The Chronicle Astronomical

I Was Going To Start Differently
 - and then realised, that although "Chronic Astronomic" rhymes, astronomic isn't a proper word.  
     Firstly, I am going to whinge at the Codeword from Friday's MEN, because the answer to one word was "OKAPI", which is really pushing the envelope of acceptable behaviour.  I am guessing that a new compiler has taken over, one who sits and thinks dark thoughts, busily leafing through his Collins until he comes to an incredibly obscure word and exclaims in delight "Yes!  'PSYCHROMETER' fits the bill perfectly".*

A Psychrometer
(Yes they are a thing)

     Enough wibble.  If you read today's earlier post, then you know that Kaiyodo has a 1/10 scale model of 2001's 'Discovery' spaceship; 1/10 of the original prop, that is, which was 57 feet long, rather than the fictional ship's 500 feet.

CAUTION!  Requires very deep pockets

     The proposed price is about £1,000 and no, that's not a typo: one thousand pounds.
     Now, if you don't fancy blowing your monthly wage on this model but have your heart set on a Discovery, be reassured.  Moebius Models do a 1/144 scale model, which will only set you back the much more modest sum of £235.  Art?

Does what it says on the box

     I think the Kaiyodo version is a resin cast; the Moebius one is a plastic kit and requires special metal reinforcing rods to support the long, thin 'spine' of the model, which would otherwise not support the masses of the engines or Command Module.
     Wonder what happened to the original prop?
     Now to hobble the motley and see if it can outrun a swarm of weaselnanas!

Can't find my weaselnana picture, so here's a pig in a wig

Meanwhile, Over At KIC8462852
This is a star, more easily remembered as "Tabby's Star", because the lead author on the paper about it was one Tabetha Boyajian -

     DOG BUNS!  I've just been watching an episode of "The Rockford Files" - the one where Angel gets married - and who are the second-string villains?  Why, none other than the <pause for dramatic drum roll> Boyajian brothers.  Coincidence Hydra, get your teeth out of my arse!

Honest, Jim, I'm not making this up!

  - <ahem> hence the "Tabby".  The thing about this star is that it undergoes lots of periodic dimming, up to 22% of it's total output, which is a whopping amount; for comparison, a planet the size of Jupiter moving in front of this star would only occlude 1% of the output.  Not only that, over the past century this star's overall output has declined by 20%, which is unheard of for a star of this type.
     What's going on?

?

     There are at least half a dozen possible explanations, except none of them cover all the various wrinkles in Tabby's Star's output variation.  This means that the least likely solution has been seriously studied: Aliens.  Art?

A Dyson swarm

     Astronomers admit this is HUGELY unlikely, but it rings well with those who Want To Believe.  The postulation is that this alien superculture is seeking to harvest all their sun's energy by completely enclosing it in a Dyson sphere; what we're witnessing is the beginning of this process.
     The real explanation is probably a lot more prosaic - yet, it does get one thinking ...

WHEELS OF TERROR! Ineptitude
Ladies and gentlemen - and those unsure - I bring you one of Perfidious Albion's lesser moments of creative genius, alongside the Panjandrum and the Rocket-Propelled Take-Off Valentine Tank.**
     Let me introduce you to the Rotatrailer.  Art?

This example is at Bovington Tank Museum

     This is an idea that looked good on paper, was probably tested on a nice flat, level, even, plane, blemish-free parade ground, and which failed utterly in real life.  Art?


     As you can see in the first illustration, the intention was to tow it behind a tank, which made reversing into a very tricky manoeuvre indeed.  The Rotatrailer 'wheels' were hollow, and intended to be filled with fuel; there was a pump in another compartment so the tank's crew could refill their own tanks when they ran dry.   The box compartment carried ammunition for replenishment during or after action.
     That was the theory.
     In real life, because there was NO SUSPENSION, the Rotatrailer bounced and banged into every rut and bump on the battlefield.  The wheels split and leaked fuel.  The whole thing not infrequently turned upside down.  The incessant banging about seriously dented all the ammunition.  In real life, your tank would be towing an open invitation for mayhem, because if anything sparked off that spilled fuel, you had a flaming half-ton of ammunition three feet behind you, waiting to explode.

"Pssst!  Sarge - don't look now, but we're being followed."

*  Probably whilst rubbing his hands and tweaking the ends of his long, mordant moustache.
**  Both real.