Change we can believe in: starting Monday, Cosmic Variance will be bidding adieu to its life as a plucky independent blog, and huddle into the warm embrace of Discover Magazine. There will be a very brief transition period in which the blog disappears entirely, but hang in there -- we'll be back online before you know it. Now, we know what you're thinking: you knew us back when we were indie rock, keeping it real, and now we're going all corporate? Yes, yes we are. If for no other reason than the thankless task of keeping the blog from crashing and handling the technical end of things will be put in someone else's capable hands, not our clueless ones. But there are other reasons. Hopefully the association with Discover will open up new opportunities, and bring new readers to our discussions. And we're happy to be joining an elite community of blogs that are already up and running at Discover:
Bad Astronomy: Everyone knows Phil Plait and his enthusiastic dissections of what's right and wrong in astronomy and much more.
The Loom: Carl Zimmer is another old friend, the go-to guywhen you have questions about E. coli (among other things).
Reality Base: a great blog by Melissa Lafsky on science, politics, and the wider world.
Science Not Fiction: Stephen Cass, Sam Lowry and Eric Wolff cover futuristic technologies in reality and in fiction.
Better Planet: Benjamin Nugent specializes in [strike]portents of disaster[/strike] environmental news.
Discoblog: dispatches from the quirkier side of science.
80 Beats: Eliza Strickland scoops up the best science news of the day, and doles it out in bite-sized morsels.
So what does this mean for you, our cherished readers? Nothing, pretty much. You should still be able to get here by pointing your browser at "http://cosmicvariance.com/"; indeed, all of the archives should still be available under their old addresses. Likewise the RSS feeds should work as before; in particular, go here:
And of course our characteristic sprightly insouciance will continue undiminished. Admittedly, the glamorous blue theme we've sported since our humble beginnings will be traded in for an orange and white palate. But we've always been about the substance, not superficial appearances. Right?
