NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Globular star cluster 47 Tucanae is a jewel of the southern sky. Also known as NGC 104, it roams the halo of our Milky Way Galaxy along with some 200 other globular star clusters. The second brightest globular cluster (after Omega Centauri) as seen from planet Earth, it lies about 13,000 light-years away and can be spotted naked-eye close on the sky to the Small Magellanic Cloud in the constellation of the Toucan. The dense cluster is made up of hundreds of thousands of stars in a volume only about 120 light-years across. Red giant stars on the outskirts of the cluster are easy to pick out as yellowish stars in this sharp telescopic portrait. Tightly packed globular cluster 47 Tuc is also home to a star with the closest known orbit around a black hole.

Photo by Jose Mtanous

It becomes hard to write of cheer,
when all the news is about fear.
The fear of Death, with no one near.
No one to touch or to hear.
To strengthen your resolve, hold you dear
and pray with you as you disappear.

Am I sick within my head?
I ask this question, with no dread,
For the thoughts in this old brain,
Are like the proverbial run away train.

My emotions and thoughts are in between
An old man and a love struck teen.
I wish and pray; What does it mean?
Should I speak or flee the scene?

The night was darker
than a racists heart.
There was no love,
it was the start
of this great Nation
coming apart.
Here is a suggestion
just for you,
if you want a change
please Vote Blue.

I will love you still,
after the bloom of the
Rose has left.
When the petals have lost
their color
and life is no longer
on this Earth.
You will always be
my forever.

Where goes thee on the this gloomy day,
while others go somewhere to play?
A place of quiet, comfortable and warm,
will be my choice, my new Norm.
A coffee Americano, at a familiar space
where I'll see friends with a smiling face.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Big, beautiful, barred spiral galaxy NGC 2525 lies 70 million light-years from the Milky Way. It shines in Earth's night sky within the boundaries of the southern constellation Puppis. About 60,000 light-years across, its spiral arms lined with dark dust clouds, massive blue stars, and pinkish starforming regions wind through this gorgeous Hubble Space Telescope snapshot. Spotted on the outskirts of NGC 2525 in January 2018, supernova SN 2018gv is the brightest star in the frame at the lower left. In time-lapse, a year long series of Hubble observations followed the stellar explosion, the nuclear detonation of a white dwarf star triggered by accreting material from a companion star, as it slowly faded from view. Identified as a Type Ia supernova, its brightness is considered a cosmic standard candle. Type Ia supernovae are used to measure distances to galaxies and determine the expansion rate of the Universe.

This take-out classic is an easy weeknight meal! It's made on the stovetop with chicken, eggs, onions, carrots, peas, and rice. Click the image below to read Lisa Lin's recipe at Simply Recipes

May the God in heaven,
Up above,
Know the deep intent
Of my love.
May all those you know
Be aware,
Of the one person of who
You care.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

On October 20, after a careful approach to the boulder-strewn surface, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft's arm reached out and touched asteroid Bennu. Dubbed a Touch-And-Go (TAG) sampling event, the 30 centimeter wide sampling head (TAGSAM) appears to crush some of the rocks in this snapshot. The close-up scene was recorded by the spacecraft's SamCam some 321 million kilometers from planet Earth, just after surface contact. One second later, the spacecraft fired nitrogen gas from a bottle intended to blow a substantial amount of Bennu's regolith into the sampling head, collecting the loose surface material. Data show the spacecraft spent approximately 5 more seconds in contact with Bennu's Nightingale sample site and then performed its back-away burn. Timelapse frames from SamCam reveal the aftermath.

When life is gone,
away from here.
When there are no more
teams to cheer.
When your friends are
gone from here.
When the Rooster crows at
break of dawn.
When your life is good
and not forlorn.
When in this time
love is back.
When our lives will be
back on track.

The path wound through
the stand of trees,
among grassy meadows
and back again to
rise up the slight grade,
into the beauty of
a forest surrounded
by Glades of ferns and
flowers too,
is when I think
about missing you.

From the back of my mind,
these words pour forth.
Words, absurd, are not for me.
Useless they fall to paper, coarse,
in a jumbled array; A mess.
Now I must put in order,
to make sense of this discord.
Does it make sense to you,
when all the mess or a word,
brings understanding, here for you?

Tell me now.
Tell me true.
Is it alright
If I love you?

I await your beck and call,
as I stand by the vine covered wall.
Don't you know? Can you not see?
I'll will wait here for an eternity.

I am next to her, in our bed.
Reaching out to touch her arm,
to make sure, she is here with me.
A sign of weakness or being afraid
she won't be there when I awake.
Not knowing what will come next in life,
I reach out to touch my lovely wife.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

How many famous sky objects can you find in this image? The featured dark sky composite combines over 60 exposures spanning over 220 degrees to create a veritable menagerie of night sky wonders. Visible celestial icons include the Belt of Orion, the Orion Nebula, the Andromeda Galaxy, the California Nebula, and bright stars Sirius and Betelgeuse. You can verify that you found these, if you did, by checking an annotated version of the image. A bit harder, though, is finding Polaris and the Big Dipper. Also discernible are several meteors from the Quandrantids meteor shower, red and green airglow, and two friends of the astrophotographer. The picture was captured in January from Sardinia, Italy. You can see sky wonders in your own night sky tonight -- including more meteors than usual -- because tonight is near peak of the yearly Orionids meteor shower. News: NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Successfully Touches Asteroid

Photo by Tomáš Slovinský

When I was in my forties, I routinely worked 55-hour weeks (commuting an hour each way), taxied my kids to soccer practices and dance recitals, mowed the yard, paid the bills, and worked out five nights a week (some things are sacred). I knew exactly where my day had to go, and I made sure it went there....Continue reading

It matters to me not
what is being said
for the last thing I'll do
Is NOT vote for red.