The space of night is infinite,
The blackness and emptiness
Crossed only by thin bright fences
Of logic

— Kenneth Rexroth
"Theory of Numbers"

narrowband

Lyra's Smoke Ring Nebula

Warm and moonless last night. I took out the Celestron 11" out for a quick spin. I was going to do some visual observing and then collimate the unit and wait for Jupiter. But once out, I saw this old favorite through the 11" and decided to capure the moment. There is a bit more detail in this image than I experienced visually... but not a lot more though.

Lyra's Smoke Ring Nebula

The Heart of The Heart

The Heart Nebula, IC 1805, an emission nebula, lies some 7500 light years away from Earth. It is located in the Perseus arm of the Galaxy in the constellation Cassiopeia. This nebula is formed by plasma of ionized hydrogen (HII) and free electrons.

 The Heart of The Heart

Dumbbell Nebula

The Dumbbell Nebula, also known as Messier 27 (M27), is a bright, large planetary planetary nebula located in Vulpecula constellation, at a distance of 1,360 light years from Earth. It is sometimes also called the Apple Core Nebula or Diablo Nebula. The nebula has the designation NGC 6853 in the New General Catalogue. It was the first planetary nebula to be discovered. Charles Messier included it as M27 in his catalogue in 1764.
Source: http://www.constellation-guide.com/dumbbell-nebula-messier-27/
Ha -12hr as R OIII -06hr as G and B

 Dumbbell Nebula

NGC6888

Ha image

NGC6888

Still in the Dark

Oh, brighter than a thousand suns,
the march towards the stars
on the wheel, on the car,
off the plane, off the planet
and on in the search.
Yes, we pray in the dark in the Sciences' church.

Upon the tree of knowledge
the fruit is bitter-sweet;
to the man in the street
all its myriad benefits Science confers
but we're still in the dark, much as we always were.

Run your mind down the Sciences;
none of them lay claim to show more than a part
but still we shout out what we know
the silence is enough to break the mortal heart.

 Still in the Dark

Naming The Rose

What is a Youth?

What is a youth? Impetuous fire.
What is a maid? Ice and desire.
The world wags on,
a rose will bloom....
It then will fade:
so does a youth,
so does the fairest maid.
Comes a time when one sweet smile
has a season for a while....
Then love's in love with me.
Some they think only to marry,
others will tease and tarry.
Mine is the very best parry.
Cupid he rules us all.
Caper the cape, but sing me the song,

Naming The Rose