Messier 54 is a globular cluster astronomers originally thought was in the Milky Way. Then in the 1990s it come out that this whole time, Messier 54 has been in the Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy instead. Not really sure how you make that mistake.
Theodore is looking for an adventurer to deliver a message.
Theodore: It is─regrettably─my duty to stand watch over the road from here to Bentbranch Meadows.
Theodore: The ranch has become a veritable institution of Gridania, so any threats to its continued operation are taken quite seriously by the Wood Wailers.
Theodore: Which reminds me─mayhap it was my imagination, but I believe I caught a glimpse of some shadowy fellow not too long ago. Would you mind passing word to Roseline down below? I would go myself but, well…it’s hard enough marshaling the courage to walk the root for my shift…
Roseline: A shadowy fellow? Hmmm…now that you mention it, I may have seen something.
Roseline: I dismissed it as a trick of the light before, but I thought I saw a shadow in the forest to the north. Still, I suspect it is nothing more than a Qiqirn thief on the run.
Roseline: If you must sate your curiosity, by all means investigate. Should you actually find something of note, I would like very much to see it.
Roseline: Hmmm? Have you found something?
Roseline: Remnants of a campfire and a forgotten bag…this could belong to any adventurer or traveler. And inside we have…a chocobo grooming brush and roseling oil?
Roseline: But wait─why would a traveler make camp here, when it would be far safer to beg the hospitality of Bentbranch Meadows?
Roseline: Bugger me, I think this belongs to that stranger said to be meddling with the chocobos! Thank you, adventurer. We have been lax in our duties, but no longer─I swear we will find this shadow.
Electromagnetism might be the best-known interaction to us. However, we mostly speak about two separate entities. First of them, electricity, is a force our entire modern society is based upon, since it propels possibly all modern devices, from the most primitive calculators to the fastest supercomputers. Without electricity, we would never have televisions, the internet, computers, and a lot more. There is no doubt that electricity is crucial for the proper functioning of today’s society. But what about the other of the two entities? Magnetism is mostly known for being an endearing force, due to which we can attach various objects to our fridges. But is electromagnetism really like that?
It turns out that electricity and magnetism are very closely related. So related, in fact, that one could not exist without the other. If you move an electrically charged particle (electron, for instance), a magnetic field is spontaneously formed around it. Conversely, anytime you move a magnet, an electric field is created. This phenomenon is exploited in power stations. Nearly all power stations are built on the principle of electromagnetic induction – a magnetic field is placed to the vicinity of an electrical conductor and spins perpetually (here, different types of power plants come into play – each type achieves the spinning of the magnetic field in a different way), which causes electric current to form in the conductor.
Just like gravity, electromagnetism has an infinite range. Unlike gravity, however, it does not affect every single object in the universe but only objects with electric charge (opposite charges attract each other, same charges repel). Nevertheless, electromagnetism can be observed all around us. Let us now describe individual manifestations of electromagnetism one by one. And we are going to start somewhat unexpectedly – with sight.
Sight is the most important of human senses. More than three quarters of all sensory perceptions our brain receives to process are provided by our eyes. Eyes that have been through hundreds of millions of years of evolution, so that they can function properly. All the various organs of sight, from the simplest of eyespots inside the bodies of minuscule organisms, to the most perfect eyes in the animal kingdom, have the same mission – to detect a specific part of the electromagnetic radiation which we like to call light.
As the name itself implies, electromagnetic radiation has something to do with electromagnetism. Its creation and propagation occur quite simply – a moving electric field generates a magnetic field, which in turn again generates an electric field, and so on. These repeating fields travel through space-time (at the speed of light, of course) until they reach an impediment that would absorb them.
For example, the electromagnetic radiation sent by the screen of the device on which you are reading these words travels into your eye, where it is absorbed and transformed into electric signals leading right to your brain. Once there, the signals are processed and consequently decoded as an image. If electricity and magnetism were not a conjoined entity, light would not be able to exist.
Now let us move to the subatomic level. Focus on any object in your field of vision. Positively charged protons attract the negatively charged electrons, which ensures the existence of the atoms your chosen object is made of. If we move a level up, we quite likely encounter molecules (collections of atoms) of the object. These molecules are formed due to diverse chemical bonds, which again are a manifestation of electromagnetism. In short, if this mesmerizing interaction ceased to exist, all objects around you – including yourself – would immediately break up into individual subatomic particles.
As we have just demonstrated, electromagnetism is, just like gravity, crucial for the existence of the cosmos as we know it. The manifestations of this interaction could be discussed much longer. However, we are going to move to the next, no less important force – the strong interaction.
Drunken Stag wishes to repay your kindness with some useful information.
Drunken Stag: You’d like a chance to make some money, right? Then I know just how I can repay you for your kindness.
Drunken Stag: Swarms of sun midges have been harassing travelers along the road connecting Horizon to here. It’s gotten so bad that the Brass Blades have started paying folks to keep the roads clear.
Drunken Stag: If you find it hard to believe that swarms of tiny midges could be so troublesome, then you’ve never seen a chocobo driven into a frenzy by one. There’ve already been some terrible accidents.
Drunken Stag: Do your part and slay a few swarms. After that, let Fufulupa know. He’ll reward you for your trouble, and maybe even offer you more work.
Fufulupa: Greetings and salutations, adventurer. To what do I owe this─
What, you’ve slain how many swarms of sun midges!?
Fufulupa: You have my sincerest thanks! The Brass Blades have been struggling to keep them in check, so your assistance is greatly appreciated.
Fufulupa: Will you be staying in Horizon long? If so, there is much and more you can do to help here.
The Great Nebula in Carina, formally called NGC 3372, lies in one of the brightest ports of the Milky Way. It boasts several massive stars and other nebulae — you know, the usual. The most energetic star within this nebula used to be the brightest star in the sky around 200 years ago — then it slowly faded. Take that as a lesson, kids, even interstellar fame isn’t forever.
Wyrkrhit, a Skylift operator, needs you to recover a cargo load abandoned by a terrified wagon driver and deliver it to its intended recipient.
Wyrkrhit: Glad I am to see ye again, lass. A wagon driver just returned in a great bloody hurry, screamin’ about some monstrosity what sprang out from a millioncorn seedling in his cargo.
Wyrkrhit: Seems the gutless bastard tossed it over the side afore turnin’ tail an’ runnin’ for his life. I need ye to head down the road, recover that seedling, an’ deliver it to Lyulf over at Swiftperch in western La Noscea.
Wyrkrhit: Whatever he pays ye for the cargo is yers to keep. After all, I don’t rightly know what else is lurkin’ inside that plant, an’ ye deserve to be rewarded for yer troubles.
Wyrkrhit: Oh, an’ ye’ll also find an aetheryte in Swiftperch, so the journey should be worth yer while.
Lyulf: Has Nymeia Herself forsaken this desolate land? Though I understood there were risks in gambling my entire fortune on a crop of millioncorn, I at least expected the seedling to be delivered before disaster struck!
Lyulf: Is…is that my millioncorn seedling!? O joyous day! It may seem a paltry beginning, but the yield of this particular variety of crop plant is nothing short of astonishing.
Lyulf: As you have undoubtedly noticed, Swiftperch lacks a certain, shall we say, vital energy? Thus I mean to restore a modicum of hope to its residents by growing a veritable ocean of corn!
Lyulf: You, madam, seem fit to burst with vim and vigor! Might I persuade you to abide a while and help nurture this ailing settlement?
Not all nebulae are worth talking about.
Keishinrei