Magazine Posts

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

The 1970s are sometimes ignored by astronomers, like this beautiful grouping of reflection nebulae in Orion - NGC 1977, NGC 1975, and NGC 1973 - usually overlooked in favor of the substantial glow from the nearby stellar nursery better known as the Orion Nebula. Found along Orion's sword just north of the bright Orion Nebula complex, these reflection nebulae are also associated with Orion's giant molecular cloud about 1,500 light-years away, but are dominated by the characteristic blue color of interstellar dust reflecting light from hot young stars. In this sharp color image a portion of the Orion Nebula appears along the bottom border with the cluster of reflection nebulae at picture center. NGC 1977 stretches across the field just below center, separated from NGC 1973 (above right) and NGC 1975 (above left) by dark regions laced with faint red emission from hydrogen atoms. Taken together, the dark regions suggest the region's popular moniker, the Running Man Nebula. At the estimated distance of Orion's dusty molecular cloud this running man would be about 15 light-years across.

Photo by Daniel Stern

Have we met before,
in times gone by?
Another life, another time,
knowing you. Not sure why.

During the memory given,
our path crossed, then.
I do not recall,
why or when.

Different lives, in times past,
when lost souls meet,
in another time or place.
Lost memories are bittersweet.

I walk through the shadows,
my life's dream, not there.
No longer together,
one floor below, down the stair.

Forlorn, am I,
a pitiful sight.
Please let me sleep,
through the night.

A hearty combination of spiced sweet potatoes, black beans, baby spinach, and feta,  perfect for  for lunch or dinner. More at Simply Recipes ➜

A slight breeze,
ruffled her hair,
light brown in color,
no curls to share.

A beautiful smile,
she was unaware,
of the magic she held,
not one to compare.

Slender, she was,
a picture to see.
A joy, in my life,
for she loved me.

When I was young,
I loved to tease.
Now I am old,
my chest on my knees.

Don't laugh too long,
about my plight,
look in the mirror,
for your own delight.

I saw her again,
knew by her look,
she read my emotions,
like a page from a book.

Greeted her warmly,
to see her smile.
Success came my way,
hadn't happened in a while.

What a beauty you are,
I thought to myself.
My emotions came back,
from off of the shelf.

As long as I live,
I'll remember this time,
she told me I do,
and our hearts intertwined.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Seven worlds orbit the ultracool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1. A mere 40 light-years away, many of the exoplanets were discovered in 2016 using the Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope (TRAPPIST) located in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, and later confirmed with telescope including NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The TRAPPIST-1 planets are likely all rocky and similar in size to Earth, and so compose one of the largest treasure troves of terrestrial planets ever detected around a single star. Because they orbit very close to their faint, tiny star they could also have regions where surface temperatures allow for the presence of ice or even liquid water, a key ingredient for life. Their tantalizing proximity to Earth makes them prime candidates for future telescopic explorations of the atmospheres of potentially habitable planets. All seven exoplanets appear in the featured illustration, which imagines a view from the most distant known world of this system, TRAPPIST-1h, as having a rocky landscape covered in ice. Meanwhile, in the imagined background, one of the system's inner planets crosses in front of the dim, orange, nearly Jupiter-sized parent star. Astrophysicists: Browse 3,000+ codes in the Astrophysics Source Code Library

Photo by Michael Carroll

Long the winds blew,
memories of our past.
Looking back at the years,
life's events are now last.

Like the wind
before the storm,
life was grand,
life was norm.

What happens next,
when love is anew?
Memories are gone,
love didn't renew.

When you write
and words spring forth,
it can be the most,
beautiful thing.

Rhyming is not essential.
If it happens, it does,
no worries, as free verse,
is a beautiful thing.

From out the crack
of a sidewalk arose,
a beautiful plant,
a pink, pink rose.

Competing, to live again,
from rain and dirt,
the flower grew,
how much the hurt?

To bring forth,
a lovely plant,
to live again.
Don't say can't.