Magazine Posts

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

The night side of Pluto spans this shadowy scene, a stunning spacebased view with the Sun 4.9 billion kilometers (almost 4.5 light-hours) behind the dim and distant world. It was captured by far flung New Horizons in July of 2015. The spacecraft was at a range of some 21,000 kilometers from Pluto, about 19 minutes after its closest approach. A denizen of the Kuiper Belt in dramatic silhouette, the image also reveals Pluto's tenuous, surprisingly complex layers of hazy atmosphere. The crescent twilight landscape near the top of the frame includes southern areas of nitrogen ice plains now formally known as Sputnik Planitia and rugged mountains of water-ice in the Norgay Montes.

I hope in the next life
you treat her with care,
for at this moment,
I'm filled with despair,
from the loving God
I hear about,
that hears not my prayers.
So I'm left to go and shout,
"Why are you doing this to she?"
Tell me please tell this aged lout
for I don't understand
why she must suffer so
while hurting her and family.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

The failed unit was beyond the reach of the robotic Canadarm2. Therefore, this repair of the International Space Station would require humans. The humans on duty were NASA's Jessica Meir and Christina Koch. This was the fourth spacewalk for Koch, the first for Meir, and the first all-female spacewalk in human history. The first woman to walk in space was Svetlana Savitskaya in 1984. Koch (red stripe) and Meir are pictured hard at work on the P6 Truss, with solar panels and the darkness of space in the background. Working over seven hours, the newly installed Battery Charge / Discharge Unit (BCDU) was successfully replaced and, when powered up, operated normally.

I hear the wind in the Maples.
Branches rubbing about.
A freshet is with us
Of that there's no doubt.
Light rain is falling
On this protected lair
And I hope that the weather
Will soon turn quite fair.

With heat, wind and rain
and weather disasters
comes some fresh blooms
of beautiful Asters.

The end of Summer.
A brand new Fall.
Another season,
As I recall,
The leaves soon
Will be aglow,
When Nature starts
It's beautiful show.
Reds, orange, yellow, brown
A great display
For all to view.
I love this annual
Cycle that ensues.
The wind will freshen.
Leaves will fall
As Winter approaches;
We know it will,
When the temperature drops
And we get a chill.

It's not her fault
It's the disease
I say to myself
every day.
It's not her fault
for what she will say
or if anger presents
itself today.
No filters is what I see.
Please God, please
help me. Help her be
the person she was
just once more.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

After the 2017 detecton of 1I/'Oumuamua, comet 2I/Borisov has become the second recognized interstellar interloper. Like 'Oumuamua, Borisov's measured hyperbolic trajectory and speed as it falls toward the Sun confirm that its origin is from beyond our Solar System. But while detailed observations indicate 'Oumuamua is a rocky body with differences from known Solar System objects, Borisov is definitely a far wandering comet. Taken on October 12, 2019 this Hubble Space Telescope image of Borisov reveals a familiar looking comet-like activity and concentration of dust around around its nucleus. Not resolved in the image, some estimates suggest the nucleus could be between 2 and 16 kilometers in diameter. At the time of the Hubble image, comet 2I/Borisov was about 418 million kilometers away. Borisov is still inbound though and will make its closest approach to the Sun on December 7 at a distance of about 300 million kilometers (2 Astronomical units).

The river, clear yesterday
is muddy with roiling waves
from a torrential downpour
in the foothills of the rivers source.

I love you dear, I really do,
No matter what you say to me.
When you say, " I'm such an idiot."
I'll say, "that's not true",
For your behavior, is not yours.
It's the disease that ruins the mind,
Taking away your thoughts and words.
A terrible thing, is what I see,
As I pray to God to please help thee.
Nothing in the years, long behind
Have prepared us for these days, unkind.
Books or meetings just can't say
Why our lives can change this way.
I'll keep praying and keep you warm
And not let life cause you more harm.

The squirrel scurries
along the fence going
to his nest.