Sonnet XXXV

Newly Discovered Supernova in the Whirlpool Galaxy

A superstar stellar celebrity
has appeared in the evening sky. Among
the worldwide observing community,
no one ever saw a starburst this young.
The inner clockwork of this titanic
event, was ranked as a universal
episode of intensity. Cosmic
explosions were seen by professional
digital astroimagers. They prepared
very large aperture telescopes,
then witnessed what the precursor star dared
to do before bursting. Everyone hopes
to glimpse the event with reinforced eyes:
that brilliant whirlpool that lives in dark skies.

************************

Posted on:

Open Link Night ~ Week 34

This is a hubble space telescope picture. It’s just gorgeous.

Sonnet XXXI

Oddly Off-Kilter NGC 2442

Even a galaxy may be off kilter ―
not shaped like a pristine bilateral
spiral. Light streaks outward through a filter,
it seems, when snatched by a collateral
body. Free-floating hydrogen was drawn
into tangible streamer vanes of gas;
dust yanked like taffy, with endless brawn,
from the main arm. Clusters of stars surpass
a single bright light in beauty, but can’t
match up to a more exquisite rival,
like Andromeda or Whirlpool; the scant
are ripped by those larger and more frightful.
Cosmic layouts shaped like feathers and tails:
mind-numbing forces, energies and scales.

************************

This comes from “The delicate aftermath of cosmic violence” , on @badastronomer’s Discover Magazine blog.

Posted on  Poetry Picnic Week 12: Feathers, Fidelity, Figment, and Fables

Posted on:

Open Link Night, Week 25