Ahira's Hangar

Clarke tells us of the great number of asteroids out there, so many that they were a nuisance for 19th century astronomers. But the efficient computers of Spaceguard take them all in stride, tracking half a million of these celestial "vermin." Any rock that poses even the most remote threat to Earth would not get by Spaceguard's all-seeing eyes.

Spaceguard first detects the object catalogued as 31/439 just beyond the orbit of Jupiter. First radar contact at such a distance meant that the object had to be very large - about 40 km in diameter. The second thing Spaceguard discovers is that the object is not on a regular asteroidal orbit, but is a true wanderer among the stars, making its first and only visit to the solar system.

That's when human beings start noticing this object, which they now "dignify" with a proper name: Rama. There is an initial buzz in the media, but with very little info to go on about Rama's nature, most of humankind loses interest...except for the astronomers.

Clarke goes into some science content: Rama is seen as a mystery because of its lack of a light curve. Every asteroid is supposed to display this property, yet Rama doesn't seem to. So for months nothing more is known about Rama, because none of the big orbiting telescopes could be spared from their regular job of staring into infinity - the cosmos at large.

A Dr. William Stenton is the astronomer who gets the lucky break in discovering that Rama does actually have a light curve, though just barely noticeable. Rama is apparently spinning at more than 1000 km/hr, so its "day" would last only 4 minutes, whereas it would be several hours on a normal asteroid.

We are then entertained by a wild notion by the imaginative Stenton, that Rama is perhaps a collapsed star - "a madly spinning sphere of neutronium, every cubic centimeter weighing billions of tons." We are given a sense of the calamity that such an invader would bring to the solar system. But Stenton comes to his senses and realizes that no stellar mass could just sneak up on the solar system, because its strong gravitional effect on the outer planets would have been detected long before.

Thus, the scientists know that Rama is not a neutron star, and it's not an asteroid...but what the heck is it?


I'll probably be saying this often, but I like how Clarke inserts clear explanations of scientific concepts in the course of the story. I'm not saying Clarke is unique in this, just that I enjoy this kind of sf, where the author really understands science, and is willing to share that scientific enthusiasm with me, the lay reader. So it's fun to follow the step-by-step procedures the scientists take to try and understand the mystery of Rama.

H.G. Wells's story, The Star, is mentioned in this chapter. I assume it must have been a favorite of Clarke's. Indeed, I assume the works of H.G. Wells must have been a great influence on many sf writers of Clarke's generation, and beyond. However, I personally have never read any of Wells's books, though I'm familiar enough with The War of the Worlds via the movie adaptations.

I've not read The Star either, though I have read otehr things by Wells (War of the Worlds and The Time Machine) and thought they were quite good. Now I am in the mood to track down that one.

Yes, Clarke is superb with his science. He not only incorporates it into the story rather than making awkward info dumps, but he explains it in ways that the average person can understand without being condescending, either. And since he was a scientist, the science is very solid.

I looked up Rama today. I was wondering why Clarke chose him, of all the Hindu dieties. I am also strongly guessing that Clarke was strongly familiar with Hinduism, as he spent the last decades of his life on Sri Lanka, and his choice was a deliberate one.



From that brief description, it sounds as if Rama is a noted warrior against evil?

Isn't he part of the main triumvirate of Hindu gods - creator, preserver, destroyer of worlds? With Rama being the preserver? This could be dead wrong, as I am pulling it from memory...

So then, in what ways could this mysterious object in space be a statement/fighter against evil? Or a preserver of worlds? Questions to keep in mind while reading the rest of the story.

That's one reason I like Ben Bova, Robert L. Forward and David Brin-danged aerospace engineers I love Well's stuff, but missed The Star.

Sheesh I think I got Rama mixed up with Vishnu! My apologies to anyone who belongs to the Hindu beliefs!

By the way, I went hunting for that HG Wells story - and will post it momentarily. I figure it must be well out of copy write due to age, so do not see why it cannot be posted here.