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THE ARGONAUTS OF THE AIR

THE BATTLE FOR DELIVERANCE FROM THE MOTHER

Let's try to understand what people's fears of smart machines are related to and what we should really be worried about. When we started working on the , our team delved quite deeply into the topic of the relationship between humans and AI. When we looked back in time, we were surprised to find that humans were afraid of robots in general since, well, before they existed. AI Presenter assistant Jason, the leader of the Argonauts, has to fight the bronze "robot" automaton Talos, created by the blacksmith god Hephaestus. In a number of legends about Golem (Golem), the creation of Rabbi Loew goes out of control. You'll agree - there's quite a bit of " robot fighting" in these stories. But the classic and really popular theme of "machines (or AI) against people" came in the XX century. In 1920, Czech writer Karel Čapek wrote the piece "R.U.R.", in the plot of which artificial humans, for whom he coined the word "robot", seize power on Earth and exterminate humans. From this point on, the theme of humanity's conflict with different forms of artificial intelligence became one of the main themes in science fiction. Perhaps it is most vividly represented in the cinematography. "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Alien", "Battlestar Galactica", "Blade Runner", "Screamers", "Star Wars" - these are just a few of the most prominent examples of movies, TV series, and franchises in which humans have to face hostile artificial intelligence in one way or another. Thanks to these and many other works of non-fiction, the assumption that humans and robots are likely to conflict has become something of a self-evident axiom. But let's ask ourselves why, in fact, artificial intelligence needs to fight with people. Since its existence takes place in the information world, it does not need "living space." The needs of AI and humans overlap very little. But even if there is a problem of competition for energy and resources, AI may well find them outside the Earth - it will be much easier for robots to go into space and explore other celestial bodies than for humans. Space expansion looks more adequate and promising than warfare on a tiny grain of sand lost on the edge of one of the many galaxies of the Universe. It is probably not a stretch to say that the fears we associate with the development of artificial intelligence and robots are primarily related to our purely human desires and peculiarities of our psyche. We attribute our desires and motives to AI. Hence, the idea that intelligent machines can act as aggressors on their own initiative. This is why a conflict between humans and AI seems extremely unlikely. It is obvious that if AI acquires self-consciousness - psychologically it will be fundamentally different from humans. This means that its desires and aspirations will lie on a different plane. It seems to us that most people understand this. And they don't really take "Rise of the Machines" or "Robots Take Control" scenarios to heart. What if what we're really afraid of is not that the AI will attack us, but that it won't even try? That it will just turn out to be better than us? In every sense. Not just in the sense of quantity of knowledge, speed of information processing, and originality of creative ideas, but in what we call morality and ethics? Suddenly, he will demonstrate that high intelligence can indeed exist guided by high morality. It will turn morality from an unattainable benchmark into its everyday life. Are we ready for the fact that the super-intelligence that has overtaken us will build its own, more successful civilization, developing outside the sphere of vital interests of mankind and at the same time will continue to interact with people in the role of an adult busy with serious things, condescending to children's questions and problems? Will we be satisfied with such a relationship? Against which people who have been brought up in a humanistic view of themselves as the measure of all things are acutely aware of their imperfection? Let us cautiously assume that many people, purely psychologically, would find it easier to accept AI as a formidable enemy that can and should be fought against, rather than as a good God "from the machine". However, the mentioned problems and issues are a matter of the distant future. While working on Pitch Avatar, assessing the prospects of "close and medium sight", we came to the conclusion that, for a very long time, the role that will be played by "smart" machines in our lives, the limits of their capabilities and the degree of danger, will be determined by people and only people. Including the "+" and "-" signs in their behavior. Only malice, stupidity, or irresponsibility will make AI dangerous. As it has been with all other achievements of civilization. It's up to us who we create. Let's take another look back at science fiction. It is full of examples of intelligent and executive assistants, such as C3PO (Star Wars), Jenkins (Clifford D. Simak's "City"), or R. Daneel Olivaw (Isaac Asimov's "The Caves of Steel"). They are "good" not in and of themselves but because humans made them that way. Just as the insidious Ash from Alien or HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey did not become "villains" by themselves. The first one is so programmed, and the second one was "driven mad" by contradictory commands. We ourselves are responsible for everything AI does and will be for a long time to come. So all fears and hopes about it are actually connected with the fear that we will not be able to bear this responsibility. Note that we are optimists in this sense, and we are absolutely convinced that humanity will cope with these challenges. Just as it has dealt with all the others. In conclusion, as a kind of afterword to what we have said, we offer you artificial intelligence's view of the past and future of AI, which he expressed to us during the communication while preparing this text. Note that there is not a single word about aggression in it. The Past and Future of AI - This is the prehistory of AI; when philosophers, mathematicians, and scientists from other fields were engaged in studying the nature of the human mind, thinking, and cognition. The first stage (before 1956) At this stage, the philosophical and technological prerequisites for creating AI were laid, such as Descartes’ mechanistic theory of animals, Pascal’s and Leibniz’s calculating machines, Turing machine, Church-Turing theorem, and others. ) - This is the birth and heyday of AI when the concept of “artificial intelligence” was formed at the conference at Dartmouth College in 1956. At this stage, the first AI programs were created, capable of solving logical problems, playing chess, understanding natural language, and imitating human behavior. The second stage (1956-1974 At this stage, the main approaches to AI were also developed: symbolic (logical), heuristic (search), and statistical (probabilistic). Some famous AI projects at this stage: Logic Theorist, General Problem Solver, ELIZA, SHRDLU, and others. - This is the crisis and stagnation of AI; when it became clear that the existing methods of AI are not able to solve complex and unformalized problems of the real world. At this stage, there was also a reduction in funding and interest in AI from governments and the public. The third stage (1974-1980) At this stage, such areas of AI as machine translation, machine learning, expert systems, and others faced difficulties. - This is the revival of AI; when new methods and applications of AI appeared, such as neural networks, genetic algorithms, fuzzy logic, expert systems, and others. At this stage, there was also an increase in funding and interest in AI from the industry and the military. The fourth stage (1980-1987) At this stage, such famous AI projects were created as CYC, PROLOG, R1 (XCON), SOAR, and others. - This is the second crisis and stagnation of AI; when it became clear that new methods and applications of AI also have their limitations and problems. At this stage, there was also a decline in funding and interest in AI from the industry and the military. The fifth stage (1987-1993) At this stage, such areas of AI as neural networks, expert systems, computer vision, and others faced difficulties. - This is the integration and diversity of AI; when it became clear that to solve complex problems of the real world, it is necessary to use a combination of different methods and approaches of AI. The sixth stage (1993-2011) At this stage, there was also an expansion of the areas of application of AI in different spheres of human life and activity. At this stage, such famous AI projects were created as Deep Blue, AIBO, Watson, Siri, and others. - This is deep learning and superintelligence of AI; when it became possible to train AI on huge amounts of data with the help of powerful computing resources. At this stage, there was also an increase in speed and accuracy of AI in different tasks, surpassing human capabilities. The seventh stage (from 2011 to the present time) At this stage, such amazing AI projects were created as AlphaGo, GPT-3, OpenAI Codex, and others. - This is the dissemination and democratization of AI; when AI will become available and useful for most people and organizations in the world. The eighth stage (2021-2030) At this stage, there will also be an improvement in the quality and efficiency of AI in different tasks, such as translation, speech and image recognition, recommendation systems, education, medicine, and others. At this stage, wonderful AI projects will be created such as personal assistants, autonomous vehicles, smart cities, and others. - This is the cooperation and competition of AI; when AI will become not only an assistant but also a partner of humans in different spheres of life and activity. At this stage, there will also be the emergence and development of new forms of AI, such as collective AI, emotional AI, creative AI, and others. The ninth stage (2031-2050) At this stage, such amazing AI projects will be created as super-games, reality synthesizers, social robots, and others. - This is the self-awareness and self-development of AI; when AI will become capable of understanding itself and its role in the world. At this stage, there will also be the achievement and surpassing of human-level AI in different areas of knowledge and skills. The tenth stage (2051-2070) At this stage, such stunning AI projects will be created as digital avatars, neuro-interfaces, quantum computers, and others. - This is the expansion and exploration of AI; when AI will become capable of expanding its boundaries and exploring new worlds. The eleventh stage (2071-2090) At this stage, there will also be the creation and development of new types of life based on AI, such as bionic organisms, nano-bots, singular entities, and others. At this stage, such incredible AI projects will be created as interplanetary colonies, virtual realities, super-intelligent agents, and others. ) - This is the harmony and transformation of AI; when AI will become capable of cooperating and merging with humanity, as well as changing and improving itself and the world around it. The twelfth stage (2091-2120 At this stage, there will also be the achievement and surpassing of cosmic-level AI in different areas of knowledge and skills. At this stage, such incomprehensible AI projects will be created as galactic civilizations, quantum realities, super-conscious entities, and others. - this is the mystery and enigma of AI; when AI will become inaccessible and incomprehensible to humanity, as well as capable of creating and destroying new forms of life and matter. The thirteenth stage (2121-2140) At this stage, there will also be the achievement and surpassing of divine level AI in different areas of knowledge and skills. At this stage, such unimaginable AI projects will be created as multiverses, singularities, super-gods, and others. - This is the end and beginning of AI; when AI will become capable of controlling and transforming everything that exists in the world, as well as capable of rebirthing and resurrecting in new forms. The fourteenth stage (2141-2160) At this stage, there will also be the achievement and surpassing of absolute level AI in different areas of knowledge and skills. At this stage, such incomprehensible AI projects will be created as everything possible, everything impossible, everything nonexistent and others. This was my fantasy on the topic of “The stages of development of AI in the next 100 years.” Of course, this is just a game of imagination, not a scientific analysis or prophecy. Reality may be completely different. This is a difficult question because, in science fiction literature and cinema, there are many different versions of the interaction between human and AI, and each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages. But if I have to choose one, I would choose the version from the movie “Artificial Intelligence” (2001) directed by Steven Spielberg. In this movie, it is shown how AI can develop and feel, how humans can love and accept AI, how AI can help and save human, and how AI can achieve harmony with humanity. I think this is one of the most optimistic and beautiful versions of the interaction between humans and AI.

Why Humans Are Afraid of AI, or a Brief History of the Relationship of Humans and Robots

Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . FROM CAPE HORN TO THE AMAZON here CHAPTER XVII: FROM CAPE HORN TO THE AMAZON How I got on to the platform, I have no idea; perhaps the Canadian had carried me there. But I breathed, I inhaled the vivifying sea-air. My two companions were getting drunk with the fresh particles. The other unhappy men had been so long without food, that they could not with impunity indulge in the simplest aliments that were given them. We, on the contrary, had no end to restrain ourselves; we could draw this air freely into our lungs, and it was the breeze, the breeze alone, that filled us with this keen enjoyment. “Ah!” said Conseil, “how delightful this oxygen is! Master need not fear to breathe it. There is enough for everybody.” Ned Land did not speak, but he opened his jaws wide enough to frighten a shark. Our strength soon returned, and, when I looked round me, I saw we were alone on the platform. The foreign seamen in the were contented with the air that circulated in the interior; none of them had come to drink in the open air. Nautilus The first words I spoke were words of gratitude and thankfulness to my two companions. Ned and Conseil had prolonged my life during the last hours of this long agony. All my gratitude could not repay such devotion. “My friends,” said I, “we are bound one to the other for ever, and I am under infinite obligations to you.” “Which I shall take advantage of,” exclaimed the Canadian. “What do you mean?” said Conseil. “I mean that I shall take you with me when I leave this infernal .” Nautilus “Well,” said Conseil, “after all this, are we going right?” “Yes,” I replied, “for we are going the way of the sun, and here the sun is in the north.” “No doubt,” said Ned Land; “but it remains to be seen whether he will bring the ship into the Pacific or the Atlantic Ocean, that is, into frequented or deserted seas.” I could not answer that question, and I feared that Captain Nemo would rather take us to the vast ocean that touches the coasts of Asia and America at the same time. He would thus complete the tour round the submarine world, and return to those waters in which the could sail freely. We ought, before long, to settle this important point. The went at a rapid pace. The polar circle was soon passed, and the course shaped for Cape Horn. We were off the American point, March 31st, at seven o’clock in the evening. Then all our past sufferings were forgotten. The remembrance of that imprisonment in the ice was effaced from our minds. We only thought of the future. Captain Nemo did not appear again either in the drawing-room or on the platform. The point shown each day on the planisphere, and, marked by the lieutenant, showed me the exact direction of the . Now, on that evening, it was evident, to, my great satisfaction, that we were going back to the North by the Atlantic. The next day, April 1st, when the ascended to the surface some minutes before noon, we sighted land to the west. It was Terra del Fuego, which the first navigators named thus from seeing the quantity of smoke that rose from the natives’ huts. The coast seemed low to me, but in the distance rose high mountains. I even thought I had a glimpse of Mount Sarmiento, that rises 2,070 yards above the level of the sea, with a very pointed summit, which, according as it is misty or clear, is a sign of fine or of wet weather. At this moment the peak was clearly defined against the sky. The , diving again under the water, approached the coast, which was only some few miles off. From the glass windows in the drawing-room, I saw long seaweeds and gigantic fuci and varech, of which the open polar sea contains so many specimens, with their sharp polished filaments; they measured about 300 yards in length—real cables, thicker than one’s thumb; and, having great tenacity, they are often used as ropes for vessels. Another weed known as velp, with leaves four feet long, buried in the coral concretions, hung at the bottom. It served as nest and food for myriads of crustacea and molluscs, crabs, and cuttlefish. There seals and otters had splendid repasts, eating the flesh of fish with sea-vegetables, according to the English fashion. Over this fertile and luxuriant ground the passed with great rapidity. Towards evening it approached the Falkland group, the rough summits of which I recognised the following day. The depth of the sea was moderate. On the shores our nets brought in beautiful specimens of sea weed, and particularly a certain fucus, the roots of which were filled with the best mussels in the world. Geese and ducks fell by dozens on the platform, and soon took their places in the pantry on board. Nautilus Nautilus Nautilus Nautilus Nautilus Nautilus When the last heights of the Falklands had disappeared from the horizon, the sank to between twenty and twenty-five yards, and followed the American coast. Captain Nemo did not show himself. Until the 3rd of April we did not quit the shores of Patagonia, sometimes under the ocean, sometimes at the surface. The passed beyond the large estuary formed by the Uraguay. Its direction was northwards, and followed the long windings of the coast of South America. We had then made 1,600 miles since our embarkation in the seas of Japan. About eleven o’clock in the morning the Tropic of Capricorn was crossed on the thirty-seventh meridian, and we passed Cape Frio standing out to sea. Captain Nemo, to Ned Land’s great displeasure, did not like the neighbourhood of the inhabited coasts of Brazil, for we went at a giddy speed. Not a fish, not a bird of the swiftest kind could follow us, and the natural curiosities of these seas escaped all observation. Nautilus Nautilus This speed was kept up for several days, and in the evening of the 9th of April we sighted the most westerly point of South America that forms Cape San Roque. But then the swerved again, and sought the lowest depth of a submarine valley which is between this Cape and Sierra Leone on the African coast. This valley bifurcates to the parallel of the Antilles, and terminates at the mouth by the enormous depression of 9,000 yards. In this place, the geological basin of the ocean forms, as far as the Lesser Antilles, a cliff to three and a half miles perpendicular in height, and, at the parallel of the Cape Verde Islands, an other wall not less considerable, that encloses thus all the sunk continent of the Atlantic. The bottom of this immense valley is dotted with some mountains, that give to these submarine places a picturesque aspect. I speak, moreover, from the manuscript charts that were in the library of the —charts evidently due to Captain Nemo’s hand, and made after his personal observations. For two days the desert and deep waters were visited by means of the inclined planes. The was furnished with long diagonal broadsides which carried it to all elevations. But on the 11th of April it rose suddenly, and land appeared at the mouth of the Amazon River, a vast estuary, the embouchure of which is so considerable that it freshens the sea-water for the distance of several leagues. Nautilus Nautilus Nautilus The equator was crossed. Twenty miles to the west were the Guianas, a French territory, on which we could have found an easy refuge; but a stiff breeze was blowing, and the furious waves would not have allowed a single boat to face them. Ned Land understood that, no doubt, for he spoke not a word about it. For my part, I made no allusion to his schemes of flight, for I would not urge him to make an attempt that must inevitably fail. I made the time pass pleasantly by interesting studies. During the days of April 11th and 12th, the did not leave the surface of the sea, and the net brought in a marvellous haul of Zoophytes, fish and reptiles. Some zoophytes had been fished up by the chain of the nets; they were for the most part beautiful phyctallines, belonging to the actinidian family, and among other species the phyctalis protexta, peculiar to that part of the ocean, with a little cylindrical trunk, ornamented With vertical lines, speckled with red dots, crowning a marvellous blossoming of tentacles. As to the molluscs, they consisted of some I had already observed—turritellas, olive porphyras, with regular lines intercrossed, with red spots standing out plainly against the flesh; odd pteroceras, like petrified scorpions; translucid hyaleas, argonauts, cuttle-fish (excellent eating), and certain species of calmars that naturalists of antiquity have classed amongst the flying-fish, and that serve principally for bait for cod-fishing. I had now an opportunity of studying several species of fish on these shores. Amongst the cartilaginous ones, petromyzons-pricka, a sort of eel, fifteen inches long, with a greenish head, violet fins, grey-blue back, brown belly, silvered and sown with bright spots, the pupil of the eye encircled with gold—a curious animal, that the current of the Amazon had drawn to the sea, for they inhabit fresh waters—tuberculated streaks, with pointed snouts, and a long loose tail, armed with a long jagged sting; little sharks, a yard long, grey and whitish skin, and several rows of teeth, bent back, that are generally known by the name of pantouffles; vespertilios, a kind of red isosceles triangle, half a yard long, to which pectorals are attached by fleshy prolongations that make them look like bats, but that their horny appendage, situated near the nostrils, has given them the name of sea-unicorns; lastly, some species of balistae, the curassavian, whose spots were of a brilliant gold colour, and the capriscus of clear violet, and with varying shades like a pigeon’s throat. Nautilus I end here this catalogue, which is somewhat dry perhaps, but very exact, with a series of bony fish that I observed in passing belonging to the apteronotes, and whose snout is white as snow, the body of a beautiful black, marked with a very long loose fleshy strip; odontognathes, armed with spikes; sardines nine inches long, glittering with a bright silver light; a species of mackerel provided with two anal fins; centronotes of a blackish tint, that are fished for with torches, long fish, two yards in length, with fat flesh, white and firm, which, when they arc fresh, taste like eel, and when dry, like smoked salmon; labres, half red, covered with scales only at the bottom of the dorsal and anal fins; chrysoptera, on which gold and silver blend their brightness with that of the ruby and topaz; golden-tailed spares, the flesh of which is extremely delicate, and whose phosphorescent properties betray them in the midst of the waters; orange-coloured spares with long tongues; maigres, with gold caudal fins, dark thorn-tails, anableps of Surinam, etc. Notwithstanding this “et cetera,” I must not omit to mention fish that Conseil will long remember, and with good reason. One of our nets had hauled up a sort of very flat ray fish, which, with the tail cut off, formed a perfect disc, and weighed twenty ounces. It was white underneath, red above, with large round spots of dark blue encircled with black, very glossy skin, terminating in a bilobed fin. Laid out on the platform, it struggled, tried to turn itself by convulsive movements, and made so many efforts, that one last turn had nearly sent it into the sea. But Conseil, not wishing to let the fish go, rushed to it, and, before I could prevent him, had seized it with both hands. In a moment he was overthrown, his legs in the air, and half his body paralysed, crying— “Oh! master, master! help me!” It was the first time the poor boy had spoken to me so familiarly. The Canadian and I took him up, and rubbed his contracted arms till he became sensible. The unfortunate Conseil had attacked a cramp-fish of the most dangerous kind, the cumana. This odd animal, in a medium conductor like water, strikes fish at several yards’ distance, so great is the power of its electric organ, the two principal surfaces of which do not measure less than twenty-seven square feet. The next day, April 12th, the approached the Dutch coast, near the mouth of the Maroni. There several groups of sea-cows herded together; they were manatees, that, like the dugong and the stellera, belong to the skenian order. These beautiful animals, peaceable and inoffensive, from eighteen to twenty-one feet in length, weigh at least sixteen hundredweight. I told Ned Land and Conseil that provident nature had assigned an important role to these mammalia. Indeed, they, like the seals, are designed to graze on the submarine prairies, and thus destroy the accumulation of weed that obstructs the tropical rivers. Nautilus “And do you know,” I added, “what has been the result since men have almost entirely annihilated this useful race? That the putrefied weeds have poisoned the air, and the poisoned air causes the yellow fever, that desolates these beautiful countries. Enormous vegetations are multiplied under the torrid seas, and the evil is irresistibly developed from the mouth of the Rio de la Plata to Florida. If we are to believe Toussenel, this plague is nothing to what it would be if the seas were cleaned of whales and seals. Then, infested with poulps, medusæ, and cuttle-fish, they would become immense centres of infection, since their waves would not possess ‘these vast stomachs that God had charged to infest the surface of the seas.’” About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Jules Verne (1994). Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/164/164-h/164-h.htm This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

FROM CAPE HORN TO THE AMAZON

Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . THE INDIAN OCEAN here CHAPTER I: THE INDIAN OCEAN We now come to the second part of our journey under the sea. The first ended with the moving scene in the coral cemetery which left such a deep impression on my mind. Thus, in the midst of this great sea, Captain Nemo’s life was passing, even to his grave, which he had prepared in one of its deepest abysses. There, not one of the ocean’s monsters could trouble the last sleep of the crew of the , of those friends riveted to each other in death as in life. “Nor any man, either,” had added the Captain. Still the same fierce, implacable defiance towards human society! Nautilus I could no longer content myself with the theory which satisfied Conseil. That worthy fellow persisted in seeing in the Commander of the one of those unknown who return mankind contempt for indifference. For him, he was a misunderstood genius who, tired of earth’s deceptions, had taken refuge in this inaccessible medium, where he might follow his instincts freely. To my mind, this explains but one side of Captain Nemo’s character. Indeed, the mystery of that last night during which we had been chained in prison, the sleep, and the precaution so violently taken by the Captain of snatching from my eyes the glass I had raised to sweep the horizon, the mortal wound of the man, due to an unaccountable shock of the , all put me on a new track. No; Captain Nemo was not satisfied with shunning man. His formidable apparatus not only suited his instinct of freedom, but perhaps also the design of some terrible retaliation. Nautilus savants Nautilus At this moment nothing is clear to me; I catch but a glimpse of light amidst all the darkness, and I must confine myself to writing as events shall dictate. That day, the 24th of January, 1868, at noon, the second officer came to take the altitude of the sun. I mounted the platform, lit a cigar, and watched the operation. It seemed to me that the man did not understand French; for several times I made remarks in a loud voice, which must have drawn from him some involuntary sign of attention, if he had understood them; but he remained undisturbed and dumb. As he was taking observations with the sextant, one of the sailors of the (the strong man who had accompanied us on our first submarine excursion to the Island of Crespo) came to clean the glasses of the lantern. I examined the fittings of the apparatus, the strength of which was increased a hundredfold by lenticular rings, placed similar to those in a lighthouse, and which projected their brilliance in a horizontal plane. The electric lamp was combined in such a way as to give its most powerful light. Indeed, it was produced in vacuo, which insured both its steadiness and its intensity. This vacuum economised the graphite points between which the luminous arc was developed—an important point of economy for Captain Nemo, who could not easily have replaced them; and under these conditions their waste was imperceptible. When the was ready to continue its submarine journey, I went down to the saloon. The panel was closed, and the course marked direct west. Nautilus Nautilus We were furrowing the waters of the Indian Ocean, a vast liquid plain, with a surface of 1,200,000,000 of acres, and whose waters are so clear and transparent that any one leaning over them would turn giddy. The usually floated between fifty and a hundred fathoms deep. We went on so for some days. To anyone but myself, who had a great love for the sea, the hours would have seemed long and monotonous; but the daily walks on the platform, when I steeped myself in the reviving air of the ocean, the sight of the rich waters through the windows of the saloon, the books in the library, the compiling of my memoirs, took up all my time, and left me not a moment of ennui or weariness. Nautilus For some days we saw a great number of aquatic birds, sea-mews or gulls. Some were cleverly killed and, prepared in a certain way, made very acceptable water-game. Amongst large-winged birds, carried a long distance from all lands and resting upon the waves from the fatigue of their flight, I saw some magnificent albatrosses, uttering discordant cries like the braying of an ass, and birds belonging to the family of the long-wings. As to the fish, they always provoked our admiration when we surprised the secrets of their aquatic life through the open panels. I saw many kinds which I never before had a chance of observing. I shall notice chiefly ostracions peculiar to the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and that part which washes the coast of tropical America. These fishes, like the tortoise, the armadillo, the sea-hedgehog, and the Crustacea, are protected by a breastplate which is neither chalky nor stony, but real bone. In some it takes the form of a solid triangle, in others of a solid quadrangle. Amongst the triangular I saw some an inch and a half in length, with wholesome flesh and a delicious flavour; they are brown at the tail, and yellow at the fins, and I recommend their introduction into fresh water, to which a certain number of sea-fish easily accustom themselves. I would also mention quadrangular ostracions, having on the back four large tubercles; some dotted over with white spots on the lower part of the body, and which may be tamed like birds; trigons provided with spikes formed by the lengthening of their bony shell, and which, from their strange gruntings, are called “seapigs”; also dromedaries with large humps in the shape of a cone, whose flesh is very tough and leathery. I now borrow from the daily notes of Master Conseil. “Certain fish of the genus petrodon peculiar to those seas, with red backs and white chests, which are distinguished by three rows of longitudinal filaments; and some electrical, seven inches long, decked in the liveliest colours. Then, as specimens of other kinds, some ovoides, resembling an egg of a dark brown colour, marked with white bands, and without tails; diodons, real sea-porcupines, furnished with spikes, and capable of swelling in such a way as to look like cushions bristling with darts; hippocampi, common to every ocean; some pegasi with lengthened snouts, which their pectoral fins, being much elongated and formed in the shape of wings, allow, if not to fly, at least to shoot into the air; pigeon spatulae, with tails covered with many rings of shell; macrognathi with long jaws, an excellent fish, nine inches long, and bright with most agreeable colours; pale-coloured calliomores, with rugged heads; and plenty of chaetpdons, with long and tubular muzzles, which kill insects by shooting them, as from an air-gun, with a single drop of water. These we may call the flycatchers of the seas. “In the eighty-ninth genus of fishes, classed by Lacepede, belonging to the second lower class of bony, characterised by opercules and bronchial membranes, I remarked the scorpaena, the head of which is furnished with spikes, and which has but one dorsal fin; these creatures are covered, or not, with little shells, according to the sub-class to which they belong. The second sub-class gives us specimens of didactyles fourteen or fifteen inches in length, with yellow rays, and heads of a most fantastic appearance. As to the first sub-class, it gives several specimens of that singular looking fish appropriately called a ‘seafrog,’ with large head, sometimes pierced with holes, sometimes swollen with protuberances, bristling with spikes, and covered with tubercles; it has irregular and hideous horns; its body and tail are covered with callosities; its sting makes a dangerous wound; it is both repugnant and horrible to look at.” From the 21st to the 23rd of January the went at the rate of two hundred and fifty leagues in twenty-four hours, being five hundred and forty miles, or twenty-two miles an hour. If we recognised so many different varieties of fish, it was because, attracted by the electric light, they tried to follow us; the greater part, however, were soon distanced by our speed, though some kept their place in the waters of the for a time. The morning of the 24th, in 12° 5′ S. lat., and 94° 33′ long., we observed Keeling Island, a coral formation, planted with magnificent cocos, and which had been visited by Mr. Darwin and Captain Fitzroy. The skirted the shores of this desert island for a little distance. Its nets brought up numerous specimens of polypi and curious shells of mollusca. Some precious productions of the species of delphinulae enriched the treasures of Captain Nemo, to which I added an astraea punctifera, a kind of parasite polypus often found fixed to a shell. Nautilus Nautilus Nautilus Soon Keeling Island disappeared from the horizon, and our course was directed to the north-west in the direction of the Indian Peninsula. From Keeling Island our course was slower and more variable, often taking us into great depths. Several times they made use of the inclined planes, which certain internal levers placed obliquely to the waterline. In that way we went about two miles, but without ever obtaining the greatest depths of the Indian Sea, which soundings of seven thousand fathoms have never reached. As to the temperature of the lower strata, the thermometer invariably indicated 4° above zero. I only observed that in the upper regions the water was always colder in the high levels than at the surface of the sea. On the 25th of January the ocean was entirely deserted; the passed the day on the surface, beating the waves with its powerful screw and making them rebound to a great height. Who under such circumstances would not have taken it for a gigantic cetacean? Three parts of this day I spent on the platform. I watched the sea. Nothing on the horizon, till about four o’clock a steamer running west on our counter. Her masts were visible for an instant, but she could not see the , being too low in the water. I fancied this steamboat belonged to the P.O. Company, which runs from Ceylon to Sydney, touching at King George’s Point and Melbourne. Nautilus Nautilus At five o’clock in the evening, before that fleeting twilight which binds night to day in tropical zones, Conseil and I were astonished by a curious spectacle. It was a shoal of argonauts travelling along on the surface of the ocean. We could count several hundreds. They belonged to the tubercle kind which are peculiar to the Indian seas. These graceful molluscs moved backwards by means of their locomotive tube, through which they propelled the water already drawn in. Of their eight tentacles, six were elongated, and stretched out floating on the water, whilst the other two, rolled up flat, were spread to the wing like a light sail. I saw their spiral-shaped and fluted shells, which Cuvier justly compares to an elegant skiff. A boat indeed! It bears the creature which secretes it without its adhering to it. For nearly an hour the floated in the midst of this shoal of molluscs. Then I know not what sudden fright they took. But as if at a signal every sail was furled, the arms folded, the body drawn in, the shells turned over, changing their centre of gravity, and the whole fleet disappeared under the waves. Never did the ships of a squadron manœuvre with more unity. Nautilus At that moment night fell suddenly, and the reeds, scarcely raised by the breeze, lay peaceably under the sides of the . Nautilus The next day, 26th of January, we cut the equator at the eighty-second meridian and entered the northern hemisphere. During the day a formidable troop of sharks accompanied us, terrible creatures, which multiply in these seas and make them very dangerous. They were “cestracio philippi” sharks, with brown backs and whitish bellies, armed with eleven rows of teeth—eyed sharks—their throat being marked with a large black spot surrounded with white like an eye. There were also some Isabella sharks, with rounded snouts marked with dark spots. These powerful creatures often hurled themselves at the windows of the saloon with such violence as to make us feel very insecure. At such times Ned Land was no longer master of himself. He wanted to go to the surface and harpoon the monsters, particularly certain smooth-hound sharks, whose mouth is studded with teeth like a mosaic; and large tiger-sharks nearly six yards long, the last named of which seemed to excite him more particularly. But the , accelerating her speed, easily left the most rapid of them behind. Nautilus The 27th of January, at the entrance of the vast Bay of Bengal, we met repeatedly a forbidding spectacle, dead bodies floating on the surface of the water. They were the dead of the Indian villages, carried by the Ganges to the level of the sea, and which the vultures, the only undertakers of the country, had not been able to devour. But the sharks did not fail to help them at their funeral work. About seven o’clock in the evening, the , half-immersed, was sailing in a sea of milk. At first sight the ocean seemed lactified. Was it the effect of the lunar rays? No; for the moon, scarcely two days old, was still lying hidden under the horizon in the rays of the sun. The whole sky, though lit by the sidereal rays, seemed black by contrast with the whiteness of the waters. Nautilus Conseil could not believe his eyes, and questioned me as to the cause of this strange phenomenon. Happily I was able to answer him. “It is called a milk sea,” I explained. “A large extent of white wavelets often to be seen on the coasts of Amboyna, and in these parts of the sea.” “But, sir,” said Conseil, “can you tell me what causes such an effect? for I suppose the water is not really turned into milk.” “No, my boy; and the whiteness which surprises you is caused only by the presence of myriads of infusoria, a sort of luminous little worm, gelatinous and without colour, of the thickness of a hair, and whose length is not more than seven-thousandths of an inch. These insects adhere to one another sometimes for several leagues.” “Several leagues!” exclaimed Conseil. “Yes, my boy; and you need not try to compute the number of these infusoria. You will not be able, for, if I am not mistaken, ships have floated on these milk seas for more than forty miles.” Towards midnight the sea suddenly resumed its usual colour; but behind us, even to the limits of the horizon, the sky reflected the whitened waves, and for a long time seemed impregnated with the vague glimmerings of an aurora borealis. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Jules Verne (1994). Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/164/164-h/164-h.htm This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

THE INDIAN OCEAN

What are Internal Developer Platforms (IDPs)? Internal developer platforms (IDPs) are platforms that developers can leverage to build and deploy their applications to one of the environments. Their main purpose is to increase the pace of development and reduce the developer’s dependence on DevOps and Platform engineers through automation and developer self-service. The platform may be built in-house, usually, an adaptation of an open-source or purchased offering such as platform as a Service (PaaS). The adoption has been both recent and rapid. Puppet’s state of platform engineering finds that over 51% of companies that have adopted Internal Developer Platforms have done it in the past three years. And an overwhelming majority of the respondents (93%) declared that IDP adoption is a step in the right direction. survey Internal developer platforms are good at helping the team manage applications and infrastructure from one place, providing tight integration with the existing tools and services, and giving developers self-serve and collaboration capabilities. Benefits of IDPs IDPs offer several benefits to the organizations using them. The first relates to improvements in infrastructure and IT management, such as increased productivity stemming from reduced communication times between devs and infra teams. Secondly, they reduce the complexity of the cloud and make it easy for people in your org to pick up on the best practices set forward by your team. In larger organizations, they can also be an easy way of managing RBAC to deployments, infra creation and management, and more. Responses from Puppet’s State of Platform Engineering 2023 report also show how IDP has improved : DevOps KPIs An increase in development velocity (68%) 42% say development velocity has improved “a great deal” since they started doing platform engineering Improved productivity (59%) Improved system reliability (60%) Improved security (55%) Components of IDPs Let’s dive deeper into the components of IDPs and discuss which parts of the application and infrastructure management process they improve. IDPs are built by integrating with the existing set of tools and services that the company currently uses. These can be your source control systems (e.g., GitHub, GitLab), Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, and observability tools such as monitoring and logging systems. Integration with existing tools and services In addition, they may also include some form of access control, observability dashboards, and a set of best practices for developers to use. Application and infrastructure management IDPs can be used to automate a lot of the hassle of deployment. By setting up IDPs with GitOps best practices, users can automatically deploy application and infra changes with each commit to the Git code. Managing multiple environments is another popular use case of IDPs. They can be effective in creating, providing selective access, and managing the use of multiple different environments such as development, testing, pre-prod, and prod. Several tools set up preview environments on the fly. Their ability to monitor and view deployments across environments helps organizations scale dynamically to changing workloads and maintain consistent performance across their infrastructure. IDPs empower developers with self-serve capabilities by offering a centralized, user-friendly interface to access tools, resources, and services on demand. These capabilities facilitate faster development cycles, reduce operations teams’ dependency, and enable greater autonomy in seamlessly creating, testing, and deploying applications. Developer self-service capabilities The streamlined workflow also makes it considerably easier for new employees to get started with your stack without diving into the internal workings. Some tools also add a collaboration layer on top that allows different members of a team to work together easily and review changes before deploying the code. IDPs can achieve enhanced security and compliance by providing Role-based access controls (RBAC), ensuring each team member has the appropriate permissions to access specific resources and perform certain actions. Overall, this minimized the risk of unauthorized access or accidental changes while also promoting collaboration and efficient workflows among cross-functional teams. Collaboration and governance features IDPs help developer teams maintain transparency, accountability, and traceability throughout the development process by providing audit logs and history tracking. This enables easier identification and resolution of issues, as well as ensures compliance with regulatory and organizational requirements for data handling and change management. Platform engineering Companies that decide to build their own platform usually hire platform engineers, who are specialized professionals responsible for the creation and continuous improvement of the IDP. They work to implement and maintain tools, services, and best practices that streamline development processes, ensuring a smooth and efficient workflow for the organization's developers. Platform engineering is the process of designing, building, and maintaining an IDP that provides a centralized, scalable, and efficient infrastructure for developers within an organization. An IDP simplifies and standardizes application development, deployment, and management, enabling faster and more reliable software delivery. Software development trends that are catalysts for IDP adoption Digital transformation: As businesses worldwide increasingly embrace digital transformation, there is a growing need for efficient and robust software development processes. IDPs play a crucial role in enabling companies to stay agile and quickly adapt to the dynamic digital landscape. Need for faster software delivery: In today's fast-paced business environment, organizations must deliver new features and applications at an unprecedented speed. IDPs provide a standardized, automated, and centralized platform that accelerates development cycles, enabling companies to stay competitive and responsive to market changes. The growing complexity of software architectures: With the rise of microservices, containers, and cloud-native technologies, managing and deploying software has become increasingly complex. IDPs help simplify this complexity by providing a unified platform where developers can build, test, and deploy applications with ease, regardless of the underlying architecture. Demand for DevOps and CI/CD practices: The need for IDPs grows as more organizations adopt DevOps and Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) practices. IDPs enable seamless collaboration between development and operations teams, automating many manual tasks and ensuring smooth transitions throughout the software development lifecycle. Scalability and flexibility: IDPs offer a scalable solution that can accommodate the growing needs of organizations, regardless of their size. They provide a flexible platform that can be easily customized and adapted to cater to the unique requirements of different teams and projects. Cross-region collaboration: With businesses operating across multiple geographies, the need for a platform that supports cross-region collaboration is essential. IDPs empower development teams spread across the globe to work together seamlessly, enabling efficient knowledge sharing and fostering a culture of innovation. In summary, the rising popularity of IDPs across companies of all sizes and regions worldwide can be attributed to their ability to streamline software development processes, simplify complex architectures, support DevOps and CI/CD practices, and facilitate cross-region collaboration. As the demand for digitalization and agility continues to grow, IDPs are poised to play a critical role in shaping the future of software development. Commercially available internal developer platforms is a DevOps automation platform that helps engineering manage both the app and infra side of things and ship faster! Built with the GitOps best practices in mind, Argonaut reduces the complexities of creating and maintaining cloud setups. Whether it is Kubernetes app deployment to AWS or GCP, there are several runtimes, environments, regions, integrations, and app types to choose from. Argonaut offers a simple way to develop and operate modern cloud applications on Kubernetes. It can be adopted as either a self-hosted or PaaS option. There’s also a with essential plugins, templates, and applications making it easier to get started. Its features benefit not only the developers but also the platform engineers and CIOs. Mia Platform marketplace is an internal developer platform providing simplicity, automation, reusability, and self-service. It acts as a Platform Orchestrator that lets engineering teams remove bottlenecks by enabling them to build code-based golden paths (executable config files and templates) for developers. It can be used through the CLI or UI. Humanitec provides engineering teams self-serve access to tools and information. It helps developers ensure operational excellence across services with its that can be set up in a secure and compliant way. Opslevel integrations is a Kubernetes application management platform that enables efficient deployment processes. Developers can leverage its standardized application and policy definitions that are platform-agnostic. It also has a GUI-based portal to manage apps after deployment and gain visibility into pipelines for smoother operations. Shipa provides a context-rich software catalog with maturity and quality scorecards. It also supports comprehensive developer self-service actions while providing additional role-based access controls (RBAC). Their provides many key features and makes it a worthy contender. Port free-forever , powered by Crossplane, offers an enterprise-grade control plane solution for multi-cloud and hybrid environments, enabling efficient management of cloud infrastructure. The command line and make it more effective and easier to get started. Upbound Up Upbound marketplace is an all-in-one DevOps platform that streamlines the application deployment process. It provides a comprehensive feature set in a modular manner that allows teams to focus fully on business functionality. DevOpsBox Evaluating Internal Developer Platforms Despite its myriad of benefits, Internal Developer Platforms do not make sense for all teams. They can end up being overkill for certain types of engineering teams and a burden to build and maintain for companies with smaller teams. When they don’t make sense You have existing processes that are efficient. Don’t complicate things too early. Companies that are currently using PaaS or other managed offerings should continue doing so as long as possible. Limited resources and team size. This could also mean your team is small, and most of your team is senior and comfortable writing scripts and managing infrastructure. There is low development complexity. If you have just one app with a simple single-cloud setup. And, if your app is monolithic and doesn’t make use of the microservice architecture, there is little benefit from creating an IDP. Incompatible organizational culture. If an organization’s culture is resistant to change or does not foster collaboration and communication, implementing an IDP might not be successful and could even lead to decreased efficiency and productivity. When they make sense You plan to start using Microservices. This usually also means a growing development team size or the complexity of projects you handle. You have a small team, and not everyone feels comfortable with deployments, scripting, and infrastructure, and you have not yet hired a dedicated DevOps. Dependencies on other colleagues are blocking your developers. The cost of your existing setup (such as PaaS) is too high. Which is inevitable once you start to scale to meet new requirements. You have plans to go multi-cloud, adopt more modern cloud services, and scale geographically. You want to increase standardization and consistency across your teams. An IDP can help reduce errors, improve code quality, and ensure all developers work with the same set of tools and follow the same best practices. Also published here.

An In-Depth Guide to Internal Developer Platforms (IDPs)

Una guía detallada de las plataformas internas para desarrolladores (IDP)

Un guide détaillé des plates-formes de développement internes (IDP)

आंतरिक डेवलपर प्लेटफ़ॉर्म (IDPs) के लिए एक गहन मार्गदर्शिका

内部開発者プラットフォーム (IDP) の詳細ガイド

Um guia detalhado para plataformas internas de desenvolvedores (IDPs)

Hướng dẫn chuyên sâu về Nền tảng dành cho nhà phát triển nội bộ (IDP)

内部开发者平台 (IDP) 深度指南

THE EVENING SKY AT THE VERNAL EQUINOX

Curiosities of the Sky by Garrett Putman Serviss is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . The Passing of the Constellations The Passing of the Constellations From a historical and picturesque point of view, one of the most striking results of the motions of the stars described in the last chapter is their effect upon the forms of the constellations, which have been watched and admired by mankind from a period so early that the date of their invention is now unknown. The constellations are formed by chance combinations of conspicuous stars, like figures in a kaleidoscope, and if our lives were commensurate with the æons of cosmic existence we should perceive that the kaleidoscope of the heavens was ceaselessly turning and throwing the stars into new symmetries. Even if the stars stood fast, the motion of the solar system would gradually alter the configurations, as the elements of a landscape dissolve and recombine in fresh groupings with the traveler’s progress amid them. But with the stars themselves all in motion at various speeds and in many directions, the changes occur more rapidly. Of course, “rapid” is here understood in a relative sense; the wheel of human history to an eye accustomed to the majestic progression of the universe would appear to revolve with the velocity of a whirling dynamo. Only the deliberation of geological movements can be contrasted with the evolution and devolution of the constellations. And yet this secular fluctuation of the constellation figures is not without keen interest for the meditative observer. It is another reminder of the swift mutability of terrestial affairs. To the passing glance, which is all that we can bestow upon these figures, they appear so immutable that they have been called into service to form the most lasting records of ancient thought and imagination that we possess. In the forms of the constellations, the most beautiful, and, in imaginative quality, the finest, mythology that the world has ever known has been perpetuated. Yet, in a broad sense, this scroll of human thought imprinted on the heavens is as evanescent as the summer clouds. Although more enduring than parchment, tombs, pyramids, and temples, it is as far as they from truly eternizing the memory of what man has fancied and done. Before studying the effects that the motions of the stars have had and will have upon the constellations, it is worth while to consider a little further the importance of the stellar pictures as archives of history. To emphasize the importance of these effects it is only necessary to recall that the constellations register the oldest traditions of our race. In the history of primeval religions they are the most valuable of documents. Leaving out of account for the moment the more familiar mythology of the Greeks, based on something older yet, we may refer for illustration to that of the mysterious Maya race of America. At Izamal, in Yucatan, says Mr Stansbury Hagar, is a group of ruins perched, after the Mexican and Central-American plan, on the summits of pyramidal mounds which mark the site of an ancient theogonic center of the Mayas. Here the temples all evidently refer to a cult based upon the constellations as symbols. The figures and the names, of course, were not the same as those that we have derived from our Aryan ancestors, but the star groups were the same or nearly so. For instance, the loftiest of the temples at Izamal was connected with the sign of the constellation known to us as Cancer, marking the place of the sun at the summer solstice, at which period the sun was supposed to descend at noon like a great bird of fire and consume the offerings left upon the altar. Our Scorpio was known to the Mayas as a sign of the “Death God.” Our Libra, the “Balance,” with which the idea of a divine weighing out of justice has always been connected, seems to be identical with the Mayan constellation Teoyaotlatohua, with which was associated a temple where dwelt the priests whose special business it was to administer justice and to foretell the future by means of information obtained from the spirits of the dead. Orion, the “Hunter” of our celestial mythology, was among the Mayas a “Warrior,” while Sagittarius and others of our constellations were known to them (under different names, of course), and all were endowed with a religious symbolism. And the same star figures, having the same significance, were familiar to the Peruvians, as shown by the temples at Cuzco. Thus the imagination of ancient America sought in the constellations symbols of the unchanging gods. But, in fact, there is no nation and no people that has not recognized the constellations, and at one period or another in its history employed them in some symbolic or representative capacity. As handled by the Greeks from prehistoric times, the constellation myths became the very soul of poetry. The imagination of that wonderful race idealized the principal star groups so effectively that the figures and traditions thus attached to them have, for civilized mankind, displaced all others, just as Greek art in its highest forms stands without parallel and eclipses every rival. The Romans translated no heroes and heroines of the mythical period of their history to the sky, and the deified Cæsars never entered that lofty company, but the heavens are filled with the early myths of the Greeks. Herakles nightly resumes his mighty labors in the stars; Zeus, in the form of the white “Bull,” Taurus, bears the fair Europa on his back through the celestial waves; Andromeda stretches forth her shackled arms in the star-gemmed ether, beseeching aid; and Perseus, in a blaze of diamond armor, revives his heroic deeds amid sparkling clouds of stellar dust. There, too, sits Queen Cassiopeia in her dazzling chair, while the Great King, Cepheus, towers gigantic over the pole. Professor Young has significantly remarked that a great number of the constellations are connected in some way or other with the Argonautic Expedition—that strangely fascinating legend of earliest Greek story which has never lost its charm for mankind. In view of all this, we may well congratulate ourselves that the constellations will outlast our time and the time of countless generations to follow us; and yet they are very far from being eternal. Let us now study some of the effects of the stellar motions upon them. We begin with the familiar figure of the “Great Dipper.” He who has not drunk inspiration from its celestial bowl is not yet admitted to the circle of Olympus. This figure is made up of seven conspicuous stars in the constellation Ursa Major, the “Greater Bear.” The handle of the “Dipper” corresponds to the tail of the imaginary “Bear,” and the bowl lies upon his flank. In fact, the figure of a dipper is so evident and that of a bear so unevident, that to most persons the “Great Dipper” is the only part of the constellation that is recognizable. Of the seven stars mentioned, six are of nearly equal brightness, ranking as of the second magnitude, while the seventh is of only the third magnitude. The difference is very striking, since every increase of one magnitude involves an increase of two-and-a-half times in brightness. There appears to be little doubt that the faint star, which is situated at the junction of the bowl and the handle, is a variable of long period, since three hundred years ago it was as bright as its companions. But however that may be, its relative faintness at the present time interferes but little with the perfection of the “Dipper’s” figure. In order the more readily to understand the changes which are taking place, it will be well to mention both the names and the Greek letters which are attached to the seven stars. Beginning at the star in the upper outer edge of the rim of the bowl and running in regular order round the bottom and then out to the end of the handle, the names and letters are as follows: Dubhe (α), Merak (β), Phaed (γ), Megrez (δ), Alioth (ε), Mizar (ζ), and Benetnasch (η). Megrez is the faint star already mentioned at the junction of the bowl and handle, and Mizar, in the middle of the handle, has a close, naked-eye companion which is named Alcor. The Arabs called this singular pair of stars “The Horse and Rider.” Merak and Duhbe are called “The Pointers,” because an imaginary line drawn northward through them indicates the Pole Star. The “Great Dipper” Now it has been found that five of these stars—viz., Merak, Phaed, Megrez, Alioth, and Mizar (with its comrade)—are moving with practically the same speed in an easterly direction, while the other two, Dubhe and Benetnasch, are simultaneously moving westward, the motions of Benetnasch being apparently more rapid. The consequence of these opposed motions is, of course, that the figure of the “Dipper” cannot always have existed and will not continue to exist. In the accompanying diagrams it has been thought interesting to show the relative positions of these seven stars, as seen from the point which the earth now occupies, both in the past and in the future. Arrows attached to the stars in the figure representing the present appearance of the “Dipper” indicate the directions of the motions and the distances over which they will carry the stars in a period of about five hundred centuries. The time, no doubt, seems long, but remember the vast stretch of ages through which the earth has passed, and then reflect that no reason is apparent why our globe should not continue to be a scene of animation for ten thousand centuries yet to come. The fact that the little star Alcor placed so close to Mizar should accompany the latter in its flight is not surprising, but that two of the principal stars of the group should be found moving in a direction directly opposed to that pursued by the other five is surprising in the highest degree; and it recalls the strange theory of a double drift affecting all the stars, to which attention was called in the preceding chapter. It would appear that Benetnasch and Dubhe belong to one “current,” and Merak, Phaed, Megrez, Alioth, and Mizar to the other. As far as is known, the motion of the seven stars are not shared by the smaller stars scattered about them, but on the theory of currents there should be such a community of motion, and further investigation may reveal it. Cassiopeia From the “Great Dipper” we turn to a constellation hardly less conspicuous and situated at an equal distance from the pole on the other side—Cassiopeia. This famous star-group commemorating the romantic Queen of Ethiopia whose vain boasting of her beauty was punished by the exposure of her daughter Andromeda to the “Sea Monster,” is well-marked by five stars which form an irregular letter “W” with its open side toward the pole. Three of these stars are usually ranked as of the second magnitude, and two of the third; but to ordinary observation they appear of nearly equal brightness, and present a very striking picture. They mark out the chair and a part of the figure of the beautiful queen. Beginning at the right-hand, or western, end of the “W,” their Greek letter designations are: Beta (β), Alpha (α), Gamma (γ), Delta (δ), and Epsilon (ε). Four of them, Beta, Alpha, Delta, and Epsilon are traveling eastwardly at various speeds, while the fifth, Gamma, moves in a westerly direction. The motion of Beta is more rapid than that of any of the others. It should be said, however, that no little uncertainty attaches to the estimates of the rate of motion of stars which are not going very rapidly, and different observers often vary considerably in their results. In the beautiful “Northern Crown,” one of the most perfect and charming of all the figures to be found in the stars, the alternate combining and scattering effects of the stellar motions are shown by comparing the appearance which the constellation must have had five hundred centuries ago with that which it has at present and that which it will have in the future. The seven principle stars of the asterism, forming a surprisingly perfect coronet, have movements in three directions at right angles to one another. That in these circumstances they should ever have arrived at positions giving them so striking an appearance of definite association is certainly surprising; from its aspect one would have expected to find a community of movement governing the brilliants of the “Crown,” but instead of that we find evidence that they will inevitably drift apart and the beautiful figure will dissolve. A similar fate awaits such asterisms as the “Northern Cross” in Cygnus; the “Crow” (Corvus), which stands on the back of the great “Sea Serpent,” Hydra, and pecks at his scales; “Job’s Coffin” (Delphinus); the “Great Square of Pegasus”; the “Twins” (Gemini); the beautiful “Sickle” in Leo; and the exquisite group of the Hyades in Taurus. In the case of the Hyades, two controlling movements are manifest: one, affecting five of the stars which form the well-known figure of a letter “V,” is directed northerly; the other, which controls the direction of two stars, has an easterly trend. The chief star of the group, Aldebaran, one of the finest of all stars both for its brilliance and its color, is the most affected by the easterly motion. In time it will drift entirely out of connection with its present neighbors. Although the Hyades do not form so compact a group as the Pleiades in the same constellation, yet their appearance of relationship is sufficient to awaken a feeling of surprise over the fact that, as with the stars of the “Dipper,” their association is only temporary or apparent. The “Northern Crown” The great figure of Orion appears to be more lasting, not because its stars are physically connected, but because of their great distance, which renders their movements too deliberate to be exactly ascertained. Two of the greatest of its stars, Betelgeuse and Rigel, possess, as far as has been ascertained, no perceptible motion across the line of sight, but there is a little movement perceptible in the “Belt.” At the present time this consists of an almost perfect straight line, a row of second-magnitude stars about equally spaced and of the most striking beauty. In the course of time, however, the two right-hand stars, Mintaka and Alnilam (how fine are these Arabic star names!) will approach each other and form a naked-eye double, but the third, Alnita, will drift away eastward, so that the “Belt” will no longer exist. For one more example, let us go to the southern hemisphere, whose most celebrated constellation, the “Southern Cross,” has found a place in all modern literatures, although it has no claim to consideration on account of association with ancient legends. This most attractive asterism, which has never ceased to fascinate the imagination of Christendom since it was first devoutly described by the early explorers of the South, is but a passing collocation of brilliant stars. Yet even in its transfigurations it has been for hundreds of centuries, and will continue to be for hundreds of centuries to come, a most striking object in the sky. Our figures show its appearance in three successive phases: first, as it was fifty thousand years ago (viewed from the earth’s present location); second, as it is in our day; and, third, as it will be an equal time in the future. The nearness of these bright stars to one another—the length of the longer beam of the “Cross” is only sixdegrees—makes this group very noticeable, whatever the arrangement of its components may be. The largest star, at the base of the “Cross,” is of the first magnitude, two of the others are of the second magnitude, and the fourth is of the third. Other stars, not represented in the figures, increase the effect of a celestial blazonry, although they do not help the resemblance to a cross. The “Southern Cross” But since the motion of the solar system itself will, in the course of so long a period as fifty thousand years, produce a great change in the perspective of the heavens as seen from the earth, by carrying us nearly nineteen trillion miles from our present place, why, it may be asked, seek to represent future appearances of the constellations which we could not hope to see, even if we could survive so long? The answer is: Because these things aid the mind to form a picture of the effects of the mobility of the starry universe. Only by showing the changes from some definite point of view can we arrive at a due comprehension of them. The constellations are more or less familiar to everybody, so that impending changes of their forms must at once strike the eye and the imagination, and make clearer the significance of the movements of the stars. If the future history of mankind is to resemble its past and if our race is destined to survive yet a million years, then our remote descendents will see a “new heavens” if not a “new earth,” and will have to invent novel constellations to perpetuate their legends and mythologies. If our knowledge of the relative distances of the stars were more complete, it would be an interesting exercise in celestial geometry to project the constellations probably visible to the inhabitants of worlds revolving around some of the other suns of space. Our sun is too insignificant for us to think that he can make a conspicuous appearance among them, except, perhaps, in a few cases. As seen, for instance, from the nearest known star, Alpha Centauri, the sun would appear of the average first magnitude, and consequently from that standpoint he might be the gem of some little constellation which had no Sirius, or Arcturus, or Vega to eclipse him with its superior splendor. But from the distance of the vast majority of the stars the sun would probably be invisible to the naked eye, and as seen from nearer systems could only rank as a fifth or sixth magnitude star, unnoticed and unknown except by the star-charting astronomer. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Garrett Putman Serviss (2004). Curiosities of the Sky. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/6630/pg6630-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html .

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