Scale of Universe Measured with 1-Percent Accuracy
An ultraprecise new galaxy map is shedding light on the properties of dark energy, the mysterious force thought to be responsible for the universe’s accelerating expansion.
Image: An artist’s concept of the latest, highly accurate measurement of the universe from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey. The spheres show the current size of the “baryon acoustic oscillations” (BAOs) from the early universe, which have helped to set the distribution of galaxies that we see in the universe today. BAOs can be used as a “standard ruler” (white line) to measure the distances to all the galaxies in the universe. Credit: Zosia Rostomian, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
A team of researchers working with the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) has determined the distances to galaxies more than 6 billion light-years away to within 1 percent accuracy — an unprecedented measurement.
"There are not many things in our daily lives that we know to 1-percent accuracy," David Schlegel, a physicist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the principal investigator of BOSS, said in a statement. "I now know the size of the universe better than I know the size of my house."
Just a quick reminder that the "All The Wizardry" bundle is still available at Ebooks Direct! (Curiosity rover not included...) :)
Contains nineteen DRM-free ebooks:
The nine New Millennium Editions of the main-sequence Young Wizards novels
The Feline Wizardry trilogy
The two collections of interstitial fiction: Interim Errantry and Interim Errantry 2: On Ordeal
The only two Young Wizards short stories (as the title item and "Theobroma" in Uptown Local and Other Interventions
The non main-sequence novel Young Wizards: Lifeboats and the standalone novella Owl Be Home For Christmas (These last two works are included as independent ebook volumes even though they also appear in the Interim Errantry collections.)
The "CD extras" work The "How Lovely Are Thy Branches" Advent Calendar, featuring outtake dialogue from How Lovely Are Thy Branches (which appears in Interim Errantry)
The Young Wizards OTP Challenge, Days 1-17: short fiction in the OTP format
...And as always, should you misplace any of these, or need to change platforms, we'll replace them for you free! Details here.
So stop in and grab yourself an armful of wizardry!
(For our UK friends, the normal sad caveat: we can't sell directly to you from the Ebooks Direct store any more due to Brexit. Our apologies.) :(
rebloggable by request - what exactly is young wizards?
Over 2 light years across and over 2000 light years away from Earth: The Ghost Nebula (Hubble)
“I wonder how much trouble you get in for busting a worldgate.” // “How can I save her?”
A mix for Kit Rodriguez: Loyalty, Bravery, Empathy incarnate. He will cross time, space, and neighborhoods for those he loves and those he must protect.
Titanium by David Guetta // Sugar, We’re Going Down by Fall Out Boy // The Cave by Mumford and Sons // Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon // Boys Are Back in Town by The Hitters // and ten others
Listen (15 tracks, 55 mins)
This is literally my favorite ever. Best post. Good.
King Arthur: I actually think he was probably not a wizard. But he definitely knew about wizardry and did his best to support it.
Gawain: Definitely a wizard. DEFINITELY a wizard. Specializes in liaising with nonhuman species living on earth, go-to diplomat when aliens show up.
Kay: Nope, Kay’s...
I just realized that the first antagonist Kit and Nita faced together was a helicopter parent.
This is a simulation of what scientists believe Jupiter’s atmosphere looks like from the inside. Source
theres a giant burning orb in the sky and it can burn your flesh, it can give you diseases, it can kill you, looking directly at it causes physical pain, and we all think this is okay. we like this orb. we like to go outside and lie around on our backs when this orb is in the sky. children draw cute pictures of this levitating death orb with a smiley face on it. what is wrong with us
Games Wizards Play will be 496 pages long. 496 wonderful pages.
And this is the cover art that popped up on Amazon when I went to “Hardcover”:
I mean, how awesome is that!?
see, the thing about the young wizards series is
the thing about diane duane is
she infuses everything with so much life. she gives everything thoughts and feelings and personality. she makes you care about them, makes them matter. from grass chorusing “grow grow grow” to planets explaining how they show affection towards fellow celestial bodies by resonating
it’s beautiful, and it’s vital in the truest sense of the word. and I love it. it’s important on a level that I can’t even fully comprehend. it’s almost spiritual
I never thought of myself as a spiritual person, never felt moved by something larger than me. but the things I’ve read about in this series? the intention and compassion and wonder for all things
that’s something I can believe in
A personal temporospatial claudication for Young Wizards fandom-related posts and general space nonsense.
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