Tag Archives: universe

Oct19

across the universe.

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my grandson stargazing in a night field

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i met my ex-husband many years ago

a man with a brilliant mind

who taught me myriad things

among them

oceanography, astronomy, photography

astrophotography

my grandson

 never met his (now late) grandfather

yet all these years later

he put together one of his old telescopes

 taking it upon himself

to learn astrophotography

he has become a stargazer

two generations later

his grandfather

would have been thrilled and so proud of him

proving once again that

everything in the universe is truly connected

most in ways we cannot even begin to imagine.

—

 

“Science is the one human activity that is truly progressive.

The body of positive knowledge is transmitted from generation to generation.” 

― Edwin Powell Hubble, The Realm of the Nebulae

Jul12

way out.

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The first publicly released image from the James Webb Space Telescope, showing countless galaxies and multiple arcs where the combined gravity of those galaxies magnifies light from background objects, bringing even more distant galaxies into view.  NASA—
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson described the image to President Biden, saying all the stars and galaxies it encompassed were located in an area of space the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length by someone standing on Earth.

“We’re looking back more than 13 billion years,” he said. “That light that you are seeing has been traveling for over 13 billion years, and by the way, we’re going back farther. This is just the first image. They’re going back about thirteen-and-a-half billion years. And since we know the universe is 13.8 billion years old, we’re going back almost to the beginning.”

NASA plans to release additional “first light” images Tuesday, photos designed to showcase Webb’s ability to chart the details of stellar evolution, from starbirth to death by supernova, to study how galaxies form, merge and evolve and to probe the chemical composition of atmospheres around planets orbiting other stars.

This initial Webb deep field released Monday promises to rewrite the astronomy books yet again, providing the data needed to fill in many of the major gaps in the history of the universe, perhaps even providing the framework to determine when —  and how —  the first massive stars formed, exploded and seeded the cosmos with the heavy elements that make life possible.

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“the size and age of the cosmos are beyond ordinary human understanding.
lost somewhere between immensity and eternity is our tiny planetary home.” 
-carl sagan, cosmos
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source credit: nasa
Jul10

sun.

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The one moment when 99% of the world’s population can see the sun

For a single minute at 7:15am, EST, on Friday, July 8, 99% of the world’s population was (7.688 billion people) either in sunlight or twilight and could simultaneously spot the sun in the sky. It’s a minute in time that only happens once a year. The only countries not under sun in that minute were New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Antarctica.

It’s hard not to see, but admittedly if someone wasn’t watching for the phenomenon that unfolded Friday morning, they could have definitely missed it. This does call into question what it means to be seeing the sun. According to the website timeanddate.com, while the claim is technically true, the number of people perceiving sunlight is a bit lower – about 93% of the world’s population.

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“three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.”
-buddha
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source credits: derek kevra and jack nissen, wjbk news
Apr28

into the universe.

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heading out on a rainy day

to explore, discover things, and learn

in the much larger classroom of the universe. 

 

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“the universe is a great university.”

-sai baba

Sep8

tiny.

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we are so tiny

 the size our worries should be

nothing in the scheme

“i believe everyone should have a broad picture of how the universe operates and our place in it.

it is a basic human desire.

and it also puts our worries in perspective.”

-stephen hawking

 

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art/photo credits: Starry Night, Anna Roberts (acrylic painting on gesso board), Discovery Channel

 

Aug3

down to earth.

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a sidewalk homage to success 

as the first spaceX crew dragon spacecraft “Endeavour” with a human crew

returns american nasa astronauts and best friends, bob and doug, to earth 

 

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“i don’t know what you could say about a day in which you have seen four beautiful sunsets.”

– john glenn,  american astronaut

 

 

 

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photo credit: nasa.gov (Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley- astronauts)

Feb13

universe.

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On an eight-day flight aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992, AAAS member Mae Carol Jemison became the first African American woman to travel in space. Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science!

Mae C. Jemison, born on this day in 1956, has a few firsts to her name: She was the first woman of color in space, as well as the only real astronaut to have served on the U.S.S. Enterprise, where she portrayed a lieutenant on an episode of Star Trek: TNG.

“we inhabit a universe that is characterized by diversity.”

-desmond tutu