Contributor Posts

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

It was one of the better skies of this long night. In parts of Antarctica, not only is it winter, but the Sun can spend weeks below the horizon. At China's Zhongshan Station, people sometimes venture out into the cold to photograph a spectacular night sky. The featured image from one such outing was taken in mid-July of 2015, just before the end of this polar night. Pointing up, the wide angle lens captured not only the ground at the bottom, but at the top as well. In the foreground, a colleague is taking pictures. In the distance, a spherical satellite receiver and several windmills are visible. Numerous stars dot the night sky, including Sirius and Canopus. Far in the background, stretching overhead from horizon to horizon, is the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy. Even further in the distance, visible as extended smudges near the top, are the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, satellite galaxies near our huge Milky Way Galaxy. Explore the Universe: Random APOD Generator

Photo by LI Hang

Here I am as I am going through the worst time of my life.
I struggle daily to stay positive but realize, no matter what I
do, it will not change the outcome.

We are all destined to face the harsh reality, sometime in the
future. No one knows when or how. The time will still come,
ready or not.

My wife was diagnosed in January 2017, although symptoms appeared
in late 2014, with Advanced Vascular Dementia-Alzheimer Disease.
The change was gradual until the time I could no longer handle the
extra burden of incontinence, doing all aspects of housekeeping and yard
maintenance.

We, my two sons and I admitted her to a Memory Care Facility, January 3,
2022. I moved in with her in May of the same year and stayed there for
6 months until such time when I was getting little sleep because her nocturnal
behavior, from the disease.

I try to visit her every day but do take a few days off to retain my sanity.
I sadly have observed a downward spiral of this nasty disease as it ravishes
my beloved. My wife would call me "My husband". She didn't know my name
but would tell me she loved me.

Today, she no longer greeted me, or told me she loved me and was for the
most part, silent. There is no concept of time. She doesn't know if I've been
gone a minute, a day, a week, or a month. She is no longer the person I married,
in spirit but she is physically, what I see in her beautiful smile, her brown eyes
and know in my heart she loves me.

I apologize for this baring of my soul to all of you.
I just wanted you to understand when I write some
words that appear strange, it is just my screwed
up emotions at play. Hiding from the reality of life
and the upcoming end of days has been trying.
Thank you for all the gifts you have given me over
these years. Love to all who are facing life challenges.

I write the words,
thinking of you,
and the unlimited things
which you can do.

Carpe Diem,
seize the day.
Worry not about the morrow
or what the future brings.

Memento mori et carpe diem
Remember you have to die,
as we all do.
Tell the truth, do not lie.

When you have those who love the
way you function in life,
as we search for our being,
through love and strife.

Cold, was I,
when I started,
now here I am
all broken hearted.

Radiated rays
of cloudy gray,
creeping out,
now on display

of flowers seen,
by others too,
who knew not
of what was left to do.

Flushing my mind
of things,
which the edge
of madness brings.

Must this life,
I know,
be all there is
to show?

I know not,
what to do,
staying in touch
with you.

What light at
Dawns break,
brings me peace,
to take?

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

This tantalizing trio of galaxies sometimes called the Draco Group, is located in the northern constellation of (you guessed it) Draco, the Dragon. From left to right are face-on spiral NGC 5985, elliptical galaxy NGC 5982, and edge-on spiral NGC 5981, all found within this single telescopic field of view that spans a little more than the width of the full moon. While the group is far too small to be a galaxy cluster, and has not been catalogued as a compact galaxy group, the three galaxies all do lie roughly 100 million light-years from planet Earth. Not as well known as other tight groupings of galaxies, the contrast in visual appearance still makes this triplet an attractive subject for astroimagers. On close examination with spectrographs, the bright core of striking spiral NGC 5985 shows prominent emission in specific wavelengths of light, prompting astronomers to classify it as a Seyfert, a type of active galaxy. This impressively deep exposure hints at a faint dim halo along with sharp-edged shells surrounding elliptical NGC 5982, evidence of past galactic mergers. It also reveals many even more distant background galaxies.

Photo by David Vernet , Jean-François Bax , Serge Brunier

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Are asteroids dangerous? Some are, but the likelihood of a dangerous asteroid striking the Earth during any given year is low. Because some past mass extinction events have been linked to asteroid impacts, however, humanity has made it a priority to find and catalog those asteroids that may one day affect life on Earth. Pictured here are the orbits of the over 1,000 known Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs). These documented tumbling boulders of rock and ice are over 140 meters across and will pass within 7.5 million kilometers of Earth -- about 20 times the distance to the Moon. Although none of them will strike the Earth in the next 100 years -- not all PHAs have been discovered, and past 100 years, many orbits become hard to predict. Were an asteroid of this size to impact the Earth, it could raise dangerous tsunamis, for example. To investigate Earth-saving strategies, NASA successfully tested the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission last year. Of course, rocks and ice bits of much smaller size strike the Earth every day, usually pose no danger, and sometimes create memorable fireball and meteor displays. Today is: Asteroid Day

Been planting flowers,
for several days,
cleaning out pots,
enjoying Sunrays.

Low the wind,
through the trees,
mellow is the feeling,
a cooling summer breeze.