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My February birthday fund-raising campaign for this website, Behind the Black, is now over. Despite a relatively weak initial three weeks, the last week was spectacular, making this campaign the second best ever.

 

Thanks to every person who donated or subscribed. It continues to astonish me that people who can read my work for free like it enough to donate money voluntarily. Words cannot express my appreciation for that support, especially in these uncertain times.

 

If you have been a regular reader and a fan of my work and have not yet donated or subscribed, please consider doing so. I take no ads, I keep the website clean from pop-ups and annoying demands (most of the time). Thus, I depend entirely on my readers to support me. Though this means I am sacrificing some income, it also means that I remain entirely independent from outside pressure. By depending solely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, no one can threaten me with censorship. You don't like what I write, you can simply go elsewhere.

 

You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five ways of doing so:

 

1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.

 

2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
 

3. A Paypal Donation:

4. A Paypal subscription:


5. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
 
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652


Storms on Saturn baffle scientists

The uncertainty of science: Scientists have identified a new type of storm on Saturn, and they don’t understand the weather processes that produced it.

Until now, astronomers had seen only two kinds of Saturnian storms: relatively small storms about 2,000 kilometers across that appear as bright clouds for a few days and Great White Spots that are 10 times as large and last for months. The newly spotted weather disturbance was a series of four midsize storms. Each was several thousand kilometers across and lasted between about 1.5 weeks and about seven months.

It appears that these midsize storms don’t fit any of their present theories about the formation of storms on Saturn.

However, for any scientist at this time to suggest that any theory about the storms on gas giants like Jupiter or Saturn can explain things is for that scientist to reveal themselves to be arrogant fools. We simply do not know anything about the deep atmospheres and vast climates of such planets. For example, we have yet to send a satellite to either planet devoted entirely to studying their atmospheres. And considering the size of these planets, such research would require a lot more than one orbiter to get a global picture. And it would require decades of coverage to get a long term picture.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

3 comments

  • Lee S

    Saturn, Titan, and Enceladus are far and away my favourite places in the solar system.
    It seems to me that with current or “soon” technology it would be perfectly reasonable to launch a flagship mission involving an orbiter which could release a legion of smallsats to photograph the rings REALLY close up, sample Titans atmosphere, do the plumbs of Enceladus, ( and even a hard landing ) and a decent into the highest level of Saturn’s atmosphere.
    I am sure it will come… But I would like to see the results in my lifetime…

  • Lee S

    On a kinda related note… Whic I have often considered, but not for a while now, and perhaps never on here…
    I believe the average contribution to NASA from an average US tax payer is around the 0.5% of tax on income.
    I know there are very litteraly millions of us outside the US who would be more than happy to “chip in”.. if there was a mechanism to allow it.
    I have no idea how it could be made workable, but there are millions upon millions of us here outside the USA who look in wonder at your space agency…
    If there are any internet banking geniuses out there… Have a think… And if it’s workable, have a word in NASA’s ear!!

  • Edward

    Lee S,
    It looks like donations to NASA are possible:
    https://nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov/npg_img/N_PR_1210_001A_/N_PR_1210_001A_.pdf
    This NASA Procedural Requirement (NPR) establishes responsibilities, procedures, and requirements governing the use and expenditure of funds in the form of monetary gifts, donations, and bequests that are unsolicited and offered to NASA without condition.

    It looks like you may not direct your donation to any specific program, project, or facility but only to NASA in general for it to choose how to spend.

    I found this by starting with this post:
    https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/2mcnw6/we_cant_donate_money_to_nasa_so_what_is_the_next/
    One comment directs prospective donors to this page to print out and send in with your donation:
    https://nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov/displayDir.cfm?Internal_ID=N_PD_1210_001G_&page_name=main

    An alternative would be to invest in a company that is working on the project that you wish to fund, but this is ownership, not donation toward the project.

    Thank you for your interest in our space agency. It is nice to know that it is appreciated.

    Please be aware, however, that your country also has its own space agency:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_National_Space_Agency

Readers: the rules for commenting!

 

No registration is required. I welcome all opinions, even those that strongly criticize my commentary.

 

However, name-calling and obscenities will not be tolerated. First time offenders who are new to the site will be warned. Second time offenders or first time offenders who have been here awhile will be suspended for a week. After that, I will ban you. Period.

 

Note also that first time commenters as well as any comment with more than one link will be placed in moderation for my approval. Be patient, I will get to it.

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