Read Dark Star Rising Second Edition (Pebbles in The Sky) for Free Online

here?”
    The server arrived to take their order, so Mike held off answering Eric until the young man had turned and went back toward the kitchen.
    “There is nothing wrong with these studies Eric. Actually these are pretty good images, and the Spitzer was doing exactly what it was designed to do.  What is wrong my friend, is that none of my guys that were on the project or anyone else who has been using this data since then has found what your young man has discovered.  I guess congratulations will be in order for him, provided of course the finding can be confirmed.”
    Eric sat up straight and spoke softly.  “So, do you think he has found the same thing that I do?”
    Mike nodded and said, “With this data, if it can be confirmed, then I think that he has actually discovered a previously unknown Brown Dwarf.”
                  Eric sat back and gulped down the rest of his martini and frowned, deep in thought.
    Mike looked at him inquisitively and said, “You do not look happy.  I would think that you would be proud of his efforts and this discovery.  This finding should not affect his use of the data or his research paper. It may actually make him better known in his field of study. This could be a good thing for his career.”
    Eric shook his head and the frown increased and darkened his expression.  He spoke slowly. “Mike, if this is a Brown Dwarf, then it is relatively close by astronomical standards.  There are no gas clouds in this region that it could have formed in.  In addition, Brown Dwarf stars do not get hotter as time goes by.  They slowly cool.   During the four years or so that these studies were done, a Brown Dwarf should not be getting hotter, nor would it cool so appreciably that we would be able to notice.  But, according to the data the infrared signal is actually getting stronger.  In addition, there is a positive Doppler shift and no measurable bearing shift at all.”
    At that moment, the server reappeared with their lunch. Eric spoke to him.  “Bring us another round of Martini’s, would you please?”
      Both sat in silence, not touching their food.  The server returned with their drinks and inquired if something was wrong with their order, but Mike motioned him away.  Mike took a sip of his drink and slowly stirred it with a finger, and then he spoke. “Who, besides you, and I have seen this data?”
    Eric thought a moment. “Probably no one else but maybe Susan, and she would not understand the implications.  I have tried all my connections, but I do not have a way to obtain a more recent survey in this area of the sky,” he said as he pointed toward the laptop screen.  “Since we are in the early days of spring here in the northern hemisphere, only the southern scopes would have a chance of looking at this area.  The VISTA scope is down for some major repairs and the new ESA scope is still at least a year from completion.  They both can only do near-infrared so it would be doubtful that they could detect anything from inside the atmosphere anyway.  What we need is some current infrared data from above the atmosphere, from Earth orbit.”
    Mike shook his head .  “We have no instruments that could do that at the moment.  There is just very little funding available for any project of that size.  Neither the ESA nor the Russian space agency has anything with that capability at the moment either.”
    Eric glanced around and leaned close to Mike. “What about the RLARIRS?”
    Mike gave Eric a hard look.  “How do you know about that?  It isn’t exactly public knowledge.”
    “Come on Mike,” the number of people in our field is not that large, and there have been rumors.”
    Mike stood and pulled a twenty dollar bill out of his wallet and dropped it on the table.  “You invited me to lunch so I will cover the tip, you get the bill.  As advice to an old friend, I think you and your star student, Peter, should keep this information close and