You can’t be Sirius? Actually, I’m Sirius B

Dan Wild

Sirius is really two stars. A faint white dwarf, Sirius B, is locked in a dance with Sirius A, and it takes 50 years for them to orbit each other. Sirius B used to be a big guy: it was once a red giant. Except it doesn’t have quite the same mass as Betelgeuse, a …

Betelgeuse: Life as a Red Supergiant

Dan Wild

You’ve heard of Betelgeuse if you’re an amateur astronomer. It’s that flickering red star at the bottom right corner of the constellation of Orion, as viewed in the southern hemisphere, and top left viewed from the northern hemisphere. Those born in the 1980s would have heard of it via the surreal Tim Burton film, Beetlejuice. …

The Multiverse – All you need to know

Dan Wild

The multiverse is the universe of universes. Its existence is postulated but not proven. Quantum physicists and philosophers are its most passionate advocates as well as its detractors. I’m a very passionate advocate: it would be nice to know there’s a universe where my neighbours don’t dump rubbish in the recycle bin, leave the lid …

Cosmogony 67: the Zentrians

Dan Wild

It is believed the Zentrians tie in with the multiverse theory, although no one has been able to prove this. Indeed, there is no scientific proof that the Zentrians even exist. Whether they are a race, an entity or a collection of spiritual beings is pure conjecture. The favoured explanation of conspiracy theorists is that …

Cosmogony 766: Bad Ends

Dan Wild

Seventy kilometres north of Crete 581d’s capital, Reticulum, lie the Bad Ends. Most citizens avoid the Bad Ends. The Bad Ends became bad when Phineas Guthrie founded Conscious Follicles. Since then, hairdressing has often had links to organised crime. Jeremiah Kibbles moved into the area soon after, starting his business at the back of a …

Cosmogony 1243: Binary Loans

Dan Wild

A money lending chain founded by Nostradamus Noke in 2910, in ninety years Binary Loans grew from a small payday loan business to a successful franchise operating on both Crete 581d and Crete 581f. It avoids the Cretan 581d corporate tax rate of 30% by sending its revenue to holding companies on Crete 581f where …

Cosmogony 213: Proxima Centauri

Dan Wild

Closest star to the sun. Part of a triple star system. Several trading outposts orbit Proxima Centauri, drawing their power from large arrays collecting magnetic and solar energy from Alpha Centauri A and its twin. Proxima b, a tidally locked planet capable of sustaining life, orbits this red dwarf star. Residents live in perpetual twilight. …

Cosmogony 121: Betelgeuse Burger

Dan Wild

The contents of these burgers are a closely guarded secret. It is rumoured that no one knows the recipe in its entirety, but once a year five executives from Betelgeuse Corp gather on a satellite orbiting Betelgeuse VII. Each executive possesses a key to a safe that holds the recipe. Together they assemble and disassemble …