Magazine Posts

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

How did this strange-looking galaxy form? Astronomers turn detectives when trying to figure out the cause of unusual jumbles of stars, gas, and dust like NGC 1316. Inspection indicates that NGC 1316 is an enormous elliptical galaxy that somehow includes dark dust lanes usually found in a spiral galaxy. Detailed images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope shows details, however, that help in reconstructing the history of this gigantic tangle. Deep and wide images show huge collisional shells, while deep central images reveal fewer globular clusters of stars toward NGC 1316's interior. Such effects are expected in galaxies that have undergone collisions or merging with other galaxies in the past few billion years. The dark knots and lanes of dust, prominent in the featured image, indicate that one or more of the devoured galaxies were spiral galaxies. NGC 1316 spans about 50,000 light years and lies about 60 million light years away toward the constellation of the Furnace (Fornax).

A Mt. Rainier Dawn. Photo taken from South Saratoga Passage,WA. Jan 26, 2021

Strangers we are once again.
You were my closest friend.
All the socializing of the past,
disappeared. My was it fast.

There are no words, I can say,
about the outcome of your day,
for I know not, of your Dementia mind.
I am sorry, I do not mean to be unkind.

I was sitting in the corner
of a smoke filled saloon.
A jukebox was playing a new,
Rock 'n Roll, Chuck Beery tune.
Having a beer, with a friend,
was my plan, for the night.
Have a drink and be mellow,
and avoid getting in a fight.
It was then I saw her.
She was sitting at the bar.
Her hair long; pulled up tight.
The laugh, I heard, was, well,
like the sound of a beautiful bell.
She looked my way, only twice.
No eye contact; not to me.
It was my entertainment of the night,
for there wasn't more, to be.

Scrambled eggs and bacon,
Rye toast on the side,
Is my favorite breakfast
Or when I can't decide,
If Oatmeal is my fore,
On this morning bright.
I am so hungry
After a sleepless night.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Have you ever seen the Southern Cross? This famous four-star icon is best seen from Earth's Southern Hemisphere. The featured image was taken last month in Chile and captures the Southern Cross just to the left of erupting Villarrica, one of the most active volcanos in our Solar System. Connecting the reddest Southern Cross star Gacrux through the brightest star Acrux points near the most southern location in the sky: the South Celestial Pole (SCP), around which all southern stars appear to spin as the Earth turns. In modern times, no bright star resides near the SCP, unlike in the north where bright Polaris now appears near the NCP. Extending the Gacrux - Acrux line still further (from about four to about seven times their angular separation) leads near the Small Magellanic Cloud, a bright satellite galaxy of our Milky Way Galaxy. The Southern Cross asterism dominates the Crux constellation, a deeper array of stars that includes four Cepheid variable stars visible to the unaided eye. Just above the volcano in the image, and looking like a dark plume, is the Coalsack Nebula, while the large red star-forming Carina Nebula is visible on the upper left. Portal Universe: Random APOD Generator

Photo by Tomáš Slovinský

Across this land of broken dreams.
Across this land of abject sorrow,
Comes now a better day,
A more beautiful day on the morrow.

Along the shores,
of the Great Lake's water,
there grew weeds and willow trees,
with long limbs touching the surface,
of the lakes body. There lived a
man, you might mention, if you knew
of his presence. Stood he tall and
unassuming; purveying all his domain.
Here he lived unprotected. Here he
would live his life again.
He was the Captain of his making;
A strength of one, who only knew,
his was the last recollection,
of his world, from which he grew.
Go you now, with soul so pure,
resist the evil, on this day.
Stay with us, with your strength,
in this land where you pray,
where we all of us now belong.
Stay the course, remain you here,
be the strength, be thee strong.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

It is one of the more massive galaxies known. A mere 46 million light-years distant, spiral galaxy NGC 2841 can be found in the northern constellation of Ursa Major. This sharp view of the gorgeous island universe shows off a striking yellow nucleus and galactic disk. Dust lanes, small, pink star-forming regions, and young blue star clusters are embedded in the patchy, tightly wound spiral arms. In contrast, many other spirals exhibit grand, sweeping arms with large star-forming regions. NGC 2841 has a diameter of over 150,000 light-years, even larger than our own Milky Way. The featured composite image merges exposures from the orbiting 2.4-meter Hubble Space Telescope and the ground-based 8.2-meter Subaru Telescope. X-ray images suggest that resulting winds and stellar explosions create plumes of hot gas extending into a halo around NGC 2841.

Photo by Roberto Colombari

Alone I sit,
with pen in hand,
awaiting the words
with no command.
Words now missing,
as I search in vain
of where they're hidden
and now will remain.
Lost within this greying mind,
come out, from where you hide.
Return to me; save my pride.
I have a need. I surely do,
if I am to still write these words
for all of you.
The well is dry.
It's full of sand,
there is no writing,
when you cannot command.

A mind
at fault,
a mind
at rest,
isn't good,
isn't best.