Scattered Thoughts . . .

I was imaging the photosphere of the sun one morning and noticed that a sunspot eerily resembled some skin cancer that I had around that time.   The sunspot was approximately twice the length of the diameter of Earth.  My skin cancer was only about 8mm in length.  Additionally, I was seeing a shocking similarity between granules on the surface of the sun's photosphere  (each approximately 1000 miles across)  and the speckled UV damage of my skin (approximately 1-2mm each)! I've always noticed that, in many ways, the astronomical world of vast and infinite space resembles the microscopic world.  Shapes, networks and structure are comparable.  Both are equally vast but the scale is mind-bogglingly different.  When I see how vast space really is, it has always made me a little queasy and gives me the heebie-jeebies!  This incredibly vast difference in scale between space and humans is stuff I've actually had nightmares about since very early childhood.  Actually, my earliest

T wo or three times a year, I put together a small photo book of photos I have shot documenting some of the things we've done so I can send it to my father.  We haven't traveled at all since the beginning of the pandemic and we are still in no hurry for that.  Well...  we would like to travel but the risk is still too great.  I've already had the virus three times and I am still experiencing lingering problems due to the virus so I'm in no hurry to expose myself further.  My health was bad enough before these lingering problems due to the virus.  I don't need to continue to expose myself and my health to more problems. While I was sorting through photos and choosing photos to put in this photo book, I came across some of my solar images from a session in July that were worth writing about here in my blog.   I specifically remember this particular session because I was able to watch a solar flare erupt and recede for about an hour.  It was a pretty amazing and very m

When I got out of bed yesterday morning, the sun was shining brightly!  I can't remember the last time we've seen the sun...  maybe someplace out west last month during our train trip? So, after taking a bunch of medications that I need to take every morning, I started collecting solar astronomy gear to bring out to the deck.  The days and nights that are suitable for astronomy in our neck of the woods are severely limited so I need to take advantage of every available moment if my health allows.  Fortunately, yesterday morning I was feeling well enough to do an hour or two of solar astronomy.  At the very least, I knew that a short burst of adrenaline would carry my flu-ridden body for an hour or two! I had planned to set up the telescope on the deck so I could stay out of the snow and mud but, unfortunately, the sun is still too low in the sky way up here in the north.  When I stepped up on the deck by the time I started moving gear outdoors, the sun was behind the trees.