June's Young Crescent Moon (APOD 07 Jun 2008)

orin stepanek · Post by **orin stepanek** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 1:16 pm

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080607.html
I saved this picture. I will use it as a background for my desktop. I like to change my wallpaper on my computer from time to time. Never gets boring that way. I really like the way that Earth glo makes the whole moon's disc visible. The night lights of Lisbon, and the reflection in the water really set this picture off nicely.
Orin

neufer · Post by **neufer** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 2:39 pm

-------------------------------------
THE SURPRISING ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN
By Rudolph Erich Raspe Published in 1895.
http://bulfinch.englishatheist.org/baron/Baron.html

CHAPTER VI

I was not always successful. I had the misfortune to be overpowered by numbers, to be made prisoner of war; and, what is worse, but always usual among the Turks, to be sold for a slave. [The Baron was afterwards in great favour with the Grand Seignior, as will appear hereafter.] In that state of humiliation my daily task was not very hard and laborious, but rather singular and irksome.

It was to drive the Sultan's bees every morning to their pasture-grounds, to attend them all the day long, and against night to drive them back to their hives. One evening I missed a bee, and soon observed that two bears had fallen upon her to tear her to pieces for the honey she carried. I had nothing like an offensive weapon in my hands but the silver hatchet, which is the badge of the Sultan's gardeners and farmers.

I threw it at the robbers, with an intention to frighten them away, and set the poor bee at liberty; but, by an unlucky turn of my arm, it flew upwards, and continued rising till it reached the moon.

How should I recover it? how fetch it down again? I recollected that Turkey-beans grow very quick, and run up to an astonishing height. I planted one immediately; it grew, and actually fastened itself to one of the moon's horns. I had no more to do now but to climb up by it into the moon, where I safely arrived, and had a troublesome piece of business before I could find my silver hatchet, in a place where everything has the brightness of silver; at last, however, I found it in a heap of chaff and chopped straw.

I was now for returning: but, alas! the heat of the sun had dried up my bean; it was totally useless for my descent: so I fell to work, and twisted me a rope of that chopped straw, as long and as well as I could make it. This I fastened to one of the moon's horns, and slid down to the end of it.

Here I held myself fast with the left hand, and with the hatchet in my right, I cut the long, now useless end of the upper part, which, when tied to the lower end, brought me a good deal lower: this repeated splicing and tying of the rope did not improve its quality, or bring me down to the Sultan's farm. I was four or five miles from the earth at least when it broke; I fell to the ground with such amazing violence, that I found myself stunned, and in a hole nine fathoms deep at least, made by the weight of my body falling from so great a height: I recovered, but knew not how to get out again; however, I dug slopes or steps with my finger-nails [the Baron's nails were then of forty years' growth], and easily accomplished it.
-------------------------------------

NoelC · Post by **NoelC** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 3:12 pm

It's a nice photo, but I can't help but think that Mankind would be better off in many ways if he left the lights off and just went to bed at night.

-Noel

orin stepanek · Post by **orin stepanek** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 3:48 pm

NoelC wrote:It's a nice photo, but I can't help but think that Mankind would be better off in many ways if he left the lights off and just went to bed at night.

-Noel

Sometimes it is nice to stop in the country; away from city lights; to view the heavens.

Orin

apodman · Post by **apodman** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 5:55 pm

Thumbs up to using APOD for wallpaper. I wouldn't have lasted all these years without it.

Thumbs up to turning the lights off and sleeping or looking at the sky as you prefer and weather permits. The weather turned my lights off this week, which was okay except that it took the refrigeration with it.

bystander · Post by **bystander** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 3:18 pm

Here's some nice wallpapers from Hubble

http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/archive/wallpaper/

orin stepanek · Post by **orin stepanek** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 5:48 pm

bystander wrote:Here's some nice wallpapers from Hubble

http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/archive/wallpaper/

Thanks; I downloaded a shortcut. Here's another nice site.
http://www.noao.edu/outreach/aop/observers/galaxy.html
Makes nice wallpaper also.
Orin