Chapter Two

The three runs had concluded, and now it was their turn. It was a bit after eleven at night, and they had until the morning to observe. A CD with instructions for the telescope had been left with them, and they got the program started with little trouble.

The odds of them finding a new comet while watching a monitor wasn't really very good. The monitor's resolution wasn't the best, so it would be easy to miss something. The data would be examined by a program written especially to find comets.

It did get cold a few hours after sunset, but they didn't care. They were both fulfilling a dream, and would make the most of it. They sat watching the monitor, breath visible, hoping to spot a fuzzy patch that would be a new comet.

Eventually they had to take a break, eating dinner and making a few calls.

"Hello, dear," said Mrs. Trollzawa, "Are you there now?"

"Yes, mom! We're at the observatory and actually using the telescope!" answered Sapphire with a grin.

"Oh, wonderful! I'm so glad you had the chance to do that!" said her mom.

"Me too!" answered Sapphire, "I'll get some pics and send them to you."

Her mom nodded. "Your father and I will look forward to it."

"We'll be heading home in a few days, so see you then! Bye!" she said.

"Okay, dear. Goodbye!" her mom hang up, and Sapphire did the same. She looked over at Jade, who ended her call as well.

"Wanna get back to the room?" asked her assistant, putting her phone away.

"Yeah. We've been away for an hour, I don't want to miss any more," said Sapphire.

Dr. McTroll looked over from his table where he was reading a paper. "If you look in the main menu, there's a command to review what was recorded while you were away."

"Thanks!" said Sapphire, standing up.

Outside they bundled into their jackets and headed back to the control room.

"Wow, look at the stars," said Jade.

Indeed, away from the lights of Trollzopolis, the stars were bright and seemingly close enough to touch. Jade pointed out some of the constellations, and named some of the brighter stars. Sapphire was impressed. Jade knew more about astronomy than she did! She resolved to fix that little omission in her interests.

Back in the control room they checked to make sure everything was working smoothly, which it was. Their run would end at daybreak, and they would likely sleep most of the day.

They sat and reviewed the data for the time they missed. The recorded view just showed stars, but at one point picked up an asteroid. The software identified it for them. It was just big enough to be more than a point of light.

They had nearly caught up with the records when Sapphire noticed a fuzzy patch near the upper left corner of the monitor. Curious, she did a freeze frame and choose and enlarge. It got a bit brighter and fuzzier.

"Hey, there's a comet!" she told Jade, who was looking at the monitor showing the telescope's position.

The other girl rolled her chair over for a better look. "Sure is!" she confirmed.

Sapphire asked the software for an identification, but it came up empty.

"Oh, wow! We might have found a new comet!" said Jade.

They turned the telescope back to it for a better look. In the monitor it was just a blob of light, as yet showing no sign of a tail. They took care to make sure they had its position.

"We'll need to take two more positions to determine an orbit," said Jade. "We can take one tomorrow night, but what about Sunday?"

"I... can stay an extra day, if Dr. McTroll will let me," said Sapphire, "What about you?"

"Fine with me," answered Jade.

They let the telescope go back to its program, and looked up comets on the trollnet.

bffl bffl bffl

"The orbit doesn't match anything else in the database," said Dr. McTroll two nights later, "You've discovered a new comet! Congratulations!"

Jade and Sapphire high-fived each other. "ALL RIGHT!"

"Hm..." he added, "It looks right now like it's going to be in a position to be pretty bright. Comet Trollzawa-Trollberger just might be seen by a lot of people."

"It gets named after us?" asked Sapphire, surprised.

"You two discovered it, so of course," he answered. "I'd say it's pretty big, too. This might be its first time through the system, so the sun hasn't burned much away."

Sapphire grinned. "Even better!"

Just then the computer screen changed, and he studied the data. "If everything stays the way it is, this might be the brightest comet in decades."

Jade and Sapphire grinned at each other.

He turned to another terminal. "I'm going to forward the data to the Astronomical Union to make sure you have priority on the discovery." He pulled up a special text program and spent several minutes writing the note, being sure to include the names and contact info for the discoverers.

"That's that," he said, sending it. He turned back to the first terminal and typed commands. "Let's see what the spectrum looks like..."

bffl bffl bffl

The next morning he stood with them as they got ready to leave for Trollzopolis.

"I'll keep you both updated with the comet, don't worry," he said.

"That would be great! Thank you!" said Jade.

"I hate to leave, but we really need to get home. We've both got classes we're missing," put in Sapphire.

"Oh, I understand," Dr. McTroll replied, "Thanks to your discovery, I'm now a bit behind with papers. You two have a good trip home, and I'll be in touch."

"Thank you, sir, goodbye!" said Sapphire as she got into the passenger seat.

Jade started the car, and pulled out of the parking space. As they headed off, Dr. McTroll waved, then turned back toward the small living quarters.

They were silent on the trip down the mountain, as Jade needed to concentrate on the road, but as soon as they checked out of the hotel and left the town for the highway, that changed.

"Can you believe it? We've got a comet named after us!" said Jade.

"Yeah, it's so exciting!" was the reply, "And it just might be a big event!"

"This is unusual, too," added Jade, "Normally it takes a lot more time for someone to find a new comet."

"I'm glad you know so much about astronomy," said Sapphire, "I really hadn't paid much attention to it."

"Oh, yeah," answered the green-haired troll, "It's my favorite science. After this, I'm thinking of changing my major again, to astronomy."

"Really? You don't want to be my partner any more?" asked Sapphire, a bit of sadness in her voice.

"Are you kidding? Of course I'll stay as your... did you say partner? I thought I was your assistant," said Jade, glancing at the blue eyed troll girl.

"Hey, the comet is named after both of us," said Sapphire with a grin, "I'd say that merits a promotion."

Jade grinned and blushed. "Thanks. You don't know how much that means to me."

"Astronomy is your passion, while I tend more toward physics and chemistry," answered Sapphire, "Between the two of us, we cover a lot of ground."

"Yes, we do," agreed Jade.

"Will you teach me about it?" asked Sapphire.

"You BET I will! And I want you to help me with differential equations," answered Jade, passing a car.

"It'll be my pleasure," sand Sapphire.

"Hey, it'll be around lunch by the time we get home. Want to stop by the mall and eat? My treat," asked Jade.

"Partner, you've got yourself a deal!" laughed Sapphire, and the rest of the trip was very pleasant for both trolls.