the eye of the storm

Using telescopic cameras onboard the Cassini spacecraft, NASA scientists have located a giant storm just above Saturn's south pole. What's so different about this storm is the fact that it appears to act like a hurricane. It is about 5000 miles (8000 km) across, and rotates clockwise at about 350 miles per hour (550 kilometers per hour).

This is the first hurricane-like storm to be observed on a planet other than Earth. The Saturn hurricane has eyewall clouds and two spiral arms. The most famous storm on Saturn is the Great Red Spot, which is calm at the center and does not have an eyewall.

Click the headline of this post to visit the NASA Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn website for more information and a short movie about this storm. The picture above is provided by NASA.

star light star bright

Ok . . . so it wasn't a star . . . but it sure was spectacular. Last night as my daughter and I were driving home (she was driving, I was passengering), we saw an incredible meteor. In fact, it was the most spectacular meteor either of us have ever seen. We could actually see the round ball of the meteor, complete with yellow, orange and white flame. At just about 20 degrees above the northern horizon, the tail stretched out over an eighth of the sky as the meteor raced westward toward the earth. Three seconds later and it was all over. When we arrived home a couple of minutes later we stood in our yard, shivering in the cool night air, staring up into the sky, hoping to catch a glimpse of just one more.

Four years ago, during the Leonid meteor shower, we saw a flaming meteor just above the western horizon, but it was paltry in comparison to last night. Even the night five years ago when we camped in a friend's backyard all night and observed hundreds of meteors during the Leonid shower, it did not compare to last night. November 20, 2006 will definitely be a date for the memory book.

river's edge . . .

curiosity draws me to the trail
meandering through the woods
tracing the banks of the little river

twisted vines form circles in the landscape
beaming sunlight filters through the branches
fluttering and dancing in the grasses

bright green moss covers a fallen tree
crossing the path in my wake
silvery lichen cling like barnacles to the trunk

squirrels scurry along the ground
chasing each other up a nearby tree
I freeze in my footsteps to watch them play

black snake basks in the warm sunshine
stretching out across the trail
senses my approach and rushes away

birds sing from high up in the trees
a gentle breeze deliberately nudges the limbs
leaves dance in rythmn with the cool waft of air

small blue flowers line the trail
as it traverses a sandy clearing
before winding its way back into the woods

following the contour of the land
the trail races down into a small ravine
climbs back up to the top of the bluff

as I immerse myself in the forest
I realize that I know the names of these trees
maple, oak, river birch, persimmon, sycamore

I slow my pace
listening to the quietness of the backwoods
hearing the sounds of its inhabitants

insects buzz and click
birds sing, squirrels chirp
leaves and grasses rustle, water percolates

a deer trail lures me from the main path
crouching as I pass beneath low branches
gently descending through the ticket to the water's edge

the current rushes by
bubbling over, flowing around rocks
washing along the sandy bank

I find a cool smooth boulder
perched along the riverbank
scramble to the top and ponder

arms crossed on my knees
bare feet propped upon the rock
chilly river mist splashing my face

motionless I ponder the day
as a deer slips stealthily
down to the river to drink

For a moment frozen in time
we experience this solitude together
we share the same river's edge

could it be a new mineral found in Memphis

A member of the Memphis Archaeological and Geological Society has recently discovered what could be a brand new mineral. Over the past year Marvin has found around 200 unusual rock specimens on gravel bars along Nonconnah Creek in Memphis. His curiosity compelled him to seek identification of the mineral on these rocks and his tenacity has yielded a fruitful harvest.

At the very least, the mineral he has found is new to the Memphis area and only found in a small number of locations around the world. At the very best, the mineral he has discovered could be a new mineral, previously found in no locations around the world. In this case, Marvin would be given the honor of naming the mineral.

As research on this continues, I will keep you informed. Meanwhile, you can read about the mineral and all the research that has been done thusfar, by visiting www.memphisgeology.org/g_baricite.htm .

blue man's eyes

there are tears in the blue man's eyes
there's a shadow on the black man's face
there's heat as the red man cries
in the color of the human race

take heart plutocrats, all may not be lost

When the International Astonomical Union voted to demote Pluto from planet to dwarf planet last summer, the vote was not unanimous and now several prominent scientists are asking for a new definition of what it takes to be a planet. The primary reason Pluto did not meet the current definition of planet is that one pesky little detail of it having not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit. In order to do that, Pluto would basically have to get out of the way of Neptune.

It may be a bit premature to discard your astronomy books and erase Pluto from all your solar system maps. The New Horizons space probe is scheduled to arrive at Pluto in 2015. The IAU meets again in 2009, so we have a couple of years to campaign for Pluto. The votes are not all in and the tally shows that we have a chance to pull this one off after all. It would be great if New Horizons could explore the planet rather than the dwarf planet. By the way . . . the smaller light in the picture above is Charon, Pluto's companion (moon).

You go Pluto!

learning to drive

Well this has been a really good day. My oldest daughter dropped by for a while. She's living on campus, and she has a new job at a book store, so I suppose we will see her less and less as time goes by. It's always great to see her and hear her adventures. She got rear ended this morning. She said the car in front her slammed on brakes, so she slammed on brakes. As she glanced into the rearview mirror she saw a car closing in on her and the only thought she had was . . . "I am going to get hit". And she did. She braced for it, kept her foot heavily on her brake and prepared for impact. Fortunately, the car barely bumped her. She barely felt it and the only evidence was a little bit of paint from the other car on her rear bumper. His car was good too, so they just agreed to forget about it. Oh, by the way, she stopped before hitting the car in front of her, so all in all, everything turned out OK.

My wife has been busy making jewelry all day -- necklaces and earrings. She's really good at it. She's good at everything she does. She's a fiber artist as well as a jewelry maker. Plus she teaches art . . . a very talented woman. I'm so glad she married me.

My youngest daughter has been practicing her driving today. She and I spent a lot of time in school parking lots, parallel parking, backing into parking spaces, making turns, and going through the fundamentals of driving. It was a very nice experience. We put in some really good music and enjoyed each other's company very much. She's a very good driver. I wasn't nervous at all and after the first few minutes, neither was she. I think she learned a lot and I know she had a good time. Look out world. There will be a new driver on the road very soon!

one hundred percent responsible

Yesterday was not a typical day. Rather than trek into work as usual, about twenty of my co-workers and I spent the day taking part in a team-building activity. We met at the Lichterman Nature Center in east Memphis and participated in a Team Trek event. By the time we left there about 5:30, we were energized and ready to commit to 100 percent responsibility. I totally bought into the concept.

My take-away from the event was this . . . I am one hundred percent responsible for me; everyone else is zero percent responsible for me. This applies to every situation in life -- work, marriage, child rearing, social activities, spiritual matters. We have no control over what happens to influence our lives from day to day, but we have total control over how we react to those influences. I choose to make good decisions or bad decisions; mean decisions or kind decisions. My purpose in life is not to make me happy. If that were my purpose, I would never be satisfied. My purpose in life is make things better for other people. If you are anything like me, when you help someone, or compliment someone, or do something that makes someone's life a little bit easier, you feel better. I do. I feel good when I do something good, not for praise or recognition, but simply for the enjoyment of doing something good. As a matter of fact, I get a little bit embarassed if I receive recognition for things I do. I feel much better if I can help in a backgrouind role.

If you have an opportunity to take part in a Team Trek activity, I highly recommend it. You will be better because of it.

oh my the orion nebula is shining bright tonight

Four monstrously large stars at the center of the cosmic cloud called the Orion nebula are stirring things up a bit in this composite photograph taken by NASA's Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes. This composite is a combination of infrared and visible-light imagery. The yellow smudge at the center of the image is the four-star cluster called Trapezium.

Swirls of green in Hubble's ultraviolet and visible-light view reveal hydrogen and sulfur gas that have been heated and ionized by intense ultraviolet radiation from the Trapezium's stars. Spitzer's infrared view exposes carbon-rich molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the cloud. These organic molecules have been illuminated by the Trapezium's stars, and are shown in the composite as wisps of red and orange. On Earth, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are found on burnt toast and in automobile exhaust.

Together the telescopes expose the stars in Orion as a rainbow of dots sprinkled throughout the image. Orange-yellow dots revealed by Spitzer are actually infant stars that are deeply embedded in a cocoon of dust and gas. Hubble showed less embedded stars specks of green, and foreground stars as blue spots.

Stellar winds from clusters of newborn stars scattered throughout the cloud etched all of the well-defined ridges and cavities in Orion. The large cavity to the right of the image was most likely carved by winds from the Trapezium's stars.

Located 1,500 light-years away from Earth, the Orion nebula is the brightest spot in the sword of the Orion, or the "Hunter" constellation. The cosmic cloud is also our closest massive star-formation factory, and astronomers say that it contains more than 1,000 young stars.

The Orion constellation is a familiar sight in the fall and winter night sky in the northern hemisphere. The nebula is invisible to the unaided eye, but can be viewed with binoculars or small telescopes.

the poles are still open

I was waiting on the steps of my poling station this morning at 7:00. There were about 40 people in front of me, but I was all signed in, checked out, and voted by 7:15 . . . very efficient crew on duty.

As a plutocrat (see yesterday's post), I certainly had an urge to write in candidates in several positions, but alas, I subdued those urges and voted for all those that I felt deserved to be voted for. I left the box blank on the races that had no one I felt deserved to fill the slot. All in all it was a good experience this morning. Had I not voted, I don't think I would have had a legitimate reason to complain if things don't go they way I wish they would over the next two years.

Exercise your right to vote! Get out today and vote! Don't be apathetic. Don't grumble. Just get out and vote. Set the example. Lead the way. I saw several parents with children in tow this morning. Show your children what it means to be living in a free country. We complain about our country and the direction it is or is not going, but who should we blame for this? Voters elect the people who make the decisions. If you don't vote, you are saying you don't care. I care. The people I want to win don't always win, but at least I put my two cents worth in. If 20 percent of the people who should be voting get out and vote, then it is those 20 percent who are deciding our future for us. I wish EVERY eligible voter would cast his/her vote. If 100 percent of the voters in America used their power, we would have an awesome nation. The majority would definitely rule. The way it is, the minority of voters rule. That's pathetic.

The poles are still open. Get out and vote.

plutocrats unite

On the eve of mid-term elections I must express my opinion. This year I think I will declare myself a plutocrat. There was a great article in Sunday's paper about plutocrats. It has been about two months since Pluto was demoted from planet to dwarf planet and after much thought on the matter, I tend to agree with the plutocrats . . . "Honk if Pluto is still a planet."

The International Astronomical Union declared Pluto a non-planet because of one little technicality. Pluto orbits the sun, it is almost round, has it's own gravity, but the IAU ruled that Pluto had not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit because its orbit crosses that of Neptune. Personally I think that some celestial collision in the distant past knocked Pluto from its original orbit. Maybe Charon, Pluto's companion, pulled Pluto from its original orbit. By the way, Charon didn't even make the dwarf planet classification.

I am dissatisfied with the IAU's decision. I think Pluto should still be classified as a planet. Think of all the planetariums and textbooks and websites that will now have to be reworked just to accommodate their decision. According to Sunday's article, one group, the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, is simply going to ignore the decision and continue to call Pluto a planet.

It's a sentimental thing. Pluto represents the underdog. This tiny, little icy ball way out in space is an oddball, but it is a much-loved little oddball. The IAU might have used logic and based their decision on the best available science, but I think they should have put the decision to the vote of the people. If they had asked me I would have voted for planetdom. I know many of my friends would have voted in favor of Pluto's planet status as well.

What's your opinion of the Pluto situation? Is it too late to reinstate Pluto, or should we all just ignore the decision of IAU and continue to honor Pluto. And how do you think Disney's Pluto would feel if some board of cartoon judges declared Goofy to be a dog, but declared him to be . . . something else. I think we'd have a big problem on our hands. Rise up babyboomers and come to the rescue of Pluto!

jeremiah 33:3

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." -- Archaeology Bible (NIV)

"Call to me , and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know." -- Evidence Bible (KJV)

"Call to Me and I will answer, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know." -- NASB Study Bible

"Ask me and I will tell you some remarkable secrets about what is going to happen here." -- New Living Translation

"Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known." -- English Standard Version

We have such an incredible research resource with us all the time. Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find. Ask God and believe that he will answer you. If you ask without faith, then don't expect to get an answer. You must believe that God is willing to answer your questions . . . about anything. The answer you get may not be the one you were expecting. Ask why, and God will reveal to you what you are expected to do, how you are expected to act, where you are expected to go. Just listen and He will reveal awesome and mighty things to you. But don't ask selfishly. Don't ask, thinking that you already know the answer. You may be right, but God may have a whole new door waiting for you to open. Or maybe the door is already open and His answer will guide you through it.

I've always been curious about science, nature and the functionality of humanity. I have asked God many questions over the years and He continues to reveal answers (or cause me to ask more questions). This is such an awesome universe we live in, and we are such a small part of it. I believe that our small, little selves are all part of His big plan. The universe continues to expand, and as time passes we gain more knowledge. I believe this is God's plan for us and His plan continues to develop. If He were to divulge our complete future to us, I think we would be overwhelmed . . . could not comprehend it all. I look forward to asking Him my questions about creation and the wonders of the universe someday, face to face.

ode to trees

It occurred to me this morning as I was driving to work that I really like trees. I like all of nature . . . rocks, streams, beaches, clouds, mountains, thunderstorms . . . but I really like trees. Trees go through such dramatic changes from season to season. Right now they are in the middle of their transformation from green to bare. The colors are brilliant this year. I think they are probably brilliant to me because this is the first time that I am actually paying close attention to the colors. In years past I have seen the transformation and enjoyed it, but this year I am really enjoying it. I find myself pinpointing a particular tree or stand of trees and watching the daily change. For instance, we have a red leaf maple, a tulip poplar, a pin oak, an oak, a river birch, a sugar maple, and a redbud in our backyard. In previous years, the tulip poplar has always been the first one to shed its leaves. But not this year. The tulip poplar is still in its yellow phase. The red leaf maple is the dramatic one. Just about two weeks ago it started gradually changing colors. Then about a week ago it's leaves all turned vibrant red, and yesterday morning almost all of its leaves were on the ground. Overnight it shed its leaves. The first one in the yard to do so. OK, now I have to rake them all up but that's fine. That's just the price I have to pay for watching this spectacular transformation.

The picture above is one of a fallen maple leaf along a trail near where I work. As often as I can, I spend my lunch hour walking the trail of this park. There's a stand of persimmon trees in there. I haven't paid much attention to persimmon trees before, but now that I have found them, I'll be watching.

Then there are the spruce and the pines and all the other evergreens that stand guard over the forests year round. Without the evergreens we would have such a dreary winter. They keep us entertained with their ice sculptures and snow caps and Christmas trees. Christmas would'nt be nearly as memorable without the scent of pine trees.

Anyway, this is my ode to trees. Maybe you have a favorite tree story you would like to share.

dismal day

While driving through a rural area near Shreveport, Louisiana a few days ago, I crossed this river and I had to turn around and get some pictures. The sky was grey and there was a light mist in the air. The trees along the river bank looked so ominous (I like that word -- ominous). Spanish moss hung from the branches and the trees looked like they were marching into the water, wearing their mossy scarves to shield them from the chill of the river.

The bridge beneath my feet shook as 18-wheelers roared by, spraying me with cool, misty air as they passed. I don't know where they were headed on this dismal day, but for just a few brief moments, I didn't know where I was headed either, caught up in the serenity of this sleepy little river and these marching trees.