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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Will Comet Nishimura become visible to the unaided eye? Given the unpredictability of comets, no one can say for sure, but it currently seems like a good bet. The comet was discovered only ten days ago by Hideo Nishimura during 30-second exposures with a standard digital camera. Since then, C/2023 P1 Nishimura has increased in brightness and its path across the inner Solar System determined. As the comet dives toward the Sun, it will surely continue to intensify and possibly become a naked-eye object in early September. A problem is that the comet will also be angularly near the Sun, so it will only be possible to see it near sunset or sunrise. The comet will get so close to the Sun -- inside the orbit of planet Mercury -- that its nucleus may break up. Pictured, Comet Nishimura was imaged three days ago from June Lake, California, USA while sporting a green coma and a thin tail.

Photo by Dan Bartlett

Photo shared by Heather Cox Richardson from Letters from an American

Raging the river,
thick with mud,
rich nutrients,
it's not a flood.

Carrying plants,
barges with bales,
rolling onward to
new cotton sales.

Shipping goods
via railway track,
a change in how
new goods are back.

Long were the hours,
I waited for you.
Worries were many,
didn't know what to do.

When did it begin,
the changing of life,
losing all your memories,
my sweet, loving wife.

High winds blew,
through the Willows, below.
Branches were breaking,
Nature's, special show.

Here comes the Devil,
give him his due.
He's looking for someone,
Is that someone, you?

What sins have happened,
Which word was used?
A hard question,
most evenly confused.

Say your prayers now,
don't delay what you do,
when handling a situation,
which doesn't pertain to you.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

What kind of cloud is this? A type of arcus cloud called a roll cloud. These rare long clouds may form near advancing cold fronts. In particular, a downdraft from an advancing storm front can cause moist warm air to rise, cool below its dew point, and so form a cloud. When this happens uniformly along an extended front, a roll cloud may form. Roll clouds may actually have air circulating along the long horizontal axis of the cloud. A roll cloud is not thought to be able to morph into a tornado. Unlike a similar shelf cloud, a roll cloud is completely detached from their parent cumulonimbus cloud. Pictured here, a roll cloud extends far into the distance as a storm approaches in 2007 in Racine, Wisconsin, USA.

A parade of lost souls
happening daily in memory care.
Many will wander
destination, nowhere.

I've met many residents,
each with their own flaw.
Just a few arguments
from an old Ma and Pa.

Many can't function,
with the basic life need.
Some can function
others you must feed.

Sunlit water
Moonlit sky
Deepening shadows
Saying goodbye.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Ringed ice giant Neptune lies near the center of this sharp near-infrared image from the James Webb Space Telescope. The dim and distant world is the farthest planet from the Sun, about 30 times farther away than planet Earth. But in the stunning Webb view, the planet's dark and ghostly appearance is due to atmospheric methane that absorbs infrared light. High altitude clouds that reach above most of Neptune's absorbing methane easily stand out in the image though. Coated with frozen nitrogen, Neptune's largest moon Triton is brighter than Neptune in reflected sunlight, seen at the upper left sporting the Webb telescope's characteristic diffraction spikes. Including Triton, seven of Neptune's 14 known moons can be identified in the field of view. Neptune's faint rings are striking in this space-based planetary portrait. Details of the complex ring system are seen here for the first time since Neptune was visited by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in August 1989.