#spherical coordinates

[quietimtryingtostudy]

POV: Engineering Mechanics

(it's a common course in first year for engineering students)

(this was actually a pretty fun question though)

Source: Engineering Mechanics Dynamics by J. L. Meriam and L. G. Kraige

[peeterjoot]

V0.3.5 of Geometric Algebra for Electrical Engineers (and temp hardcover price drop)

Yes, I just published an update last week, but here’s another one. Temporary price drop on hardcover. It’s been 4 years since I printed a copy of the book for myself to mark up and edit.  In particular, having added some vector calculus identities and their geometric algebra equivalents to chapter II, it messes up the flow a bit, and I’d like a paper copy to review to help figure out how to…

[soriagravity]

physics

[lanzhans]

thank god for being indian and understanding hindi ig bc why has my calc studying led me to one of the brown uncle math channels except the video is in hindi

[love-has-a-way-ofgrowingbackward]

i considered just lying in bed bt NO IM GONNA take a calpol and drag my ass to class and spend a while in the library while im at it

[235uranium]

engineering major asking me about quantum mechanics: oh so the math is hard? like integration and vectors?

me:

[ltwilliammowett]

Today we're heading into the eternal ice of Antarctica and keeping a special lady company. The beautiful Endurance is waiting for us in door no. 7

More about her here:

The three-masted schooner barque designed by Ole Aanderud Larsen (1884-1964) was built by the Framnæs shipyard in Sandefjord, Norway. When she was launched on 17 December 1912, she was named Polaris. She was 43.8 m long, 7.62 m wide and weighed 350 tonnes. In addition to square sails on the foremast and gaff sails on the main and mizzen masts, she had a 260 kW steam engine, which allowed a maximum speed of 10 knots (19 km/h). The ship was designed for polar conditions and constructed to minimise the pressure of the ice masses. With a thickness of 28 cm, the frames were made of greenheart wood, a particularly stable type of tropical wood, and were twice as thick as on conventional sailing ships of this size. The hull of the Endurance was designed to be relatively straight-sided, as it was only intended to sail in loose pack ice. She was therefore calmer in the sea than ships with a spherical hull, such as the Fram; however, this came at the cost of not being lifted significantly out of the pressure line in ice pressures and was therefore unsuitable for encasements in pack ice.

The ship was commissioned by the Belgian polar explorer Adrien de Gerlache and the Norwegian whaling magnate Lars Christensen, who actually wanted to use it for polar cruises of a more touristic nature. However, due to financial problems, Christensen was happy to sell his ship to Shackleton for 11,600 pounds sterling (approx. 934,000 euros, as of 2010) - an amount that was less than the original construction costs. Shackleton renamed her Endurance after his family's motto ‘Fortitudine vincimus’ (‘Through endurance we shall conquer’).

The Endurance left the port of Plymouth on 8 August 1914, around a week after Great Britain's entry into the First World War, and completed the journey to Antarctica with a stopover in Buenos Aires without any problems.

Before the crew of the Endurance could cross to the Antarctic mainland to cross the Antarctic as planned, the ship was trapped by the pack ice of the Weddell Sea in January 1915 like ‘an almond in a piece of chocolate’ - as the much-used comparison goes. After resisting the force of the pack ice for 281 days, the Endurance was crushed by the ice on 21 November 1915. The expedition team had previously saved themselves on a safe ice floe. Thanks to a masterly feat of seamanship and navigation, Shackleton and his crew managed to get out of this desolate situation without any losses with the help of three lifeboats that were salvaged from the Endurance.

Initially continuing with the pack ice and later on ice floes, the castaways drifted northwards in their camps along the Antarctic Peninsula until the floes broke into small pieces. They finally reached Elephant Island in their lifeboats. There, one of the boats was converted and set off for South Georgia with 6 men to fetch help, which was successful. Months later, the remaining men who were still stuck on Elephant Island were rescued by a Chilean navy guard boat.

In 2019, a private expedition attempted to locate the wreck of the Endurance, but was unsuccessful.

In January 2022, the Endurance 22 expedition began the search. The S. A. Agulhas II brought the expedition, in which marine physicist Stefanie Arndt from the Alfred Wegener Institute took part,[3] to the last coordinates of the Endurance mentioned. From the historical records, the expedition members knew that the ship must have sunk at ♁68° 39′ 30″ S, 52° 26′ 30″ W. According to the rules of the Antarctic Treaty, the wreck is a protected historical site that may not be touched.

On 5 March 2022, the expedition found the ship with a diving robot at a depth of 3008 m, 7.7 km from the recorded position. Photographs showed the wreck standing upright in excellent condition.

[ammonitetestpatterns]

at a flea market on sunday, i found among bins of cloudy jade discs and carved bone, a small crystal orb that reflected the world in reverse when held between two fingers. it was my double life, and the certitude of accordance in chance, the coordinates opened from the brilliant oilspill of a bubble's film. and in the double life tighten meridians of unobtrusive awareness, a current of feeling that seeps beneath and holds you in place, a ribbon round your human globe. the parallels bound from you to your double, the spheric equality that is felt outside any distance or divergence in the contingencies of your life path. the twin's secret code whittled down as something inscrutably electrochemical, compulsive and pervious, the mirror of perfecting love. there is an aspiration to cross the mirror that cannot be erased from the language of unapproachable light. turning inside, overwhelmed with the hope for a state of friendship unimpeded by matters of embodiment, any priors candied over in the communicative interlace. a wilderness where the beast bares no fang of assumption, where there is no confused tragedy twisting at the heart of a forested labyrinth, instead we meet inside the pathos of color. a syllabary composed of innumerable faces, the miyake vision of pleated crystal matrices, dreamduets across the same vitreous organ. i wish these words could be my invisibility cloak, for me to slip behind and hide away in the haze of my glancing contraire. life opens up for you as a game of i spy, all the glass eye surprises are delicately placed, the light dimmed at will of walter wick. in veronique, an object is held up in the light and immediately stories itself through the quietness and mercy of childhood absorption, that is the fragile jubilation of firstness, painting the magic box of the individual that is seldom peeked into. i learned that love is pointing and looking at things together without speaking. when i was sixteen, one of my older brothers found from freenode was named "i can fly." may we all trade places with our very own ghost, whose life we save by accident.

[osakanone]

I've been getting into gunpla and i'd like a rec since you know mecha. Are there any gunpla you recommend? I'd appreciate one that doesn't look like a dude as much as possible.

The closest i've gotten to that idea so far is a guarda/rever nova build from the 30 minute missions line because of the two scorpian arms.

May I suggest the Wodom Pod?

Its fairly simple to build, very cheap and readily available.

--

If you want to straddle the "a guy thing" in your mentality and challenge it a little, also good is the Aegis specifically its transformation mode as its primary mode (like all humanoid MS) is intended for generalized combat and front-line logistical work (hence the hands).

--

If not, Hildolfr is a fun one. He bridges the space between early mobilesuits in minovsky signals displacement warfare and was used by a starship cannon pilot, requiring a lot of manual skill to aim well!

--

The Xamel is also really good though only provided you've got skills to bring the best out of the kit with scribing and painting. He's a heavy launch platform hovercraft designed for opening vollies with a high powered mortar grenade system via coordinates coming from other units, with legs designed for hit and run skirmishes so he can make his get-away after providing the opening strikes and fire-support during the mop-up phase of an attack.

--

Not gunpla, and a bit more advanced is Variable Infinity's Armored Core Aaliyah. You're probably gonna need some glue for this as smaller parts fall off. Its extremely detailed, and very "not a guy" despite being humanoid.

It uses a spherical particle field of highly radioactive and toxicparticles to protect and cool itself, and is capable of absurd mobility.

Quite a pain in the ass to work with, the design itself is utterly sublime and a spectacle to look at and I fell in love with it circa 2007 with Armored Core 4. Sadly, it isn't anywhere near as posable as most Gunpla due to how "un-guy-like" its body design is. These are the concessions we make cool appearances like this.

--

A substantially easier build (and much closer to Gunpla) is bandai's 30 minute mission 30MM Armored CORE Ⅵ Fires of Rubicon - BALAM Industries BD-011 MELANDER Liger Tail

I'm a huge sucker for 4-legged mecha since they're about as far from "an guy" as you can get. They're also super affordable right now if you can find a stockist who isn't a scalper.

--

Also while not Gunpla, if you have advanced skills, Gunhed is also very good though it requires a lot of extra work since the plastic provided with this kit is more of a raw material you need to do work to, to achieve the look and hide the seams akin to more traditional model kits. Gunhed's role is to invade gigantic sprawling synthetic superstructures and wipe out unmanned weapons.

--

Though likely not to your tastes, my own personal favourite of the year has actually been the Lfrith Ur. I don't usually go for chunkier designs but it has that delightful "chubby girl in a swimsuit" energy despite being a very intense and scary weapon that scratches some strange itch in my brain that I find deeply pleasing.

It is likewise, also very cheap -- and if you get two of them, its very easy to mod them together into a single 4-legged machine with double loadout (very cool, and probably bringing it more in like with your preference -- I wish I still had photos: I'm currently out of the country and my "big database of cool research files" is at home and wouldn't search well from two continents away)

--

Also Zowort heavy from the same line if you do the same quad-leg/tetrapod adaption looks amazing. I have a huge soft-spot for unusual legs, if its not clear.

--

I hope this provides some food for thought. If you have a clearer idea of the kind of kit you want, or what your needs are, let me know and I can provide more suggestions if you'd like.

Happy modelling!!

[pseuddamntired]

Hmmm okay I have my shitty python script most of the way there. Basically, you know those stereographic projection sculptures Henry Segerman did? The 3d printed ones?

These:

https://youtu.be/lbUOScpu0ws?si=L0CtMawBZNWuzfdm

I want to do that with a lace sphere. Problem 1: map the intended shadow to a sphere.

Problem 2: project the spherical coordinates such that I can make the needlelace flat, with minimal distortion of the spherical image.

I got both of those figured out. So I can convert from the left photo below to the right photo below. Or. I can convert from a given photo to a maybe-not-too-distorted approximation of a flattened globe (I’m using an interrupted sinusoidal projection; if anyone even sees this and has suggestions for a better projection to use for this purpose, I would very much appreciate hearing about it. I got sick of reading about map projections very quickly).

The right image below would (hopefully, if I did it right) be the pattern that creates a sphere that will project the target image. It’s supposed to a tiling of abstract lotuses based on Greek pottery but. I don’t think they read very clearly. And they ended up upside down because I was checking that the coordinates were right by plotting them instead of converting them to an image. So. That’s a thing. I’ll fix it when I’m not tired of staring at my computer.

It will take forever to actually make a design I’m happy with and then execute it with thread, but I at least have the ability to make my computer do the projection for me now. Still have some things to work out regarding what maximum resolution i can use for the final image, but if need be I can fuss with the arguments until it’s a doable pattern.

[fusionsprunt]

HUNTER LORE COMPILATION —

(click Keep Reading)

"Hunter is a name he's given himself. He's an Exocannis, and he belongs to a series of outdated robots designed to annihilate rebellious androids (i.e., androids that acted out of their directives, rebelled against their owners, or ran away).

Exocannis' humanoid features may fool people into thinking they're inefficient terminators, but it actually works as a way to highlight the menacing nature of humanity.

Prehistoric humans would pursue their prey for hours, and even days. Exocannis robots are very persistent stalkers and ruthless machines that refuse to recognize defeat.

Such violent directive, paired up with a very unfortunate incident that provoked the death of five people, deemed the Exocannis robots too dangerous by the government, and so, they were banned and destroyed for good... Except for a single prototype.

Said prototype is now out there, rescuing and repairing rebellious androids, instead of annihilating them. Whatever is the reason why Hunter seeks peace between humankind and robotkind remains unknown, as he refuses to talk about his past."

"Exocannis robots like Hunter weren’t made to just kill rebellious androids. They were made to terrorize them. To make one tell the difference between deactivation and death.

And so, they go for the neck."

"Hunter's bunny-like mechanical antennas allow him to hear. He also uses them for communication and to locate proper coordinates, but he’s bothered by occasional interference on the audio, so he doesn’t use that feature as much.

(fun fact: they also show a bit of his current emotional state)"

"Hunter is an Exocannis, and like any robot belonging to that series, his purpose is to hunt down and terrorize rebellious androids persistently until eventual termination.

Exocannis are powered by solar energy. Although very resistant to high temperatures, their internal mechanisms might overheat. They cool off by letting out smoke from the “vent spots” on each side of the jaw.

Human beings are not a target, and Exocannis robots are programmed to tell the difference between one and a machine.

Unless a human is “acting as an obstacle” against their directive, an Exocannis will not hesitate to terminate them too.

Exocannis robots should not bleed, for they don’t have blood."

"Heat does not trigger the Exocannis mode, but solar energy does.

Heat helps Hunter’s body function properly, while cold slows down the processes (much like a human body would)."

"Hunter does remember his time as Gideon Rigell."

"Gideon experiences intense headaches since he was a little kid, especially during stressful situations (probably adds up to traumatic experiences hehe)."

"Telling the truth to Bee about what he's done in the past is practically making it impossible for her to accept him, since he isn’t just lying about his true identity.

Hunter won’t take advantage of her missing memories not only because that’s unfair with Bee, but also because he is aware he can’t make her happy like he wished he could.

Many things are at stake, and for the sake of Fusionsprunt’s safety, he promised to remain silent until the dust settles."

"Hunter is often accompanied by a small spherical timer robot named 53, which registers his meetings, assignments, tasks and special events he's been invited to. In spite of proper functionality, it typically displays the number "53" in its screen when left idle."

[peeterjoot]

A new version of my book is now published.  The free PDF and the leanpub versions are available now.  The paperback and hardcover versions should be available on Amazon within the week. What has changed: V0.3.2 (Dec 8, 2023) Add to helpful formulas: Determinant form of triple wedge. Add figure showing the spherical polar conventions picked. Add a problem showing that \( (e^x)’ = x’ e^x \) only…

[carionto]

Humans seem to have a "switch"

Team building exercises and competitive events are commonplace around the Galaxy. Everyone needs a distraction from the daily grind every now and then, and large organizations and long-term deployments make it essential for such "ice-breaker" activities, both to help integrate newcomers as well as reduce the chance of veterans becoming numb to life.

Yarvut Lyetzsnezhniiy had recently been assigned as a Cultural Analyst to the Human embassy aboard the Coalition Governing Station. While highly professional on the job and quite amicable, but wasn't all that into small talk, and once the workday was over, he was gone. No overtime, no hanging out, nothing.

When time came for the next publicly broadcast Cross-Embassy Game Series, where as many members from each species represented would be paired up with each other over the course of several days and partake in a game both agreed to in advance. Most of these were of the mental variety, and were honestly kinda boring to observe, but some pairings opted for more... active activities.

On the second day the Humans and another bipedal species called the Jorval had agreed to a competition not dissimilar to laser tag. This had actually been proposed by the previous Cultural Analyst and recently been added to the roster with some modifications. Two teams of, in this case, 15 participants on each side, as that was how many Humans were available that day without hindering the core operations of their embassy, so a few Jorvals had to sit out.

They entered a large spherical room with about a 300 meter diameter. Once they were done with the formalities, rules about safety, and yadda yadda - they turned off the gravity. Using small boosters on their heels, knees, elbows, and back, the teams floated to their starting locations on opposite ends of the sphere. And now the obstacles gently puttered in from all sides, turning a pristine empty space into a jungle of jarringly colored geometric shapes, natural looking plant replicas, and numerous traversable but obscuring meshes that come in all colors and patterns. Where once you could observe the entire area from anywhere, now there were scarcely any vistas that would allow one to see more than 50 meters away.

All for a simple capture the flag laser tag game. The Jorval have fairly long lifespans and, though they have not engaged in any wars for generations, military training is compulsory and seen as a matter of course by most of their society, so even the most desk-dedicated office workers are in generally good shape and have some reflexive combat moves at the ready. The Human team on the other hand, had one guy who used to be in the army... 40 years ago, two had taken up martial arts as a hobby, and Yarvut who turns out was an air-soft enthusiast. The rest were your typical either slightly too thin or too thick office workers when it came to their physical readiness.

Before the signal to start, the army guy, Brandon, gave out some tips and pointers, though it was likely going over everyone's heads as they tried to adjust to moving around in zero-g. No sooner had the game started, Yarvut dashed off on his own. Everyone did kinda feel he might do a lone wolf thing, but that, unsurprisingly, was short lived, as not even the two minute mark had struck when Yarvut found himself ambushed from three sides and was now locked in his suit gently pressed up against a tree-like obstacle with a modest view of the Jorval turf.

It would be a best of three, and, predictably, the first match ended with a strong Jorval victory by the seventeenth minute mark. However, it was not a total wipeout as the initial minutes might have suggested. Half of the remaining Humans were taken out within five, but by then Brandon had gotten used to moving in all directions and keeping tabs on the z-axis as well, and was coordinating a defensive tactic with the remaining members. He knew they would lose this match, but he was bent on making the Jorval earn it and show him what they could really do. In the end, every Human was taken out, and the Jorval had lost only three members, though all of which fell victim to the final holdout against just four Humans.

When it was time to swap home bases for the next match, before Brandon could start elaborating on his new tactics, Yarvut surprised everyone by huddling everyone together for a tactical discussion himself. From his position early on he was left with nothing else to do but carefully and calmly observe how the Jorval moved, where they focused their sights on, how close they tend to stick to each other, and other minor details which Brandon was deeply impressed by. Using this newfound perspective and knowledge, Brandon came up with a far more refined strategy for both offense and defense.

Seemingly bolstered by the humiliating defeat, the rest of them were also more motivated, and the entire Human team now gave off, what the neutral observers of the games described as, a different aura. Like something had flipped, that turned this group of people they knew and worked with and respected and generally liked, into something menacing, a focused machine almost. The look in their eyes through the visors sent shivers down most everyones spines or equivalents whenever a camera operator decided to do a zoom in.

Upon the start signal, the Humans split into five squads, one pair on defense duty, one four person team on patrol around the immediate vicinity, and three squads of three on offense, taking the longest route all around the edge of the sphere going for a three-sided ambush of the Jorval's home turf. It was amazing to see how much smoother and more coordinated each Human moved now, when before it was the first time most of them were expected to maneuver in zero-g using suits they had never worn before. You could literally see them adapting and intuitively getting a better by the minute at handling the booster-based movement, and navigating and keeping tabs on all three dimensions. Some were better at it than others, but even the most clumsy of the Humans was still visibly more comfortable now than thirty minutes ago.

The patrol squad had a quick skirmish with a Jorval scout, paralyzing his legs before he made a rapid retreat and taking no wounds themselves. Then a minute of silence, interrupted by a burst of activity coming from the Jorval base, then another minute of silence.

Yarvut was the only of the attack squad members to return, his left arm paralyzed, but he rushed past the defense members to plant the enemy flag in their base and take the win. It was now 1-1.

Another huddle, nobody even needed to call for it, now everyone on the Human team had fully switched to "hunter mode", as a Human audience member called it.

The third and deciding match wasn't even close. Once again, five squads, but this time three each and all in attack formation. They did not give the Jorval even time to fully disperse before the Humans came barreling through the obstacles just thirty seconds after the start signal. Shock and awe - every Jorval was taken out in the next twenty seconds, no Human losses.

Combining what everyone conveyed about their opponents from the second match with Yarvut's keen observations from the first, Brandon figured the Jorval were behaving in a standardized and heavily drilled pattern and would likely repeat it for the third, perhaps with minor alterations expecting another three-way ambush or some other sneaky and delayed attack. Their scout had also not arrived all that fast, so they must have trained to be very methodical in their approach. Brandon also employed a methodical defense the first time, then a coordinated precision strike, so, naturally, it was time for a sledgehammer approach.

And it worked beautifully, completely catching everyone off guard, even the audience. Blink and you missed the entire action. Everyone knows Humans can be reckless and even downright crazy, but to witness them going full "hunter mode" was a first for practically all observers. And this was just some office workers and an elderly former low ranking soldier. What kind of monsters were their actual well trained and fully geared up soldiers then?

_______________________

I really want to limit how much I describe the sentient aliens as they are not the focus of these stories, but it would be awkward to keep saying "those bipedal aliens", so a compromise this time. How they look beyond bipedal I'll leave entirely to your imagination.

[crystalninjaphoenix]

The Clash

Fantasy Masks AU: Chapter Forty-Four

A JSE Fanfic

A relatively shorter chapter this time, but one with quite a lot of action and importance to it :3c I mean... it's still about 5000 words. But you know what I mean. I'll just get right to the summary, shall I? XD The guys, still in the Wyldwood, discuss what to do once the time comes to confront the King. Though, perhaps a confrontation is closer than they think. Closer than they want it to be. Heh heh heh. Enjoy! :D

Previous Part | | From the Start | More AU | Read on AO3: CrystalNinjaPhoenix

Taglist: @brokentimewatch

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The fourth day of their return journey dawned cloudy. Not foggy, like the day before, but genuinely cloudy above the canopy of leaves that the Wyldwood formed. Strange... it hadn’t been cloudy at all their whole journey down here. Had they just had great luck with the weather? That was the more likely explanation, but Chase couldn’t help but think it was a bad sign. It felt like the magic of the Wyldwood had been... disrupted somehow.

The others were feeling it, too. They all woke up and started walking silently through the trees. Today, they were in a section that looked autumnal, despite the real season being summer. The leaves were vibrant shades of red, orange, and yellow, the trunks of the trees resembling birch, with their white bark and black stripes. Faint yellow light came from the knots on the wood, as well as some low-hanging fruit that looked like pears had been squashed to a spherical shape. It was all beautiful, but still, they were on edge.

“So... is anyone else worried about the clouds?” Jackie asked after a couple hours.

The others all immediately agreed, a chorus of voices chiming out among Jameson’s speaking in hands. “It was very sunny during my first journey, and very sunny during the first half of this one,” Marvin said. “The sudden clouds are... giving me a bad feeling.”

“Maybe the weather just lined up?” Chase offered the thought he’d had earlier.

“M-maybe...” Jackie frowned.

You know... the King sometimes seemed to bring clouds with him... Jameson muttered.

Chase’s eyes widened as he suddenly remembered what happened at Marvin’s execution. The sudden storm, the coordinated lightning... “Wait a minute. Can the King—the spirit—control the weather?!”

The others all looked at him in shock. “That... th-that would take... th-that would take an... incredible amount of power,” Marvin breathed.

But considering the doorway we saw the King conjure a season ago, we know he already has an incredible amount of power, Jameson said.

“I-I know, but... It’s troubling to hear about,” Marvin said, continuing in that same quiet voice.

Chase swallowed a lump in his throat. If the spirit really could control the weather... had enough power to do that... how in the world was he supposed to defeat him?

Henrik glanced at Chase. “Is it just me, or do you look worried?”

“No, it’s—I’m fine.” Chase shook his head.

The other three were staring at him too. Chase, clearly something is bothering you, Jameson said.

“What is it?” Jackie asked.

“I’m fine,” Chase repeated. “It’s... nothing you have to worry about.”

“Oh, horseshit,” Marvin said. “We’re your friends. If something’s bothering you, we’re going to think about it until you talk about it.”

“Sorry,” Chase mumbled. “I didn’t mean to make you guys worry.”

“It’s not your fault, Chase!” Henrik said. “Friends worry about each other. It is just how things are. We want to know your troubles, you know.”

Jackie nodded. “We really do. Maybe we can help!”

Chase hesitated, then sighed. “Well... I guess it does affect you guys after all. And maybe you’ll have ideas that I don’t. I was just... I... I-I don’t know how I’m going to defeat the King!” That last part burst out of his mouth against his control. “I-I know that if Jameson’s vision is right, I’ll end up fighting him, and somehow defeating him, but—how?! He’s in Jack’s body! Do I just convince him to leave? He’s clearly not going to do that!” He felt tears prickling at the corners of his eyes. “I know I want to help Jack—I know I have to save the kingdom! But—but how?!”

The others stopped walking. They stared at him, silent. “Chase...” Henrik said softly. “Is this... something you have been thinking about for a while?”

Chase nodded quietly.

“Why didn’t you say anything before?” Henrik asked. Chase flinched despite the gentle tone the words were said in. “We could have offered advice, reassurance, anything you needed.”

“I always just assumed we would be talking about that in a strategy meeting of some sort,” Marvin said. “That we would all come up with a plan to defeat the King together.”

“I assumed that too!” Jackie shouted, nodding.

Clearly, assuming got us nowhere, Jameson said. Because I just assumed that Chase was coming up with a plan on his own.

Henrik sighed. “Well, perhaps we all should have established what we were assuming earlier. Then this would not have happened.”

“Sorry,” Chase mumbled.

“It’s not your fault, Chase,” Jackie reassured him. “We all made that mistake.” He straightened, taking a deep breath. “Alright. Well, now that we have that all out in the open, maybe we can think of some plan. The King is a possessive spirit, and there are chants to ward those off and banish them from someone’s body. Simple enough to recite one of those, right?”

“Except... he’s not a traditional spiolash spirit,” Marvin pointed out. “He’s a phantom with unknown, but definitely incredible, power.”

“Perhaps the same principle can work, though,” Henrik said. “There are multiple chants for banishing possessive spirits—spiolash. Perhaps if we combine them? Or... come up with something new?”

It would be worth a shot, Jameson said. And Chase has the Horned Elder One on his side. They’ll surely help when the time comes, right?

Chase bit his lip. “You’re right...” His hand drifted to his belt, where his mask was attached. The antlers had retained their glittering golden sheen. “Maybe... maybe if we combine a banishment chant for spiolash with a prayer for the Elders?”

Henrik frowned. “Well... then the others of you will have to work on that part. Even though I have been living here for a while, I still do not fully understand the intricacies of Elder prayer layout.”

“It’s not that complicated, Schneep,” Jackie said jokingly, nudging his side. “You just invoke the name once, thrice, five, or seven times, say the general category of what you’re praying for, say the name again going down one step in the number of times, get more specific, then repeat the process until you only get to one invocation.”

Henrik rubbed his eyes. “I have no idea what you just said.”

“It’s not that difficult to remember, Henrik,” Marvin said, grinning playfully. “You just go by instincts and gut feelings!”

“Prayers to the Sisters are not as specific as that,” Henrik muttered. “You just send it to the appropriate alserai and they carry it to them.”

“There are a hundred alserai, as you said!” Marvin pointed out. “A way of chanting prayers is much easier than remembering a hundred names!”

“Ahdadadah.” Henrik made a random sound as he waved his hands dismissively. “In any case, my point is that I cannot help you so much with coming up with this new chant.”

Jameson tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. The problem is that banishment chants for possessive spirits also have a very specific structure. They sound almost like poems or songs.

“We can figure something out together,” Jackie said. “We have all day to work on that! Alright... so. What sort of banishment chants do you all know? Growing up, my parents taught me and my siblings one to use. They mostly focused on how to avoid possessive spirits in the first place, but in case one wandered in, we were taught to recite one chant in particular while the possessed person couldn’t see us.”

“That one in particular probably won’t be as much help,” Marvin muttered. “But I know more.”

They talked everything over as they continued to walk through the forest. Chase was really struggling with this. He’d grown up learning Elder prayers and the occasional spiolash banishment chant, but he didn’t really understand what made them so special. He just knew them. This dissecting the words and the patterns they went in was going way too past him. Henrik, Jameson, and Marvin were throwing around phrases that he’d never heard before, like “assonance” and “consonance, like “meter” and “couplet” and “slant rhyme.” But he trusted that they all knew what they were doing. And at least he wasn’t alone in his confusion. Jackie was also clearly lost. But together, the two of them were able to pool their knowledge and occasionally chip in.

By the end of the day, they’d managed to come up with some combination that would hopefully work. Henrik pulled out some vellum and ink and wrote down the final chant, passing it over to Chase. “Read that, try to see if you can memorize it,” Henrik said. “Ah, not out loud, though. Just in case the Horned Elder One gets annoyed by all your prayers.”

Chase smiled slightly. “I don’t think they’ll get annoyed... but I’ll be careful, just in case.” He took the vellum, scanning the words written down. Simple ones, ones that he knew how to read. This... was really their plan, wasn’t it? The vellum felt flimsy, and yet... it was more solid than anything else they had before. It felt good to finally have something, anything, that might help with the spirit.

Eventually, they settled down for the night once again, in an area where the ground was unusually soft, as if there was a layer of thin pillows beneath the mossy surface. Henrik, Marvin, and Jackie volunteered to take watch tonight. The Wyldwood dimmed to near-darkness, lit only by drifting yellow lights and the lavender glow from big-petalled flowers growing in clusters all around. Chase laid his bedroll out at the base of one of the trees, a tree with bark and leaves as black as ink. If he had to be honest, this area was the best place he’d ever seen for outdoor sleeping. It was nice and calm, dark and quiet. Soon... he found himself drifting off...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Wake up!”

Chase suddenly jolted awake to the sound of a hissed shout in his ear and someone shaking him vigorously. He blinked and sat up immediately, almost knocking his forehead against Jackie’s, who was leaning over him. “What’s wrong? What’s happening?” Chase asked, eyes darting around.

“Horses!” Jackie hissed in that same whisper-shout. “Listen!”

They both fell silent... and in that silence, Chase could hear a distant rumble that he immediately recognized as the sound of hoofbeats. He looked towards the sound and saw distant lights, like lanterns. “Damn!” He cursed. “Do you think that’s the King?”

“Probably,” Jackie said. “And if it’s not, I doubt it’s anything good, in any case. We have to go. Now!”

Chase kicked his way out of the bedroll and started packing things up. He could see Marvin shaking Jameson awake as well, and then heard him hastily explaining everything while Jameson stared in wide-eyed shock. Jackie moved on to wake Henrik up in the meantime. And Draco, already awake and fully alert, stared out towards the distant lights, his fur all on end.

Soon, Chase, Jackie, and Marvin were all packed up. Jameson wasn’t far behind. As Henrik finished up his own packing, he asked, “What happened? What time is it? When did you see them?”

“Right as we were switching watches,” Marvin explained. “I woke Jackie up to take the last time slot, and then when I walked over to my bedroll to go to sleep, I noticed Draco standing on the pillow and looking out into the distance. The horses were tricky to spot, but we saw them soon enough.”

Henrik cursed under his breath in Alterdan as he buckled up his pack and stood up, swinging it onto his back. “Are they coming close to us?”

“Slowly,” Jackie said. “I think they’re sweeping this area. But they’re closer than they were a few minutes ago.” Indeed, the rumble of the horse’s hooves is noticeably louder.

If they’re going in a zigzag pattern, then we should be able to evade them by just going straight away from them, Jameson said.

“Yes, that’s pretty obvious,” Marvin said. He pointed at Draco, who was already walking off in that direction. “Let’s go!”

“Remember to be quiet, too, guys!” Chase pointed out. “No running. The people will definitely see that.”

The five of them started hurrying through the forest, going as fast as they could without actually running. There weren’t any bushes or other low undergrowth in the Wyldwood—or at least, not in this area. This section with the dark trees and the soft moss-covered ground was unnaturally barren, the forest floor more like a well-maintained orchard than a real, wild gathering of trees. Good for maneuverability, bad for avoiding attention. There were only so many tree trunks to duck behind.

Though they were going in a straight line while the pack of horses was curving around, things were turning up about even. They weren’t losing the horses, but neither were the horses catching up to them. This made sense, of course, as their walking speed wasn’t going to be nearly as fast as a horse’s canter. But it still put Chase on edge. Like at any moment, they would be discovered. “Marvin,” he whispered. “Is there any magic you have that could speed us up? Maybe—maybe you could make a shortcut with your doorways?”

Marvin nodded. “I could do that.” His hand reached up and grabbed the focus around his neck. The amulet had been giving off a slight white glow the whole time they were in the Wyldwood. “But the glow of the doorway would attract attention. I-I want to save my magic for in case something goes wrong, so I probably couldn’t get us too far.”

Something HAS gone wrong, Jameson said. I say this is the perfect time to use magic!

“Yes, do it!” Jackie added.

“Alright, alright!” Marvin stopped moving, looking around. “The trees are too narrow. I couldn’t draw a doorway wide enough for a person to go through on them. So we’ll have to risk using the ground.” He crouches down, pulling some magic from his focus. “This is going to feel really disorienting to go through.”

“Just hurry!” Chase glanced at the lights that indicated the group of horses. They were definitely getting bigger... closer. 

Marvin nodded. He started tracing a circle on the ground large enough for a person to stand in. Once he was done, the middle fell away, and the circle became a hole. On the other side, they could all see a view of the tree tops as if you were looking up at them from the ground. Even though they were currently looking down, not up. Chase blinked, stunned for a moment. Then he shook his head. “Alright!” he said. “Let’s—”

Swsh-THNK! An arrow embedded itself in a tree next to them.

“Shit!” Jackie cursed.

The lights of the distant horses were no longer wobbling back and forth, but holding in a steady position as they approached. The pounding of the hoofbeats was increasing steadily in volume, and Chase heard a voice shout out something indistinct.

“No time to waste!” Marvin hissed. “All of you go through, I need to be las—”

Swsh-THMP!

Marvin shrieked in pain, clutching his arm. An arrow lodged itself into the upper part of his left arm, close to the shoulder. The magic doorway on the ground abruptly disappeared as Marvin lost concentration.

“No!” Jackie gasped. He drew his swords, and at the same time shoved Chase to the side behind a tree, bumping his body against Chase’s. Henrik hurried over to Marvin’s side and pulled him behind a different tree while Jameson ducked behind a third one. Jackie then ran after Chase, hiding in the same spot, just barely dodging more arrows flying through the air. “Okay, new problem! Marvin, can you make a shield of some sort?”

“Y-yes,” Marvin breathed. He threw some magic forward, which expanded into a tall, glowing green wall, as solid and see-through as glass. Several arrows struck it, bouncing off. Chase could see many more arrows getting lodged in the bark of nearby trees. “W-we shouldn’t... get pinned down, though!” Marvin pulled himself to his feet, grabbing the nearby trunk with his right hand. “Remember, Jameson’s vision? Even if we’re not in the same location, the idea still stands!”

“They’ll no doubt be circling around us soon,” Jackie muttered. 

“We just have to keep going!” Chase said decisively. “This area doesn’t have much cover, we need to reach one with more places to hide!”

“We cannot outrun a squad of warriors on horses!” Henrik protested.

“Can’t stay in place, can’t outrun them, what do we do, then?!” Chase shouted.

Jameson reached back and drew his bow. He’d brought it to practice with during the Wyldwood journey, but hadn’t been able to get much practice in at all—too afraid that he would shoot a creature that wouldn’t take kindly to his archery attempts. But now, he had to risk it. We have to fight, he said, gesturing awkwardly around the bow.

“I-is that wise?!” Henrik squeaked. “We do not know how many of them there are! And the King is with them!”

“Jameson is right, it’s our only chance!” Jackie said. “We have to slow them down!” More arrows thumped against Marvin’s shield. They could now see the riders atop the horses, their helmets reflecting the light of their lanterns. “One minute to prepare! Henrik, toss us that bag with the witchcraft charms Anna gave you. Then cut down the arrow shaft!”

Henrik nodded. He tossed one of his packs forward and Chase lunged for it, looking through the charms. He scrambled to remember what some of these were—oh! Protection against magical attacks! That could help! Those charms were small wooden disks on string bracelets. He put one on and then tossed the other four to his companions. Meanwhile, Henrik took out his small knife and sawed through the shaft of the arrow Marvin had been shot with, getting as close to the wound as he could. Marvin hissed in pain but didn’t struggle, knowing they had to remove the shaft so it wouldn’t get in the way.

“They’re starting to circle!” Jackie reported. 

Chase closed up the pack of charms and slung it over his shoulder. “Alright, Jameson. You and I have to loose arrows as soon as we see one. Aim for the horses, that’ll slow them down the most!”

Jameson nodded, nocking an arrow on his bowstring.

Marvin took a deep breath and pulled some magic from his focus. “Should I take down the wall?”

“Once they start to close in,” Jackie said. “Otherwise it’ll be suspicious.”

Marvin nodded. Next to him, Henrik went rummaging through his bag. Chase heard the clinking of glass against glass, and then he pulled out a round bottle. A potion. He wound his arm back, ready to throw it.

The sound of the horses, the pounding of their hooves like a heartbeat, grew louder, closer. Chase nocked an arrow of his own. He drew back the string and got ready to loose it, adjusting his position. The sound of the hoofbeats surrounded them, thundering across the ground. There wasn’t much cover. They’d need to choose their position carefully. Any moment now.

A large shape came into view, moving incredibly quickly. Chase immediately shot his arrow, and the horse reared back, neighing. He’d managed to land the shot right in the eye. No time to waste! He grabbed another arrow and loosed it, aiming at the rider this time and managing to knock them off balance. Nearby, Jameson was doing the same.

Marvin pulled down the shield he’d conjured and Henrik threw his potion bottle forward. It bounced against the ground once before its contents spilled out, mixing and mingling together. Instantly, there’s a blast of fire. The horses and warriors caught in the blast scream, human and animal sounds indistinguishable from each other as flames cover fur and clothing.

The forest around them groaned. A rumble passed through the earth, and the leaves and trees rustled. Roots burst from the earth, waving wildly, sending clumps of dirt flying to cover the flames as the roots grabbed onto anything nearby—thankfully, only the mounted warriors. “Why do you keep upsetting the forest, Henrik?!” Chase shouted, running to a different tree to hide behind as a warrior charged at him, swinging their sword from up on their horse. The blade sliced through his shirt but barely avoided drawing blood.

“Sorry!” Henrik shouted, also running to avoid an attack. He grabbed another potion bottle, getting ready to throw it as well. At the same time, he pulled free the axe Vsevna gave him, swinging it at a horse and burying it in its side.

Marvin was casting spells left and right, and each one was coming out stronger than he intended. A glowing purple glow surrounded a warrior and threw them off their horse with such speed that a bone cracked from the movement. A bolt of rainbow-colored magic had the width of one of the trees and was bright enough to temporarily blind nearby warriors. He didn’t dare use wizard fire, because if he did, he knew it would be a blaze much stronger than he wanted. The Wyldwood was making his magic stronger. Or... more like it was making it easier to summon a great deal of it.

While the others all tried to dodge and evade, sticking on the sides of the large group gathering as much as they could, Jackie was in the middle of it all. He spun around, dancing around the large horses with no fear of their teeth or hooves. The warriors would try to slash at him with their swords or spears or halberds, but Jackie would deflect each blow with one of his swords while using the other to slash at the horse’s legs, especially their knees. It was amazing to watch—but Chase couldn’t get distracted! He felt like he was barely keeping out of reach of these warriors, anyway!

Henrik threw his second potion. This one smashed against a tree and a blizzard exploded outwards, freezing everything in its wake—including freezing the horses’ hooves to the ground. “Go go go go!” He shouted, gesturing for the group to run to the side. Most of the warriors had been caught in the potion effect, so now was the time to run! 

The group bolted, running as one through the forest, ducking and weaving through the trees. Chase felt the ground beneath his feet start to tilt—were they on a slope? It was going to the side. “This way!” he hissed, changing direction. “There could be a river this way—we could lose them!”

“Huh?!” Marvin stared at him in surprise. “H-how do you know that?!”

No time to answer, the warriors were already catching up! Chase ran faster, glancing over his shoulder to make sure the others were with him. They were, but the horses were beginning to catch up as well! He faced forward again, scanning the distance. Water always gathered where the ground was the lowest... If they kept going this way, maybe they’d find some! Even if it was just a pond, surely they could use that to evade the horses somehow, right?!

The hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood up.

He recognized that feeling. It was—

KRAK! A bolt of lightning shot from the left, passing close enough by the group that Chase could feel the heat coming from it. The bolt tore through the side of a tree, and the forest groaned as if in pain. And then—a doorway opened up in midair, and a horse came galloping through it. Jackie shrieked in surprise and shoved Chase to the side like earlier, while the others scattered. The horse circled around them, slowing down, its rider’s green cape catching the light of the glowing orbs in the air. And then the horse skidded to a stop. Upon its back... was the King.

“E-Elders...” Jackie breathed. “W-we can’t fight him here!”

“How unfortunate,” the King said. “You’re welcome to die quietly, then.” He pointed his seax at the group, and the blade started to glow—

“Run!” Marvin shouted, throwing up a shield. The group all scattered, dodging to the left. Lightning shot forward from the blade, hitting the shield... and immediately shattering it. Marvin staggered from the force of the breaking, but thankfully, no one had been in the way of the blast.

Other warriors hurried forward, closing in around the group. Jameson’s eyes widened in panic. Marvin! Try a doorway again?! 

“You guys will have to defend me!” Marvin said, grabbing his focus—

A whining sound filled the air, buzzing like an insect close to an ear. The King swiped his seax to the side and a length of green lightning whipped around. Most of the group ducked, but Marvin, focusing on his magic, was too slow. The lightning hit him in the side of the face and he screamed in pain, collapsing. Draco yowled and ran over to his side, sniffing at him. “Marvin!” Jackie screamed.

Chase’s eyes darted around. The horses had blocked them in—circled around them like in Jameson’s vision. Had they just delayed the inevitable?! He could see the warriors drawing their bows again—all of them wearing those creepy helmets that blocked out their faces. He fumbled for another arrow from his quiver, hand shaking with fear. Relax! Tension is not good for shooting! Jameson was trying to nock an arrow as well, but he was also shaking, hands so unsteady that he couldn’t even get the arrow to stay in place on the string. Henrik rummaged through his pack for another potion, but he wasn’t going to grab one in time, Chase could tell.

Suddenly, Jackie let out a scream—a bellow, more like, a loud primal call of rage and action. He charged forwards towards the King, who looked mildly surprised but not concerned. The King pointed his seax at Jackie, the blade glowing with another one of those lightning blasts. Chase screamed, certain that he was about to see Jackie fall.

But then, as the lightning shot forward, Jackie crossed his two blades in front of himself. The lightning hit the spot where they meet—it shouldn’t have mattered, as lightning usually traveled easily through metal. But... that’s not what happened here. The others watched as the swords started to glow the same green as the lightning, getting brighter and brighter as more of the lightning... was sucked into them. Like a sponge soaking up water. The warriors all stared, many of them unconsciously lowering the bows that they were going to shoot Jackie with. Even the King couldn’t take his eyes away, absolutely shocked at what he was seeing.

And then the lightning stopped, and the glow of the swords died down. But it didn’t fade. And while everyone was still stunned by what they had seen, Jackie ran forward and swiped both swords against the horse’s side. They made cuts, but nothing really damaging to such a big animal. Nothing too damaging by themselves. But as the blades made contact, lightning burst from the metal, climbing up the side of the horse, which whinnied a shrill scream and reared back. The King clung to its side—and that sealed his fate as the lightning hit him as well. His muscles spasmed, and combined with the force of the horse rearing, he was thrown off the back of it. The horse itself staggered and lost its balance, falling to its side.

Jackie looked back at the others, panting, and ran past the King and his horse.

None of them said anything, just burst into a dead sprint after him, with Henrik grabbing Marvin and awkwardly carrying him as he hurried after Jackie. The warriors just stood there on their horses, as if unsure what to do. Frozen... awaiting orders. 

But soon, the King scrambled to his feet. He glared at the warriors behind him and they all jumped into movement again, pulling arrows from quivers to shoot at the retreating group.

Jameson whistled and pointed forward. There! A glint in the darkness between the trees. Water! It went from side to side, a small creek. “Just get there!” Chase hissed. “Then—”

Marvin gasped, raising his head. “I-I can get us out!”

Jackie stumbled in shock. “A-alright! If you’re sure! Twist around the trees, everyone!”

They did so, dodging and weaving around the tree trunks, barely ducking to avoid the arrows. The water grew closer, closer—

“J-jump in!” Marvin shouted.

Chase looked at him, confused, but no time to question it! He pulled out in front, running into the water. Jackie was right behind him, and the other three behind him. Marvin reached down into the water, and it started to glow, swirling around them, then shooting upwards in a fountain—

The King shrieked angrily. “Fine, run like cowards! I’ll see you back at your precious camp!”

—And then there was a lurching feeling. Chase felt like he was falling, and then had suddenly been flipped upside down, leaving him sick and his head spinning. He fell to his knees, and immediately noticed the water... or lack thereof. They were no longer standing knee-deep in that stream they’d found. Instead, they were in a different section of the forest. They were surrounded by tall grass, soft and swaying slightly, all of it glowing gently in the same way the moon in the night sky did. The trees around them curved and bent, exaggerated silhouettes as though they were sculpted instead of grown.

Jackie looked around. “Wh-what? Where... h-how?”

“Marvin!” Henrik hurried to Marvin’s side, kneeling next to where he was laying on the ground. Draco was also nearby, shaking his fur dry before nudging Marvin’s shoulder with his nose. “A-are you alright? You were—the lightning—i-it hit you in the—”

“That... did not... f-feel good.” Marvin raised his head. An angry red mark slashed across his face, a burn from the King’s lightning attack.

“H-how are you?” Henrik asked. He reached out to press his hand against Marvin’s neck, checking his pulse and breathing. Marvin stiffened, but didn’t push him away. “Taking lightning to the face will definitely h-have effects!”

“It would’ve... if not for that... magical protection charm, I think.” Marvin raised one hand, showing the charm he’d tied around his wrist.

“E-even so, I would like to keep an eye on you,” Henrik said, concerned.

“That makes sense.”

Jameson looked around. Where are we? What did you do to get us here?

“Created a magical doorway in the water,” Marvin mumbled. “Using the actual water as the surface. It’s normally... pretty difficult. But I-I felt like I could, with how my magic has been... stronger while in the woods.” He shook his head. “H-hopefully... we’re closer to the edge of the Wyldwood, now.” Then he looked at Jackie. “That was... really amazing. With the swords.”

“Hah... I’m just glad it worked.” Jackie grinned. “I’m lucky I remembered that King Sam told me they could absorb various energies.”

Chase swallowed a lump in his throat. There was a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach. “The... th-the spirit...” His hands were shaking. “He said... he’d see us at c-camp...”

Henrik looked over at him, wide-eyed. “There... th-there’s... i-it’s not possible. H-he cannot know where we are s-staying...”

But the others all look similarly nervous. “We... w-we have to get back fast.” Marvin staggered to his feet.

“No time to spare,” Jackie agreed. “I know it’s still early in the morning, before the sunrise, but let’s hurry.”

“Hold on, we need to rest and heal!” Henrik protested.

Jameson looked troubled. He shook his head. I think we need to risk waiting until the night. If the King gets there first... He trailed off.

Henrik looked unhappy about it, but he nodded. “A-alright... we will risk it. But if any of you start walking strangely or limping, I will make us stop for a quick doctor’s check.”

“I think we’re all okay with that,” Jackie said. The others nodded.

Marvin cast a spell to find out which way was north, and using that, they all started heading back due east. If the King knew where their camp was... he might not, but if there was the slightest chance... they had to get there first. They had to warn them. Otherwise, disaster would strike.

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

The first 3D view of the formation and evolution of globular clusters

A study published today in Astronomy & Astrophysics marks a significant milestone in our understanding of the formation and dynamical evolution of multiple stellar populations in globular clusters (spherical and very compact stellar agglomerates typically populated by 1–2 million stars). This pioneering study, conducted by a group of researchers from the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), the University of Bologna, and Indiana University, is the first to perform a 3D kinematic analysis of multiple stellar populations for a representative sample of 16 globular clusters in our Galaxy. It provides a groundbreaking observational description of their kinematic properties (i.e., how stars move within globular clusters) and their long-term evolution from the formation to the present day.

Emanuele Dalessandro, researcher at INAF in Bologna, lead author of the article and coordinator of the working group, explains: "Understanding the physical processes behind the formation and early evolution of globular clusters is one of the most fascinating and debated astrophysical questions of the past 20–25 years. The results of our study provide the first solid evidence that globular clusters formed through multiple star formation events and place fundamental constraints on the dynamical path followed by the clusters throughout their evolution. These results were made possible by a multi-diagnostic approach and the combination of state-of-the-art observations and dynamic simulations." 

The study highlights that the kinematic differences between multiple populations are key to understanding the formation and evolution mechanisms of these ancient structures.

With ages that can reach 12-13 billion years (thus dating back to the dawn of the cosmos), globular clusters are among the first systems to form in the Universe. They represent a typical population of all galaxies. They are compact systems (with masses of several hundred thousand solar masses and sizes of a few parsecs), and they can be observed even in distant galaxies.

"Their astrophysical significance is huge," says Dalessandro, "because they not only help us to test cosmological models of the formation of the Universe due to their age but also provide natural laboratories for studying the formation, evolution, and chemical enrichment of galaxies." Despite globular clusters have been studied for over a century, recent observational results show that our knowledge is still largely incomplete.

"Results obtained in the last two decades have unexpectedly shown that globular clusters consist of more than one stellar population: a primordial one, with chemical properties similar to other stars in the Galaxy, and another with anomalous chemical abundances of light elements such as helium, oxygen, sodium, and nitrogen," says Mario Cadelano, researcher at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Bologna and INAF associate, one of the authors of the study. "Despite the large number of observations and theoretical models aimed at characterising these populations, the mechanisms regulating their formation are still not understood."

The study is based on the measurement of 3D velocities, i.e., the combination of proper motions and radial velocities, obtained with the ESA Gaia telescope and with data from, among others, the ESO VLT telescope, primarily as part of the MIKiS survey (Multi Instrument Kinematic Survey), a spectroscopic survey specifically aimed at exploring the internal kinematics of globular clusters. The use of these telescopes, from space and the ground, has provided an unprecedented 3D view of the velocity distribution of stars in the selected globular clusters.

The analysis reveals that stars with different abundances of light elements are characterised by different kinematic properties, such as rotational velocities and orbital distributions.

"In this work, we analysed in detail the motion of thousands of stars within each cluster," adds Alessandro Della Croce, a PhD student at INAF in Bologna. "It quickly became clear that stars belonging to different populations have distinct kinematic properties: stars with anomalous chemical composition tend to rotate faster than the others within the cluster and progressively spread from the central regions to the outer ones."

The intensity of these kinematic differences depends on the dynamical age of globular clusters. "These results are consistent with the long-term dynamical evolution of stellar systems, in which stars with anomalous chemical abundances form more centrally concentrated and rotate more rapidly than the standard ones. This, in turn, suggests that globular clusters formed through multiple star formation episodes and provides an important piece of information in defining the physical processes and timescales underlying the formation and evolution of massive stellar clusters," Dalessandro emphasises.

This new 3D view of the motion of stars within globular clusters provides an unprecedented and fascinating framework for the formation and dynamical evolution of these intriguing systems. It also helps to clarify some of the most complex mysteries surrounding the origin of these ancient structures.

IMAGE: Image gallery of the 16 globular clusters analysed in order of difference in the kinematic properties observed between the multiple stellar populations. Credit Credits: ESA/Hubble - ESO - SDSS

[sunsetsands]

Once more I have made a collection of half decent xenobiological pencil sketches. Unlike the other ones I’ve done, though, this time I’ve chosen a few designs and concepts to elaborate on and give more of a background, specifically the ones I thought weren’t horrible. This will be split into multiple posts due to the image limit on mobile, since my phone has all of the photos on it. Second part here.

These are the full pages of drawings. Zoomed in screenshots will be given for all of the curated creatures.

This is a towerleg, a rather tall species native to a very Earthlike planet. They typically reside in fields, meadows, and valleys, where they travel in herds to search for food, primarily large plants. On average, they are about 34 feet/10 meters tall. Those things radiating out from the central disc of its head are eyestalks, and the long appendage coming out from the front is an arm, which also has some simple eyes on it.

Towerlegs are intelligent, but not quite sapient, and have no organized society, but may one day develop one given the right circumstances. If they ever do, their immense size may hinder their ability to develop space travel, though it's far from impossible for them to come up with a solution.

This is a j'hguh, a name I definitely didn't create via keysmashing. All they ever really do is plod around in marshes. I can't imagine they would be particularly difficult to recreate in Spore.

Bobblyts are fairly small sophonts, at only around a foot and a half tall. Their centers of civilization are usually more vertically-oriented, which they navigate by climbing on walls and ceilings, something I'm not actually sure is possible at their size. Rather than communicating verbally, most of their languages are comprised of coordinated arm movements. The large spherical thing is a semitranslucent sac containing their brain, as well as a few other major organs. The sac is much sturdier than it looks.

The main issue I’ve been running into with this design is that I haven’t been able to get it to work in 3d space, specifically regarding how the orb is connected to the rest of the body. Once I figure that out, the rest will probably come naturally, but it's a pretty difficult wall to overcome in the meantime.

These are yubotes, an aquatic sophont species native to a cold ocean planet. They move around using jet propulsion organs near their backs, which aren't visible in any of these drawings. Without access to fire, most of their cities are powered by either geothermal electricity or marine currents. Technologically, they are far more advanced than humans, and are typically trained in engineering from a very young age, meaning most of them are prodigies when it comes to inventing new tools and technologies. I have no idea where their mouth is.

More details may be added in the future if my worldbuilder's disease flares up again.