First reading from the Book of Numbers NM 21:4B-9
With their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses, “Why have you…
This post explores a unique geologic map. Ives’s strata map, made up of 10 plates representing different geologic periods, was designed as a tool for instruction in schools and colleges in the late 19th century.
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Affirming the humanity of Jesus, the Church celebrates the birth of Mary, his mother. While Scripture does not record the birth of Mary, the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James notes the development of Christian piety around Mary’s parents and her birth.
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Tiny satellites, also known as CubeSats, are pictured after being deployed into Earth orbit from a small satellite orbital deployer on the outside of the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module.
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Ringed ice giant Neptune
lies near the center of this sharp
near-infrared image from the
James Webb Space Telescope
Gregory, called “the Great,” became pope at the age of 50. In his new role, he had much to do both within and outside the Church. Known for his reform of the liturgy, he is credited as the author of the Gregorian chant used for centuries in the Latin church.
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A vivid aurora streams over the Earth as the International Space Station orbited 273 miles above the southern Indian Ocean in between Australia and Antarctica.
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Target: Earth Mission: Terra Instrument: ASTER Image Credit: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Space Systems, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team |
Why does Saturn appear so big?
It doesn’t — what is pictured are foreground clouds on
Earth
crossing in front of the
Moon
Backdropped against the blue and white Earth 130 nautical miles below, astronaut Mark C. Lee tests the new Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER) system on Sept. 16, 1994.
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I.
Come, virgins chaste; pure brides, draw near:
Let Earth exult and Heaven hear
The Hymn that grateful accents raise,
Our song of joy in Rita’s praise.
II.
By fast her sinless frame is weak;
Her livid flesh the scourges streak.
In pity for her Savior’s woes,
Her days and even nights are closed.
III.
The thorn-wound on her brow is shown,
The crimson rose in winter blown,
And full-ripe figs on frozen tree
At Rita’s wish the wonders see.
IV.
The widowed spouse …
The notion of a queen is somewhat foreign to American ears, but this feast of Mary recognizes her role in the Kingdom of her Son, Jesus.
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The International Space Station was orbiting on a northeast track 261 miles above the Pacific Ocean when this photograph captured the first rays of an orbital sunrise illuminating Earth’s atmosphere.
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A Halley-type comet with an orbital period of about 133 years,
Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle
is recognized as the parent of the annual Perseid Meteor Shower
First reading from the Book of Proverbs Prv 9:1-6
Wisdom has built her house, she has set up her seven columns; she has dressed her meat, mixed…
The subject of this week’s circular Hubble Picture of the Week is situated in the Perseus Cluster, also known as Abell 426, 320 million light-years from Earth. It’s a barred spiral galaxy known as MCG+07-07-072, seen here among a number of photobombing stars that are much closer to Earth than it is. MCG+07-07-072 has quite an unusual shape, for a spiral galaxy, with thin arms emerging from the ends of its barred core to draw a near-circle around its disc.
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This post explores the history of a large spherical globe with only latitude and longitude lines in the collections of the Geography & Map Division.
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This post describes a manuscript globe of Mars that was created during the early 20th century by the self-taught Danish astronomer Emmy Ingeborg Brun.
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This view of the Earth’s crest over the lunar horizon was taken during the Apollo 15 lunar landing mission. Apollo 15 launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on July 26, 1971. Aboard was a crew of three astronauts: David R. Scott, James B. Irwin, and Alfred M. Worden. The primary scientific objectives were to observe the lunar surface, survey and sample material and surface features in a preselected area of the Hadley-Apennine region, setup and activation of surface experiments and conduct in-flight experiments and photographic tasks from lunar orbit.
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Messier 20,
popularly known as the Trifid Nebula,
lies about
5,000 light-years away toward the
nebula rich constellation Sagittarius
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Target: Earth Mission: Terra Instrument: ASTER Image Credit: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Space Systems, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team |
A visitor to the inner solar system every 70 years or so
Comet 13P/Olbers
reached its most recent perihelion,
or closest approach to the Sun, on June 30 2024
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image is a wonderfully detailed snapshot of the spiral galaxy NGC 3430 that lies 100 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo Minor.
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A reading from th the Song of Songs SGS 3:1-4B
The Bride says: On my bed at night I sought him whom my heart loves– I sought…
A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah IS 1:10-17
Hear the word of the LORD, princes of Sodom! Listen to the instruction of our God,…
A reading from the Book of Amos AM 3:1-8; 4:11-12
Hear this word, O children of Israel, that the Lord pronounces over you, over the whole family…
What’s happened since the universe started?
The time spiral shown here features a few
notable highlights
We celebrate two great saints today, Saints Peter and Paul. Saint Peter is often considered the Apostle to the Jews and Saint Paul to the Gentiles (based, most probably, on his extensive travels among the Gentiles). Together they witnessed to the budding of Christianity, and both laid down their lives for the faith.
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Named RCW 7, the nebula is located just over 5300 light-years from Earth in the constellation Puppis. Nebulae are areas of space that are rich in the raw material needed to form new stars. Under the influence of gravity, parts of these molecular clouds collapse until they coalesce into protostars, surrounded by spinning discs of leftover gas and dust. In the case of RCW 7, the protostars forming here are particularly massive, giving off strongly ionising radiation and fierce stellar winds that have transformed it into what is known as a H II region. The ultraviolet radiation from the massive protostars excites the hydrogen, causing it to emit light and giving this nebula its soft pinkish glow. Here Hubble is studying a particular massive protostellar binary named IRAS 07299-1651, still in its glowing cocoon of gas in the curling clouds towards the top of the nebula. To expose this star and its siblings, this image was captured using the Wide Field Camera 3 in near-infrared light. The massive protostars here are brightest in ultraviolet light, but they emit plenty of infrared light which can pass through much of the gas and dust around them and be seen by Hubble.
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This post spotlights born-digital, georeferenced map series from the MapServer Ethiopia project, which provides modern mapping of Ethiopia at five different scales, across multiple themes.
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A reading from the Second Book of Kings 2 KGS 19:9B-11, 14-21, 31-35A, 36
Sennacherib, king of Assyria, sent envoys to Hezekiah with this message: “Thus shall…
You govern your creation, O God,
and bring it to perfection by the work of our hands.
Hear the prayers of your people who ask for work
that will enhance their human dignity
and promote the upbuilding of your kingdom.
Enable them to provide for those confided to their care
either by family ties or by charity we owe to one another
for the betterment of human life.
We ask this blessing in the name of Jesus
who laboured with his own hands while he lived on earth.
Amen.
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This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the globular cluster NGC 2005. It’s not an unusual globular cluster in and of itself, but it is a peculiarity when compared to its surroundings. NGC 2005 is located about 750 light-years from the heart of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), which is the Milky Way’s largest satellite galaxy some 162,000 light-years from Earth.
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An insight into early 18th century trade in the East-Indies focusing on the English East Indies Company and the 1721-1723 trade voyage of the ship Townsend revealed through the maps of British cartographer Herman Moll.
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A reading from the Acts of the Apostles ACTS 11:21B-26; 13:1-3
In those days a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The news about them…
The rising Earth is about five degrees above the lunar horizon in this telephoto view taken from the Apollo 8 spacecraft near 110 degrees east longitude. Astronaut Bill Anders took the photo on the morning of Dec. 24, 1968. The South Pole is in the white area near the left end of the terminator. North and South America are under the clouds.
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First reading from the book of the Prophet Hosea Hos 11:1, 3-4, 8c-9
Thus says the LORD: When Israel was a child I loved him, out of…
Why does
Comet Pons-Brooks
now have tails pointing in opposite directions?
The most
spectacular tail is the blue-glowing
ion tail that is visible flowing down the image
Excellent view of the docked Apollo 9 command and service modules (CSM) and lunar module (LM), with Earth in the background, during astronaut David R. Scott’s stand-up spacewalk, on the fourth day of the Apollo 9 Earth-orbital mission. Scott, command module pilot, is standing in the open hatch of the command module. Astronaut Russell L. Schweickart, lunar module pilot, took this photograph of Scott from the porch of the LM. Inside the LM was astronaut James A. McDivitt, Apollo 9 commander.
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First reading from the Book of Deuteronomy Dt 4:32-34, 39-40
Moses said to the people: “Ask now of the days of old, before your time, ever since…
