The Cracked Acorn: FRB180916

You may wonder what happened to Capt. Janeway. Here are some of her Star Trek Voyager traits:

•  She drinks coffee, not that sissy “Earl Grey” stuff.
• Beams down to the planet like real Captains should.
• Can speak “techno-babble” with the best of them.
• Hasn’t quoted Shakespeare — yet.
• Will give you two days off to handle a life-shattering experience.
• When Janeway lands her ship, it can take off again.
• When Janeway says ‘I don’t like you!’, she means it!
• Janeway has a First Officer with a tattoo.
• She doesn’t let any pesky Federation Admirals get in her way,
• 40 episodes and without surrendering the ship.
• Never worries about meeting a son she never knew she had.
• Doesn’t force her crew to wear awful outfits; her outfit never wrinkles.
• She doesn’t waste time learning a foreign language.
• Doesn’t have a Counselor on board (thank God!).
• Janeway doesn’t have to point which way to go when they set off.
• Has a manly voice and draws her phaser at the first sign of trouble.
• The crew members never try to take over the ship.
• When “Q” asked her to run away with him, she refused.
• This female Captain is willing to admit when they’re lost and pulls over for directions.

(enough of this Star Trek humor, I’m still laughing!)

It seems we never get tired of TV adventures into the heavens. So, we have been to the moon and may go again…there’s lip service that it may happen that a jaunt to Mars could happen.

The year 2007 provided a puzzle for those who make it their profession to study the darkness while we sleep. Kenzie Nimmo, a Ph.D. student noticed that a galaxy was producing an FRB ( ‘fast radio burst’). You think this is a signal from extraterrestrial intelligence. Her team is fast on to studying and solving this one, FRB 180916. Why is this occurring 500 million light-years on a 16-day cycle, like clockwork?

Some think it is 2 stars revolving about each other! (male and female? I knew you were thinking that?)

The puzzle gets extra complex when it is being found that other FRBs are out there. Now it has been found that there is one from inside our own galaxy, the Milky Way, not to worry it’s close by only 30,000 light-years from us. Those who have on their thinking caps say that all this is due to highly dense neutron stars hiding in these galaxies. Whoa! That comment blew me over!

Finally, our Ph.D. student comments that “this is all-important to determine a source to see that not only is there notable FRBs but there could be non-repeating FRBs, and to see if this is  invaluable for our understanding to provide a more lucrative way of finding more FRBs.”

Capt. Janeway…Where forth art thou?

Joshua 10:13 – And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed. The sun that came out of his chamber like a bridegroom, and rejoiced as a strong man to run his course, stopped his course at once; and the moon that walks in her brightness proceeded not on, but both stood still, motionless, and continued in this position until the people had avenged themselves on their enemies.