Magazine Posts

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

What's happening in the Statue of Liberty nebula? Bright stars and interesting molecules are forming and being liberated. The complex nebula resides in the star forming region called RCW 57, and besides the iconic monument, to some looks like a flying superhero or a weeping angel. By digitally removing the stars, this re-assigned color image showcases dense knots of dark interstellar dust, fields of glowing hydrogen gas ionized by these stars, and great loops of gas expelled by dying stars. A detailed study of NGC 3576, also known as NGC 3582 and NGC 3584, uncovered at least 33 massive stars in the end stages of formation, and the clear presence of the complex carbon molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHs are thought to be created in the cooling gas of star forming regions, and their development in the Sun's formation nebula five billion years ago may have been an important step in the development of life on Earth. Your Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995)

Photo by Chris Willocks

So long ago,
so far away,
a dream I
still hold dear,
will come
to me,
for I still
can see,
my dreams
as a reality.
In the dusk
of this
life of mine.
The freshest
smell of
Summer finds,
as evening sets
and the Moon
starts its trek,
capturing my dreams
of so far away
and so long ago.

"Graves only children’s book — a wondrous and subversive story about the magic of reading; written in 1962 when he was sixty seven and illustrated by Maurice Sendak" of sixty four". Read more

Life's path is long,
not easy to be
moving along,
so easily.
Why try so hard,
for nothing to do,
but keep on
loving you.

It is the worst of time.
My wife is slipping away.
It is the best of time,
My wife loves me every day.

You are my life.
You are my soul.
You are my wife.
You are my all.

You have always been there.
In good times and in despair.
Through thick and thin
If I am with you, I will win.

I know it is true, said about thee.
You are the one and will always be.
No matter what others will hide,
I will always stay by your side.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

The beauty in this image comes in layers. On the bottom layer is the picturesque village of Manlleu in Barcelona, Spain. The six-minute exposure makes car lights into streaks. The next layer is a mountain -- Serra de Bellmunt -- of Europe's famous Pyrenees. Next up is a tremendous lightning storm emanating from a classically-shaped anvil cloud. The long exposure allowed for the capture of many intricate lightning bolts. Finally, at the top and furthest in the distance are stars. Here, the multi-minute exposure made stars into trails. The trailing effect is caused by the rotation of the Earth, and the curvature of the trails indicates their distance from the north spin pole of the Earth above. Taken after sunset in early June, the lightning storm soon moved off. The stars, though, will continue to circle the poll for as long as the Earth spins -- surely billions of years into the future.

Photo by Marc Sellés Llimós

The words of
"Where is my room?
"I don't know my number."
"I'm not sure why
I am here."
Questions reign supreme,
another night at the Inn.
The Inn of Unaware.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

If you went outside at the same time every day and took a picture that included the Sun, how would the Sun's position change? A more visual answer to that question is an analemma, a composite image taken from the same spot at the same time over the course of a year. The featured analemma was composed from images taken every few days at noon near the village of Callanish in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland, UK. In the foreground are the Callanish Stones, a stone circle built around 2700 BC during humanity's Bronze Age. It is not known if the placement of the Callanish Stones has or had astronomical significance. The ultimate causes for the figure-8 shape of this and all analemmas are the tilt of the Earth axis and the ellipticity of the Earth's orbit around the Sun. At the solstices, the Sun will appear at the top or bottom of an analemma. The featured image was taken near the December solstice and so the Sun appears near the bottom. Equinoxes, however, correspond to analemma middle points -- not the intersection point. This coming Friday at 1:04 am (UT) -- Thursday in the Americas -- is the equinox ("equal night"), when day and night are equal over all of planet Earth. Many cultures celebrate a change of season at an equinox. Explore Your Universe: Random APOD Generator

Photo by Giuseppe Petricca

It matters not,
she doesn't know
my name,
or calls me Joe,
the name of
our oldest son
She professes her love,
every day.
Works for me
as she is happy.

Sadness abounds,
to this observer,
who sees lovely people,
at differing levels
of mental acuity.
During a life's journey,
so many stories
for one to hear
and appreciate.
So little time.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

The Perseverance rover's Mastcam-Z captured images to create this mosaic on August 4, 2022. The car-sized robot was continuing its exploration of the fan-shaped delta of a river that, billions of years ago, flowed into Jezero Crater on Mars. Sedimentary rocks preserved in Jezero's delta are considered one of the best places on Mars to search for potential signs of ancient microbial life and sites recently sampled by the rover, dubbed Wildcat Ridge and Skinner Ridge, are at lower left and upper right in the frame. The samples taken from these areas were sealed inside ultra-clean sample tubes, ultimately intended for return to Earth by future missions. Starting with the Pathfinder Mission and Mars Global Surveyor in 1997, the last 25 years of a continuous robotic exploration of the Red Planet has included orbiters, landers, rovers, and a helicopter from planet Earth