Magazine Posts

Whirling winds,
racing through Willows.
The end of Winter, a
prelude to Spring.
Flowers will bloom,
wrens will sing.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

What kind of celestial object is this? A relatively normal galaxy -- but seen from its edge. Many disk galaxies are actually just as thin as NGC 5866, the Spindle galaxy, pictured here, but are not seen edge-on from our vantage point. A perhaps more familiar galaxy seen edge-on is our own Milky Way galaxy. Also cataloged as M102, the Spindle galaxy has numerous and complex dust lanes appearing dark and red, while many of the bright stars in the disk give it a more blue underlying hue. The blue disk of young stars can be seen in this Hubble image extending past the dust in the extremely thin galactic plane. There is evidence that the Spindle galaxy has cannibalized smaller galaxies over the past billion years or so, including multiple streams of faint stars, dark dust that extends away from the main galactic plane, and a surrounding group of galaxies (not shown). In general, many disk galaxies become thin because the gas that forms them collides with itself as it rotates about the gravitational center. The Spindle galaxy lies about 50 million light years distant toward the constellation of the Dragon (Draco).

My mind will heal,
what my heart cannot see,
using those memories,
of what used to be.

Memories of happiness,
memories of we,
when we loved others,
and when I loved thee.

Why do the memories,
so precious to we,
vanish this quickly,
fading into infinity?

God, how I wish,
I could go to see,
when happiness was measured,
by my love for thee.

He was young, awkward, shy and retiring.
Staying in the background, avoiding others,
as he tried to navigate in the shadows,
which his shyness had provided.
An introvert, he was. Hesitant to talk or
ask questions, as he questioned his own
knowledge. A lack of confidence.
Now many years have passed. He is no longer,
bashful or shy and is at ease, when talking with
others, friends or strangers.
It may take months, or years of change, in your
environment, to modify behavior.
Life can be good or you can be misunderstood.
Live life to the fullest.

The worm turned,
its ugly head,
toward me and
then he said,

"Hey white boy,
what did you say,
you think you can quit
and run away,

from your past,
in this life's game?"
Hiding again,
when you forgot your name.

Where do you,
think you are?
A stupid man,
who's gone too far.

Running Hard.
Running fast.
Running tired,
Just won't last.

Your creaky slow,
when you start,
then you warm up
and play your part.

Much like life,
in any age,
do another task,
turn the page.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Is this a painting or a photograph? In this celestial abstract art composed with a cosmic brush, dusty nebula NGC 2170, also known as the Angel Nebula, shines just above the image center. Reflecting the light of nearby hot stars, NGC 2170 is joined by other bluish reflection nebulae, a red emission region, many dark absorption nebulae, and a backdrop of colorful stars. Like the common household items that abstract painters often choose for their subjects, the clouds of gas, dust, and hot stars featured here are also commonly found in a setting like this one -- a massive, star-forming molecular cloud in the constellation of the Unicorn (Monoceros). The giant molecular cloud, Mon R2, is impressively close, estimated to be only 2,400 light-years or so away. At that distance, this canvas would be over 60 light-years across.

Photo by David Moulton

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

What's happening across that field? Pictured here are not auroras but nearby light pillars, a phenomenon typically much closer. In most places on Earth, a lucky viewer can see a Sun pillar, a column of light appearing to extend up from the Sun caused by flat fluttering ice-crystals reflecting sunlight from the upper atmosphere. Usually, these ice crystals evaporate before reaching the ground. During freezing temperatures, however, flat fluttering ice crystals may form near the ground in a form of light snow sometimes known as a crystal fog. These ice crystals may then reflect ground lights in columns not unlike a Sun pillar. The featured image was taken last month across the Wulan Butong Grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China.

Photo by N. D. Liao

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

How would you feel if the Sun disappeared? Many eclipse watchers across the USA surprised themselves in 2017 with the awe that they felt and the exclamations that they made as the Sun momentarily disappeared behind the Moon. Perhaps expecting just a brief moment of dusk, the spectacle of unusually rapid darkness, breathtakingly bright glowing beads around the Moon's edge, shockingly pink solar prominences, and a strangely detailed corona stretching across the sky caught many a curmudgeon by surprise. Many of these attributes were captured in the featured real-time, three-minute video of 2017's total solar eclipse. The video frames were acquired in Warm Springs, Oregon with equipment specifically designed by Jun Ho Oh to track a close-up of the Sun's periphery during eclipse. As the video ends, the Sun is seen being reborn on the other side of the Moon from where it departed. Next month, on April 8th, a new total solar eclipse will be visible in a thin band across North America.

Video by Jun Ho Oh (KAIST, HuboLab); Music: Flowing Air by Mattia Vlad Morleo

Long lay the flowers,
stems turning black.
Once a lovely bouquet,
now the healthy look they lack.

What happened here?
Why are the still in the vase?
From eternal beauty,
to a dried, ugly face.

There are always stains,
in every place we dwell,
for these the road to perdition
has become a living hell.

My fear has been realized.