Re: Galactic Invader: Space Cloud

On 15 Jan 2008 11:32:27 -0500, Joseph Nebus <nebusj-@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
A giant cloud of hydrogen gas is racing towards a
collision with the Milky Way, astronomers have announced.

Dubbed "Smith's Cloud", it may set off spectacular
fireworks when it smacks into our galaxy in 20-40 million years.

More generally, have beings from outside the galaxy done any
recent invasions, or have the borders of the Milky Way been pretty
well secured since Kirk's successful action against the Kelvan Empire?

Well, Flinx has spent his last several books trying to avoid being forced to
confront one such...

The premise of big clouds of invading space dust setting off
stars brings to mind Asimov's novel The Currents of Space, too, and I
don't know if anyone recently has made use of dust-effects-on-stars
for some plot purpose.

"Brainwave" isn't really recent, and wasn't quite the same thing...

The gas cloud was discovered in 1963 by the young
American astronomer Gail Smith working at Leiden University
in the Netherlands. She subsequently left science but still
lives in the Netherlands.

I want to say that last sentence demonstrates a zeugma, but I'm
pretty sure that's wrong. What it does demonstrate I don't know.

Does she walk to work now, or bring her lunch?

Dave
--
\/David DeLaney posting from dbd@xxxxxxx "It's not the pot that grows the flower
It's not the clock that slows the hour The definition's plain for anyone to see
Love is all it takes to make a family" - R&P. VISUALIZE HAPPYNET VRbeable<BLINK>
http://www.vic.com/~dbd/ - net.legends FAQ & Magic / I WUV you in all CAPS! --K.
.

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