50 years ago, plans were produced for large-scale space habitats in orbits around the Earth. One, to house 10,000 people, was designated as Island One. The design was deliberately restricted cost - no more than that of project Apollo, and also to the technology available at the time, so it could have been built in the late 1970s. Much smaller units would also be required as living quarters, workshops and offices for the task force - designated as Island Zero. This would be made from a number of inflatable modules, and the entire structure would rotate to produce simulated gravity, so the crew would therefore avoid the need for 2 hours of exercise every day that is needed on the ISS, which has never been done on any previous space mission. The presenter is Freelance Space Presenter Jerry Stone, who developed the concept. For details, write to jerry.stone2001@gmail.com  This will be the April meeting of the Hertford Astronomy Group, held in-person at the University of Hertfordshire and online.

Relativity. There was a young lady named Bright Whose speed was far faster than light; She set out one day In a relative way And returned on the previous night. There is a popular comical limerick about a young woman named White or Bright that highlights the counterintuitive nature of time measurements in Einstein’s theory of relativity. Do you know this poem? Do you know who composed it? The earliest evidence known to QI appeared in an issue of the London humor magazine “Punch” in 1923. Initially, the limerick “Relativity” was published without attribution:[1]

Our Electric Cold Fusion Sun is a Plasma Star. The Sun is not a gas sphere. It cannot be that. It is impossible for the Sun to be a gas sphere. Nor is it self-powered. The Sun has large electric currents flowing on its surface. It is powered by a principle that involves almost the entire universe. Physically, it is powered by plasma. Plasma is the life-blood of the universe. It is electrically charged. This makes it powerful. The electric force is 39 orders of magnitude stronger than gravity. This could change the need on energy dependence forever. Unfortunately, this single, most critical factor for the future of humanity on Earth - of the dynamics of the electric-Sun - is too poorly understood with almost no efforts being made to advance the scientific understanding on this front of research. Instead, the electric-sun theory, which stands on monumental evidence, is being slandered or deemed not to exist. Thus, no matter how harsh and energy-lean the future Ice Age will become, including during the solar inactive times, vast as yet unconsidered energy resources will nevertheless lay at our feet that will always be available to us if we care to access them. Examples on this scale are symptomatic of the enormously rich electric energy resources that we have within our reach to develop. The examples, that would dwarf the government's 'net zero policy.' Thus, the brightest future imaginable lays before us.