Wondering where everything came from.

Have you ever looked at the periodic table and wondered where all the chemical elements came from?

Well, some of the lower atomic weight elements were made by typical stars in their stellar furnaces.  I think most of us knew that.  But what about the higher atomic weight elements, where were they made if a typical star doesn't manufacture them?  The answer is a supernova.  A supernova is when a large star's internal furnace dies down to a level that the eternal pressure is less than the gravitational pull and the star implodes inward which causes a horrific explosion and all that is left afterwards is a neutron star no bigger than New Jersey, but a teacup full of the stuff it is made of would be so dense and heavy that it would fall through the Earth to its center.

Below is a before and after picture of a supernova explosion.  The picture on the left is the bright supernova and the picture on the right is after it died down.

I could go on and on about this subject, but I will not because I am sure that I would bore you all.  Now I want you all to know that you are my bright and shining star, so go brighten up the day and I hope your day will be just fantastic.

Wondering about my favorite smells.

There are a lot of smells that I don't like, but on the other hand there are a lot that I do like.  I suppose my most favorite non-food nor drink aroma is Witch Hazel.  I splash it on my body a couple of times a day and always make sure I have some on face so that I can get a good smell of it.  I just love it.  I am not all that fond of colognes or perfumes; just that good old Witch Hazel.

Other smells that I really like are, of course, food or drink related.  I just love the smell of brewing coffee.  Now I can't smell the aroma steaks grilling without starting to drool.  And vanilla, oh yes vanilla!!  I love the smell of vanilla (and the taste when diluted and used as a favoring).

There are other smells that I love, like fresh bread baking, chocolate, the crisp fall air, and of course the smells that remind me of wonderful times in the past.  Isn't it great how a smell can jog your memory?  What are some of your favorite smells?  Let me know and you all have a great day, you hear?

Wondering about clear days.

Being an owner of several telescopes and one who loves to look at the sky whether through a scope or just my plain old blue eyes, I like clear nights which usually follow clear days.  Clear and dry are best.  High moisture in the air tends to hide allusive targets.  Therefore, it is nice to be in an area that has the largest percentage of clear days (and nights) if you are planning to do any star gazing.

Below is a map showing the average number of clear days in the United States.  I live near the Texas Gulf coast north of Houston and as you can see from this map I am located in the next to the worst area for clear days.  The south west is the best.  Take a look at the map and tell me if you live in an area that is clear or not.

The other thing that is important is the absence of man made lighting.  It is much, much worse if the lighting is reflected off high moisture in the air.  The world is getting really light polluted and the map below shows the U.S. at night: 

Do you live in a light polluted area?  I do, and it is an area with high humidity which makes it a lot worse.  I thought that last night was going to clear off.  I went out and checked and it was really clear.  Jupiter was almost into the Pleiades.  It was a pretty site and then the clouds moved in.  Glad I didn't go to all the trouble of getting my big scope outside and put together.  Now may all your days be bright and your nights clear, you hear?

Wondering about cold temperatures.

Yes, it is a cold, rainy morning this morning.  Quite a difference a day makes.  Yesterday it was warm and dry and got up in the 70's.  I guess the warmest part of today happened just after midnight last night.  We might think that it feels really cold sometimes and sometimes I hear a lot of complaints about the cold spells.  Well, let me tell you, you ain't felt real cold.

I am going to list some of the coldest places in the universe, that we know of and have actually measured.  Let me start with Triton, the largest moon of the planet Neptune.  Voyager 2 recorded -391 back in 1989.  Let's go out a little further to Pluto where it gets to -393 degrees.

Not cold enough for you yet?  In 2011 the temperature on Eris (which is now classified as a minor planet) got down to a -393 degrees Fahrenheit.  But even closer to home, the craters near our moon's pole was measured at a -415 F.  Now that is getting rather chilly, isn't it?  But wait!!  There is a place that is 30 degrees cooler than that.  (Cooler?  Not quite the right adjective)  Have you guessed where it is?  No, it isn't a witch's . . . just colder.  It is intersteller space where it has been measured at a very bone chilling -455 degrees Fahrenheit.  Since absolute zero is -459.67 degrees, I would say that intersteller space is almost as cold as it can get.  Oh yes, some may ask why temperature can't go below absolute zero.  Well, it is where a substance has no thermal energy and where particles stop moving.

Now, I bet this little cold spell that moved in doesn't feel all that bad, does it?  You all keep warm and happy, you hear?

Yesterday's project completed.

 Yesterday, I told you about the project that my wife had me working on.  I did finish it up by the end of the day and I sure could feel it through out my old body.  The last screw was not cold yet when my wife started using the peg boards.  So, I took a couple of pictures of it last night.  This first picture was taken just minutes after I completed the job, notice that she had already started putting things on it:

 And a few minutes later she had some more of her stuff on it:

Just thought that you would like to see the finished project.  Now, you all have a great day and may all your projects be easy.

Working on a small project for my wife.

My wife decided she needed some peg board mounted on the walls of her craft room / office, so guess who got nominated for the job?  Well, a trip to Home Depot got three pieces of 24" x 48" white quarter inch peg board, three 1"x2" for mounting strips, and a bunch of hardware that fits into the peg board holes.  So, I cut the mounting strips in two and my wife painted them.  Now, it was up to me to mount them.  I tacked two of the mounting strips onto a pegboard with very small nails and then I drilled a hole through the top right corner.  I then located the board on the wall and put a screw in that one hole.  I then laid my level up against one side of it and made sure that it was straight.  Drilled the rest of the holes and mounted the peg board secure with six screws.  By this time my back had all it could stand, so the other two will be mounted later.  Anyway, it was time for my TV shows that I watch (grin).

Speaking of lumber, 1x2, 2x4, 2x6, etc are not what they used to be.  First off, it is dang near impossible to find straight ones and if you do there are all kinds of flaws in them.  Then, none of them are the size that they are called.  Maybe they started out that way but they kept shrinking in size and going up in cost.  I remember when a 2 by 4 was 1.75" x 3.75".  Now they are 1.5" x 3.5" and shrinking.  Oh well, that seems to be the way everything is going.  Now, you all have a great day now, you hear?

Wondering about the sound of frogs.

Last night, the evening of January ninth, after we had all that rain, the frogs were singing so loud that is all you could hear when you went outside and they are still singing loudly this morning.  We have been on the dry side most of the summer, fall, and so far this winter, so I imagine the frogs were really happy last night and wanted everyone else to know about it.  There was almost a complete chorus.  The only thing missing was the bass section.  It seems that either the bull frogs are still sleeping or they didn't survive the summer.  I am hopefull that they are still sleeping under the mud and will awaken when it gets warmer and when there is more insects around to feast upon.

Speaking of insects, they are rather slim this time of year so how do the mid to small size frogs find sufficient sustanance?  Nature does usually take care her own, so I am sure she has provided something for them to eat.  What ever, the frogs sure did sound happy last night.  Maybe they think winter is over.  Of course, we usually get our worst winter weather around the end of this month or the beginning of next.  So far, this has been one of the colder winters we have had for awhile but not the coldest; at least not yet.  Now when you all go to bed tonight, close your eyes and remember what those Spring time frogs sound like and have a great day, you hear?