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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Have you ever seen another galaxy with your own eyes? The featured image shows the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), one of the closest neighbors of our Milky Way. If you are anywhere south of latitude 20° N (but the further south, the better), you can see it with the unaided eye if you go to a dark sky location, away from big cities and light polution. It is a dwarf irregular galaxy about 163,000 light-years away, and a member of our Local Group of galaxies. Despite being small, with a total mass approximately equivalent to 10% - 20% of the mass of the Milky Way, the LMC is very actively forming stars. This is likely due in part to the gravitational push and pull of tides caused by the Milky Way on the LMC. Some astronomers have predicted that it will collide with the Milky Way in in about 2 billion years.

Photo by Monica Mesa Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)

"College professors face an emerging challenge.... We know students are no longer reading entire books"... More at The Conversation➜

Male Green kingfisher (Chloroceryle americana) in Mato Grosso, Brazil.

Giles Laurent, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

A light, serene, ethereal glory rests
Its beams effulgent on each crestling wave;
The silver touches of the moonlight wave
The deep bare bosom that the breeze molests;
While lingering whispers deepen as the wavy crests
Roll with weird rhythm, now gay, now gently grave;
And floods of lambent light appear the sea to pave—
All cast a spell that heeds not time’s behests.

Not always such the scene; the din of fight
Has swelled the murmur of the peaceful air;
Here East and West have oft displayed their might;
Dark battle clouds have dimmed this scene so fair;
Here bold Olympia, one historic night,
Presaging freedom, claimed a people’s care.

Fernando Mamuri Maramág (1893 - 1936) was a Filipino poet, journalist, editor and teacher. Son of wealthy landowners, he studied  at the Philippine Normal School (now Philippine Normal University) and later transferred to the University of the Philippines where he wrote for the school paper and soon became the editor-in-chief. Maramag married Constancia Ablaza and they had six children. He worked as an editor for various publications including The Manila Tribune, Rising Philippines, The Philippines Herald, He had a rich style and deep understanding of human nature – qualities which made his poetry appealing to readers. He was one of the earliest Filipino writers to publish poetry in English. 

This poem is in the public domain.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

The Southern Crown (Corona Australis) dazzles with young and ancient celestial jewels. The Corona Australis Cloud is a collage of reflection and emission nebulae on the left of today’s image. At 430 light years away, this cloud is one of the closest star-forming regions to Earth. It contains gas cool enough (-260 Celsius or -440 Fahrenheit) to collapse into protostars. Recently formed stars paint blue hues across the cloud as their light reflects off surrounding material. The waltz of the R Coronae Australis binary system stirs up the nebula NGC 6729. The younger of the pair ionizes nearby gas with its ultraviolet light, causing it to glow. The Chandelier Cluster (NGC 6723) dangles from the top right, but is actually tens of thousands of light years farther away than its apparent star-forming neighbor. While NGC 6723 experienced multiple periods of star formation creating slightly younger stars, the chandelier twinkles with stars almost as old as the universe.

This statue of Mary Magdalene is at the main altar of the parish church St. Georg in Hüfingen-Mundelfingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Today is Mary Magdalene's feast day.

H. Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Is this a fossilized turtle on Mars? No. Although resembling a large Earth tortoise, this is a layered rock outcrop on Mars that is estimated to span about 15 meters, making it much larger than turtles on Earth. NASA’s robotic Curiosity rover came across this unusual mound, dubbed Miraflores, last month during its 4922nd Martian day exploring Mars. The small butte may survive because it was somehow more resistant to erosion than surrounding rock. More recent wind has now covered its top with orange Martian sand. Below the top shell, many layers of stratified rock are visible, possibly indicating a long history of intermittent wind-blown sand being deposited and then hardened by ground water. Similar wind-eroded layered landforms, such as yardangs in the Qaidam Desert of China, exist here on Earth. Curiosity and its companion rover Perseverance continue to investigate the ancient history of Mars as well as searching for signs of primeval life.

Space Shuttle Atlantis being towed back from the Shuttle Landing Facility to Orbiter Processing Facility-2 after completing STS-135, bringing the Space Shuttle program to an end. Today marks the 15th anniversary of said event.

Kim Shiflett, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

What's happening in the Statue of Liberty nebula? Bright stars and interesting molecules are forming and being liberated. The complex nebula resides in the star forming region called RCW 57, and besides the iconic monument, to some looks like a flying superhero or a weeping angel. This re-assigned color image showcases dense knots of dark interstellar dust, fields of glowing hydrogen gas ionized by these stars, and great loops of gas expelled by dying stars. A detailed study of NGC 3576, also known as NGC 3582 and NGC 3584, uncovered at least 33 massive stars in the end stages of formation, and the clear presence of the complex carbon molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHs are thought to be created in the cooling gas of star forming regions, and their development in the Sun's formation nebula five billion years ago may have been an important step in the development of life on Earth. Jigsaw Star Statue: Astronomy Puzzle of the Day

Photo by Logan Carpenter

The Chess Queen, a.k.a. The Totem Pole, located a few hundred yards east of Cottonwood Cove, in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, northern Arizona. Today is International Chess Day.

John Fowler, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

 Source: Moral Mazes: The World of Corporate Managers by Robert Jackall (1988)