writing

4.16.21 - Diets of Distraction

Rome was not burned in a day
It suffered an agonizing decay
Pillars raised in golden streets
Finery and art, exquisite treats
Fattened off the backs of masses
Blind prophets cried of salvation
Wastewater wage middle classes
Starved, practicing diets of distraction

3.18.21 - Thought Experiment #2

3/18/21

Watched a YouTube video in VR about exoplanets. Only regret is I did not find it sooner. Trappiste-1e, standing on the surface, looking at rocky stalactites that curve up out of the planet’s surface like teeth. Above, an emerald borealis, reaches up to the true depths of space. A red star, larger and closer than the moon, filled the valley with a ruby-hint of light. Other bright, colorful orbs passed around, like marbles swirling down a slow cosmic drain.

Forty light years away.

But, when describing how exoplanets are theoretically formed, one of them said something odd. “We aren’t really sure what determines whether or not two large asteroids, stick together or not when they collide.”

There was a graphic of a star casting a golden hue over a wide, glistening asteroid belt. Some larger rocks cast shadows on others, like skaters dancing across a spinning disc of ice. I thought about it. What if it is not random, but just the odds of certain conditions?

Two asteroids must be on a certain path, to collide right before they pass under the shadow of something else, like a more inner planet. Depending on the difference in temperature under the shadow, the asteroids might warm up under starlight, enough for their core materials to get ‘sticky,’ and then they collide under the shadow once they start to refreeze. Just the right time, and gentle enough difference in speed, they fuse together. Happens enough times you get ten kilometers wide rock, which I read was the minimum size required to create a gravity well. They pull in more rocks; over time it snowballs. Boom, protoplanet.

But I confess, my knowledge is limited. I just like looking at the stars. I will have to research further. God, why does that sound like fun?

If we could chart the debris path of some asteroids passing in the shadow of something, I wonder if it could be proven? Or at least predicted.

The plan, or part of it, this summer, is to spend the days reading, writing, and working out. Get back to my core. Reading list below looks good.

The VR video is below.

Take a Virtual Reality tour of six REAL exoplanets (4K, 360° VR experience) | We The Curious