Magazine Posts

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

These cosmic clouds have blossomed 1,300 light-years away in the fertile starfields of the constellation Cepheus. Called the Iris Nebula, NGC 7023 is not the only nebula to evoke the imagery of flowers. Still, this deep telescopic image shows off the Iris Nebula's range of colors and symmetries embedded in surrounding fields of interstellar dust. Within the Iris itself, dusty nebular material surrounds a hot, young star. The dominant color of the brighter reflection nebula is blue, characteristic of dust grains reflecting starlight. Central filaments of the reflection nebula glow with a faint reddish photoluminescence as some dust grains effectively convert the star's invisible ultraviolet radiation to visible red light. Infrared observations indicate that this nebula contains complex carbon molecules known as PAHs. The dusty blue petals of the Iris Nebula span about six light-years.

Photo by Robert Shepherd

All the fears of
the coming morrow,
will manifest today
and be here tomorrow.

Not just another day,
of forgiving,
like so much of the past.
Tomorrow is for living.

So little time left,
according to them.
If I roll over,
I may not be back again.

Fight the good fight,
is what I must do,
staying strong.
How about you?

There is no point,
in surrendering an act.
If you stay strong,
it will become a fact.

Life is strange,
that's for sure.
Work hard in life,
if you are to endure.

Don't be too serious,
enjoy your life's gain.
You'll be happier,
even when it will rain.

My mind has gone,
short to ground,
random thoughts,
are not around.

Is it a lifes
lesson I have found,
or just an observation,
which maybe unsound?

Reality stepped up,
slapping me in the face,
when I realized, I'd gone
into a different place.

Given a prognosis,
of months to live,
begs the question,
what else can I give?

Been told
3 to 4 months left.
When I think of that,
maybe someone is bereft,

not because of fear,
because I feel so good.
What will happen,
perhaps I will be understood.

An important event this Fall.
no matter what party, we need to
return to some Civility. We are all
citizens of this great country and need to
return to the time where compromise wasn't
a dirty word. Do the common good for the
citizens.

Will there be a time,
when you will talk to me?
I would like to help,
that may never be.

I'm not Psychic,
and I won't guess.
You need to tell me,
I can do the rest.

You have become,
very important to me,
for your like a daughter,
who I now see.

Please talk to me,
for you will see,
a better story
especially for thee,

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Our Moon doesn't really have craters this big. Earth's Moon, Luna, also doesn't naturally show this spikey texture, and its colors are more subtle. But this digital creation is based on reality. The featured image is a digital composite of a good Moon image and surface height data taken from NASA's Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) mission -- and then exaggerated for educational understanding. The digital enhancements, for example, accentuate lunar highlands and show more clearly craters that illustrate the tremendous bombardment our Moon has been through during its 4.6-billion-year history. The dark areas, called maria, have fewer craters and were once seas of molten lava. Additionally, the image colors, although based on the moon's real composition, are changed and exaggerated. Here, a blue hue indicates a region that is iron rich, while orange indicates a slight excess of aluminum. Although the Moon has shown the same side to the Earth for billions of years, modern technology is allowing humanity to learn much more about it -- and how it affects the Earth.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

What powers the Crab Nebula? A city-sized magnetized neutron star spinning around 30 times a second. Known as the Crab Pulsar, it is the bright spot in the center of the gaseous swirl at the nebula's core. About 10 light-years across, the spectacular picture of the Crab Nebula (M1) frames a swirling central disk and complex filaments of surrounding and expanding glowing gas. The picture combines visible light from the Hubble Space Telescope in red and blue with X-ray light from the Chandra X-ray Observatory shown in white, and diffuse X-ray emission detected by Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) in diffuse purple. The central pulsar powers the Crab Nebula's emission and expansion by slightly slowing its spin rate, which drives out a wind of energetic electrons. The featured image released today, the 25th Anniversary of the launch of NASA's flagship-class X-ray Observatory: Chandra. Many Discoveries: Chandra Celebrates 25th Anniversary