Science Officer's Personal Log - Stardate 73781.7
Posted on Mon Apr 13th, 2020 @ 12:13am by Lieutenant JG Matthew Plumeri
543 words; about a 3 minute read
[ON:]
“Baby pictures! We got baby pictures! Oh wait – is this damn thing on? Computer? Make a new personal log. That’s better.
OK, restarting - Science Officer’s Log, stardate 73781.7. LTJG Matthew Plumeri recording.
WE.
GOTS.
BABY PICTURES!!!!!!
WOO HOO!!!!
Ok, ok, ok…. slow down Matt. Use your words.
The Endeavor has the new LCARS Mark VII advanced scientific interface. It must have just been installed. Because…guess what I found? I could still access Starbase Twenty-three’s primary long-range scientific sensor suite.
YES!
There was new star nebula that we passed on our way here to SB23. On the Ijn Merak Remember that mass of cloud and crap we passed a week ago? Yeah, I’ve been keeping an eye on it. for the past six days. Using time corrected sensor data I’ve snagged a glimpse of a huge alien world forming from the disk of dust and debris surrounding a dwarf star, stellar body number DP0454— the first-ever confirmed direct observation of an gaseous planet this young in this part of space.”
He popped out of the chair and did a little happy dance. He was alone in the Science lab and he wagged his fingers and with hands on his hips he did a few pelvic thrusts in a kind of funky dance.
“Yes! Go team! Churn the buttah! Churn the buttah! WOOO!”
He sat back down in the chair and continued.
“SO, get this. The baby planet is growing up around a dwarf star called…uh…. the catalogue entry that it fell to is…. Pleiades DP0070, what a terrible name for a newborn. The newborn is 1,470 light-years from this position. Based on the spectroscopy, it’s just 5.4 million years old. The planet is shaping up to be a big one — it's a gas giant, and it's already two or three times the size of Halyopterous Massive IV, roughly…2 AU’s in size. I have pictures of the little titan. OK? Look at these!”
There were several images of a very red, very yellow looking gaseous mass with lots of debris and fire in long spirals as a new gravity well was forming. The core of the gas giant was being created.
Plumeri thumbed through the images, “It orbits its star about the distance Saturn orbits from the Sol star. The new planet's a toasty 1,000 degrees Celsius, still hot with the energy of its formation.
I’m stoked! Just when you think you know how Mother Nature cooks up planets, POOF, she throws you a sinker. It just goes to show that the Universe always has some new trick up its sleeve. Here we thought that only stars can be born in a stellar nursery and then there’s this. Oh, I know that this won’t be news anywhere else. But, I’m super happy. Discover something new along the way; that ain’t too shabby.
I think that its worth a celebration! And to that end, I’m heading to the gym for a workout. I always feel better after hitting the gym and this – this has been an awesome day!
Computer, end log and store.”
== END SCIENCE OFFICER LOG ==
[OFF:]
LTJG. Matthew Plumeri
Science Officer/Historian
USS Endeavor
NCC-72802
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