Magazine Posts

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Sometimes, the surface of our Sun seems to dance. In the middle of 2012, for example, NASA's Sun-orbiting Solar Dynamic Observatory spacecraft imaged an impressive prominence that seemed to perform a running dive roll like an acrobatic dancer. The dramatic explosion was captured in ultraviolet light in the featured time-lapse video covering about three hours. A looping magnetic field directed the flow of hot plasma on the Sun. The scale of the dancing prominence is huge -- the entire Earth would easily fit under the flowing arch of hot gas. A quiescent prominence typically lasts about a month and may erupt in a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), expelling hot gas into the Solar System. The energy mechanism that creates a solar prominence is still a topic of research. Like in 2012, this year the Sun's surface is again quite active and features many filaments and prominences.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Saturn now rises before midnight in planet Earth's sky. On July 24, the naked-eye planet was in close conjunction, close on the sky, to a waning gibbous Moon. But from some locations on planet Earth the ringed gas giant was occulted, disappearing behind the Moon for about an hour from skies over parts of Asia and Africa. Because the Moon and bright planets wander through the sky near the ecliptic plane, such occultation events are not uncommon, but they can be dramatic. In this telescopic view from Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, Saturn is caught moments before its disappearance behind the lunar disk. The snapshot gives the illusion that Saturn hangs just above Glushko crater, a 43 kilometer diameter, young, ray crater near the Moon's western edge. Of course, the Moon is 400 thousand kilometers away, compared to Saturn's distance of 1.4 billion kilometers.

Photo by Chengcheng Xu

If I write about tomorrow,
a day yet to be,
but change the words to yesterday,
for that is what I did see.

Tomorrow is the future,
today is today,
but the day before,
was another yesterday.

I was alone, at night,
when reality came to stay.
You only have a few months left,
before I go away.

My Stoic manner, crumbled,
it had developed a crack.
My confidence in fighting this disease,
took a huge step back.

You must stay strong,
to fight this, is what my mind did say.
Stay positive on the morrow,
it will be better in the light of day.

I put on a good front,
when I see those, I know,
but I will tell you at times,
my mind really won't let go.

When your house is on fire
and the walls are tumbling down.
Do you update your losses,
until another investment is found?

Put out the fire,
raze the old walls down,
re-build the structure,
a contractor makes you sound.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

From our vantage point in the Milky Way Galaxy, we see NGC 6946 face-on. The big, beautiful spiral galaxy is located just 20 million light-years away, behind a veil of foreground dust and stars in the high and far-off constellation Cepheus. In this sharp telescopic portrait, from the core outward the galaxy's colors change from the yellowish light of old stars in the center to young blue star clusters and reddish star forming regions along the loose, fragmented spiral arms. NGC 6946 is also bright in infrared light and rich in gas and dust, exhibiting a high star birth and death rate. In fact, since the early 20th century ten confirmed supernovae, the death explosions of massive stars, were discovered in NGC 6946. Nearly 40,000 light-years across, NGC 6946 is also known as the Fireworks Galaxy.

Photo by Roberto Marinoni

Weight loss, going, no
sticks and stones.
Down to high school weight,
skin and bones.

Loss of weight,
but no muscle tone,
so flabby skin
and a prosperous one.

Life is good,
It's what they say.
If it's that great,
why did it go away?

"Good question"
said the voice.
"Count your blessing,
then rejoice."
"What are you smoking?"
is what I said.
"Are you still confused,
in your head?"

The talk of War with China,
with the involvement of the respective
Navy of China and the USA. Still an
issue as we rattle our sabers.
Ships similar to the one I served on
will be in the forefront, if there is indeed
a Naval Engagement, with China.
I sincerely hope that doesn't happen.