Contributor Posts

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Galaxy NGC 4632 hides a secret from optical telescopes. It is surrounded by a ring of cool hydrogen gas orbiting at 90 degrees to its spiral disk. Such polar ring galaxies have previously been discovered using starlight. However, NGC 4632 is among the first in which a radio telescope survey revealed a polar ring. The featured composite image combines this gas ring, observed with the highly sensitive ASKAP telescope, with optical data from the Subaru telescope. Using virtual reality, astronomers separated out the gas in the main disk of the galaxy from the ring, and the subtle color gradient traces its orbital motion. Why do polar rings exist? They could be material pulled from one galaxy as it gravitationally interacts with a companion. Or hydrogen gas flows along the filaments of the cosmic web and accretes into a ring around a galaxy, some of which gravitationally contracts into stars.

Along came a Spyder,
not an insect but a car.
French Blue in color,
it went fast and far.

A 1971, Fiat 124 Spyder,
two-seater, bench in back.
Two latches to drop the top,
with Arbarth Duals exhaust.

Prone to breakdown because
of a high R.P.M. during operation.
A joy to drive. Perfect for
my second childhood.

Light beamed, from out the dark,
through shaded windows, a part
of the old houses charm,
to soothe his broken heart.

She lived across the road
in a rural way of life.
He fell in love, pursuing her,
wanting her to be his wife.

A small-town girl she was,
full of vigor, free of strife,
They had wed, becoming a couple
and man and wife.

They lived in simple times,
most years of their life.
Dementia came
and their world became trife.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Some 4 billion light-years away, massive galaxy cluster Abell 370 is captured in this sharp Hubble Space Telescope snapshot. The cluster of galaxies only appears to be dominated by two giant elliptical galaxies and infested with faint arcs. In reality, the fainter, scattered bluish arcs, along with the dramatic dragon arc below and left of center, are images of galaxies that lie far beyond Abell 370. About twice as distant, their otherwise undetected light is magnified and distorted by the cluster's enormous gravitational mass, overwhelmingly dominated by unseen dark matter. Providing a tantalizing glimpse of galaxies in the early universe, the effect is known as gravitational lensing. A consequence of warped spacetime, lensing was predicted by Einstein almost a century ago. Far beyond the spiky foreground Milky Way star at lower right, Abell 370 is seen toward the constellation Cetus, the Sea Monster. It was the last of six galaxy clusters imaged in the Frontier Fields project.

I love you,
more than when we first met.
Your courage and bravery,
as you fight in silence,
unable to communicate
or complain.
I am very proud of you
as you fight this losing battle.
I love you, Ellie.

Five, five, five, five,
where is your heart?
Listen, listen, listen, listen,
to me from the start.

Be with me tonight,
relive the memories, old,
when we were young.
No goodbyes, nothing bold.

Forever or never,
will it ever be?
Forget it, regret it,
you never will see.

Love it or leave it,
isn't quite there.
Try it or buy it,
Buyer beware.

Smarten up people,
don't be like herded sheep.
Stand tall and perform
like Miss Bo Peep.

I spend too much time,
thinking about,
the injustices of man,
when I should shout.

Shout to the heavens,
let everyone know,
no more of this,
"Dog and Pony" show.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

This scene would be beautiful even without the comet. By itself, the sunrise sky is an elegant deep blue on high, with faint white stars peeking through, while near the horizon is a pleasing tan. By itself, the foreground hills of eastern Slovakia are appealingly green, with the Zadňa hura and Veľká hora hills in the distance, and with the lights of small towns along the way. Venus, by itself on the right, appears unusually exquisite, surrounded by a colorful atmospheric corona. But what attracts the eye most is the comet. On the left, in this composite image taken just before dawn yesterday morning, is Comet Nishimura. On recent mornings around the globe, its bright coma and long ion tail make many a morning panoramic photo unusually beautiful. Tomorrow, C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) will pass its nearest to the Earth for about the next 434 years.

Photo by Petr Horálek / Institute of Physics in Opava