NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

What are those streaks over the horizon? New Starlink satellites reflecting sunlight. SpaceX launched 60 Starlink communication satellites in May and 60 more in November. These satellites and thousands more are planned by communications companies in the next few years that may make streaks like these relatively common. Concern has been voiced by many in the astronomical community about how reflections from these satellites may affect future observations into space. In the pictured composite of 33 exposures, parallel streaks from Starlink satellites are visible over southern Brazil. Sunflowers dot the foreground, while a bright meteor was caught by chance on the upper right. Satellite reflections are not new -- the constellation of 66 first-generation Iridium satellites launched starting 20 years ago produced some flares so bright that they could be seen during the day. Most of these old Iridium satellites, however, have been de-orbited over the past few years. Infinite Loop: Create an APOD Station in your classroom or Science Center.

Photo by Egon Filter

No more cries, ere the
morning light.
No more whys of this
present plight.
No more random talks
without a notion.
No more discussion
with no emotions.
No more ringing
of the bell.
No more consideration,
gone to hell.
No more talks,
about anything.
No more happiness,
will it bring.
No more of life,
we know today.
No more my wife,
who will go away.

An interesting time, it was then
when the beach was in view.
Thankful for the time I had with you.

I'm not the one I used to be.
It matters not, if you love me,
For I know, my love for you,
Is here today. It matters not what you do.

And she said to me; she surely did.
"I don't remember my Mother, not at all."
She left the room and I tried,
But I wept with sorrow and I cried.
The tears flowed down my cheek.
Dear God, why am I so weak?

Life is like a flower.
Here today
Gone tomorrow

When I wrote verse, many years ago,
our young Son's would tease me so.
It influenced the shyness in me,
as I quit writing incessantly.
The writing I did, some forty years
long past, were put away.
Then a good friend told me about
Kudos365.com. and I began to
write again, for you all to see.
I had many folders, that had been
stored, but the pencil I used
then, had started fading away.
Now, here I sit, with pen in hand,
trying to write about the past
so you would now understand.
Perhaps I need to write more
with out any kind of a whine
and do it after a glass of wine.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Everybody sees the Sun. Nobody's been there. Starting in 2018 though, NASA launched the robotic Parker Solar Probe (PSP) to investigate regions near to the Sun for the first time. The PSP's looping orbit brings it yet closer to the Sun each time around -- every few months. The featured time-lapse video shows the view looking sideways from behind PSP's Sun shield during its first approach to the Sun a year ago -- to about half the orbit of Mercury. The PSP's Wide Field Imager for Solar Probe (WISPR) cameras took the images over nine days, but they are digitally compressed here into about 14 seconds. The waving solar corona is visible on the far left, with stars, planets, and even the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy streaming by in the background as the PSP orbits the Sun. PSP has found the solar neighborhood to be surprisingly complex and to include switchbacks -- times when the Sun's magnetic field briefly reverses itself. The Sun is not only Earth's dominant energy source, its variable solar wind compresses Earth's atmosphere, triggers auroras, affects power grids, and can even damage orbiting communication satellites.

Away he goes, off to the Sea;
for the Sirens are calling He.
Return to the Islands, so nice.
Come back to this tropical paradise.
Return he must, but not this day,
for here is where he must stay.

Be thankful for what we love.
Pray to the one, high above.
For a belief is the reason
To be thankful this Holiday Season.

A young man's passion.
A young man's whim.
The current fashion,
oh, that was him.
The latest clothes,
the fastest cars
and then I suppose,
all the countless stars,
covering the heavenly sky,
then we knew
that he would likely try,
to be just like you.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Are meteors streaming out from a point in the sky? Yes, in a way. When the Earth crosses a stream of Sun-orbiting meteors, these meteors appear to come from the direction of the stream -- with the directional point called the radiant.  An example occurs every mid-December for the Geminids meteor shower, as apparent in the featured image.  Recorded near the shower's peak in 2013, the featured skyscape captures Gemini's shooting stars in a four-hour composite from the dark skies of the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. In the foreground the 2.5-meter du Pont Telescope is visible as well as the 1-meter SWOPE telescope. The skies beyond the meteors are highlighted by Jupiter, seen as the bright spot near the image center, the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy, seen vertically on the image left, and the pinkish Orion Nebula on the far left. Dust swept up from the orbit of active asteroid 3200 Phaethon, Gemini's meteors enter the atmosphere traveling at about 22 kilometers per second. The 2019 Geminid meteor shower peaks again this coming weekend.

Photo by Yuri BeletskyCarnegieLas Campanas ObservatoryTWAN

Back in time, to the days of yore,
I'd get home after 6 P.M.
Up to the bedroom, to change.
Out of my work clothes and
into my running gear,
shorts, Self wicking top
and sox, depending upon the weather.
A windbreaker, I would don
and find me a baseball cap.
Put on my shoes, out the
then out to the course.
I had 3 courses of 5 miles, 7 and 10 miles
to choose from. I changed courses based
upon my training plan and to keep from
getting bored. This allowed me to stay
focused.
Working hard the first 20 minutes which
was uphill until I reached that pace
when my body, miraculously, as my breathing
got efficient. A pace that was easy,
not hard and I knew or felt like I
could run at that pace forever.
It's a strange euphoria that occurs
in the body. Did it happen all the time?
No, it didn't, but when it did it was
such a good feeling.
There were always some hills on each
course. Hills were always a challenge,
your steps tend to get choppy and shorter.
The key is to just keep going. No stopping
to walk. Shortly after crossing the top
you regained your breath and fell back
into that wonderful elated feeling.
If you gradually increase your miles,
not over 10 per cent a week, your
conditioning improves. You will be
more fit at the end of 4 weeks.
As my running continued, my friend
and I would put in one long run,
usually on a Sunday. We both
got to the point of doing 45 to
50 miles a week.
You can also do this with a walking
routine.
Hope you enjoyed this brief respite
from the usual stuff I post.
Here's to good healthy future.

MFish

The curly haired waif,
Wandered the street,
Looking for anything,
Or something to eat.
No food past her mouth
For at least three days.
Her stamina now, was
in a very tired phase.
Get you warm food
Some water right here
And you'll feel better,
Now that I'm near.
For I will love you
For many a day
While you are mindful and pray.
Pray to the Lord, Our Father above
For he will bring you, everlasting love.

http://larry-waldon.pixels.com

Oscar Wilde - (October 16, 1854 - November 30, 1900) Irish playwright, novelist, essayist, and poet.
(Picture by W. and D. Downey - From Wikimedia Commons)

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

In time stars trace lines through the night sky on a rotating planet. Taken over two hours or more, these digitally added consecutive exposures were made with a camera and wide angle lens fixed to a tripod near Orel farm, Primorsky Krai, Russia, planet Earth. The stars trail in concentric arcs around the planet's south celestial pole below the scene's horizon, and north celestial pole off the frame at the upper right. Combined, the many short exposures also bring out the pretty star colours. Bluish trails are from stars hotter than Earth's Sun, while yellowish trails are from cooler stars. A long time ago this tree blossomed, but now reveals the passage of time in the wrinkled and weathered lines of its remains.

Photo by Anton Komlev

The years roll by, this aged life of mine
with past emotions, in my soul entwine.

The tide, ever changing,
the smell of the Sea.
The view so remarkable,
it's calling to me,
to return to the place,
that is heaven to see.
The warmth of the water
is so comfortably,
that I must return
to the Islands, so free.