Maxwell uses Kiem’s wry sense of humor to convey his insecurities and anxiety about his new position and his relationship with Jainan. But while Kiem and Jainan share a common political goal, their strikingly different personalities pose challenges as they become a unit.ĪLSO IN BOOKPAGE: Everina Maxwell on the freedom of a "queernorm" speculative world.īeneath Kiem’s slightly callous, celebrity exterior lies a loyal, likable potential leader with a strong sense of morality. With the vassal contracts to be renewed soon, both Kiem and Jainan find themselves in awkward and uncomfortable situations as the relentless press hassles them for gossip about their impromptu marriage and a faceless Auditor comes to observe the veracity of their union-and thus, the veracity of the link between the planets. Suddenly thrust into a diplomatic role, Prince Kiem must navigate new etiquette to save face and maintain the relationship between Iskat and Thea. Their marriage will preserve the political alignment between Iskat and one of its seven vassal planets, Jainan's homeworld of Thea. Not only will this shock to the Emperor’s least favorite grandchild disrupt his hedonistic lifestyle, but his arranged marriage will be to Jainan nav Adessari, widower of Kiem's cousin Taam, whom Jainan still mourns but Kiem barely remembers. But his life is thrown into disarray when his grandmother, the Emperor, informs him that he will fulfill his lifelong duty as a minor noble by getting married the following day. Kiem Tegnar is a playboy prince of Iskat in his mid-20s who would rather party until daybreak, drink at carnivals and cause a scene than deal with anything remotely resembling political responsibility. This queer science fiction romance astounds not only through its believable, multilayered character development, but also in the eons of intergalactic political and cultural history that Maxwell weaves into a 400-page novel. Even though, at this time of year, we're as close to the Sun as we can get, for the Northern Hemisphere, it will always be winter.Though the planet of Iskat is cold and gray, with ferocious predatory avian species adorning the frozen environment, Everina Maxwell’s debut novel, Winter’s Orbit, is anything but frigid. The difference between the two is 5,003,451 km, (3.3 percent), and not enough to cause the seasons. Aphelion, the greatest distance from the Sun, occurs on July 7, 2007, when the Earth-Sun distance will be 152,097,053 km. The Earth-Sun distance will be 147,093,602 km. The two times can vary by as much as 16 minutes over the course of a year.Įarth reaches perihelion on Janu(Figure C). The equation of time is defined as the difference between true solar time (determined by the Sun's position in the sky) and mean solar time (the time told by your watch). For all points along the curve to the right of the meridian, the sun is "fast," crossing the meridian slightly before noon.Īstronomers call this the equation of time. For all points along the curve to the left of the meridian, the Sun is "slow." It crosses the meridian after 12:00 p.m. The result of this change in speed means the Sun crosses the meridian a little early, or a little late, depending on where Earth is in its orbit. In January, we are closer to the Sun, and Earth speeds up a bit in its orbital progress. In July, we are at our furthest point from the Sun, and Earth moves slower than average along its path. If Earth's orbit was a perfect circle, the Sun would cross the meridian at noon every day (ignoring daylight savings time). The meridian runs straight up and over the sky, from due north to due south. Notice the vertical line running up from the south point on the horizon? That's the meridian. ![]() ![]() ![]() That's where our elliptical orbit comes in! Look at Figure A again. What about the left-to-right variation in the analemma's curve? The difference in the Sun's noontime height in the sky is caused by Earth's tilted axis. The lowest point marks the winter solstice. The highest point on the analemma is the Sun's noon position on the summer solstice.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |