Public Posts Stanwood, WA Stanwood, WA (zoom)

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

All of the other aurora watchers had gone home. By 3:30 am in Iceland, on a quiet September night, much of that night's auroras had died down. Suddenly, unexpectedly, a new burst of particles streamed down from space, lighting up the Earth's atmosphere once again. This time, surprisingly, pareidoliacally, the night lit up with an amazing shape reminiscent of a giant phoenix. With camera equipment at the ready, two quick sky images were taken, followed immediately by a third of the land. The mountain in the background is Helgafell, while the small foreground river is called Kaldá, both located about 30 kilometers north of Iceland's capital Reykjavík. Seasoned skywatchers will note that just above the mountain, toward the left, is the constellation of Orion, while the Pleiades star cluster is also visible just above the frame center. The 2016 aurora, which lasted only a minute and was soon gone forever -- would possibly be dismissed as a fanciful fable -- were it not captured in the featured, digitally-composed, image mosaic. Your Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995)

Photo by Hallgrimur P. Helgason; Rollover Annotation: Judy Schmidt

I Struggle to Adjust to the Loss of my Wife

The banality of life,
or boring to say,
be more creative.
Have a nice day.

Written for my beloved, 01/2018

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Intuitive Machines' robotic lander Odysseus has accomplished the first U.S. landing on the Moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Launched on a SpaceX rocket on February 15, the phone booth sized lander reached lunar orbit on the 21st and touched down on the lunar surface at 6:23 pm ET on February 22nd. Its landing region is about 300 kilometers north of the Moon's south pole, near a crater designated Malapert A. Resting on its side, the lander is presently collecting solar power and transmitting data back to the Intuitive Machines' mission control center in Houston. The mission marks the first commercial uncrewed landing on the Moon. Prior to landing, Odysseus’ camera captured this extreme wide angle image (landing legs visible at right) as it flew over Schomberger crater some 200 kilometers from its landing site. Odysseus was still about 10 kilometers above the lunar surface.

A pot full of nails,
from the foot of a Newt,
brings new meaning to nourishment,
if you care and give a hoot.

The sound of an Owl,
as it calls out, "Who",
is another ingredient,
to make an abstract stew.

Think not of the living,
for they're in a loop,
for the cackle is an ingredient,
for a bizarre tasting soup.

Eye of a Newt,
Spam in a can,
will you eat again,
if that's who I am.

If you think all food,
comes in a glass jar,
then perhaps, you don't know,
where you are.

Back sliding into oblivion,
blackness eddies down,
into a slow spiral,
into, the barren ground.

I hadn't written as much
in over forty days,
since you went away.

I need to write
words to the page,
as it will keep my sanity,
as a new life, I engage.

This is the time we break from Winter's grasp.

When I write,
I'll write for you,
and all the things,
you help me do.

I'll write about children
and everything,
seeing what the children
always will bring.

Laughter, love
and sunshine too,
for me they bring
a smile, when I think of you.

A re-issue