Another Astronomy Diversion

Three posts in practically a week! Am I good or what? ;)

Anyways, today the discovery of an Earth-like planet was announced. This planet, Gliese 581g, is several times the mass of our planet and orbits a red dwarf star. The planet is locked into position, one side always baking in the oven, and the other side always sitting in the freezer, but the line where the oven and the freezer start and end respectively offers the hospitable temperature of a cold winter (averaging -24 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit). Not only is this planet hopefully habitable, it is a mere 20 light years away....

The evidence is overwhelming. We need to develop a faster, more efficient means of space travel. Maybe it will take years - generations - but in the end, the possibility of space colonies and manned interplanetary travel outside of our solar system can become a reality.

From the Notebook....

I saw it first in the rough rugged mountainside,
In the trees and rocks that the blue shadows hide -
I caught a glimpse of beauty and I could not let it go,
So I'd cling to it and chase it, although it pained me so.

I knew that pain of longing when I saw the ocean blue;
Blue deeper than the sky that fades into a grayish hue,
I caught a glimpse of beauty and I could not let it go,
So I'd cling to it and chase it, although it pained me so.

The awe of galaxies so great and stars beyond the sun,
The somber thrills of nebulae - they left me all undone
For I'd caught a glimpse of beauty which I could not let go,
And I'd cling to it and chase it, although it pained me so.

I read of the laws of physics, such as F equals M times A,
And I wondered at the order of the universe that day;
...I'd caught a glimpse of beauty which I could not let go,
And I'd cling to it and chase it, although it pained me so.

Then through misty eyes I saw a cross, the middle one of three,
And I saw my sins on a Saviour who had born them all for me;
I caught a glimpse of beauty and I could not let it go,
So I'd cling to it and chase it although it pained me so.

Then I knew the world I saw here was just the fading shadow,
And I knew the joy I'd sought so long I finally did know,
For I'd seen a glimpse of Heaven in each thing I had longed for,
And I'd see it all so clearly when I passed through Death's dark door.

Christ's open arms are stretched to me and, full of joy, I run;
My God who loved and saved me by His only, precious Son....
Oh, I see this glimpse of beauty and I cannot let it go,
So I'll cling to it and chase it, because I love it so.

(C) Copyright September 27, 2010 - Curious Cognitive Content (CCC)

On Dinosaurs and a Neglected Blog

I am posting today primarily to try out this updated blogging editor thing that blogger initiated simply to confuse people like me who dislike changes to anything that has become nice and familiar. To be fair, the only problem I have had with it so far is that it is slow, and that isn't blogger's problem but my old computer's. :)

I was also feeling just a touch ashamed for leaving my blog without a new post for almost a month and decided to post something even if it meant opening up the dictionary and choosing a word at random. However, although I have resorted to that in the past, today a subject offered itself to my attention.

A couple of new dinosaurs were recently discovered in North America,the most intriguing of these being the Kosmoceratops (Kosmo: "to ornate" ceratops: "horn-face"). Apparently, this particular dinosaur definitely has an ornate horny-skull - the most elaborate of all known dinosaurs.


Sadly, as I am not a dinosaur enthusiast, I cannot elaborate, being slightly muddled (an understatement) by the technical words of classification and genus. Perhaps the only thing I know about dinosaurs comes from second hand knowledge of Jurassic Park. In any case, this sad semblance of a post will have to do for now....