Chapter 20 Chapter 15 Meeting in Space

Now Halley cannot see it because it is too close to the spacecraft. Ironically, observers on Earth can clearly see its tail. At right angles, it is like a pennant fluttering in the strong solar wind. On the morning of the rendezvous, Dr. Fo got up very early, and he didn't sleep well all night.Dreaming, or remembering scenes from dreams, was a very unusual thing for him, and no doubt it was caused by getting too excited about what was going to happen in the next few hours.In addition, he was also a little worried about the news from Kai Ruolin, she asked him if he had any news from Chris recently.He had simply sent a radio back to tell Caroline that after he helped Chris find his existing job on the Cosmos's sister ship, the Comet, Chris didn't even say thank you. Get bored with the work in between, and start looking for more exciting things to do.

"As always," Dr. Buddha added, "we will hear from him as he deems most appropriate." Shortly after breakfast, the passengers and science team assembled for a final briefing by Captain Smith.Scientists don't need to be briefed, of course, but if they're feeling irritated, that wayward mood is quickly swept away by the startling spectacle on the home screen. It's easier to understand if you think of it as Cosmos flying into a nebula, rather than just a comet.The whole sky in front of me is a hazy white mist, which is not very uniform, but there are thicker and darker spots, glowing streaks, and glowing white-hot ejecta, all of which radiate outward from a central point. from.Turn it to the maximum, the core like a tiny black spot is still not obvious, but it is obvious that this is the source of all the surrounding phenomena.

"We'll turn off the power in three hours," said the captain. "At that point we'll be only a thousand kilometers from the core and moving at relative zero speed. We'll make some final observations and determine where we landed." Location. Is it all stowed. This is the same situation as when turning, only this time it takes three days from when we lose—to regain gravity instead of two hours. "Harley's gravity? Come on, less than a centimeter squared per second, about one-thousandth that of Earth. If you wait long enough, you'll be able to detect it, but that's about it, a It takes about fifteen seconds for something to fall one meter.

"For safety's sake, I hope that you will stay in the observation room during the rendezvous and landing, and fasten your seat belts. You will get the best view from here. In any case, the whole process will not take more than an hour. We only need A small thrust correction is used, but the correction angle may be any angle, so there may be a slight perceptual disturbance." Of course the captain was referring to seasickness, but it is generally believed that this term should not be used on the Cosmos.Even so, a lot of people could be spotted sneaking their hands under the seats, seemingly to make sure the vomit bags were there in case they were needed.

The image on the screen expands with the magnification.For a while it seemed to Dr. Fo that he was in an airplane descending from thin clouds rather than a spaceship approaching the most famous comet.The core of the comet became more and more clear. It was no longer a black spot, but an irregular oval; autonomous world. Its size is not yet known with certainty.Although the panorama before Dr. Fo's eyes was less than ten kilometers wide, he could easily deduce that what he saw was an object as large as the moon.But there are no obscurities around the Moon, nor are there small jets of steam (two of which are particularly large) shooting from its surface.

"My God!" exclaimed Migulovich, "what's that?" He points to the lower edge of the core, just at the junction of light and dark.Although it is so improbable, there is indeed a light flashing on the backlit side of the comet with great regularity, flashing once every two or three seconds. Dr. Willis offers his opinion: "I can explain this phenomenon with a symbol, um—" But Captain Smith was immediately ahead. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Mikhailovich. That's just a warning signal from Probe Two. It's been there for a month, waiting for us to retrieve it."

"What a shame, I thought someone, or something, was welcoming us!" "I'm afraid we're not so lucky. We're on our own here. The signal is only where we intend to land. It's close to Halley's South Pole, and it's in perpetual darkness. It's more difficult for our life support system." It is easy to support, because the temperature in the sun can be as high as one hundred and twenty degrees, which is already above the boiling point." "No wonder the comet is so bright," said Mikhailovich boldly. "Those ejecta seem to be harmful to my health. Are you sure it's safe to go in there?"

"That's another reason we're landing on the dark side, because there's no activity on the dark side. Now, excuse me, I have to get back on the bridge. This is my first chance to land on a new world, I doubt I'll ever get another chance." Captain Smith's audience dissolved slowly, and strangely calmly.The image on the screen returned to normal size, and the core was once again a small black spot that was not clearly visible to the naked eye.But in just a few minutes, the little black dot now seems to be a little bigger again, and it may not be a hallucination.Less than four hours before the encounter, the spacecraft was still heading toward the comet at 50,000 kilometers per hour.

If any accident happened to the active force at this time, it would definitely produce a more dazzling and impressive light than Harley's current luminosity.