Magazine Posts

Frost coats the grass this day
as the Sun slowly makes it's way
to brighten up this World of ours
full of people with fancy cars.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

It's easy to get lost following the intricate looping filaments in this detailed image of supernova remnant Simeis 147. Also cataloged as Sharpless 2-240 it goes by the popular nickname, the Spaghetti Nebula. Seen toward the boundary of the constellations Taurus and Auriga, it covers nearly 3 degrees or 6 full moons on the sky. That's about 150 light-years at the stellar debris cloud's estimated distance of 3,000 light-years. This composite includes image data taken through narrow-band filters where reddish emission from ionized hydrogen atoms and doubly ionized oxygen atoms in faint blue-green hues trace the shocked, glowing gas. The supernova remnant has an estimated age of about 40,000 years, meaning light from the massive stellar explosion first reached Earth 40,000 years ago. But the expanding remnant is not the only aftermath. The cosmic catastrophe also left behind a spinning neutron star or pulsar, all that remains of the original star's core.

Photo by David Lindemann

I go alone into the night
with no thought of fright,
to see what
I can see.
I take my flashlight
shining so bright
and think someone
is following me.
I move quickly now
to allow me to see.
I look in a window,
that I do pass
and the person looks
exactly like me.

When the lights go out
and I am alone,
although she 's lying
right next to me.
I say all my prayers
for friends fighting disease
that are on my prayer tree.
I have been doing this
every night since
two thousand one three.
I will continue to do
not just for you
but for all that I can.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

What's happening to these spiral galaxies? Although details remain uncertain, there sure seems to be a titanic battle going on. The upper galaxy is labelled UGC 1810 by itself, but together with its collisional partners is known as Arp 273. The overall shape of the UGC 1810 -- in particular its blue outer ring -- is likely a result of wild and violent gravitational interactions. The blue color of the outer ring at the top is caused by massive stars that are blue hot and have formed only in the past few million years. The inner part of the upper galaxy -- itself an older spiral galaxy -- appears redder and threaded with cool filamentary dust. A few bright stars appear well in the foreground, unrelated to colliding galaxies, while several far-distant galaxies are visible in the background. Arp 273 lies about 300 million light years away toward the constellation of Andromeda. Quite likely, UGC 1810 will devour its galactic sidekicks over the next billion years and settle into a classic spiral form.

This hearty soup is perfect for the cold winter days. Click the image below to see Elise Bauer's' recipe at Simply Recipes

For want of a better life, came I
To the shores of this great nation,
With arms a wide, seeking salvation.
I was told that justice would prevail
So I was surprised and taken to jail.
Placed in a cage with my family.
Welcome not to the "Land of the Free."

The midnight hour,
a passing glance,
a new beginning
for a romance.
Why'd this happen,
was it a dance?
Or merely fate,
that brought the chance.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Can a lighthouse illuminate a galaxy? No, but in the featured image, gaps in light emanating from the Jose Ignacio Lighthouse in Uruguay appear to match up nicely, although only momentarily and coincidently, with dark dust lanes of our Milky Way Galaxy. The bright dot on the right is the planet Jupiter. The central band of the Milky Way Galaxy is actually the central spiral disk seen from within the disk. The Milky Way band is not easily visible through city lights but can be quite spectacular to see in dark skies. The featured picture is actually the addition of ten consecutive images taken by the same camera from the same location. The images were well planned to exclude direct light from the famous lighthouse.

Photo by Mauricio Salazar

For the loves I've lost
and won't forget,
are the loves to come
that I've never met.

it is cold and damp
wet leaves on the ground
out comes the rake