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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 photoluminesence 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 Satwant Kumar

Another day gone.
Another memory lost,
as the months pass.
What are the costs,
when long term memory
is no longer here?
What happens when love
is no longer near?

The knifes' blade is sharp
but not as sharp as the tongue.
The blade will cut
and the cut will heal,
where the cut from a tongue,
will remain hidden for years.

Words are peculiar.
Words which are spoken
your mind hears every day.
Words which are written,
may be corrected, if some
are in error or sound dumb.
An erasure of pencil
or where out of ink,
or deleted entirely,
faster than you can blink.
So choose wisely your words,
to avoid all embarrassment,
if your word choice is absurd.

Sunset is starting earlier - Autumn will be upon us soon

Saratoga Passage Camano Island WA

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Find the Big Dipper and follow the handle away from the dipper's bowl until you get to the last bright star. Then, just slide your telescope a little south and west and you'll come upon this stunning pair of interacting galaxies, the 51st entry in Charles Messier's famous catalog. Perhaps the original spiral nebula, the large galaxy with well defined spiral structure is also cataloged as NGC 5194. Its spiral arms and dust lanes clearly sweep in front of its companion galaxy (top), NGC 5195. The pair are about 31 million light-years distant and officially lie within the angular boundaries of the small constellation Canes Venatici. Though M51 looks faint and fuzzy to the eye, deep images like this one reveal its striking colors and galactic tidal debris.

Photo by Josep Drudis

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The wail of a siren,
caught my aged ear.
Why does the sound
bring forth an old fear?
Volunteer fireman, what you were
in smaller communities,
when action was needed.
I stood and the siren did sound.
We followed the engine,
out of our small town.
A barn was on fire,
the flames were a roar.
We entered the barn,
to help set the horses free.
The fire was over,
the barn had burnt down,
but we didn't lose our animals
in this smallest old town.

A childish behavior,
is what I see,
as she goes around,
following me.
There is little rational thought
of where to go,
if it's right or not.
Most short term memory
is already missing, a lot.

My head is spinning.
My ears start to ring,
if I am not careful,
my heart will soon sing.
I answer the phone,
but no one is there,
just an aged person,
who when he walks,
looks like Fred Astaire,
as he bobs and wobbles,
down the path of his life,
trying to take care
of his beautiful wife.

Green light is starboard,
red light is port.
Green light is right,
red light is left.
A ladder is a stair,
a hatch is a door,
the floor is the deck,
ask me questions no more.