A quite rare kind of exoplanet system has recently been confirmed, consisting of six "sub-Neptune" planets with "mathematically perfect" orbits close to their host star:
https://www.space.com/six-sub-neptunes-found-100-light-years-from-earth

Yeah. This appears to have been a configuration left over from the beginning of the system, which is surprising.

Sorry for not keeping this updated. Here's some news on Artemis II:

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2023/10/aii-core-weld-issues/

My response to question 1:

As someone who grew up with the films, I only found out there was a 14th one in 2020. Imagine my shock! Unfortunately, when I finally got around to watching it... let's just say that I was dissapointed. Universal had gone out of their way to create a new entry in a franchise many believed dead, and... what exactly were they trying to do with it? You'd think such an event would deserve making the fourteenth movie unique, but instead they gave us a glorified TV show episode with uninteresting side plots that only serve to waste the audience's time. They had the perfect opportunity to make something special, but instead they squandered it.

I feel like it's obvious that the formula of the franchise has exhausted all of its creative potential. If any more media in the Land Before Time deserve to be made, it will have to be different. Otherwise, it won't be worth the effort.

Happy birthday!

The European space probe Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) is scheduled for liftoff tomorrow. Its mission of exploring the moons of Jupiter sounds fascinating, so here's hoping tomorrow's launch goes well.

In general I think the outer planets have been severely neglected by most space agencies, though partially that's also due to the fact that for decades we had no good heavy-lift launch vehicles, placing severe limitations on the kind of missions we could run. I'm very excited for JUICE, though I have to admit that Saturn is my favorite planet. Personally, I think we're more likely to find life beneath the surface of Titan than on the Jovian moons, but we never know.

Happy birthday!

Watching the Dungeons and Dragons movie (which I highly recommend) brought to mind something interesting Mark Witton said on a podcast episode about the original LBT movie.

I can't recall the time stamp, but I remember that at one point Witton speculated that The Land Before Time actually took significant inspiration from the 80s fantasy craze brought about by the mainstream interest in the Lord of the Rings as well as the popularity of Dungeons and Dragons among the movie's target audience. This inspiration would manifest in both the film's very "dark fantasy" visuals as well as its plotline being an epic quest that would bring together a diverse and quirky "party" of adventurers of different species and talents, similar to a D&D party.

It's definitely a unique way of looking at the film. Considering just how popular D&D was among children in the 80s, I could see there being a significant amount of shared appeal. What do you guys think?

The second one is perfect, thank you. I apologize for my difficult requests. Here's something easier:

A scenic shot of the Great Valley, but with a gas giant hovering in the sky.

(No this totally isn't riffing on my fanfic, why do you ask?)

Alright, let's try a more detailed prompt:

Draw Littlefoot in a cartoony Don Bluth style, wearing a spacesuit primarily made of cloth with a beige tone and a makeshift appearance, similar to the space suits in Outer Wilds. He should be standing besides a ramshackle spacecraft primarily made of wood like in Outer Wilds, while a gas giant with white clouds having purple streaks looms in the sky.

Happy birthdsy!