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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

The Crab Nebula is cataloged as M1, the first object on Charles Messier's famous 18th century list of things which are not comets. In fact, the Crab is now known to be a supernova remnant, debris from the death explosion of a massive star witnessed by astronomers in the year 1054. This sharp image from the James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) explores the eerie glow and fragmented strands of the still expanding cloud of interstellar debris in infrared light. One of the most exotic objects known to modern astronomers, the Crab Pulsar, a neutron star spinning 30 times a second, is visible as a bright spot near the nebula's center. Like a cosmic dynamo, this collapsed remnant of the stellar core powers the Crab's emission across the electromagnetic spectrum. Spanning about 12 light-years, the Crab Nebula is a mere 6,500 light-years away in the head-strong constellation Taurus. Album: Moon Eclipses Venus: Selected images sent in to APOD

The Sun rose slowly,
in the Eastern sky.
"No rain in sight",
was the well-known cry.

At last, we could
tape and paint,
the outside walls,
to a blue faint.

From out the crowd,
the Gates of Hell,
opened the door,
to Evermore.

Long was the time,
when it was fine.
Life was good,
though I did pine.

My heart is torn,
shredded now,
as it has gone away.
I still wonder how.

From far across,
the woods, so deep,
comes a person,
who cannot sleep.

He stays up late,
why? Who's to say.
He rises early
and starts his day.

How many hours
do you require,
to sleep the night,
but never tire?

"It's a hereditary thing",
he said to me,
"I don't need sleep,
because I'm not thee".

To sleep,
to dwell,
in slumber.
Know it well.

Four hours
of sleep,
shallow nap,
not deep.

Not good,
lacking sleep.
Slumber now,
life's creep.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

It moved across the surface of Mars -- what was it? A dust devil. Such spinning columns of rising air are heated by the warm surface and are also common in warm and dry areas on planet Earth. Typically lasting only a few minutes, dust devils become visible as they pick up loose red-colored dust, leaving the darker and heavier sand beneath intact. Dust devils not only look cool -- they can leave visible trails, and have been credited with unexpected cleanings of the surfaces of solar panels. The images in the featured AI-interpolated video were captured in early August by the Perseverance rover currently searching for signs of ancient life in Jezero Crater. The six-second time-lapse video encapsulates a real duration of just over one minute. Visible in the distance, the spinning dust devil was estimated to be passing by at about 20 kilometers per hour and extend up about 2 kilometers high. Your Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995)

The time has arrived,
yesterday became today,
it will soon be tomorrow,
a day of impending sorrow.

Rocks, slippery with moss,
strown along a creek bed,
are difficult to walk on.
Please don't fall on you head.

I cry. I weep,
"Don't take her away."
My pleas are ignored.
I want her to stay.

I know it's preface,
the cruelty of this disease.
Surpasses anything I know.
May she have a break please?

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