Contributor Posts

A circa 1660–70 Pahari painting from Basohli, Jammu, India, depicting the Hindu goddess Bhadrakali being worshipped by the three supreme gods of Hinduism: Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer, to pacify her after she killed the demon Mahishasura, who could not be killed by them, the men or other gods. Her victory over the demon is celebrated by Hindus as the victory of good over evil on the day of Vijayadashami, which is today.

unknown Basholi artist, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Ten thousand years ago, before the dawn of recorded human history, a new light would suddenly have appeared in the night sky and faded after a few weeks. Today we know this light was from a supernova, or exploding star, and record the expanding debris cloud as the Veil Nebula, a supernova remnant. This sharp telescopic view is centered on a western segment of the Veil Nebula cataloged as NGC 6960 but less formally known as the Witch's Broom Nebula. Blasted out in the cataclysmic explosion, an interstellar shock wave plows through space sweeping up and exciting interstellar material. Imaged with narrow band filters, the glowing filaments are like long ripples in a sheet seen almost edge on, remarkably well separated into atomic hydrogen (red) and oxygen (blue-green) gas. The complete supernova remnant lies about 1400 light-years away towards the constellation Cygnus. This Witch's Broom actually spans about 35 light-years. The bright star in the frame is 52 Cygni, visible with the unaided eye from a dark location but unrelated to the ancient supernova remnant.

Photo by Brian Meyers

Orbicular (round body) batfish (Platax orbicularis), Red Sea, Egypt. It belongs to the family Ephippidae, the spadefishes and batfishes. This species is found in the Indo-Pacific but has been recorded outside its native range in the western Atlantic Ocean. The adult can reach a total length of 40 centimetres (16 in).

Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

"Traveler, There Is No Road"

“Traveler, your footprints are
the road, and nothing more;
Traveler, there is no road,
the road is made as you walk.
By walking the road is made,
and as you look behind you
you see the trail that never
will be walked on again.
Traveler, there is no road,
only wakes on the sea.”

Antonio Machado - (1875 – 1939), Antonio Cipriano José María y Francisco de Santa Ana Machado y Ruiz was a Spanish poet and one of the leading figures of the Spanish literary movement known as the Generation of 98. His work, initially modernist, evolved towards an intimate form of symbolism with romantic traits. He gradually developed a style characterized by both an engagement with humanity on one side and an almost Taoist contemplation of existence on the other, a synthesis that according to The Spanish poet and writer, Gerard Diego, was quoted to say , Machado "spoke in verse and lived in poetry." Machado is considered one of the best poets in the Spanish language of the 20th century. More  

  Original Spanish Version:
“Caminante, no hay camino"

“Caminante, son tus huellas
el camino, y nada más;
Caminante, no hay camino,
se hace camino al andar.
Al andar se hace el camino,
y al volver la vista atrás
se ve la senda que nunca
se ha de volver a pisar.
Caminante, no hay camino
sino estelas en la mar.”

Translation credit: C. Loben (2022)

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Comet Lemmon is brightening and moving into morning northern skies. Besides Comet SWAN25B and Comet ATLAS, Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) is now the third comet currently visible with binoculars and on long camera exposures. Comet Lemmon was discovered early this year and is still headed into the inner Solar System. The comet will round the Sun on November 8, but first it will pass its nearest to the Earth -- at about half the Earth-Sun distance -- on October 21. Although the brightnesses of comets are notoriously hard to predict, optimistic estimates have Comet Lemmon then becoming visible to the unaided eye. The comet should be best seen in predawn skies until mid-October, when it also becomes visible in evening skies. The featured image showing the comet's split and rapidly changing ion tail was taken in Texas, USA late last week. Growing Gallery: Comet Lemmon in 2025

Photo by Victor Sabet & Julien De Winter

Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) with diver in the background, Fernando de Noronha Marine National Park, Pernambuco, Brazil.

João D'Andretta, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

It may look like these comets are racing, but they are not. Comets C/2025 K1 ATLAS (left) and C/2025 R2 SWAN (right) appeared near each other by chance last week in the featured image taken from France's Reunion Island in the southern Indian Ocean. Fainter Comet ATLAS is approaching our Sun and will reach its closest approach in early October when it is also expected to be its brightest -- although still only likely visible with long exposures on a camera. The brighter comet, nicknamed SWAN25B, is now headed away from our Sun, although its closest approach to Earth is expected in mid-October, when optimistic estimates have it becoming bright enough to see with the unaided eye. Each comet has a greenish coma of expelled gas and an ion tail pointing away from the Sun. Growing Gallery: Comet SWAN25B

Photo by Luc Perrot (TWAN)

Fall of the Rebel Angels is a fresco by Giacinto Brandi adorning the central vault of Sant'Ambrogio e Carlo al Corso basilica in Rome. It depicts Michael the Archangel's victory in battle over fallen angels. Today is Michaelmas.

Giacinto Brandi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.