Contributor Posts

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

The defining astronomical moment of this September's equinox is at 12:44 UTC on September 22, when the Sun crosses the celestial equator moving south in its yearly journey through planet Earth's sky. That marks the beginning of fall for our fair planet in the northern hemisphere and spring in the southern hemisphere, when day and night are nearly equal around the globe. Of course, if you celebrate the astronomical change of seasons by watching a sunrise you can also look for crepuscular rays. Outlined by shadows cast by clouds, crepuscular rays can have a dramatic appearance in the twilight sky during any sunrise (or sunset). Due to perspective, the parallel cloud shadows will seem to point back to the rising Sun and a place due east on your horizon on the equinox date. But in this spectacular sunrise skyscape captured in early June, the parallel shadows and crepuscular rays appear to converge toward an eastern horizon's more northerly sunrise. The well-composed photo places the rising Sun just behind the bell tower of a church in the town of Vic, province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

Photo by Emili Vilamala

On September 18, 2024, 124 of the 181 member states voted in favor of the measure. The United States, alongside 13 other nations, voted against the resolution, that sets a 12-month time frame to end Israel’s "illegal occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza".  More at The Intercept➜

When everyday objects,
begin to fall off the wall,
will that be enough,
will that be all,

or is it a prelude of,
what happens soon,
as we cover our fate,
with a perpetual gloom?

There may never be,
a chance like this,
where we seal it with a handshake
and a small,
sweet kiss.

the break of Dawn,
of thee I sing,
hearing the melody,
which you bring.

The sound of Gulls,
the crashing of a wave,
makes me feel alive
and feeling brave.

Brave to walk into,
the surf on bare feet,
longing for shoes,
and a hot chocolate treat.

"Grace Fischer survived the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School by staying quiet and huddled, as her first grade teacher softly read “The Nutcracker.”...Then she spent the rest of her childhood watching mostly from the sidelines as dozens of similar shootings shattered other schools across the country." More at NBC News ➜

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

For northern hemisphere dwellers, September's Full Moon was the Harvest Moon. On September 17/18 the sunlit lunar nearside passed into shadow, just grazing Earth's umbra, the planet's dark, central shadow cone, in a partial lunar eclipse. Over the two and half hours before dawn a camera fixed to a tripod was used to record this series of exposures as the eclipsed Harvest Moon set behind Spiš Castle in the hazy morning sky over eastern Slovakia. Famed in festival, story, and song, Harvest Moon is just the traditional name of the full moon nearest the autumnal equinox. According to lore the name is a fitting one. Despite the diminishing daylight hours as the growing season drew to a close, farmers could harvest crops by the light of a full moon shining on from dusk to dawn. This September's Harvest Moon was also known to some as a supermoon, a term becoming a traditional name for a full moon near perigee.

Photo by Petr Horálek

It will take more than words,
when you apologize,
for your behavior,
no matter the size,

needs room for improvement,
in your behavior, for lying
about a reason, which you know
is untrue, puts all of the onus on you.

When angels,
fall into the sea,
due to another's,
hypocrisy,

is there recourse,
for us to follow,
or do we bite the bullet,
and simply follow?

There are too many,
times in life,
when thoughtless slurs,
cause another strife.

A simple apology,
should never do,
for those others,
who criticize you.

Life is a gamble,
sometimes you can add a lot.
About the only thing,
we've already got.

Poetic license is in vouge
at this time.
So, it's painted a picture,
which may not rhyme.

When I write to you,
unlike this day,
It's because it's time,
to do with and say,

Hello good friends,
enjoy the ocean shore,
for it's my favorite place,
to hear the waves roar,

as the waves, crash below,
as Seagulls do their thing,
soaring, making me sing.

You need me not,
you never did,
but you would tease,
"Oh, you kid."

Words should
come, here now,
bringing a feeling,
of here and now.

I'm finding it hard
to be here, a chore,
for I like it not.
Not anymore.