Contributor Posts

Withdraw the sword
from your sheath,
removing the source
of your old grief.

Hold on to the love,
which you once had,
be strong now,
don't be sad.

It matters not,
the reason why,
young and old
have to die.

There are always,
reasons which try
explaining about
who must die.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

ght billion people are about to disappear in this snapshot from space. Taken on November 21, the sixth day of the Artemis 1 mission, their home world is setting behind the Moon's bright edge as viewed by an external camera on the outbound Orion spacecraft. The Orion was headed for a powered flyby that took it to within 130 kilometers of the lunar surface. Velocity gained in the flyby maneuver will be used to reach a distant retrograde orbit around the Moon. That orbit is considered distant because it's another 92,000 kilometers beyond the Moon, and retrograde because the spacecraft will orbit in the opposite direction of the Moon's orbit around planet Earth. Orion will enter its distant retrograde orbit on Friday, November 25. Swinging around the Moon, Orion will reach a maximum distance (just over 400,000 kilometers) from Earth on Monday November 28 exceeding a record set by Apollo 13 for most distant spacecraft designed for human space exploration.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Few star clusters this close to each other. Visible to the unaided eye from dark sky areas, it was cataloged in 130 BC by Greek astronomer Hipparchus. Some 7,000 light-years away, this pair of open star clusters is also an easy binocular target, a striking starfield in the northern constellation of the mythical Greek hero Perseus. Now known as h and chi Persei, or NGC 869 (above right) and NGC 884, the clusters themselves are separated by only a few hundred light-years and contain stars much younger and hotter than the Sun. In addition to being physically close together, the clusters' ages based on their individual stars are similar - evidence that both clusters were likely a product of the same star-forming region.

Photo by Tommy Lease

I currently reside with my wife at a facility
for Memory Care. She has advanced Alzheimer
Disease.
This was a new event for me.
My beloved doesn't like certain foods and sometime
they are served in this "mess hall" type of food
distribution for meals.
My first task after she is served is to remove those
food items which I know she won't eat.
I was doing this, with the pickled beets placed
upon her plate. A older gentleman, I will call him
that although he is usually not, came to our table
and said, "Why are you stealing this woman's food?"
I replied with, "It's none of your business, please
leave." He started to lunge at me with a clenched
fist but was restrained by the staff who saw him
on the move, from several tables away.
I just sat there and told him this was my wife.
Just another day in a place where most of the
residents are dealing with memory issues.
Those residents who I talk with during the day
are kind, considerate but have loss of memory
issues. All is well in Memory Care Land.

You are only slowed
on your life's journey
by the obstacles you
put in your own way.

Promises made,
Promises unkept.
Did I forget
when I slept?

Does anyone remember
every promise made
or the promise said,
when trying to get laid?

So often we try.
Try to forget.
Saying all the words,
to an uncertain bet.

When all words
are said and yet,
we find ourselves,
in a promise debt.

"The Peruvian Amazon is a magical and mysterious destination where you can enjoy a romantic getaway or an adventure without a parallel...... one of its most charming places and full of natural beauty is the beautiful Sandoval Lake. A perfect example where you can appreciate the different and numerous wildlife while you marvel at the dreamy landscapes” Read more

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Stars can make beautiful patterns as they age -- sometimes similar to flowers or insects. NGC 6302, the Butterfly Nebula, is a notable example. Though its gaseous wingspan covers over 3 light-years and its estimated surface temperature exceeds 200,000 degrees C, the aging central star of NGC 6302, the featured planetary nebula, has become exceptionally hot, shining brightly in visible and ultraviolet light but hidden from direct view by a dense torus of dust. This sharp close-up was recorded by the Hubble Space Telescope and is processed here to show off remarkable details of the complex planetary nebula, highlighting in particular light emitted by oxygen (shown as blue), hydrogen (green), and nitrogen (red). NGC 6302 lies about 3,500 light-years away in the arachnologically correct constellation of the Scorpion (Scorpius). Planetary nebulas evolve from outer atmospheres of stars like our Sun, but usually fade in about 20,000 years.

Old proverb expressing the idea that convincing another person is best done by appealing to the interests of that person and not with reasoning skill or abstract motivations. Benjamin Franklin expressed it in a more concise form in the 1734 Poor Richard's Almanac: "Would you persuade, speak of Interest, not of Reason"

Photo shared by Heather Cox Richardson from Letters from an American

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Why would the sky look like a giant target? Airglow. Following a giant thunderstorm over Bangladesh in late April, giant circular ripples of glowing air appeared over Tibet, China, as pictured here. The unusual pattern is created by atmospheric gravity waves, waves of alternating air pressure that can grow with height as the air thins, in this case about 90-kilometers up. Unlike auroras powered by collisions with energetic charged particles and seen at high latitudes, airglow is due to chemiluminescence, the production of light in a chemical reaction. More typically seen near the horizon, airglow keeps the night sky from ever being completely dark.

Photo by Jeff Dai