Jupiter and three of its largest moons

I've been using my telescope during January to watch Jupiter and to follow the orbital positions of its four largest moons--Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. These four moons are called the Galilean moons because they were first discovered by Galileo Galilei around 1610. Io is the moon closest to Jupiter, while Callisto is the farthest from Jupiter. Regarding the length of the orbital periods for each moon, Io takes 1.769 days to orbit Jupiter, Europa 3.551 days, Ganymede 7.155 days, and Callisto 16.69 days. This makes it interesting to watch them, because it is possible to see the changes in their positions relative to Jupiter. I've been drawing their positions and at the same time trying to get a decent photo of them and of Jupiter with my digital SLR camera. Despite what I've read online, it's a tricky business to get a good photo, even when I follow the advice given. I plan on taking photos as often as I can; it's not each night that one can do that, due to clouds, fog, precipitation or other interferences that block the view. Some nights, I have been able to see all four moons, but not get a good photo. If I get a good photo of all four of them, I'll post the pic. Tonight I managed for the first time since I got my telescope to get a good photo of Jupiter and three of its moons. I'm posting the original photo and a cropped version to get a better view (a good suggestion from my husband). Enjoy.

The above image--cropped to get a closer view: Jupiter and three of its moons

A beautiful poem by Wallace Stevens

Apropos my previous post--a visitor outside my office window that just happened to be a lovely blackbird--I am posting one of my favorite poems about blackbirds, by Wallace Stevens. I am sure you will enjoy it as much as I do. 

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird

I

Among twenty snowy mountains,

The only moving thing

Was the eye of the blackbird.

II

I was of three minds,

Like a tree

In which there are three blackbirds.

III

The blackbird whirled in the autumn winds.

It was a small part of the pantomime.

IV

A man and a woman

Are one.

A man and a woman and a blackbird

Are one.

V

I do not know which to prefer,

The beauty of inflections

Or the beauty of innuendoes,

The blackbird whistling

Or just after.

VI

Icicles filled the long window

With barbaric glass.

The shadow of the blackbird

Crossed it, to and fro.

The mood

Traced in the shadow

An indecipherable cause.

VII

O thin men of Haddam,

Why do you imagine golden birds?

Do you not see how the blackbird

Walks around the feet

Of the women about you?

VIII

I know noble accents

And lucid, inescapable rhythms;

But I know, too,

That the blackbird is involved

In what I know.

IX

When the blackbird flew out of sight,

It marked the edge

Of one of many circles.

X

At the sight of blackbirds

Flying in a green light,

Even the bawds of euphony

Would cry out sharply.

XI

He rode over Connecticut

In a glass coach.

Once, a fear pierced him,

In that he mistook

The shadow of his equipage

For blackbirds.

XII

The river is moving.

The blackbird must be flying.

XIII

It was evening all afternoon.

It was snowing

And it was going to snow.

The blackbird sat

In the cedar-limbs.

A winter visitor outside my office window

This fat little fellow landed on the sill outside my office window yesterday afternoon--the common blackbird. I had put out some bird food as I usually do during the winter months, which mostly attracts the magpies and the blue tits. For the first time, a blackbird found his way to my window sill, and I snapped a picture of him with my cell phone. Not the best picture, but it will have to do. He didn't seem to be at all bothered that people were staring at him from the other side of the window. He took his time eating and seemed to enjoy himself. I put out more food today, but he did not return. I hope he does next week.

Quotes about loyalty

Lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life.

--Napoleon Hill

Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence. 

--Colin Powell

Honor your commitments with integrity. 

--Les Brown

Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies. 

--Mother Teresa

I married an archaeologist because the older I grow, the more he appreciates me. 

--Dame Agatha Christie

Dogs are better than human beings because they know but do not tell. 

--Emily Dickinson

Dare to be true. Nothing can need a lie: a fault which needs it most, grows two thereby. 

--George Herbert

Loyalty to the country always. Loyalty to the government when it deserves it.

--Mark Twain

Patriotism is just loyalty to friends, people, families.

--Robert Santos

My country is the world, and my religion is to do good. 

--Thomas Paine

Leadership is a two-way street, loyalty up and loyalty down. Respect for one’s superiors; care for one’s crew.

--Grace Murray Hopper

If we lose love and self respect for each other, this is how we finally die. 

--Maya Angelou

Paris in my heart

The Paris that made the news this week is nothing like the Paris that I know and love. I've been there at least five times at this writing and hope to visit there again. Nothing bad that happens there will ever destroy the beauty and the spirit of Paris for me. I have only good memories of this beautiful city and those memories are what came back to me this week as I watched the tragedy that unfolded there. They help to block out the tragic images. These photos from my many trips captured some of those memories forever.

Seine River and  Cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris

Cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris

Notre Dame at night

Notre Dame at night

Jardin du Luxembourg

cobblestone path along the Seine

Eiffel Tower

Sacre Coeur church

a beautiful Paris alley

ceiling in Galeries Lafayette

My new interest in one of the oldest sciences--astronomy

My post today will be about astronomy. It is one of the oldest sciences, dating back to some of the earliest world civilizations. This natural science is a study of celestial objects such as stars, galaxies, planets, moons, asteroids, comets and nebulae, as well as of the physics, chemistry and evolution that help to explain their existence (modified from Wikipedia). I am not sure when my interest in astronomy really took hold, but it has developed and grown during the past year, and reached the point where I decided I wanted to buy a telescope so that I could begin to gaze at the sky. Lucky me--my husband decided to make that purchase my Christmas present. So I am now the happy owner of a Skywatcher BK 705 AZ3 Telescope. It is a great telescope for beginners; you can gain more information about it by watching this excellent video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0YK9968ubY. This telescope costs about three hundred dollars, and allows camera attachment so that photos can be taken if desired. In order to get good camera focus though, you will need to purchase an adapter and an attachment ring, which I have now done. I am waiting for clear skies again in order to take some photos of the moon. Because this telescope has already provided excellent viewing of the full moon this past week; you can see the craters and the lunar landscape. Very cool! We have also managed to view Jupiter with two of its moons (most likely Ganymedes and Europa), but not with great resolution since this planet is quite far from earth and the moons were really just pricks of light; when the two planets are at their closest point, the distance to Jupiter is 365,000,000 miles. The distance between the moon and earth is 225,623 miles at the moon’s closest approach. My husband, who studied physics before moving into biology, has provided me with the mathematical formula to calculate the angular resolution needed to see the moon. It stands to reason that since the moon is closer to the earth than Jupiter, the resolution is better for the moon than for Jupiter. I will eventually take some photos of both and post them here, so you will see what I mean. I would need a much more powerful telescope to get high-resolution views of Jupiter, and it would cost a small fortune.

Interestingly, but perhaps not unexpectedly, there is suddenly a plethora of programs and news articles about astronomy, the planets and moons, space travel, the current space missions—all of which I find so interesting and timely. Here are some links to some great programs and sites if you are interested in finding out more about the ‘wonders of the universe’:

• Wonders of the Solar System TV series from 2010 with professor Brian Cox: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonders_of_the_Solar_System   (excellent series—I cannot recommend it highly enough)
• AstroViewer: http://www.astroviewer.com/index.php   
• Universe Today website: http://www.universetoday.com/
•  NASA’s website: http://www.nasa.gov/    (excellent website)
•  SkyWatcher telescopes: http://www.skywatcher.com/products.php?cat=1

Happy 2015!

A new year upon us, with hopefully more opportunities to 'find the strength to accept what we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to tell the difference'. I've modified the Serenity prayer written by Reinhold Niebuhr, which is a powerful little prayer. It is finding the wisdom to 'see' the difference that is the most difficult. Often we bang our heads against the wall of a problem that can never be resolved and waste precious years doing so. Other times we don't see the golden opportunities staring us right in the face for how to solve a problem that can be solved. Often the changes that most need to be made are within ourselves. We cannot change others. It's been said countless numbers of times, but it's true. Change starts with you. I've been thinking about change as it pertains to my own life, and have made some changes that I'll share with you as 2015 progresses. I've realized that taking calculated risks is what makes life interesting, likewise having a sense of adventure. And sometimes opportunities appear for helping you to change your life that can only be divinely-inspired. So here's to the new year, to positive change, to having faith, to serenity and to real peace. I wish that for everyone I know and love, and for the world too.

And for those of you who would like to read Niebuhr's prayer in its entirety, here it is:

God, give me grace to accept with serenity

the things that cannot be changed,

Courage to change the things

which should be changed,

and the Wisdom to distinguish

the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,

Enjoying one moment at a time,

Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,

Taking, as Jesus did,

This sinful world as it is,

Not as I would have it,

Trusting that You will make all things right,

If I surrender to Your will,

So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,

And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.