Public Posts Stanwood, WA Stanwood, WA (zoom)

I received another shipment
of Tulips today.
Over 50 I must plant,
along with Daffodils,
Crocus and Hyacinths.
Apparently, when I ordered
I forgot I had ordered some others
so I have approximately 75 total plantings
left to do before a hard freeze.
Now can I find room in my yard
for finding a spot to place
may be extremely hard.

“We can change. People say we can’t, but we do when the stakes or the pain is high enough. And when we do, life can change. It offers more of itself when we agree to give up our busyness.” Read more

Never more to hear the sweet sound of your voice.
Never more to hear the laughter when we rejoice.
Why does this World of ours
Relish darkness and not the Stars?
All the joy which life will bring
Is best expressed when we sing,
Halleluiah, halleluiah.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Dwarf galaxies NGC 147 (left) and NGC 185 stand side by side in this sharp telescopic portrait. The two are not-often-imaged satellites of M31, the great spiral Andromeda Galaxy, some 2.5 million light-years away. Their separation on the sky, less than one degree across a pretty field of view, translates to only about 35 thousand light-years at Andromeda's distance, but Andromeda itself is found well outside this frame. Brighter and more famous satellite galaxies of Andromeda, M32 and M110, are seen closer to the great spiral. NGC 147 and NGC 185 have been identified as binary galaxies, forming a gravitationally stable binary system. But recently discovered faint dwarf galaxy Cassiopeia II also seems to be part of their system, forming a gravitationally bound group within Andromeda's intriguing population of small satellite galaxies.

Photo by Dan Bartlett

Photographer

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

The Horsehead Nebula is one of the most famous nebulae on the sky. It is visible as the dark indentation to the orange emission nebula at the far right of the featured picture. The horse-head feature is dark because it is really an opaque dust cloud that lies in front of the bright emission nebula. Like clouds in Earth's atmosphere, this cosmic cloud has assumed a recognizable shape by chance. After many thousands of years, the internal motions of the cloud will surely alter its appearance. The emission nebula's orange color is caused by electrons recombining with protons to form hydrogen atoms. Toward the lower left of the image is the Flame Nebula, an orange-tinged nebula that also contains intricate filaments of dark dust. Two prominent reflection nebulas are visible: round IC 432 on the far left, and blue NGC 2023 just to the lower left of the Horsehead nebula. Each glows primarily by reflecting the light of their central star. Discovery + Outreach: Graduate student research position open for APOD

Photo by Wissam Ayoub

Flows the air, slowly
past the worries,
trapped in your mind.
Concern for others,
not as fortunate as you.
Mistakes will be made
prior to meeting, there
at the table, near
where he lay covered,
in dirt; his will
broken, by his hate.
Spring forth the morning,
run they no more.
Push hard for justice.
There is still time,
to correct the issues.
Both yours and mine.

He fell with Grace.
A scenic fare,
with out guilt
and no despair.
Arms stretched out,
there was no noise.
No explanation about
the way he fell.
No one questioned,
there was no doubt,
this poor soul; this man
was very much down and out.

I try not to worry,
but I will be concerned,
when a healthy body
takes a wrong turn.

Taking action quite quickly
is what you must do,
for finding the problem
is a solution for you.

Love surrounds us, now.
It has been there all the while.
When we love another
love brings a richness; Smile

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

We've seen this same supernova three times -- when will we see it a fourth? When a distant star explodes in a supernova, we're lucky if we see it even once. In the case of AT 2016jka ("SN Requiem"), because the exploding star happened to be lined up behind the center of a galaxy cluster (MACS J0138 in this case), a comparison of Hubble Space Telescope images demonstrate that we saw it three times. These three supernova images are highlighted in circles near the bottom of the left frame taken in 2016. On the right frame, taken in 2019, the circles are empty because all three images of the single supernova had faded. Computer modeling of the cluster lens, however, indicates that a fourth image of the same supernova should eventually appear in the upper circle on the right image. But when? The best models predict this will happen in 2037, but this date is uncertain by about two years because of ambiguities in the mass distribution of the cluster lens and the brightness history of the stellar explosion. With refined predictions and vigilant monitoring, Earthlings living 16 years from now may be able to catch this fourth image -- and perhaps learn more about both galaxy clusters and supernovas at once. Discovery + Outreach: Graduate student research position open for APOD

"At first, the employees at Digital Enabler in Bielefeld, Germany, thought their boss, Lasse Rheingans, was joking. “Would you like to work 40 percent less at full pay?” he asked when he stepped in front of them in November 2017"... Read more