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Lights in yon window,
beyond the stone wall,
flickers, reflecting the Sun.
Here we are now,
alone in the World, again,
from our first breath drawn.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

What will become of Jupiter's Great Red Spot? Gas giant Jupiter is the solar system's largest world with about 320 times the mass of planet Earth. Jupiter is home to one of the largest and longest lasting storm systems known, the Great Red Spot (GRS), visible to the left. The GRS is so large it could swallow Earth, although it has been shrinking. Comparison with historical notes indicate that the storm spans only about one third of the exposed surface area it had 150 years ago. NASA's Outer Planets Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program has been monitoring the storm more recently using the Hubble Space Telescope. The featured Hubble OPAL image shows Jupiter as it appeared in 2016, processed in a way that makes red hues appear quite vibrant. Modern GRS data indicate that the storm continues to constrict its surface area, but is also becoming slightly taller, vertically. No one knows the future of the GRS, including the possibility that if the shrinking trend continues, the GRS might one day even do what smaller spots on Jupiter have done -- disappear completely. Tuesday over Zoom: APOD editor to present the Best APOD Space Images of 2021

"When your emotions become too painful and overwhelming, regain control using skills from dialectical behaviour therapy". Read more

The old mirror
on the wall,
makes large objects
look quite small.
In the corner
I espy thee,
as you return
to visit me.

A few balloons
hung in the air.
No breeze to chase them,
so they stayed there,
stuck in the clouds.

Small,
tiny,
words
come
to
mind,
describing
this
creature
to
you.
A
bird,
in
hand,
t'was
where
it
began.

Where is the magic,
when did it leave,
for the life of another,
much younger than I?
You said the words,
they came from your mouth.
Do not call me your friend,
as you no longer see me.
Please don't pretend.
I'm what I should be.

A vision of life died recently
when my beloved moved
to a memory recovery facility.
No longer will she live with me
but will receive care she needs.
An adjustment in our life plan,
a necessary one I will concede .

No more the laugh.
No more the cry.
Every day passes.
Not knowing why.
You are gone now,
Without a goodbye.

The Palpa Lines, discovered in 1997, are located north of the better known Nazca Lines on the south coastal desert of Peru. They are believed to be part of the Paracas Culture (800 BCE – 100 BCE) and to pre-date the Nazca Lines.

https://www.filmingperu.com/

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Named for a forgotten constellation, the Quadrantid Meteor Shower puts on an annual show for planet Earth's northern hemisphere skygazers. The shower's radiant on the sky lies within the old, astronomically obsolete constellation Quadrans Muralis. That location is not far from the Big Dipper, at the boundaries of the modern constellations Bootes and Draco. In fact north star Polaris is just below center in this frame and the Big Dipper asterism (known to some as the Plough) is above it, with the meteor shower radiant to the right. Pointing back toward the radiant, Quadrantid meteors streak through the night in the panoramic skyscape, a composite of images taken in the hours around the shower's peak on January 4, 2022. Arrayed in the foreground are radio telescopes of the Chinese Spectral Radioheliograph, Mingantu Observing Station, Inner Mongolia, China. A likely source of the dust stream that produces Quadrantid meteors was identified in 2003 as an asteroid. Status Updates: Deploying the James Webb Space Telescope

Photo by Cheng Luo

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

A male Adelie penguin performed this Ecstatic Vocalization in silhouette during the December 4 solar eclipse, the final eclipse of 2021. Of course his Ecstatic Vocalization is a special display that male penguins use to claim their territory and advertise their condition. This penguin's territory, at Cape Crozier Antarctica, is located in one of the largest Adelie penguin colonies. The colony has been studied by researchers for over 25 years. From there, last December's eclipse was about 80 percent total when seen at its maximum phase as the Moon's shadow crossed planet Earth's southernmost continent. Status Updates: Deploying the James Webb Space Telescope

Photo by Point Blue Conservation Science