What Will Stars Look Like in the Distant Future?

I'm talking billions, trillions of years, maybe even more. It's a somewhat sobering reality that nearly all of the stars that will be born during the lifetime of the universe have already been made. Now, stars as we know them will continue being made for billions of years, far beyond the life of humanity. But in the far-flung future, different types of stars will begin to pop up, stars that haven't had enough time to develop yet. Here's a list of four of those hypothetical future stars:

This won't do you much good here.

1. Blue dwarf. They're simple enough, they're the final phase of evolution of red dwarfs, the smallest type of star. Instead of expanding into a red giant like the Sun will when it starts fusing helium, they'll get smaller and much hotter, turning blue. However, their ultimate fate will be the same, eventually turning into white dwarfs.

2. Black dwarf. Hey, speaking of white dwarfs, this is what will happen to those after billions of years and they've cooled off. To call it a star is a bit generous, a black dwarf will be a planet-sized lump of super-dense matter generating little, if any, light.

3. Frozen star. Here's where things start to get strange. Eventually, the universe will run low on hydrogen and helium, but stars of a sort will continue to form, fusing paltry scraps of hydrogen in among icy clouds. These stars would struggle to get past the melting point of water, and would resemble giant brown dwarfs rather than actual stars.

4. Iron star. Now we're into real hypothetical territory here. As the universe slowly expands to infinity, undergoing heat death, there will be a lot of iron floating around. Iron is both extremely stable and if you know your fusion, you'll know that once you start fusing iron, more energy is used to make the reaction than is put out. That's what causes supernovae. However, and providing protons don't decay, when a bunch of iron clumps together to form a body, quantum shenanigans will cause an ignition of sorts, splitting the atoms and forming an iron star.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Lil Ben's Milk Stout

Brewed by: Antietam Brewery, Hagerstown, Maryland

Description (from the website): "Brewed with pure milk sugar and a host of speciality malts, this triumphant ale will keep you wanting more. Roasted coffee and smooth chocolate notes dominate this creamy sweet stout"

Would I buy it again?: Yes, I would. I'm not a enormous fan of milk stouts for some reason (I like stouts, I like milk), but this was pretty good on a cold winter night. It's very smooth but also thick and full of body. If I visit the brewery (and Hagerstown is pretty close) I'd definitely buy it there.

Review: Cumberland Golf Club (Part 2)

It's time for the back nine at Cumberland Golf Club, here's the front if you haven't seen it.

The tenth hole is a par 5, just like the first, and it plays parallel to the first. So the general strategy is pretty much the same, get your drive to the plateau and have a full view of the green. The hole is just over 500 yards, so it's definitely reachable in two. All I can say is the hole is a bit narrower than the first, so accuracy is a bit more important off the tee. Otherwise, pretty much everything I said about the first applies here.

The tenth hole.

A good place to hit your second shot from. Note: this isn't where I hit my second shot from.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is a reasonably nice looking par 3, playing 200 yards slightly downhill to a small green guarded by bunkers on each side. It would be better if that wasn't the same basic description as all the par 3s.

The eleventh hole.

A slightly closer look at the eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is the final par 5 at Cumberland. It's 515 yards, and pretty much the most interesting thing about this hole is that it doglegs. Several holes on the back nine do have doglegs, which elevates it ever so slightly above the front nine. Otherwise, it's another flat hole devoid of much trouble. There's O.B. left, but you'd have to hit a hook of monumental proportions to reach it.

The twelfth hole.

Might as well go for the twelfth in two if you can.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is the final par 3 at Cumberland. It plays exactly the same as the rest, and is the exact same length. The most interesting thing here is that this hole ends a 4-hole stretch where there are no par 4s. The par sequence of the back nine is 5-3-5-3-4-4-4-4-4, which is unusual. But if that's what fit, then that's what fit.

The thirteenth hole.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is just under 370 yards, and while the fairway does dogleg slightly, you can very easily play at the green. A very simple hole, though the green does have a fairly noticeable tilt from back to front, so putts from above the hole can be a little fast.

The fourteenth hole.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is just under 400 yards. The hole doglegs left when it hits a property line, so if you're an especially long hitter, you might want to use a 3 wood. There's a dropoff behind the green, so going long is not recommended.

The fifteenth hole.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is, at 310 yards, the shortest par 4 at Cumberland, especially seeing as the tees were moved up. The green is reachable, but you do have a few trees threatening shots that are pulled or hit a little too low. A lay-up and a full wedge work about as well if you're not confident with the driver.

The sixteenth hole.

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole is one of the better holes at Cumberland simply because it's long and has some elevation change. The drive is fairly straightforward, though a hook will land you in an unseen pond behind the trees. The second shot is to a green elevated significantly on top of a plateau. The green is a bit bigger than some of the others at Cumberland, but it's still not a huge target, so you had better be precise with your mid to long irons if you want to hit this green in regulation.

The seventeenth from the tee.

The elevated seventeenth green.

Looking back down 17.

The eighteenth hole is a bit shorter than the previous hole, but at 445 yards, it's still pretty long. It's also by far the most interesting hole at Cumberland. The pond left definitely comes into play, but bailing out right is also a poor idea, as a cluster of trees will stymie any drive hit over there. The best play is a fade aimed at the pond and brought back along the right-to-left sloping fairway. The second shot, of course, is business as usual, though the green is guarded by two bunkers on each side, rather than just one. Still, it's nice to end on a somewhat positive note.

The eighteenth hole.

The eighteenth green.

This was a very boring round.

Cumberland Golf Club is never going to win any awards for being a good golf course. It's actually pretty bad, though I'm willing to let the terrible fairway conditions slide, considering the record rainfall we got in 2018. I pretty much only did a full review because I took more than 100 pictures of the place, and I didn't want that work completely going to waste. In fact, I'm going to say, with a reasonable amount of certainty, that when I do my 2019 round-up of all the courses I've reviewed, Cumberland will be at the very bottom. Sure, this is the first review of 2019, but I would have to work quite hard to find a course worse than this.

Does Cumberland have anything going for it? Well, it wasn't very busy, but it was a weekday and quite dreary when I played. I can't vouch for what it would be like on the weekend. It was only $20, which isn't a steal but it isn't bad. An appropriate amount of money for what you get, I think. But the area south of Harrisburg is littered with inexpensive public courses, you can do much better than Cumberland for not a whole lot more money.

Bottom line, Cumberland Golf Club really isn't worth your time. The only reason I'm not completely against the course is because I played well there, and frankly, that's not a good reason. If you're looking for a cheap round in Carlisle, look elsewhere.

Beer of the Week

The beer: S'more Porter

Brewed by: Saranac Brewery, Utica, New York

Description (from Beer Advocate): "This porter tastes like chocolate, marshmallow, and graham cracker. It's brewed with a blend of caramel, biscuit, brown, and roasted malts and aged with chocolate and vanilla."

Would I buy it again?: Yes. The beer really does taste like a s'more. But not excessively so, it's not exceedingly strong. I liked it a lot, but my girlfriend was a HUGE fan of it. The six pack I bought lasted 3 days, and I only had two of them. She had three. I hope this is a regular beer that Saranac makes, because they've got some definite customers.

Review: Cumberland Golf Club (Part 1)

Not every golf course is exciting. Not every golf course is good. Not every golf course is especially glamorous, polished, or well-maintained. You usually hope to get at least a couple of those things though. But there are courses that manage to achieve absolutely none of these goals, and Cumberland Golf Club, located a little south of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, is one of them. The lack of quality is especially noticeable considering I've spent the past 3 months reviewing three golf courses ranging from "Really good if the greens weren't stupidly slow" to "One of the best courses I've ever played." I couldn't keep that pace forever.

Oh, and don't worry, it was grey and dreary for the entire round, so I don't even have the benefit of nice weather to spice up these pictures. Frankly, considering how much rain we got in September, it's a miracle I found the time to do not one, but two reviews. And just to add insult to injury, the course was doing work on most of the back tees, which meant they had stuck the tee markers in vaguely flat spots in the rough nearby. So, now that I've hyped the course up, let's get to the review. It probably won't take long.

The first hole, strangely enough, is the longest hole at Cumberland, weighing in at 530 yards. If you can get your drive to the top of the plateau in the fairway, just past the two fairway bunkers (two-thirds of the total count at Cumberland), you'll have a clear view of the green, and you could potentially go for it in two. If you do lay up, the third shot will be up the hill to a small, elevated green flanked by two bunkers. Oh, be prepared to see the phrase "flanked by two bunkers" or some close variation a lot. As in, every single hole.

The first hole. The terrain is good, but that's pretty much it.

Not a bad place to be after the drive.

The uphill third shot.

The first green.

The second hole is a short, virtually flat par 4. The only real hazard on the drive are a few overhanging trees planted near the tee. The green is small and is protected by a bunker on each side. I actually birdied this hole, so I was one under after two. Of course, it didn't last long.

The second hole.

The second green.

The third hole plays parallel to the second, plays over the exact same terrain, and is virtually the same length. There is a road running to the right side of the hole, though you'd have to hit an impressive slice to reach it. Also, the green is significantly larger than the previous two.

The third hole.

The third green.

After the first of six road crossings, the fourth hole is the first of a surprisingly lengthy set of par 3s, none of which are under 200 yards. This one is uphill, and if you have to miss the green, right is the place to do it, as a chip from the left side faces a green sloping away. I bogeyed this hole, and that was that for my under par round.

The fourth hole.

The fourth green is slightly elevated.

The fifth hole is a 425 yard par 4 with the tee shot playing downhill to a wide open fairway. Seriously, plenty of room, you'd have to be some sort of colossal idiot to miss it. Oh, right, I was on the fairway to the right of this hole. The green has a pair of bunkers guarding it, and it was about at this point I realized that I was in for a very dull round.

The fifth hole plays significantly downhill.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is the longest par 3 of the quartet at Cumberland, and at a slightly uphill 230 yards, it's no pushover. Of course, it's not terribly difficult either. It's tough because it's hard hitting a long iron or wood at a small green.

The sixth hole

The seventh hole is 370 yards under normal circumstances, but as I mentioned early, quite a few tees were closed. The back tees were moved up a lot, which meant that this hole was actually almost drivable. I'd say this is the best hole on the front nine, as you have to decide whether or not to challenge the big pine tree on the drive. Doing so leaves a shorter shot. And yes, that barest hint of strategy is all it took to be the best hole on the front nine.

The seventh hole. I think the temporary tees provided a slightly more interesting hole than the normal ones.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is the shortest par 5 at Cumberland. It's easily reachable in two, but the playing corridor is reasonably narrow, and there's O.B. left to think about. A pond further narrows the fairway, but that's only a concern if you have to lay up after a poor drive. Or if you're a very short hitter.

The eighth hole.

The approach to the eighth green.

Looking back down the eighth.

The ninth hole is a long par 4 at 455 yards, which is only 30 yards shorter than the previous hole. It's not even the longest par 4 at Cumberland. The tee shot does play downhill. The closer you get to the treeline with the drive, the shorter your second will be. And that's about it.

The ninth hole is a dogleg right.

The ninth green.

That's it for this week, next week we'll check out the equally interesting and exciting back nine.

Beer of the Week

The beer: White Russian Cream Ale

Brewed by: Jailbreak Brewing Company, Laurel, Maryland

Description (from the website): "Light in color yet full in flavor. An appropriate marriage of golden malts and perfectly roasted coffee from our friends at Ceremony Roasters. A hint of vanilla is added to recreate a White Russian worthy of The Dude’s respect. Jailbreak abides!"

Would I buy it again?: Yes, I think I would. I've never had a White Russian, so I can't vouch for how similar the taste of this beer is to its namesake, but I did like this beer. It wasn't heavy, but there was definitely plenty of taste. And it's even a local beer.

A Post In Which I Write About Poop

You know, maybe it's because it's the beginning of the year, but I was completely stumped as to a subject to write about this week. There just isn't much cool or interesting science news floating around right now, since New Horizons is taking a break from beaming back new information. But you know what? For my actual job, occasionally I write things, and I'm kind of proud of what I wrote this week for our site's "Livin' on the MDedge" feature (The name of the feature was my idea too). So you can read that this week.

What’s Latin for ‘poop’?

The study of the human microbiota has become incredibly important in recent years, but there’s no getting away from the fact that it entails experimenting on poop. Remarkably, no one’s come up with a proper technical name for this unsavory activity. However, thanks to a collaboration between a gastroenterologist and a classics professor at the University of North Carolina, that deficiency is no more. You’ve met the in vivo and in vitro study. Now, please welcome the “in vimo” study!

Why in vimo? The term fecal or “in feco” might seem obvious. But the Latin root word never referred to poop, and if there’s one thing scientists can’t have, it’s improper Latin usage. The Romans, it turns out, had lots of words for poop. The root word of laetamen referred to fertility, richness, and happiness – a tempting prospect – but was mostly used to refer to farm animal dung. Merda mostly referred to smell or stench, and stercus shared the same root word as scatology, which refers to obscene literature. Fimus, which specifically refers to manure, was thus the most precise, and it was used by literary giants such as Livy, Virgil, and Tacitus. A clear winner, and the in vimo study flushed the rest of the competition away.

And just in case you think these researchers are no fun, the name they chose for the active enzymes collected from their in vimo samples? Poopernatants. Yes, even doctors enjoy a good poop joke.

You can see the full feature (my dad is also a contributor, he wrote the "Resistance is fecal" item) here.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Goldencold Lager

Brewed by: Susquehanna Brewing Company, Pittston, Pennsylvania

Description (from the website): "Goldencold Lager is a refreshing, German-inspired beer brewed with Pilsner malt and a bit of Sauermalz to bring out a traditional, rounded note. Separating the husk from the mash allows us to brew a beer delicate in flavor and texture. The classic bitterness brings our corner of NEPA a little closer to you."

Would I buy it again?: Probably not. This is a pretty standard lager, and it tasted like most other standard lagers I've had. Now, it was perfectly fine, but given the choice, I'd either get a Yuengling because it's cheaper or a Boston Lager because it's a bit better.

New Horizons Completes Fly-by of Ultima Thule

What I really want to know is if the timing was purposeful or not. Having New Horizons complete this historic fly-by on New Year's Day just seems a little too convenient.

Anyway, we have our first actual image of a Kuiper Belt object! And it's ... a red snowman!

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

Obviously, this isn't the greatest picture of all time, and more will be coming. New Horizons is beaming back data at a very low power, so it's going to take more than a year to get everything back from the encounter. Hey, New Horizons is 4 billion miles away, you gotta be patient with these things.

But I'm sure we'll be getting more and better pictures in the days to come. I doubt this will be the last time I write about little Ultima Thule.