All posts by Cathy Palmer-Lister

Astronomy News

SOLAR ECLIPSE COMET

Space Weather News for Feb. 21, 2024
https://spaceweather.com
https://www.spaceweatheralerts.com

SOLAR ECLIPSE COMET: A comet is approaching the sun for a rare appearance during this April’s total solar eclipse. Cryovolcanic comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is expected to be at least faintly visible inside the Moon’s shadow with a more dramatic display possible if one of its ice geysers erupts at the right moment. Full story & sky maps @ Spaceweather.com.

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Above: Venus, Jupiter and possibly Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks will be visible during this April’s total solar eclipse

 

 

Fanzines

Fanzines to share!

We have zines to share!

From Garth Spenser: Shooting my Cuffs 11.

From Bill Burns, an update to efanzines:

I thought last week was busy, but I’ve just posted 15 new and archive fanzine issues at https:efanzines.com:

  • Leybl Botwinik’s CyberCozen – Feb 2024
  • Opuntia #566, edited by Dale Speirs
  • David Grigg’s The Megaloscope #11
  • Dan Harper’s ABwoF #10
  • Henry Grynnsten’s Wild Ideas #44
  • Christopher J. Garcia’s The Drink Tank #454
  • Christopher J. Garcia’s Claims Department #66, 67
  • Octothorpe #103, a regular fannish podcast by John Coxon, Alison Scott and Liz Batty, is now on line
  • Michael Dobson’s The Random Jottings Holiday Special
  • R Graeme Cameron’s Great Galloping Ghu! #2
  • Bill Plott’s Sporadic #50 & 51 (archive issues)
  • Garth Spencer’s The Obdurate Eye #36
  • Ray Palm’s The Ray X X-rayer #177

—
Bill

 

Awards, CSFFA / Aurora Award / Hall of Fame

February 2024 CSFFA Newsletter: Aurora 2024 Updates

An update regarding the Aurora Awards, received from the CSFFA

Winter is almost over (we hope) and with it the first stage of 2024’s Aurora Awards process. Please see below for specific updates.

In this newsletter:

  1. Aurora Award Updates for February 2024
  2. An Aurora Awards History Tidbit

Aurora Awards Updates for February 2024Eligibility Lists Close Soon

Depending on when you read this, the lists for this year’s works eligible to be nominated for the 2024 Aurora Awards closes soon.  The lists will be closed at 11:59 pm EST on Saturday, February 24th.

Over the following week our eligibility team of volunteers will review all works that are still pending.  If you see something that was missed, please email us.  If it is not too late, we will try to add it.

Nominations Open in March

Nominations will open on Saturday, March 2nd.  CSFFA members have until Saturday, April 6th at 11:59 pm EST to enter your choices.  One special feature of the nomination process is that you can return as many times as you wish to add or modify your choices.  After our deadline our webmaster will lock all nominations that members have entered.

For those new to the awards, you may enter up to five choices in each category.  Each entry in a category must be unique.  If you submit the same work more than once ALL of them will be voided.  If you accidentally duplicate one you can always use the “blank” record that it at the top of each dropdown list.  Please be careful and review your choices before you submit them. Nominate what you know and enjoyed.

Special request when you nominate or ask others to nominate

Please do NOT ask friends or family to get a membership to just nominate or vote (later) for your works if they are not SF/Fantasy fans.  Members are encouraged to nominate in multiple categories.  The awards are for fans of the genre.  This is not a popularity contest to see who has the largest family.

We want people to get memberships who read Science Fiction, Fantasy, and/or Horror to help us determine the best works that were done last year.

Awards

The 2023 Hugo Awards: A report on censorship and exclusion

This is a must read report on what happened to the 2023 Hugo Awards. Also on File 770, letters from Kat Jones and Diane Lacey. 

Click here to read the report: 2023 Hugo Awards Censorship Report_Final

Extract below:

LEAKED EMAILS AND FILES REVEAL POLITICAL CONCERNS RESULTED IN INELIGIBILITY ISSUES WITH 2023 HUGO AWARDS

By Chris M. Barkley and Jason Sanford: Emails and files released by one of the administrators of the 2023 Hugo Awards indicate that authors and works deemed “not eligible” for the awards were removed due to political considerations. In particular, administrators of the awards from the United States and Canada researched political concerns related to Hugo-eligible authors and works and discussed removing certain ones from the ballot for those reasons, revealing they were active participants in the censorship that took place.

When the Hugo Award voting and nomination statistics were released, no detailed explanation was given for why multiple authors and works were deemed “not eligible” even though they had enough nominations to make the award’s final ballot. The only official explanation came from overall Hugo Awards administrator Dave McCarty, who said “After reviewing the Constitution and the rules we must follow, the administration team determined those works/persons were not eligible.”

However, emails and files released by another member of that Hugo administration team, Diane Lacey, shows that the rules “we must follow” were in relation to Chinese laws related to content and censorship.

Astronomy News

Possible auroras down to northern-tier US States.

Never fails, these storms hit just when we have cloudy skies. But in case we get a clearing, watch for auroras around 13th, 14th. Also, if you have solar observing glasses such as the ones MonSFFA was given by the RASC MOntreal Centre at the January meeting, keep an eye on the sun anytime it peeks through the clouds. Lots of visible sunspots!
Space Weather News for Feb 12, 2024
https://spaceweather.com
https://www.spaceweatheralerts.com

GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH: A forecast model from NOAA shows multiple CMEs striking Earth on Feb. 13th. Their impacts could cause G2-class (Moderate) geomagnetic storms with auroras across northern-tier US States. Also, there’s a slim chance they might combine to form a more potent “Cannibal CME.” Full story @ Spaceweather.com.

CME impact alerts: Sign up for Space Weather Alerts to receive instant text messages when the CMEs strike.

Above: A NOAA forecast model shows multiple CMEs en route to Earth.

 

Astronomy News

MAJOR X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE

Space Weather News for Feb. 9, 2024
https://spaceweather.com
MAJOR X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: Today, the sun unleashed one of the biggest solar flares in years, a X3.4-class explosion from behind the sun’s southwestern limb. Solar protons energized by the flare are now raining down on Earth’s atmosphere, causing polar shortwave radio blackouts and other effects. The intensifying radiation storm could last for days. Follow this developing story @ Spaceweather.com.Solar flare alerts: Sign up for Space Weather Alerts to receive instant text messages when strong solar flares are underway
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Above: The extreme ultraviolet flash from today’s X3.4-class solar flare, recorded by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

MonSFFA Website

Fanzines to share!

We have received zines to share with our members!

This is a new one to us, it’s from Sweden. The editor, Ahrvid Engholm, went to see Oppenheimer andbecame inspired!

FaiNZINE3  and Intermission141

The N3F sent us N3FReview202401in which quite a few books are reviewed, including A Wrinkle in Time which we’ve discussed a couple of times at MonSFFA.

Bill Burns sent us an update:


New today at https://efanzines.com are:

Rob Jackson’s Inca #23

Alexiad #132 edited by Lisa & Joseph Major

Rich Lynch’s You’re Still on My Mind #5, a letterzine companion to My Back Pages

Octothorpe #102, a regular fannish podcast by John Coxon, Alison Scott and Liz Batty, is now on line

Opuntia #565, edited by Dale Speirs

Heath Row’s The Stf Amateur, February 2024 (apazine bundle)

Bill Plott’s Sporadic #77 (2023 archive issue)

—
Bill

MonSFFA Website

Meeting of Feb 10, zoom only

Due to circumstance beyond our control, we will meet February 10 by ZOOM only.  The link will be posted on our website just before the meeting. 

COLOURFUL, CRAZY MARDI GRAS!—Our meeting theme this month is Mardi Gras, aand we offer a quick primer on the celebrations, focusing on the colourful, exquisite costuming and decorative flair of New Orleans’ famous Carnival; SF/F cosplayers may well find inspiration here!

WORST MONSTERS!—We discuss and debate which are the genre’s worst monsters, in every sense of the word “worst”. Got some pictures? We can share your screen!

SCI-FI’S LOVABLE ROGUES, AND WHY WE LOVE THEM!  Who are the Han Solos of the genre, and why are they so damned compelling, interesting, and appealing?

PROGRAMMING IDEAS!—We’ll be polling MonSFFA’s membership for programming ideas; we want to hear from you, the members of this club, as to the kinds of topics you’d like to see on future meeting agendas! Your suggestions are encouraged and welcome!