Magazine Posts

I raged at the weather,
while she praised the Sun.
I wouldn't stop whining
until daylight was done.

A canyon broad.
A cavern deep.
Which is the one
where Bats will sleep?

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

On June 15, innermost planet Mercury had wandered about as far from the Sun as it ever gets in planet Earth's sky. Near the eastern horizon just before sunrise it stands over distant Andes mountain peaks in this predawn snapshot from the valley of Rio Hurtado in Chile. June's other morning planets are arrayed above it, as all the naked-eye planets of the Solar System stretch in a line along the ecliptic in the single wide-field view. Tilted toward the north, the Solar System's ecliptic plane arcs steeply through southern hemisphere skies. Northern hemisphere early morning risers will see the lineup of planets along the ecliptic at a shallower angle tilting toward the south. From both hemispheres June's beautiful morning planetary display finds the visible planets in order of their increasing distance from the Sun.

Photo by Elke Schulz

My heart,
my love,
forget me not.
Yesterday I sat,
beside you and
you said I
was gone,
as in no
longer here.
You said
you love me.
Is it a sham?
Then you say,
"this is my man."

From first glance she
appeared sound of mind,
but I was mistaken.
A beautiful challenge,
appearing to me,
but I loved another
more lovely than she.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

There are four Full Supermoons in 2022. Using the definition of a supermoon as a Full Moon near perigee, that is within at least 90% of its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit, the year's Full Supermoon dates are May 16, June 14, July 13, and August 12. Full Moons near perigee really are the brightest and largest in planet Earth's sky. But size and brightness differences between Full Moons are relatively small and an actual comparison with other Full Moons is difficult to make by eye alone. Two exposures are blended in this supermoon and sky view from June 14. That Full Moon was also known to northern hemisphere skygazers as the Strawberry moon. The consecutive short and long exposures allow familiar features on the fully sunlit lunar nearside to be seen in the same image as a faint lunar corona and an atmospheric cloudscape. They were captured in skies over Chongqing, China.

Photo by Jeff Dai

Breaded pork chops served with a delicious mushroom bourbon cream sauce. Great with a side of angel hair pasta! Click to see the recipe

Suzanne Valadon (1865 –1938) French painter who became the first woman painter admitted to the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. She was also the mother of painter Maurice Utrillo.
The subjects of her drawings and paintings included mostly female nudes, portraits of women, still lifes, and landscapes. She never attended the academy and was never confined within a tradition. She was a model for many renowned artists. Among them, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
Image: Public domain

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

The Virgo Cluster of Galaxies is the closest cluster of galaxies to our Milky Way Galaxy. The Virgo Cluster is so close that it spans more than 5 degrees on the sky - about 10 times the angle made by a full Moon. With its heart lying about 70 million light years distant, the Virgo Cluster is the nearest cluster of galaxies, contains over 2,000 galaxies, and has a noticeable gravitational pull on the galaxies of the Local Group of Galaxies surrounding our Milky Way Galaxy. The cluster contains not only galaxies filled with stars but also gas so hot it glows in X-rays. Motions of galaxies in and around clusters indicate that they contain more dark matter than any visible matter we can see. Pictured here, the heart of the Virgo Cluster includes bright Messier galaxies such as Markarian's Eyes on the upper left, M86 just to the upper right of center, M84 on the far right, as well as spiral galaxy NGC 4388 at the bottom right. Celestial Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995) Birthday?

Photo by Saulius Adomaitis

Please tell me true,
for I have found
I am missing you.
All your wonderful joy
when we were a
young girl and a boy.
What dreams we had
no longer our reverie,
now, at this time
just a missing memory.

A shrill cry pierced
the night air,
sending a shiver up
this aged spine.
What noise therein lies,
brought pain again
and then the sighs,
from love, now gone
to a place, awaiting
a companions return?

First was the light,
springing from her eyes.
No longer young,
now more mature.
She still attracted those,
who fancied them close.
Say not the words,
stuck in the mouth,
for all I know,
were on their way South.