"Michael McCollum - Thunderstrike" - читать интересную книгу автора (McCollum Michael)

“Distance estimate?”

“None. This is the sole view of the object.”
Amber nodded. One of the great frustrations of astronomers was the lack of a method for determining
distance from a single photograph. To triangulate an object’s position, it was necessary to obtain two
views from widely separated points, or three views taken at different times from a single vantage point.

Amber noted the details of the original sighting, including the fact that only one-quarter of The Big Eye’s
400 mirrors had been active. It was not unusual for the telescope to be split into three independent
clusters, each of which would then study a different section of sky. Indeed, it was this ability to pursue
multiple observations that enabled Farside Observatory to keep up with demand. Even so, the waiting
list for the big telescope was a long one.

“When will The Big Eye be able to recheck this sighting?” Amber asked.

“Eight months, barring cancellations or unscheduled maintenance,” the computer responded.

Amber sighed. “Swing the 60 centimeter into position and get me a second view.”

“I am unable to execute your command. That section of sky is no longer visible. It set behind the western
rim three days ago.”

“How long before it rises again?”

“Two weeks.”

“Very well,” Amber replied. “Schedule a 60 centimeter observation as soon as possible following its
reappearance. If you do not find the object at its previous position, run a standard survey for three
fields-of-view around that point. Notify me when you have completed your task. Repeat.”

The computer repeated Amber’s orders, then returned the screen to its picture of the Big Eye. Amber
returned to her other work and forgot about whatever it was that the computer had discovered.

#

Thomas Bronson Thorpe bounded into the black sky in a jump no Olympic athlete had ever dreamed
of. The sound of his own breathing was loud in his ears as he rose a dozen meters above the
pockmarked plain. The sun was below the horizon, but the crescent Earth, with a slightly fuller Luna
beyond it, was high in the sky. The blue-white radiance of Earthshine cast a twilight glow over The
Rock’s barren landscape. As he reached the top of his arc, Thorpe let his practiced gaze sweep across
the small world. Everywhere around him lay the clutter of heavy industry. To most, it would have
seemed a horizon-to-horizon junkyard. To Tom Thorpe, every empty gas cylinder and bit of used cable
was a testament to humanity’s triumph over an uncaring universe.

Contrary to its name, The Rock contained very little stony matter. In fact, it was nearly pure nickel-iron.
For billions of years, the asteroid had followed its elliptical path around the Sun, occasionally passing
close to the beautiful blue-white world that was Earth. Because of the asteroid’s small diameter (4
kilometers) and the ten-degree inclination of its orbit, The Rock had evaded notice for much of history.
Its anonymity had ended in 2037. In that year, it had approached to within two million kilometers of