By Divine Ms. Moon |
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Full Moon
By Divine Ms. Moon |
No longer throne of a goddess to whom we pray,
no longer the bubble house of childhood’s
tumbling Mother Goose man,
tumbling Mother Goose man,
The emphatic moon ascends–
the brilliant challenger of rocket experts,
the white hope of communications men.
the brilliant challenger of rocket experts,
the white hope of communications men.
Some I love who are dead
were watchers of the moon and knew its lore;
planted seeds, trimmed their hair,
were watchers of the moon and knew its lore;
planted seeds, trimmed their hair,
Pierced their ears for gold hoop earrings
as it waxed or waned.
It shines tonight upon their graves.
as it waxed or waned.
It shines tonight upon their graves.
And burned in the garden of Gethsemane,
its light made holy by the dazzling tears
with which it mingled.
its light made holy by the dazzling tears
with which it mingled.
And spread its radiance on the exile’s path
of Him who was The Glorious One,
its light made holy by His holiness.
of Him who was The Glorious One,
its light made holy by His holiness.
Already a mooted goal and tomorrow perhaps
an arms base, a livid sector,
the full moon dominates the dark.
an arms base, a livid sector,
the full moon dominates the dark.
Full Moon by Robert Hayden (born August 4, 1913)
Saturday, July 21, 2012
In Quest of Imagination
"Apollo 1"
From Tom Hanks' HBO Presentation
"From the Earth to the Moon"
On July 21, 1961, Astronaut Virgil (Gus) Grissom became the
second American to fly in space. His mission was suborbital, lasting only a few hours. Having been sandwiched between the inaugural American space flight of Alan Shepard, Jr., and the first
American orbital flight of John Glenn, this highlight of Grissom's career might have gone largely
without historical notice, except for two important and star-crossed footnotes.
The first footnote is that Grissom lost his capsule to the sea when he landed it at the end of that
1961 mission, sparking some controversy as to whether it might have been Grissom's
fault. Luckily, Grissom survived and was rescued, but the incident remained a
cloud over him afterwards.
Grissom wasn't so lucky on the fateful day in January, 1967, that he
and Roger Chafee and Ed White (who coincidentally was the first man to walk in
space) lost their lives in a fiery accident on the launch pad at Cape
Canaveral. They were killed during a training mission that would in
retrospect be given the denomination Apollo 1. This clip, from Tom Hanks'
outstanding HBO production, "From the Earth to the Moon," not only explains and re-enacts the accident in a rather graphic way, but it also depicts the
agonizing. finger-pointing aftermath that followed the accident, in which the entire future of manned spaceflight was held precariously hostage to political debate, much like we see now, on just about every important issue. The debate over Apollo 1 eerily foreshadowed the blame game
that followed the first space shuttle disaster (Challenger) in 1986, which killed 7 astronauts, including Christa McAuliffe, the first civilian (teacher) in space.
I have always been particularly
moved by Frank Borman's conclusion that Apollo 1 accident was caused mostly by
a "failure of imagination." Indeed. One could say that same thing
about the Challenger disaster as well, and it might even be said about the recent Aurora shootings. When will we ever learn? One of the best things about
visiting Cape Canaveral is being able to see the memorial that was erected for
the crew of Apollo 1 and all the other astronauts who have sacrificed their
lives in furtherance of our collective imagination.
It would be nice if we were
worthy of their sacrifice, wouldn't it?
Moon x Moon
The crescent moon with Jupiter and the Gallilean moons Io, Callisto, Europa, and Ganymede Astronomy Picture of the Day, July 20 (2012) (anniversary of the first moon landing) |
Friday, July 13, 2012
Saturday, July 7, 2012
The Untranslated Stars
"Under the Milky Way" Steve Jurvetson From Wikimedia |
Above the heights of immemorial hills;
Thirst-stricken air, dumb-throated, in its woe
Limply down-sagging, its limp body spills
Upon the earth. A panting silence fills
The empty vault of Night with shimmering bars
Of sullen silver, where the lake distils
Its misered bounty.—Hark! No whisper mars
The utter silence of the untranslated stars.
~ e.e. cummings ("Summer Silence")
Friday, July 6, 2012
If I Never Knew
"If I Never Knew You"
from Disney's "Pocahontas"
"Bend low again, night of summer stars.
So near you are, sky of summer stars,
So near, a long-arm man can pick off stars,
Pick off what he wants in the sky bowl,
So near you are, summer stars,
So near, strumming, strumming,
So lazy and hum-strumming."
~ Carl Sandburg
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Nothing You Can Think
Monday, July 2, 2012
Shells
The "shells" of Centaurus A Astronomy Picture of the Day, July 1, 2012 Image Credit: E. Peng and H. Ford (JHU), K. Freeman (ANU), R. White (STScI), CTIO, NOAO, NSF From NASA |
"Most cynics are really crushed romantics: they've been hurt,
they're sensitive, and their cynicism is a shell that's protecting this tiny,
dear part in them that's still alive."
~ Jeff Bridges
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Transit of Venus
Transit of Venus across the face of the Sun Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day Image Credit: JAXA, NASA, Lockheed Martin |
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Monday, June 4, 2012
The Last Galactic Dance
What happens when worlds collide? Peanuts to what happens when galaxies collide. I don't know about you, but I plan to be there for this one, no matter how many lifetimes it takes.
Artist's Conception of what will happen when the Milky Way Galaxy collides with the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day Illustration Credit: NASA, ESA, Z. Levay and R. van der Marel (STScI), and A. Mellinger |
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Leaving the Celestial Light On
“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be
known.”
~ Carl Sagan
The Rotten Egg (Calabash) Nebula Hubble Space Telescope From NASA |
A friend of mine mentioned at Facebook that this protoplanetary nebula called Rotten
Egg (or Calabash) (OH 231.84 +4.22) resembles a light bulb. I say, good eye -- or good idea.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
What Galileo Knew
"If Galileo had said in verse that the world moved, the inquisition might have left him alone."
~ Thomas Hardy (born June 2, 1840)
Jupiter and the four moons discovered by Galileo
Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, and Io
From here
Friday, June 1, 2012
The Greatest Poetry
“In the power and splendor of the universe, inspiration waits
for the millions to come. Man has only to strive for it. Poems greater than the
Iliad, plays greater than Macbeth, stories more engaging than Don Quixote await
their seeker and finder.”
~ John Masefield (born June 1, 1878)
The Pinwheel Galaxy (Messier 101)
Composite image. Today's NASA Image of the Day
Image Credits: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; IR & UV: NASA/JPL-Caltech; Optical: NASA/STScI
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Inner Glow
"The glow of one warm thought
is to me worth more than money."
~ Thomas Jefferson
Saturn, glowing from within
is to me worth more than money."
~ Thomas Jefferson
Saturn, glowing from within
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day
Leaves of Grass
"I believe a leaf of grass is no less
than the journey-work of the stars."
The words are by Walt Whitman
who was born on May 31, 1819.
The photograph is called "Dew III," by Orlandas Butkus
From Pixdaus.
From Pixdaus.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Lights in the Sky
The Large Magellanic Cloud
Astrophotographer: Robert Gendler
Ever since I was a little girl, I have been -- to put it mildly -- obsessed with the "lights in the sky." This particular blog will be devoted to that subject and other natural wonders, and the close connections between these phenomena and the alternative worlds of literature and mythology, into which I fold religion. From time to time, art and music may also be involved. Won't you join me on my ongoing quest for understanding.
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