Friends

[emc]

Some of you know me. I joined Asterisk in 2007. About the same time that I started my own website. I was out to change the world. What better way than a website and an astronomy forum account. I love people, showing my art, and I love outer space. But I was at the beginning throws of another bipolar mania episodic eventuality. Which came to fruition in 2011.

During that time I made some good friends here. I learned and I laughed. I had fun!

My doctor, actually my supervising nurse, told me to stop my Asterisk activity to avoid the manic triggers that had begun. So I did. In 2011.

One of great things about friends is that they don’t judge each other. And another great thing is that no matter how much time passes between meetings, we’re still good friends.

[orin stepanek]

Some of you know me. I joined Asterisk in 2007. About the same time that I started my own website. I was out to change the world. What better way than a website and an astronomy forum account. I love people, showing my art, and I love outer space. But I was at the beginning throws of another bipolar mania episodic eventuality. Which came to fruition in 2011.

During that time I made some good friends here. I learned and I laughed. I had fun!

My doctor, actually my supervising nurse, told me to stop my Asterisk activity to avoid the manic triggers that had begun. So I did. In 2011.

In 2021, I logged in during another manic episode and received a PM from a Jehovah’s Witness. I emailed him and discovered that he’d evidently been battling with someone or more of you regarding your beliefs. I told him that he was acting on the Devil’s behalf.

God, or whatever you think God is or isn’t, did not teach us to impose our belief on others. He taught us to love others. It’s a pre-wired condition easily spotted in the eyes of a child.

That’s what I saw in my Asterisk friend’s posts… Love.

One of great things about friends is that they don’t judge each other. And another great thing is that no matter how much time passes between meetings, we’re still good friends.

Love is the force that binds us together. Anything else is a divider. Dividers can be conquered.

Ed
https://eds-art.net

Welcome back; come and go as you need to!

[emc]

Welcome back; come and go as you need to!

Thanks Orin. You’re a good friend! I’m stable right now. It’s good to be back!

I’m hoping my old Asterisk friends see this Friends thread and comment. I thought it might be fun for us to pile up in a single, get reacquainted, posting after the decade or so that’s gone by. I expect some of you may have even gotten older.

[Ann]

Welcome back; come and go as you need to!

Thanks Orin. You’re a good friend! I’m stable right now. It’s good to be back!

I’m hoping my old Asterisk friends see this Friends thread and comment. I thought it might be fun for us to pile up in a single, get reacquainted, posting after the decade or so that’s gone by. I expect some of you may have even gotten older.

Hi emc! I don't know you well at all, but I hear you have been ill, and you used to be a staunch regular here at Starship Asterisk*. Welcome back! And as Orin said, come and go as you need to, but I hope you will be able to stay!

Ann

[emc]

Thanks Orin. You’re a good friend! I’m stable right now. It’s good to be back!

I’m hoping my old Asterisk friends see this Friends thread and comment. I thought it might be fun for us to pile up in a single, get reacquainted, posting after the decade or so that’s gone by. I expect some of you may have even gotten older.

Hi emc! I don't know you well at all, but I hear you have been ill, and you used to be a staunch regular here at Starship Asterisk*. Welcome back! And as Orin said, come and go as you need to, but I hope you will be able to stay!

Ann

Hi Ann! Thanks for posting here! I think of you as an old friend. I did a lot of reading in your posts when was a regular poster. It was fun to see you guys and especially neufer spat! You belong here but I wasn’t sure about me. I’m a simple artist that loves people and outer space. I have no astronomy credentials. My astronomy knowledge is what I retain reading and from y’all’s wonderful works here. I’m most interested in the people and aesthetic side of APOD.

Thanks again for posting!

[orin stepanek]

Welcome back; come and go as you need to!

Thanks Orin. You’re a good friend! I’m stable right now. It’s good to be back!

I’m hoping my old Asterisk friends see this Friends thread and comment. I thought it might be fun for us to pile up in a single, get reacquainted, posting after the decade or so that’s gone by. I expect some of you may have even gotten older.

Hi emc! I don't know you well at all, but I hear you have been ill, and you used to be a staunch regular here at Starship Asterisk*. Welcome back! And as Orin said, come and go as you need to, but I hope you will be able to stay!

Ann

Hi Ann; Ed and I started at about the same time! Also a few other guys; Like Neufer, bystander, BMAOne23. ETC, Etc. I hope I never left anyone out! I Wish Some of them never left!

[Ann]

Thanks Orin. You’re a good friend! I’m stable right now. It’s good to be back!

I’m hoping my old Asterisk friends see this Friends thread and comment. I thought it might be fun for us to pile up in a single, get reacquainted, posting after the decade or so that’s gone by. I expect some of you may have even gotten older.

Hi emc! I don't know you well at all, but I hear you have been ill, and you used to be a staunch regular here at Starship Asterisk*. Welcome back! And as Orin said, come and go as you need to, but I hope you will be able to stay!

Ann

Hi Ann; Ed and I started at about the same time! Also a few other guys; Like Neufer, bystander, BMAOne23. ETC, Etc. I hope I never left anyone out! I Wish Some of them never left!

Indeed, I remember BMAOne 23, and several others, too. And who can ever forget Neufer?

Ann

[emc]

Hi emc! I don't know you well at all, but I hear you have been ill, and you used to be a staunch regular here at Starship Asterisk*. Welcome back! And as Orin said, come and go as you need to, but I hope you will be able to stay!

Ann

Hi Ann; Ed and I started at about the same time! Also a few other guys; Like Neufer, bystander, BMAOne23. ETC, Etc. I hope I never left anyone out! I Wish Some of them never left!

I don’t think neufer had any choice. I’m very sorry that I missed being able to banter with him again.

[Ann]

Thanks Orin. You’re a good friend! I’m stable right now. It’s good to be back!

I’m hoping my old Asterisk friends see this Friends thread and comment. I thought it might be fun for us to pile up in a single, get reacquainted, posting after the decade or so that’s gone by. I expect some of you may have even gotten older.

Hi emc! I don't know you well at all, but I hear you have been ill, and you used to be a staunch regular here at Starship Asterisk*. Welcome back! And as Orin said, come and go as you need to, but I hope you will be able to stay!

Ann

Hi Ann! Thanks for posting here! I think of you as an old friend. I did a lot of reading in your posts when was a regular poster. It was fun to see you guys and especially neufer spat! You belong here but I wasn’t sure about me. I’m a simple artist that loves people and outer space. I have no astronomy credentials. My astronomy knowledge is what I retain reading and from y’all’s wonderful works here. I’m most interested in the people and aesthetic side of APOD.

Thanks again for posting!

I just love the aesthtic side of APOD! That's why I keep posting so many pictures here. I pick them with care!

Ann

[emc]

I just love the aesthtic side of APOD! That's why I keep posting so many pictures here. I pick them with care!

Ann

No argument from me!

[emc]

I just love the aesthtic side of APOD! That's why I keep posting so many pictures here. I pick them with care!

Ann

No argument from me!

Do you have a favorite?

[orin stepanek]

Biggest reason I love APOD is because of the photography; space offers a lot of beauty!

[emc]

This was my favorite APOD on October 23, 2010

A Bucket Wheel Excavator on Earth

Explanation: Please wait while one of the largest mobile machines in the world crosses the road. The machine pictured above is a bucket-wheel excavator used in modern surface mining. Machines like this have given humanity the ability to mine minerals and change the face of planet Earth in new and dramatic ways. Some open pit mines, for example, are visible from orbit. The largest excavators are over 200 meters long and 100 meters high, now dwarfing the huge NASA Crawler that transports space shuttles to the launch pads. Bucket-wheel excavators can dig a hole the length of a football field to over 25 meters deep in a single day. They may take a while to cross a road, though, with a top speed under one kilometer per hour.

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I like today’s APOD. I think I could use that thing to help me mine the vastness of SA*... Might help the absorption of information go faster!

I’ve been away for over a decade (not counting my manic flyby in 2021)… The APOD and Starship Asterisk database must be staggeringly staggering by now!

We’re gonna need a bigger shovel!

[emc]

Biggest reason I love APOD is because of the photography; space offers a lot of beauty!

Yes sir!

The stars speak volumes and we get to hear their voice at the night sky and in the beautiful offerings that are captured by the talented.

[Ann]

I just love the aesthtic side of APOD! That's why I keep posting so many pictures here. I pick them with care!

Ann

No argument from me!

Do you have a favorite?

Well, I love galaxies and their fantastic shapes, and sometimes their amazing colors, too. Like NGC 1566.

One photographer that I really like is Mark Hanson. This is his portrait of NGC 1566. (Mark Hanson has sometimes been active here at Starship Asterik*, and Mark, I hope you will allow me to post your gorgeous portrait of NGC 1566 here.)

NGC 1566. Credit and copyright: Mark Hanson.

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Note the perfect spiral shape of this galaxy. Note the yellow center, whose color comes from billions and billions of mostly small old yellow and reddish stars like the nearest star to the Earth (apart from the Sun), Proxima Centauri.

Sunlike stars Alpha Centauri A+B and small red dwarf Proxima Centauri. Credit: ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2. Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin/Mahdi Zamani

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In the picture above, the Sunlike stars Alpha Centauri A+B look blue because of the filters used and how the filter images were mapped. In reality, Alpha Centauri A+B are a little yellower than the Sun. My point, however, is that Proxima Centauri is very faint indeed (because it is as more or less the same distance from us as Alpha Centauri A+B, but it is so much fainter). Proxima is faint even as red dwarfs go. The bright yellow centers of galaxies are chock full of mostly small faint red and yellow stars, many of them similar to Proxima Centauri.

Globular cluster Omega Centauri. Credit: NASA/Hubble.

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Globular clusters are actually not like the cores of large galaxies, because globular clusters typically contain just a single generation of extremely old stars, made from very "pristine" gas in the Universe. The cores of large galaxies, by contrast, contain stars of many generations made from gas that has often been "recycled" many times.

Nevertheless, globular Omega Centauri may indeed be the core of a dwarf galaxy. The picture gives you an idea of the myriads of stars in a galactic core.

Core of spiral galaxy NGC 1300. Credit: Hubble Heritage Team, ESA, NASA

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Of course, in large galaxies, we always expect an even higher mass concentration and roiling motions near the very core, as in NGC 1300 above. We can expect no less from NGC 1566.

Black hole of giant elliptical galaxy M87. Credit: Event Horizon Telescope, uploader cropped and converted TIF to JPG

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We also expect any large and massive galaxy to contain a central black hole. We do expect that from NGC 1566, too.

As for the arms of NGC 1566, as well as the arms of most spiral galaxies, they are bluish from the light of hot bright blue giant stars. Actually constellation Orion really demonstrates what kind of stars typically light up the bright arms of spiral galaxies:

Constellation Orion. Image Credit & Copyright: Derrick Lim

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Of the seven brightest stars in constellation Orion, six are blue giants or supergiants. There are also many other remarkable blue stars in Orion, such as very hot and massive O-type stars Meissa (at top) and Iota Orionis (just below the Orion Nebula below center).

There is, of course, also a beloved bright red supergiant in Orion. Red supergiants are typically young massive stars, which is why they they are typically found in the arms rather than in the core of spiral galaxies. The arms of spiral galaxies are dominated by blue stars, but they do contain red giant and supergiant stars as well.

Spiral galaxy M94 sports a ring of bright blue stars around its yellow center. The center is made up of billions of small red stars. The ring contains a much smaller number of much brighter and typically blue stars. If you look carefully, you can just make out a few red stars among the blue stars in the ring. Credit: ESA/Hubble.

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Getting back to NGC 1566 again, there are extended pink regions in the arms. These are pink emission nebulas, lit up by highly energetic young stars that have been born from the gas and dust of these nebulas.

Orion Nebula. Credit: Aleix Roig

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Finally, there is a lot of dust in NGC 1566, as there is in virtually all spiral galaxies. The dust is mostly a tracer of the gas reservoir of the galaxy, but the dust (along with the gas) also provides "scaffolding" for the spiral arms and raw material for fresh star formation.


Take a look at the JWST portrait of NGC 1566, highlighting the galaxy's dust and gas. That is beautiful, too!

The spiral arms of NGC 1566 are filled with cavernous bubbles and shells overlapping one another in this image from MIRI. These filaments and hollow cavities are evidence of young stars releasing energy and, in some cases, blowing out the gas and dust of the interstellar medium surrounding them. In this image of NGC 1566, cyan, orange, and red were assigned to Webb’s MIRI data at 7.7, 10 and 11.3, and 21 microns (F770W, F1000W and F1130W, and F2100W, respectively). Credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Judy Schmidt

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Beautiful, isn't it?

Ann

[emc]

Beautiful, isn't it?

Ann

Yes ma’am!

I love your love for the heavens! And I admire your knowledge of the workings!

I think NGC 1566 is my favorite in your mix! Such a beautiful structure! And the colors are icing on the cake!

Mark Hanson may be happy you’re featuring his work. Artists love a gracious audience! Artists finish their work and an audience completes it.

Thanks for sharing!

[emc]

Welcome back; come and go as you need to!

Thanks Orin. You’re a good friend! I’m stable right now. It’s good to be back!

I’m hoping my old Asterisk friends see this Friends thread and comment. I thought it might be fun for us to pile up in a single, get reacquainted, posting after the decade or so that’s gone by. I expect some of you may have even gotten older.

It’s weird quoting myself

I just wanted to add asking you to please let me know if something that I post bothers you in any way. Don’t be afraid to be honest with me. I’m testing my bipolar disorder waters by coming back here to Asterisk after a decade or so. And I need honesty, not pity.

To be mentally healthy, I need to be challenged. Posting here certainly does that. My website does that. You should see it. I think you’ll love it! But I tend to fret over my work about offending others that I don’t want to offend. I can develop manic depressive triggers by fretting.

Communicating with web friends old and new is good therapy that builds strong bipolar brain muscles. My writing this is helping me. Your posting here helps me. I’m hopeful that I’m helping you too.

In 2007 I was looking for a forum that would help my brain. It was either a bipolar forum with sick folks like myself or a forum of NOT sick folks that would challenge my communication skill. I opted for smart and not sick folks. You didn’t disappoint me. I just got sideways in 2011 because of the religion rule here and my thoughts on the subject. The rule conflicted with my spirit. I’m a spiritual person. So the conflict fueled my fretting. Thusly, I had to stop posting… doctor’s orders. I sneaked back here this past Sunday. I plan to tell my wife and nurse but only if I can post here trigger free. But I’m gonna need your help avoiding triggers.

Please keep posting with me. I don’t want to change anyone else’s spiritual beliefs. I fret that you might think that I do want to change your belief. Too many zealots have been here reeking havoc and I don’t blame you for feeling defensive. But I just want to love my web friends. Again.

Thanks,
Ed

[bystander]

...
I just got sideways in 2011 because of the religion rule here and my thoughts on the subject. The rule conflicted with my spirit. I’m a spiritual person. So the conflict fueled my fretting. ...

The rule was meant to avoid conflict, not cause it. Even among "Christians" differing beliefs can be the cause of conflict. I'm sorry this has caused you some internal conflict, but I still feel it is a good, and necessary, rule.

Be at ease. No one is hear to judge you, and if they are, that's their problem.

[emc]

...
I just got sideways in 2011 because of the religion rule here and my thoughts on the subject. The rule conflicted with my spirit. I’m a spiritual person. So the conflict fueled my fretting. ...

The rule was meant to avoid conflict, not cause it. Even among "Christians" differing beliefs can be the cause of conflict. I'm sorry this has caused you some internal conflict, but I still feel it is a good, and necessary, rule.

The rule is fine and well placed. My conflict, as you said, is internal. My bipolar brain is why I experience conflict, not the rule. Maybe I should start a bipolar thread

Be at ease. No one is hear to judge you, and if they are, that's their problem.

I’m not here to judge anyone either. That’s where conflict begins. Conflict is a bipolar episodic trigger. Love is where conflict ends. There’s a lot of good folks here. I’m hoping to be able to stay longer this time.

[emc]

...
I just got sideways in 2011 because of the religion rule here and my thoughts on the subject. The rule conflicted with my spirit. I’m a spiritual person. So the conflict fueled my fretting. ...

The rule was meant to avoid conflict, not cause it. Even among "Christians" differing beliefs can be the cause of conflict. I'm sorry this has caused you some internal conflict, but I still feel it is a good, and necessary, rule.

The rule is fine and well placed. My conflict, as you said, is internal. My bipolar brain is why I experience conflict, not the rule. Maybe I should start a bipolar thread

Be at ease. No one is hear to judge you, and if they are, that's their problem.

I’m not here to judge anyone either. That’s where conflict begins. Conflict is a bipolar episodic trigger. Love is where conflict ends. There’s a lot of good folks here. I’m hoping to be able to stay longer this time.

The rule against discussing religion made me self conscious about my spiritual thinking. I felt that some were judging me for being so ignorant. I worked myself into a episodic frenzy trying not to break the rule. My own problem not anyone here. I think I’ve gotten stronger mentally so here I am.

Thanks for posting here bystander! You’re a good friend.

[emc]

I’m having triggers again. This is going to sound crazy but I’m thinking that I’m being punished for not posting in Orin’s Flowers Around the House. Crazy right? I think it stems from being away for so long. Nobody’s fault here. Just my bipolar kicking in.

[bystander]

I’m having triggers again. This is going to sound crazy but I’m thinking that I’m being punished for not posting in Orin’s Flowers Around the House. Crazy right? I think it stems from being away for so long. Nobody’s fault here. Just my bipolar kicking in.

Go post in Orin’s Flowers Around the House. There will be nothing to punish you for, not that there is now.
Post where you want. Say what you want. Just try to stay on topic. We are not a judgemental crowd.

[emc]

I’m having triggers again. This is going to sound crazy but I’m thinking that I’m being punished for not posting in Orin’s Flowers Around the House. Crazy right? I think it stems from being away for so long. Nobody’s fault here. Just my bipolar kicking in.

Go post in Orin’s Flowers Around the House. There will be nothing to punish you for, not that there is now.
Post where you want. Say what you want. Just try to stay on topic. We are not a judgemental crowd.

I’m so grateful that you posted again bystander!

I’m dealing with my triggers better, but wanted to give an example of what causes them. Basically it stems from guilty thoughts stemming from an overactive and psychotic brain. I take risperidone for that. We’ve adjusted my meds over the years and I think I’m in a good place right now. I can overcome the psychotic thinking after understanding the triggers. I won’t go into the trigger details unless you ask to know because it’s pretty wacky doodle.

Thanks buddy! You mean more to me than you know.

[emc]

Truth is the most important thing in the universe.
Goodbye my friend.
Friends are forever.
https://eds-art.net/devil/

Sorry I left twice without saying goodbye