dragon beings serve as massive energy reservoirs for transmitting an assortment of vital forces and golden fire elementals through their dragon breath, transmitting beautiful shimmering liquid plasma fire waters, living light codes, spiritual vapors, divine aether and pearlescent substances from the Eye of God into the ley lines. Each of the Dragons embody their own astrological correspondence or cosmological principles that interact directly with the main ray creation system located in Ursa Major. We could say that the Cosmic Christos Suns send forth their ray principles and astrological correspondences through the 13 primary Dragon bodies enmeshed within the planetary matrix, so they can release these solar consciousness frequencies and geomantic codes into the layers of the Albion Lightbody.

The Mother of Dragons is the original Cosmic Dragon which oversees the four dragon realms in the middle world, inner world, outer world and core of creation domains that make up the entirety of the Universal, Galactic and planetary consciousness. The Cosmic Mother Dragon also oversees the millions of dragon eggs that are intended for activating the lightbody of human beings and for the spiritual benefit of the various species existing on the planet. We have noted that the Cosmic Mother Dragon is also overseeing the functions of the gatekeeper Dragon being that was in the middle world domains of the Universal Mother Dark Matter Matrix.

Approached with divine respect, reverence and a loving heart, earthly Landscape Dragons are benevolent but as awakening protectors they are fiercely powerful as the untamed natural forces of the Earth. There are many more planetary landscape dragons and astrological dragons with assorted purposes that are located all over the planet to be discovered on the next stage of our awakening journey. Some of them appear to have massive golden bodies with crystal eyes that appear as a variety of colored jewels or gemstones. At this time eight of the primary 13 Dragon beings in the planet have been brought into awareness as the Easter event activates the Saint Michael Line. This begins a Dragon Awakening at the intersection points that are made between Saint Michael Mount in Cornwall, England and Mont-Saint-Michel on the Apollo line in France.

The unification of these Dragon Lines generates new geomantic expressions as it undergoes the solar heart twinning of rhomboid diamond grid patterns into a global hierogamic union event. This new planetary activation comes with the restoration of the Triple Solar Christ Mary in her Universal Ankh Rose Body which produces sacred marriage with the Triple Solar Masculine Christ united through Melchizedek-Metatron-Michael. Their Christos-Sophiaoffspring is a massive Cosmic Dragon Egg that when hatched, will initiate in the grids a powerful pineal-pituitary integration referred to as the Pearl Activation. The Dragon Awakening is happening in the following areas of the planetary grid.

#dragondreamers #dragonawakening #yearofthedoagon #metaphysicalpistol #oraclemine #godsovereignfree #jeminthehologram #ascensionglossary #ascensionmechanics #energeticsynthisis #gsf #ascension

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slowmissiles · 1 year

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Back in a former life, I had an addiction that I loved beyond sanity. Here’s the story of it. 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 pt1 2009 pt2 2009 Redux

This is the final spec list for my glorious, insane Brutal Truth.

Nissan Skyline BCNR33 GT-R (Type 2) manufactured in April 1996. JDM non V-Spec vehicle retailed through Osaka Nissan Prince in May/June 1996. Imported to the UK in June 1997. Remained in original JDM spec without speedometer conversion until August 2002. Only the steering wheel & white dial sets were fitted in Japan.

Nismo RB26N1 bare engine: [N1 water pump (improved flow & less cavitation)/Reinforced cylinder block head bolt boss/Increased sump capacity (6L 20w60)/1.2mm oil restrictor]

N1 head with 0.5mm overbore (2598cc)

Cryogenically hardened N1 crankshaft

Wossner forged & cryogenically hardened pistons

Abbey Motorsport reinforced & cryogenically hardened con-rods

ACL Race Series conrod & crankshaft bearings

Tomei sump baffle kit

Tomei high flow (larger drive gears) oil pump

HKS 1.2mm metal head gasket

Tomei Procam Spec 2 cam kit (270 degree inlet & outlet with 10.25mm lift)

HKS V-Cam System Step 1 Type B (variable 248-278 degree inlet; replaces Procam inlet camshaft)

HKS vernier cam pulleys

HKS kevlar reinforced timing belt

Trust metal intake & throttle gaskets

HKS front pipe & decat gaskets

GReddy Iridium 08 Racing sparkplugs

Mocal 19-row oil cooler & Abbey Motorsport remote oil filter assembly

Abbey Motorsport catch tank & washer reservoir with SFS breather hoses

Abbey Motorsport Pro Alloy large radiator

Tomei fuel pump, fuel regulator & 600cc injectors

A’PEXi Power Intake induction kit

A’PEXi GT Spec intercooler (237x610x136mm) & hard pipe kit

HKS GT-SS turbos

HKS twin AFM delete kit

Tomei turbo elbows

HKS downpipes

HKS Silent Hi-Power exhaust

Abbey Motorsport 80mm decat pipe

Mine’s VX-ROM

HKS F-Con V Pro

HKS EVC 6 boost controller (1.6 bar)

AEM wideband lambda sensor

Splitfire DI Super Direct Ignition System

HKS Circle Earth kit

HKS GD Max twin-plate clutch (with lightened flywheel)

Abbey Motorsport rebuilt transfer box

Abbey Motorsport rebuilt gearbox with cryogenically hardened gear set, modified Nissan synchromesh upgrade and OS Giken strengthening plate

Abbey Motorsport rebuilt rear diff

Nismo gearbox mounts

Nismo Solid Shift gear stick (10% short shift)

Omex Shift Light Sequential

Sunsei SE-135 solar panel trickle charger mounted on a custom aluminium riser between the rear parcel shelf speaker enclosures.

Team Dynamics Equinox alloys 19x9.5, ET+15 in silver with polished stainless steel rim.

Falken FK452 265/30/19 Y-rated tyres

Cusco brake master cylinder brace

Cusco rear steering delete kit

Cusco front & rear upper suspension links

AST Sport Line 1 full suspension kit with UK spring setup

Nismo stainless steel braided brake hoses

StopTech 355mm rotor 4 pot caliper front brake kit

StopTech 355mm rotor 2 pot caliper rear brake kit with Abbey Motorsport modified pad retainers

Ferodo DS2500 brake pads front & rear

Bomex AD-390 front splitter

Nismo R34 smoked front indicators in custom aluminium mounting plates finished in crackle black

Nissan Xenon headlamp units

Border Racing Aero Fenders (vented front wings) with silver GT emblems from a R32 Skyline

Nismo smoked side repeaters

Top Mix one-off FRP twin blade rear spoiler on custom aluminium mounting plates

Entire exterior resprayed in BMW black (code 086) base and lacquer

Nissan Motorsport International carbon fibre B-pillar plates

PIAA carbon effect silicon wipers, front pair with spoilers, rear without

Nismo white face dial sets (dashboard & centre console) in carbon fibre panels

AEM AFR gauge mount replaces the lighter socket

HKS EVC display mounted on custom carbon fibre plate replacing the ashtray

Lighter socket relocated to the fog light switch panel

Nissan Momo steering wheel (with airbag)

Dressycar Nismo harness pads

Redline Automotive leather gearstick & handbrake gaiters

Abbey Motorsport carbon fibre door sill trims

Carbon fibre boot sill trim

Inlet plenum and sundry induction pipework finished in powder grey

Trust clear cam pulley cover

HKS Kansai Service carbon fibre spark plug cover

Right hand cam cover finished in crackle black

Nismo radiator & washer reservoir caps

HKS Kansai Service front strut brace finished in high gloss black

GReddy aluminium slam panel finished in crackle black

Tein bonnet dampers with black sleeves

Custom made one-off Cobra Misano Lux front seats: [Alcantara (colour code 9189) outers/Alcantara (colour code 9182) centre panels/One-piece carbon fibre backs/Sidewinder bases on custom subframes adapted by Abbey Motorsport/Cobra logo in silver thread on the headpads/GT-R logo beneath the grommets on seat backs]

JVC KD-AVX2 multi-media DVD/CD receiver with built-in 3.5” widescreen monitor

2x JL Audio Evolution VR600-CXi 6” speakers (front)

2x JL Audio Evolution TR650-CXi 6.5” speakers (rear)

Multiple and interlaced Thatcham rated security systems.

500 bhp. 520 ft/lb.

Ludicrously, hilariously, unbelievably fast.

Hope you enjoyed this little trip down memory lane with me. Cheers! JM.

(Photo by N. Liassides.)

#r33 #bcnr33 #skyline #gt-r #nissan skyline #Abbey Motorsport #HKS #Bomex #Tomei #A'PEXi #GReddy #Nismo #RB26N1 #Mocal #Team Dynamics

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flight-of-the-sacred-eagle · 10 months

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So. I was bored recently and oops I created a shit ton of irken culture lore. So uh. Guess I’ll share it? It’s still a WIP but uh. Here?

Starting with the Irken Solar System.

Irken Solar System

* Sansoth- Larger of the two suns, has a reddish color, as it is cooler than Earth’s sun.

* Hapsoth- Smaller of the two suns, has a whitish color, as it is hotter than Earth’s sun.

* Zoter- Closest planet to the suns. A gas giant around the size of Jupiter with an atmosphere akin to Saturn’s. Appears reddish-yellow. Averages 3562 degrees F. No moons. Orbits the suns in 16 earth hours or 13 irken hours.

* Astea- Second planet from the suns. A rocky planet around 1.2x the size of Mars with a Marian atmosphere. Covered in craters due to heavy bombardment and appears grayish-brown. Averages 536 degrees F. Has one moon, Ugalia. Geologically active, with occasional earthquakes and volcanic activity due to plate tectonics driven by its iron-platinum core. Orbits the suns in 6 earth days or 4.9 irken days.

* Ugalia- Astea’s only moon. Sort of oblong in shape, it is extremely small and more akin to a large asteroid than a regular moon. Orbits Astea in 30 earth hours or 24.39 irken hours. Locked in orbit.

* Metchonov- Third planet from the suns. A rocky planet around 1.5x the size of Mercury with an atmosphere akin to Earth’s. Appears blue due to this. Averages 536 degrees F, but terraformed to the point where it is now 153 degrees F. No moons. Sustained simple, multicellular life before Irk wiped it out. The fourth extraplanetary colony Irk made. Houses approximately 3 billion irkens as well as a smaller Control Brain. Not particularly geologically active, but still has an iron-platinum core. Orbits the suns in 20.6 earth days or 12.6 irken days.

* Irk- Fourth planet from the suns. A rocky planet about 1.75x the size of Earth. Has an atmosphere similar to Earth, but with trace iodine gas that gives the atmosphere its pinkish hue. This atmosphere is also incredibly volatile, with storms forming in mere minutes. Half of the planet is covered by the Control Brain, while the other half is covered by thousand foot tall buildings that house, collectively, a total of 10.6 billion irkens. A lot of infrastructure is underground. Birthplace of irkens, who are the only animal left on the planet. Used to have a sprawling, alkaline fresh water ocean but water is now housed in underground ocean sized reservoirs. Averages about 95 degrees F. Used to be extremely geologically active before irkens stopped its tectonic movement by forcibly cooling its iron-platinum core. Has one large supercontinent 1.5x the size of Pangea, though that is hard to see due to the lack of surface water. Has three rings made from three former moons. Has four moons still orbiting it- Xetis, Uartis, Sucutis, and Hovtis. Orbits the suns in 36.5 Earth days or 30 irken days.

* Xetis- The closest moon to Irk. In the process of being torn apart by gravity to form a fifth planetary ring. About the size of Phobus, it orbits Irk about every 8.2 earth hours or 6.67 irken hours. Completely locked with Irk.

* Uartis- The second closest moon to Irk. Will soon begin to be torn apart by gravity. The first celestial body irkens stepped foot on and the first extraplanetary colony they set up. Holds about 850 million irkens. Has an extremely similar atmosphere to Irk due to terraforming, giving it a magenta sky. Was actually formed due to a collision of Irk and another large planet. Houses the second of the big ten Control brains. Around the size of Earth’s moon, it orbits Irk about every 24.2 earth hours or 19.6 irken hours.

* Sucutis- The third closest moon to Irk. The second extraplanetary colony set up. Has little atmosphere. Due to this, it was the reason for the creation of and the first planet to try out the now standard atmospheric processor irken’s are now cloned with. Holds about 1.5 billion irkens. Slightly larger than our moon, it orbits Irk about every 6.1 earth days or 5 irken days.

* Hovtis- The furthest moon from Irk. The third extraplanetary colony Irk set up. Has an almost orange atmosphere due to the failed attempts at terraforming to try to give it a similar atmosphere to Irk’s melding with the natural high oxygen atmosphere of the moon. Holds about 1.87 billion irkens. About the size of Callisto, it orbits Irk about every 12.1 earth days or 10 irken days.

* Koliv- Fifth planet from the suns. A gas giant around the size of Saturn with an atmosphere akin to Neptune’s. Averages 15 degrees F. Has two moons, Cosie and Bianus. Orbits the suns in 68.67 Earth days or 56.32 irken days.

* Cosie- The closer moon to Koliv. Has an almost green color due to methane gases on the surface. Used to house life, but was used by irkens as a trial run of the organic sweep. About the size of Europa, it orbits Koliv about every 31.72 earth days or 26 irken days.

* Bianus- The further moon from Koliv. Has a reddish hue due to large amounts of iron that oxidized a long time ago. It’s landscape is dotted with irken-made scars due to them testing multiple weapons of mass destruction, which rendered it completely uninhabitable. About the size of Deimos, it orbits Koliv about every 42.7 earth days or 42.7 irken days.

* Anerth Line- Massive asteroid belt that separates the first five planets from the remaining three. Much thicker than ours. Holds asteroids that are larger than even Ceres. Mostly made up of carbonaceous chondrites.

* Ratera- Sixth planet from the suns. A gas giant around the size of Jupiter with an atmosphere akin to Uranus’. Looks blue-green due to its atmosphere, and is prone to large storms. Averages -135 degrees F. Has 15 moons, Nenov, Istrides, Obbion, Yicarro, Eruta, Igoria, Zars, Garth, Alea, Sokpria, Vesyrn, Nurturia, Crarth, Lladus, and Rellilles. Orbits the suns in 384.3 earth days or 315 irken days.

* Nenov- The closest moon to Ratera. Used to hold single celled life before being colonized by irk. Holds approximately 1.8 billion irkens. Has pink ice caps due to frozen methane. About the size of Cyllene, it orbits Ratera about every 18.3 earth days or 15 irken days.

* Istrides- The second closest moon to Ratera. Appears almost yellow due to a large deposit of sulfur dioxide. Contains a lot of active volcanoes. Was colonized by irkens, but was abandoned due to the harshness of the sulfur dioxide deposits. About the size of Thebe, it orbits Ratera about every 26.84 earth days or 22 irken days.

* Obbion- The third closest moon to Ratera. Covered in a thin layer of a mix of methane and sulfur dioxide rich ice, it has swirls of pink and yellow stretching across it. Extremely cold. About the size of Amalthea, it orbits Ratera about every 36.97 earth days or 30.3 irken days.

* Yicarro- The fourth closest moon to Ratera. Possibly a piece of Istrides that was broken off in a meteorite strike. Covered in sulfur dioxide, giving it a yellow look. About the size of Atlas, it orbits Ratera about every 39.6 earth days or 32.5 irken days.

* Eruta- The fifth closest moon to Ratera. Covered in a mesh of metal wires due to it housing the third of the big ten Control Brains. Houses about 3 million Irkens dedicated to caring for the control brain. About the size of Europa, it orbits Ratera about every 45.9 earth days or 37.6 irken days.

* Igoria- The sixth closest moon to Ratera. Houses the largest crater in the Irken Solar System. Appears grayish due to it being mostly just rock and ice. Was once used for a refueling outpost but was abandoned due to Irken ships becoming much more fuel efficient. About the size of Tethys, it orbits Ratera about every 55.2 earth days or 45.2 irken days.

* Zars- The seventh closest moon to Ratera. Extremely light for its size, due to its make up of mostly ice and water. Was mined by irkens for its water once the ocean on Irk began to dry up. About the size of Mimas, it orbits Ratera about every 60.1 earth days or 49.26 irken days.

* Garth- The eighth closest moon to Ratera. The largest moon in the Irken Solar System. Used to house intelligent life called garthans who did achieve space travel and even set up two colonies on Vesryn and Sokpria, but were completely wiped out by irkens, leaving the once occupied green-blue moon a wasteland of abandoned buildings. About the size of Titan, it orbits Ratera about every 68.94 earth days or 56.5 irken days.

* Alea- The ninth closest moon to Ratera. The smallest moon in the Irken Solar System, it is barely more than an asteroid. About the size of Aegaeon, it orbits Ratera about every 73.6 earth days or 60.3 irken days.

* Sokpria- The tenth closest moon to Ratera. Houses the remains of the first garthan colony, alongside several nuclear scars which left it completely uninhabitable by even irkens. Any atmosphere it had was stripped away in the war. About the size of Rhea, it orbits Ratera about every 79.4 earth days or 65.08 irken days.

* Vesyrn- The eleventh closest moon to Ratera. The second garthan colony. Holds the abandoned, decaying ruins of the garthans. Was the site of the Garthan’s Last Stand, which was an absolute massacre by the irkens. Bones of garthans still litter the red-skyed moon. About 1.5x the size of Europa, it orbits Ratera about every 84 earth days or 68.85 irken days.

* Nurturia- The twelfth closest moon to Ratera. Houses the first off-planet smeetery, which is now defunct due to a number of defects being born due to its uranium rich soils. About the size of Iapetus, it orbits Ratera about every 89.7 earth days or 73.5 irken days.

* Crarth- The thirteenth closest moon to Ratera. Held large deposits of gold, which irkens mined out completely. About the size of Hyperion, it orbits Ratera about every 95.4 earth days or 78.2 irken days.

* Lladus- The fourteenth closest moon to Ratera. Covered in craters caused by nuclear bombs dropped by irkens to test their capabilities. About the size of Skathi, it orbits Ratera about every 103.5 earth days or 84.84 irken days.

* Rellilles- The furthest moon to Ratera. Small, it holds the remains of an irken outpost active during the Interplanetary War. About the size of Siarnaq, it orbits Ratera about every 128.8 earth days or 105.57.

* Talmara- Eighth planet from the suns. An ice giant around the size of Uranus with an atmosphere akin to Neptune’s. Appears blue. Averages -298 degrees F. Has 8 moons, Lusorix, Chunov, Vaccutor, Yolora, Rebos, Tianides, Zaltov, and Guzuno. Has rings made from destroyed moons. Orbits the suns in 558.76 earth days or 458 irken days.

* Lusorix- The closest moon to Talmara. Once held massive deposits of platinum and gravitite, but was quickly mined dry by irkens. About the size of Metis, it orbits Talmara about every 27.9 earth days or 22.87 irken days.

* Chunov- The second closest moon to Talmara. Used to be one of the last stops irkens made before exiting the Irken Solar System, and it is where the first interstellar irken ship was launched from. About 2.9x the size of Europa, it orbits Talmara about every 39.78 earth days or 32.6 irken days.

* Vaccutor- The third closest moon to Talmara. A still active irken colony made up of the scientific community who study new ways to synthesize irkonium. Houses about 100 million irkens. About 2.5x the size of Ersa, it orbits Talmara about every 46.3 earth days or 37.95 irken days.

* Yolora- The fourth closest moon to Talmara. A mostly ice moon of little interest. About the size of Dia, it orbits Talmara about every 53.22 earth days or 43.62 irken days.

* Rebos- The fifth closest moon to Talmara. Holds a small, yet well kept museum focused on the Interplanetary War. Houses about 10 million irkens, most of whom being high ranking historians. About the size of Mneme, it orbits Talmara about every 67.2 earth days or 55.1 irken days.

* Tianides- The sixth closest moon to Talmara. A small moon that used to house an enormous telescope used to try to locate other stars and potentially terraformable planets. About the size of Ananke, it orbits Talmara about every 73.72 earth days or 60.4 irken days.

* Zaltov- The seventh closest moon to Talmara. Very small, it houses a few irken restaurants and shops, as it is usually the first stops one makes when entering the Irken Solar System. Houses about 60 million irkens. About the size of Earth’s moon, it orbits Talmara about every 82.3 earth days or 67.5 irken days.

* Guzuno- The furthest moon from Talmara. A small, featureless moon of little regard. About the size of Kale, it orbits Talmara about every 89.6 earth days or 73.4 irken days.

* Orbruna- Farthest planet from the sun. An ice giant around the size of Neptune with an atmosphere akin to Uranus’. Has a greenish atmosphere and several rings. Averages -378 degrees. Has no moon. Orbits the suns in 923.76 earth days or 757.18 irken days.

#invader zim #irken empire #iz irken #irken culture #random headcanons

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