GRB 221009A: The BOAT

The cocktail boat.

We describe the inspiration, development, and deployment of a novel cocktail device modeled after a class of water-walking insects. Semi-aquatic insects like Microvelia and Velia evade predators by releasing a surfactant that quickly propels them across the water. We exploit an analogous propulsion mechanism in the design of an edible cocktail boat. We discuss how gradients in surface tension l...

Rocking the Boat: Damage to Eelgrass by Swinging Boat Moorings

Seagrass meadows commonly reside in shallow sheltered embayments typical of the locations that provide an attractive option for mooring boats. Given the potential for boat moorings to result in disturbance to the seabed due to repeated physical impact, these moorings may present a significant threat to seagrass meadows. The seagrass Zostera marina (known as eelgrass) is extensive across the nor...

Thinking with the Coleman Boat

The Macronova in GRB 050709 and the GRB-macronova connection

GRB 050709 was the first short Gamma-ray Burst (sGRB) with an identified optical counterpart. Here we report a reanalysis of the publicly available data of this event and the discovery of a Li-Paczynski macronova/kilonova that dominates the optical/infrared signal at t>2.5 days. Such a signal would arise from 0.05 r-process material launched by a compact binary merger. The implied mass ejection...

Testing GRB models with the strange afterglow of GRB 090102

We present the observations of the afterglow of gamma-ray burst GRB 090102. We use optical data taken by the TAROT, REM, GROND, Palomar and NOT telescopes, and X-ray data taken by the XRT instrument on board the Swift spacecraft. This event features an unusual light curve. In X-rays, it presents a very monotonic decrease with no hint of temporal break from 0.005 to 6 days after the burst. In op...