Contributor Posts

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Why is Polaris called the North Star? First, Polaris is the nearest bright star toward the north spin axis of the Earth. Therefore, as the Earth turns, stars appear to revolve around Polaris, but Polaris itself always stays in the same northerly direction -- making it the North Star. Since no bright star is near the south spin axis of the Earth, there is currently no bright South Star. Thousands of years ago, Earth's spin axis pointed in a slightly different direction so that Vega was the North Star. Although Polaris is not the brightest star on the sky, it is easily located because it is nearly aligned with two stars in the cup of the Big Dipper. Polaris is near the center of the eight-degree wide featured image, a digital composite of hundreds of exposures that brings out faint gas and dust of the Integrated Flux Nebula (IFN) all over the frame as well as the globular star cluster NGC 188 on the far left. The surface of Cepheid Polaris slowly pulsates, causing the famous star to change its brightness by a few percent over the course of a few days. Explore Your Universe: Random APOD Generator

Photo by Javier Zayaz

Telling me, this story,
you're telling me why,
it's ok for
a grown man to cry

If I said I loved you,
would you stay here with me,
or would my world crumble
when, you've decided to flee?

If you think you know me,
better think again.
I will always trust
you, as my friend,
but friend or not,
no money will I lend.

Lost, alone, are we,
striving to make do,
always a struggle,
but it is what we pursue.

We met,
in past life.
We were married,
You weren't my wife.

My memory wanes,
thoughts I once knew,
are now gone. My
question, who were you?

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

To some, it looks like a giant chicken running across the sky. To others, it looks like a gaseous nebula where star formation takes place. Cataloged as IC 2944, the Running Chicken Nebula spans about 100 light years and lies about 6,000 light years away toward the constellation of the Centaur (Centaurus). The featured image, shown in scientifically assigned colors, was captured recently in a 16-hour exposure over three nights. The star cluster Collinder 249 is visible embedded in the nebula's glowing gas. Although difficult to discern here, several dark molecular clouds with distinct shapes can be found inside the nebula.

Photo by Daniel Stern

Was there a time,
when what you said,
by spewing obscene words,
from out of your head.

I wonder now,
what it might be,
for you to confess,
your feelings to She.

There are moments,
when I wish to just
go to a quiet place,
curl up and cry.
My emotions, a wreck,
at this moment.

One may think,
you have won,
when at end of day,
you beat the Sun.

Wait not for she,
the anointed one,
as moon and stars,
will soon succumb.

She rode the skies,
with a grand aplomb,
gathering stars, like
they were ripening plums.

Gather moonbeams,
near and far,
placing them gently
into a tinted jar.

Place some stars,
very carefully,
a tinted jar,
is a bright array.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Where is the center of the Egg Nebula? Emerging from a cosmic egg, the star in the center of the Egg Nebula is casting away shells of gas and dust as it slowly transforms itself into a white dwarf star. The Egg Nebula is a rapidly evolving pre- planetary nebula spanning about one light year. It lies some 3,000 light-years away toward the northern constellation Cygnus. Thick dust blocks the center star from view, while the dust shells farther out reflect light from this star. Light vibrating in the plane defined by each dust grain, the central star, and the observer is preferentially reflected, causing an effect known as polarization. Measuring the orientation of the polarized light for the Egg Nebula gives clues to location of the hidden source. Taken by Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys