Magazine Posts

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

On November 11, 2019 the Sun was mostly quiet, experiencing a minimum in its 11 year cycle of activity. In fact, the only spot visible was actually planet Mercury, making a leisurely 5 1/2 hour transit in front of the calm solar disk. About 1/200th the apparent diameter of the Sun, the silhouette of the solar system's inner most planet is near center in this sharp, full Sun snapshot. Taken with a hydrogen alpha filter and safe solar telescope, the image also captures prominences around the solar limb, the glowing plasma trapped in arcing magnetic fields. Of course, only inner planets Mercury and Venus can transit the Sun to appear in silhouette when viewed from planet Earth. Following its transit in 2016, this was Mercury's 4th of 14 transits across the solar disk in the 21st century. The next transit of Mercury will be on November 13, 2032.

Photo by John Chumack

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

The small, dark, round spot in this solar close up is planet Mercury. In the high resolution telescopic image, a colorized stack of 61 sharp video frames, a turbulent array of photospheric convection cells tile the bright solar surface. Mercury's more regular silhouette still stands out though. Of course, only inner planets Mercury and Venus can transit the Sun to appear in silhouette when viewed from planet Earth. For this November 11, 2019 transit of Mercury, the innermost planet's silhouette was a mere 1/200th the solar diameter. So even under clear daytime skies it was difficult to see without the aid of a safe solar telescope. Following its transit in 2016, this was Mercury's 4th of 14 transits across the solar disk in the 21st century. The next transit of Mercury will be on November 13, 2032.

Photo by Martin Wise

"Given that it serves as the brain’s built-in therapy mechanism regulating our negative moods, given that it acts as the brain’s janitor sweeping away toxins responsible for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, sleep may be the closest thing we have a superpower" ................. Read more

https://www.brainpickings.org

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Some spiral galaxies are seen nearly sideways. Most bright stars in spiral galaxies swirl around the center in a disk, and seen from the side, this disk can appear quite thin. Some spiral galaxies appear even thinner than NGC 3717, which is actually seen tilted just a bit. Spiral galaxies form disks because the original gas collided with itself and cooled as it fell inward. Planets may orbit in disks for similar reasons. The featured image by the Hubble Space Telescope shows a light-colored central bulge composed of older stars beyond filaments of orbiting dark brown dust. NGC 3717 spans about 100,000 light years and lies about 60 million light years away toward the constellation of the Water Snake (Hydra). Mercury Crosses the Sun: Some notable images of 2019 transit submitted to APOD

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

The history of the Moon is partly written in its craters. Pictured here is a lunar panorama taken from Earth featuring the large craters Langrenus, toward the left, and Petavius, toward the right. The craters formed in separate impacts. Langrenus spans about 130 km, has a terraced rim, and sports a central peak rising about 3 km. Petavius is slightly larger with a 180 km diameter and has a distinctive fracture that runs out from its center. Although it is known that Petravius crater is about 3.9 billion years old, the origin of its large fracture is unknown. The craters are best visible a few days after a new Moon, when shadows most greatly accentuate vertical walls and hills. The featured image is a composite of the best of thousands of high-resolution, infrared, video images taken through a small telescope. Although mountains on Earth will likely erode into soil over a billion years, lunar craters Langrenus and Petavius will likely survive many billions more years, possibly until the Sun expands and engulfs both the Earth and Moon. Watch: the November 11 Transit of Mercury from Earth or from Space.

Photo by Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau

I have the bedroom window open
and the wind moves the slats.
Awakening, I forget where I am;
still in our bed, toasty warm.
I hear the splatter of new rain,
tap dancing on the roof
as clouds loose their torrent
on the thirsty earth.

Joined together or be apart?
A good question for the heart.
Do we stand alone or with another?
Time will tell, Sisters and Brothers.
Off we go into a life of pain.
Away from love's sad refrain.
I care not about the fate of me,
Just leave me now. Let me be.

The fallen leaves
are so very dry,
I use a vacuum
or I do try
to suck the leaves
up from the grass
but the wind blows
and leaves do fall
as I pass,
from limbs above
adding to my amass.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Tomorrow -- Monday -- Mercury will cross the face of the Sun, as seen from Earth. Called a transit, the last time this happened was in 2016. Because the plane of Mercury's orbit is not exactly coincident with the plane of Earth's orbit, Mercury usually appears to pass over or under the Sun. The featured time-lapse sequence, superimposed on a single frame, was taken from a balcony in Belgium shows the entire transit of 2003 May 7. That solar crossing lasted over five hours, so that the above 23 images were taken roughly 15 minutes apart. The north pole of the Sun, the Earth's orbit, and Mercury's orbit, although all different, all occur in directions slightly above the left of the image. Near the center and on the far right, sunspots are visible. After Monday, the next transit of Mercury will occur in 2032. Watch: the November 11 Transit of Mercury from Earth or from Space.

Photo by Dominique Dierick

The burning bush of light and flame
Creates a need for me to explain.
It's not the fear from the bush ablaze,
But the lack of love, that does amaze.
Why all the hate in this World today,
When those that hate should go away.
Away from those different than thee
Letting the love of others be..

A new adventure, every day.
It's now time to put away
the clothes of this Summer past.
Bring out the Winter warmth
of turtleneck sweaters and of course
the heavy coats with scarves and mittens.
Rain boots and socks of wool
to keep your feet so very warm.
Let's not forget a nice warm hat
to keep the cold from ears and head.
Stay warm as Winter's near.