Magazine Posts

"From normal life to this hell in a week”: A man on losing his partner to the Coronavirus.
 https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/eli-saslow/

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

The constellation of Orion is much more than three stars in a row. It is a direction in space that is rich with impressive nebulas. To better appreciate this well-known swath of sky, an extremely long exposure was taken over many clear nights in 2013 and 2014. After 212 hours of camera time and an additional year of processing, the featured 1400-exposure collage spanning over 40 times the angular diameter of the Moon emerged. Of the many interesting details that have become visible, one that particularly draws the eye is Barnard's Loop, the bright red circular filament arcing down from the middle. The Rosette Nebula is not the giant red nebula near the top of the image -- that is a larger but lesser known nebula known as Lambda Orionis. The Rosette Nebula is visible, though: it is the red and white nebula on the upper left. The bright orange star just above the frame center is Betelgeuse, while the bright blue star on the lower right is Rigel. Other famous nebulas visible include the Witch Head Nebula, the Flame Nebula, the Fox Fur Nebula, and, if you know just where to look, the comparatively small Horsehead Nebula. About those famous three stars that cross the belt of Orion the Hunter -- in this busy frame they can be hard to locate, but a discerning eye will find them just below and to the right of the image center.

Photo by Stanislav Volskiy Rollover Annotation: Judy Schmidt

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

In trying times, stars still trail in the night. Taken on March 14, this night skyscape was made by combining 230 exposures each 15 seconds long to follow the stars' circular paths. The camera was fixed to a tripod on an isolated terrace near the center of Ragusa, Italy, on the island of Sicily. But the night sky was shared around the rotating planet. A friend to celestial navigators and astrophotographers alike Polaris, the north star, makes the short bright trail near the center of the concentric celestial arcs.

Photo by Gianni Tumino

It was reported today that at the White House briefing, President Trump said he was encouraging Vice-President Pence to avoid calling governors who are not "appreciative" of the work being done by the federal government. Mr President, our State Governors are responsible to do all that is possible for the benefit of their respective State residents. The constitution does not require them to show you "appreciation or adulation ". You, on the other hand Mr President, are required to do all that is possible for the benefit of our country. This means for the benefit of all US Citizens and residents without expecting appreciation, adulation or any type of personality cult; Republicans, Democrats or Independents, we are all Americans. So, Mr President, please do you job and lead by example.  

As I grow old,
growing more bold,
saying what's on my mind.
Do you suppose that
if no one knows
or they would be unkind,
looking at me,
unexpecting to see,
a find of talent?

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

A drop of water seems to hold an entire galaxy in this creative macro-astrophotograph. In the imaginative work of cosmic nature photography a close-up lens was used to image a previously made picture of a galaxy, viewed through a water drop suspended from a stem. A favorite of many telescope-wielding astroimagers, the galaxy is the Andromeda Galaxy, also known as M31. About 100,000 light-years across that majestic galaxy's spiral arms and dust lanes are curved and distorted in the image contained in the centimeter-sized droplet. Andromeda is some 2.5 million light-years distant, but this project was still carried out while spending time indoors.

Photo by Massimo Tamajo

To capture the magic
Of that first moment,
Or the rapture of
Our first embrace.

Do you remember
Our first hello,
Or how we met,
So long ago,
Of what I said to you
And you to me,
Of how things were
Supposed to be?
Do you remember?

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

This surreal picture isn't from a special effects sci-fi movie. It is a digital composite of frames of the real Andromeda Galaxy, also known as M31, rising over a real mountain. Exposures tracking the galaxy and background stars have been digitally combined with separate exposures of the foreground terrain. All background and foreground exposures were made back to back with the same camera and telephoto lens on the same night from the same location. In the "Deepscape" combination they produce a stunning image that reveals a range of brightness and color that your eye can't quite see on its own. Still, it does look like you could ride a cable car up this mountain and get off at the station right next to Andromeda. But at 2.5 million light-years from Earth the big beautiful spiral galaxy really is a little out of reach as a destination. Don't worry, though. Just wait 5 billion years and the Andromeda Galaxy will come to you. This Andromeda Station is better known as Weisshorn, the highest peak of the ski area in Arosa, Switzerland.

Photo by Ralf Rohner

It was dark
and was raining,
when she came
through the door.
The beautiful one,
was my Eleanor.

The wonderful smile,
a batting of eyes,
I had seen this before,
the beautiful one,
was my Eleanor.

The magical smile,
shiny black hair
has turned white,
not dark anymore,
the beautiful one
is my Eleanor

Her memory gone,
with much despair.
Eyes without sparkle,
not as before,
still the beautiful one,
is my Eleanor.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Massive star IRS 4 is beginning to spread its wings. Born only about 100,000 years ago, material streaming out from this newborn star has formed the nebula dubbed Sharpless 2-106 Nebula (S106), featured here. A large disk of dust and gas orbiting Infrared Source 4 (IRS 4), visible in brown near the image center, gives the nebula an hourglass or butterfly shape. S106 gas near IRS 4 acts as an emission nebula as it emits light after being ionized, while dust far from IRS 4 reflects light from the central star and so acts as a reflection nebula. Detailed inspection of a relevant infrared image of S106 reveal hundreds of low-mass brown dwarf stars lurking in the nebula's gas. S106 spans about 2 light-years and lies about 2000 light-years away toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus).

Photo by Utkarsh Mishra

Frost again,
Sunny but cold.
This kind of weather
has gotten quite old.