Category: Daily Posts

June 8 Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2022 June 8

Ship Tracks over the Pacific Ocean

Image Credit: NASA, Terra, MODIS; Text: Raymond Shaw (MTU)

Explanation: What are those unusual streaks? Some images of planet Earth show clear bright streaks that follow the paths of ships. Known as ship tracks, these low and narrow bands are caused by the ship’s engine exhaust. Water vapor condenses around small bits of exhaust known as aerosols, which soon grow into floating water drops that efficiently reflect sunlight. Ship tracks were first discovered in 1965 in Earth images taken by NASA’s TIROS satellites. Multiple ship tracks are visible across the featured image that was captured in 2009 over the Pacific Ocean by the MODIS instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite. Inspired by ship-tracks, some scientists have suggested deploying a network of floating buoys in the worlds’ oceans that spray salt-aerosol containing sea-water into the air so that, with the help of the wind, streams of sunlight-reflecting clouds would also form. Why do this? These human-made clouds could reflect so much sunlight they might help fight global warming.

A Thought for Today

Until we meet again dear sisters, brothers, and honored guests may your life be filled with all things positive!

June 7 Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2022 June 7

NGC 6188: Dragons of Ara

Image Credit & Copyright: Shaun Robertson

Explanation: Do dragons fight on the altar of the sky? Although it might appear that way, these dragons are illusions made of thin gas and dust. The emission nebula NGC 6188, home to the glowing clouds, is found about 4,000 light years away near the edge of a large molecular cloud unseen at visible wavelengths, in the southern constellation Ara (the Altar). Massive, young stars of the embedded Ara OB1 association were formed in that region only a few million years ago, sculpting the dark shapes and powering the nebular glow with stellar winds and intense ultraviolet radiation. The recent star formation itself was likely triggered by winds and supernova explosions, from previous generations of massive stars, that swept up and compressed the molecular gas. Joining NGC 6188 on this cosmic canvas, visible toward the lower right, is rare emission nebula NGC 6164, also created by one of the region’s massive O-type stars. Similar in appearance to many planetary nebulae, NGC 6164’s striking, symmetric gaseous shroud and faint halo surround its bright central star near the bottom edge. This impressively wide field of view spans over 2 degrees (four full Moons), corresponding to over 150 light years at the estimated distance of NGC 6188.

Interesting facts about the dwarf planet Pluto that will blow your mind

Despite no longer being a planet, Pluto is still loved by millions around the world. And, for a good reason, it is a fascinating object.

With a surface covered with mountains, valleys, plains, craters, and perhaps even glaciers, Pluto would certainly be a fascinating place to visit. First officially discovered in the early-1930s, it has fascinated scientists and the general public ever since.

 

Let’s take a closer look at this former planet at the edge of our Solar System.

What is unique about the dwarf planet Pluto?

Since it received its new status of a “dwarf planet,” Pluto can console itself with finally being the largest of something in the Solar System. Due to its proximity to the Kuiper Belt, it can claim the title of being the largest body in the belt.

The Kuiper belt, in case you are unaware, is a shadowy zone beyond Neptune that is populated with hundreds of thousands or millions of rocky and icy …

Click here to read the rest of this article

A Laugh for Today

June 6 Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2022 June 6

Milky Way Galaxy Doomed: Collision with Andromeda Pending

Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Z. Levay and R. van der Marel (STScI); T. Hallas; and A. Mellinger

Explanation: Will our Milky Way Galaxy collide one day with its larger neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy? Most likely, yes. Careful plotting of slight displacements of M31’s stars relative to background galaxies on recent Hubble Space Telescope images indicate that the center of M31 could be on a direct collision course with the center of our home galaxy. Still, the errors in sideways velocity appear sufficiently large to admit a good chance that the central parts of the two galaxies will miss, slightly, but will become close enough for their outer halos to become gravitationally entangled. Once that happens, the two galaxies will become bound, dance around, and eventually merge to become one large elliptical galaxy — over the next few billion years. Pictured here is a combination of images depicting the sky of a world (Earth?) in the distant future when the outer parts of each galaxy begin to collide. The exact future of our Milky Way and the entire surrounding Local Group of Galaxies is likely to remain an active topic of research for years to come.

A Thought for Today

Until we meet again dear sisters, brothers, and honored guests may your life be filled with all things positive!

A Laugh for Today

Wishing you a happy, magickal week!

A Thought for Today

Until we meet again dear sisters, brothers, and honored guests may your life be filled with all things positive!

Some of the Witchcraft/Magickal Correspondence Digest for Sunday

Magickal Intentions: Growth, Advancements, Enlightenment, Rational Thought, Exorcism, Healing, Prosperity, Hope, Exorcism, Money

Incense: Lemon, Frankincense

Planet: Sun

Sign: Leo

Angel: Michael

Colors: Gold, Yellow, Orange and White

Herbs/Plants: Marigold, Heliotrope, Sunflower, Buttercup, Cedar, Beech, Oak

Stones: Carnelian, Citrine, Tiger’s Eye, Amber, Clear Quartz and Red Agate

Oil: (Sun) Cedar, Frankincense, Neroli, Rosemary

The first day of the week is ruled by the Sun. It is an excellent time to work efforts involving business partnerships, work promotions, business ventures, and professional success. Spells where friendships, mental or physical health, or bringing joy back into life are an issue work well on this day, too

June 5 Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2022 June 5

Two Black Holes Dancing in 3C 75

Image Credit: X-Ray: NASA/CXC/D. Hudson, T. Reiprich et al. (AIfA); Radio: NRAO/VLA/ NRL

Explanation: What’s happening at the center of active galaxy 3C 75? The two bright sources at the center of this composite x-ray (blue)/ radio (pink) image are co-orbiting supermassive black holes powering the giant radio source 3C 75. Surrounded by multimillion degree x-ray emitting gas, and blasting out jets of relativistic particles the supermassive black holes are separated by 25,000 light-years. At the cores of two merging galaxies in the Abell 400 galaxy cluster they are some 300 million light-years away. Astronomers conclude that these two supermassive black holes are bound together by gravity in a binary system in part because the jets’ consistent swept back appearance is most likely due to their common motion as they speed through the hot cluster gas at about 1200 kilometers per second. Such spectacular cosmic mergers are thought to be common in crowded galaxy cluster environments in the distant universe. In their final stages, the mergers are expected to be intense sources of gravitational waves.

Let’s Have Some Fun – Printable Adult Coloring Page

A Laugh for Today

Relax and enjoy some coloring time.

The new relaxation technique that came out a few years ago for adult themed coloring really can help everyone to locate their inner child and let it come out to play! Look for the coloring pages throughout WOTC and those posted today. Some are so small that printing them out at the size given almost everyone would need a magnifying glass to see the details so by making the coloring page bigger they sometimes get fuzzy.

A Thought for Today

We all have metaphysical wings it is learning to trust them along with our spirit and animal guides to let us soar higher than we think we can.

Until we meet again dear sisters, brothers, and honored guests may your life be filled with all things positive!

Some of the Witchcraft/Magickal Correspondence Digest for Saturday

Magickal Intentions: Spirit Communications, Meditation, Psychic Attack or Defense, Locating Lost Things and Missing Persons, Building, Life, Doctrine, Protection, Knowledge, Authority, Limitations, Boundries, Time and Death
Incense: Black Poppy Seed and Myrrh
Planet: Saturn
Sign: Capricorn and Aquarius
Angel: Cassiel
Colors: Black, Grey and Indigo
Herbs/Plants: Myrrh, Moss, Hemlock, Wolfsbane, Coltsfoot, Nightshade and Fir
Stones: Jet, Smokey Quartz, Amethyst, Black Onyx, Snowflake Obsidian, Lava, Pumice
Oil: (Saturn) Cypress, Mimosa, Myrrh, Patchouly
Saturn lends its energies to the last day of the week. Because Saturn is the planet of karma, this day is an excellent time for spellwork involving reincarnation, karmic lessons, the Mysteries, wisdom, and long-term projects. It is also a good time to being efforts that deal with the elderly, death, or the eradication of pests and disease.

June 4 Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2022 June 4

Tau Herculids from Space

Image Credit & Copyright: Zhuoxiao Wang, Yangwang-1 Space Telescope, Origin.Space

Explanation: On May 31 tens of parallel meteor streaks were recorded in this 8 degree wide field of view of planet Earth’s limb from space. The image is one of a series of 5 minute long observations by the orbiting Yangwang-1 space telescope. It was captured at 03:43 UT, near the peak of the Tau Herculid meteor shower. As predicted, the meteor shower was an active one this year, caused as Earth swept through a relatively dense stream of debris from disintegrating Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, but was lacking bright meteors. Nearly all of the Tau Herculid meteors in the Yangwang-1 image are too faint to be detected by groundbased instruments. But on that date patient earthbound skywatchers under clear skies still enjoyed a memorable showing of the Tau Herculids.

Pagan and Magickal Terms and Definitions

Today’s Word is

Besom

From moonlitpriestess.com

A magickally charged broom generally used to sweep away negative energies. Sometimes used for home protection by placing above a door or window. Also used in fertility rituals for its association as a phallic symbol. In Handfastings, the besom serves as a sort of designator between one phase of life and another; couples will step or leap from their lives as individuals into their new lives as married couples.

From Spells8.com

A broom made of twigs tied around a stick. Used in cleansing rituals and to invite beneficial energies to a space.

Witch’s Broom Consecration

The most common use of brooms is to sweep away negative energies, thereby cleansing and purifying the space.

Learn how to consecrate your broom before you hang it over the door on inside a room for protection against negative energies, and find a printable page in PDF to add to your Witch’s Grimoire.