Magazine Posts

According to the Department of Labor, the first Labor Day celebration in the US took place in New York City on September 5, 1882. On that day, between10,000 to 20,000 workers marched across lower Manhattan.(image below)
Before it was a federal holiday, Labor Day was recognized by labor activists and individual states. By 1894, 32 States had adopted the holiday, and on June 28, 1894, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday. Read more

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

very step caused the sand to light up blue. That glow was bioluminescence -- a blue radiance that also lights the surf in this surreal scene captured in mid-2018 at Meyer's Creek Beach in Oregon, USA. Volcanic stacks dot the foreground sea, while a thin fog layer scatters light on the horizon. The rays of light spreading from the left horizon were created by car headlights on the Oregon Coast Highway (US 101), while the orange light on the right horizon emanates from a fishing boat. Visible far in the distance is the band of our Milky Way Galaxy, appearing to rise from a dark rocky outcrop. Sixteen images were added together to bring up the background Milky Way and to reduce noise. Your Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995)

Photo by Rudy Montoya

Sluice rides
down the hill of life,
full of challenges,
to a lonely way
of living again,
when a life is over.
Where lies the
change, where is
the joy.?
You're no longer a girl,
I am no longer a boy.

One cannot fathom,
the depth of love,
from reading
a line or two.
Words, describe
it not.
Emotions,
ever in play,
as we grow old.
Memories past,
long they are,
long they will be,
until such time
as memories flee.

A trickle of water,
down the hill,
across the meadow,
dale and glen,
to a pond,
water still,
to the edge,
where it spilled
into a stream.

Forget the loneliness of hills,
where lay fields of grass.
Does it matter, who it's for
or what is behind the door?
An emptiness, no spoken word,
of being alone,
hidden in shadows.
Away from the curious eyes,
who search for flaws
in thought and mind.
Go from here you lonely soul,
find another, sad as you.
leave this place,
is what you should do.

The night was still,
darkest of heart,
forlorn my soul,
until we part.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

On August 25 Sun and Moon could both be seen in planet Earth's daytime skies. And so could the International Space Station. The ISS crossed the disk of the waning crescent Moon as seen from Shunyi district, Beijing, China at about 11:02 am local time. Some 40 kilometers to the southwest, in Fengtai district, the ISS was seen to cross the Sun's disk too. The solar transit was observed only 29 seconds later. Both transits are compared in these panels, composed of processed and stacked video frames from the two locations. The coordinated captures were made with different equipment, but adjusted to show the Sun and Moon at the same scale. The ISS was at a calculated range of 435 kilometers for the lunar transit and 491 kilometers when passing in front of the Sun. Artemis I: Launch Update

Photo by Wang Letian

Photo by Calob photography

Words flee
from out
my head,
to hand
with pen,
now poised
to scribe
once more,
the voice
of reason,
becoming one.
Failing verse
of words
written before,
making a choice.
Rest you not
and don't rejoice,
for we must
move on.

Far away,
across the sea,
my home awaits
there for me.

Long the journey,
far from home.
Hurry back,
no more to roam.

Storms arise,
no warnings heard,
via airwaves,
voice or word.

Stay thee here,
you pretty lass,
for you are
my homeward pass.

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 (left), NGC 5195. The pair are about 31 million light-years distant and officially lie within the angular boundaries of the small constellation Canes Venatici. In direct telescopic views, M51 looks faint and fuzzy to the eye. But this remarkably deep image shows off details of the interacting galaxy's striking colors and galactic tidal debris. The image includes nearly 90 hours of narrowband data that also reveals a vast glowing cloud of reddish ionized hydrogen gas discovered in the M51 system.

Photo by Fabian Neyer