Magazine Posts

A lament,
a series of stories and songs,
which must all vary,
as life moves along.

What is the reason,
to have content this long,
as the dying of culture,
or the birth of a song.

I long to see you,
hearing your sweet voice,
though it wouldn't be real,
I could still rejoice.

I want to run away,
to scurry and hide,
unless I can find another,
to be by my side.

Is that worrisome to me,
as I sit here and write,
or just a symptom of
my grief and respite?

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

For the mostly harmless denizens of planet Earth, the brighter stars of open cluster NGC 2169 seem to form a cosmic 37. Did you expect 42? From our perspective, the improbable numerical asterism appears solely by chance. It lies at an estimated distance of 3,300 light-years toward the constellation Orion. As far as galactic or open star clusters go, NGC 2169 is a small one, spanning about 7 light-years. Formed at the same time from the same cloud of dust and gas, the stars of NGC 2169 are only about 11 million years old. Such clusters are expected to disperse over time as they encounter other stars, interstellar clouds, and experience gravitational tides while hitchhiking through the galaxy. Over four billion years ago, our own Sun was likely formed in a similar open cluster of stars. Gallery: Earth Aurora from Solar Active Region 3664

Photo by Sergio Eguivar

"In March 2023, the Japanese medical authorities announced that the new weight loss drug Wegovy—which was in staggering demand across the world, causing shortages everywhere—had been approved to treat obesity in their country......But industry outlet the Pharma Letter explained that this would not in fact turn out to be much of a boost........ for a simple reason: there is almost no obesity there. Some 42% of Americans are obese, compared with just 4.5% of Japanese people."  More at TIME ➜

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

It was larger than the Earth. It was so big you could actually see it on the Sun's surface without magnification. It contained powerful and tangled magnetic fields as well as numerous dark sunspots. Labelled AR 3664, it developed into one of the most energetic areas seen on the Sun in recent years, unleashing a series of explosions that led to a surge of energetic particles striking the Earth, which created beautiful auroras. And might continue. Although active regions on the Sun like AR 3664 can be quite dangerous, this region's Coronal Mass Ejections have not done, as yet, much damage to Earth-orbiting satellites or Earth-surface electrical grids. Pictured, the enormous active region was captured on the setting Sun a few days ago from Civitavecchia, Rome, Italy. The composite image includes a very short exposure taken of just the Sun's surface, but mimics what was actually visible. Finally, AR 3664 is now rotating away from the Earth, although the region may survive long enough to come around again. Gallery: Earth Aurora from Solar Active Region 6443

Photo by Marco Meniero

Writing words,
do not have to be hard.
Simple placement, is like
playing in your back yard.

When the Angel of Death,
flies out to the Sea,
is she looking for someone?
Is she looking for thee?

Live life to the fullest,
live as long as you can,
for when life is over,
you will then understand.

Fly to the river.
Fly to the Moon.
You'll look forever,
we'll see each other, soon.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Northern lights don't usually reach this far south. Magnetic chaos in the Sun's huge Active Region 3664, however, produced a surface explosion that sent a burst of electrons, protons, and more massive, charged nuclei into the Solar System. A few days later, that coronal mass ejection (CME) impacted the Earth and triggered auroras that are being reported unusually far from our planet's north and south poles. The free sky show might not be over -- the sunspot rich AR3664 has ejected even more CMEs that might also impact the Earth tonight or tomorrow. That active region is now near the Sun's edge, though, and will soon be rotating away from the Earth. Pictured, a red and rayed aurora was captured in a single 6-second exposure from Racibórz, Poland early last night. The photographer's friend, seeing an aurora for the first time, is visible in the distance also taking images of the beautifully colorful nighttime sky. Gallery: Global Aurora from Solar Active Region 6443

Photo by Mariusz Durlej

The sharp increase in political polarization in America over the past 50 years has been driven in part by how different generations think about politics. But the rise of younger generations to political power may actually erase the deep social divisions associated with polarization. More at The Conversation ➜