Public Posts

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is now visible in the early morning sky. Diving into the inner Solar System at an odd angle, this large dirty iceberg will pass its closest to the Sun -- between the orbits of Mercury and Venus -- in just two days. Long camera exposures are now capturing C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS), sometimes abbreviated as just A3, and its dust tail before and during sunrise. The featured image composite was taken four days ago and captured the comet as it rose above Lake George, NSW, Australia. Vertical bands further left are images of the comet as the rising Sun made the predawn sky increasingly bright and colorful. Just how bright the comet will become over the next month is currently unknown as it involves how much gas and dust the comet's nucleus will expel. Optimistic skywatchers are hoping for a great show where Tsuchinshan–ATLAS creates dust and ion tails visible across Earth's sky and becomes known as the Great Comet of 2024. Survey: Color Blindness and Astronomical Images Growing Gallery: Comet Tsuchinsan-ATLAS in 2024

Photo by Lucy Yunxi Hu

My body,
has turned away,
from my special journey.
I'm on my way.

Last night, I thought,
I was gone.
Perhaps, it's now?
Who can tell,

as my soul is gone
a highway, I know well,
a ancient road,
to Perdition, Hell.

Into an Alpine Forest,
I will soon go,
to see,
our Fall show.

I wish I could
paint the scene,
of the beauty I see,
in this my vivid dream.

I write in words,
of which I see.
It is my craft,
my soul is free.

Now!
When the pain,
within this shell,
becomes too much,
it's time to tell.

Saying words,
not good for me,
but good,
for their own necessity.

I am dying.
I feel it now.
I must fulfill,
my promised vow.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

This dusty region is forming stars. Part of a sprawling molecular cloud complex that resembles, to some, a rampaging baboon, the region is a relatively close by 500 light-years away toward the constellation Corona Australis. That's about one third the distance of the more famous stellar nursery known as the Orion Nebula. Mixed with bright nebulosities, the brown dust clouds effectively block light from more distant background stars in the Milky Way and obscure from view embedded stars still in the process of formation. The eyes of the dust creature in the featured image are actually blue reflection nebulas cataloged as NGC 6726, 6727, 6729, and IC 4812, while the red mouth glows with light emitted by hydrogen gas. Just to the upper left of the baboon's head is NGC 6723, a whole globular cluster of stars nearly 30,000 light years in the distance. Explore Your Universe: Random APOD Generator

Photo by Alpha Zhang & Ting Yu

There is a path,
I walk at night.
It's dark and muted,
not much light.

Where will
this path I take.
lead me on,
for goodness' sake.

No one will explain
this to me.
I expect it will soon
be my path to eternity.

No longer will I hear
the sweet hello,
from my friends.
Ah well, you'll know.

I won't be there
to greet you then,
please remember me,
your oldest friend

To be eaten,
by a pack of dogs
not where I would,
want to be,
I, unless of course the one
who was eating, happened,
to be me.

What are the thoughts
which pique your mind,
when you thought, who might,
that even be.

So, what are the odds?
We scurry through life,
in a race, just a blur, while wondering
about a direction, which we knew was absurd.

Are we alert to our happenings,
which in abandon
where they lay,
or would you rather move on,
and stay out of the way?

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

What will happen as this already bright comet approaches? Optimistic predictions have Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) briefly becoming easily visible to the unaided eye -- although the future brightness of comets are notoriously hard to predict, and this comet may even break up in warming sunlight. What is certain is that the comet is now unexpectedly bright and is on track to pass its closest to the Sun (0.39 AU) later this week and closest to the Earth (0.47 AU) early next month. The featured image was taken in late May as Comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS, discovered only last year, passed nearly in front of two distant galaxies. The comet can now be found with binoculars in the early morning sky rising just before the Sun, while over the next few weeks it will brighten as it moves to the early evening sky. Your Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995)

Photo by Brian Valente & Greg Stein