Apologies for the confusion that my spare post has caused. The photo in the newsletter is of NGC 7331, a galaxy 40 million light years from Earth. Humans cannot take a photo of the Milky Way from a similar perspective because we sit within one of its spiral arms. I used NGC 7331 as a surrogate to suggest that we are in a boundless universe within a tiny galaxy.
Freedom with Responsibility. My children’s school took that for their motto… and while this week was a week for looking to leadership for guidance, clarity, and joy, it is We The People who must take on the mantle of Responsibility and ensure those Freedoms enumerated in Chicago are secured for all of us.
…even if we are just a tiny dollop of light in a vast sea of galaxies illuminating but a tiny bit of cosmic truth. Thank you for your photography, Robert, and creating/caring for this community.
Your ability to connect our local realities here on Earth, here in America, with the larger reality of the cosmos is beautifully profound. Thanks for connecting. Have a great weekend.
We are part of the cosmos and part of eternity and yet, despite what in the big picture is minuscule, fleeting, and certainly insignificant, is so vital and important to us humans. The universe and even just our planet doesn’t know or care if we deal with the environmental or human issues. We can kill ourselves in wars, pollute the waters and atmosphere, heat the planet so it becomes uninhabitable for humans, burn all the books, and it won’t matter in the big picture. Except it matters so much in our human scale reality, and I think that is why this newsletter is something I look forward to every morning and also why I read so many of the comments.
Thanks. there are many of us who understand this. Also amazing is seeing the minuscule aspect of the universe, how it is all put together and held together by things so small there are no words I know to describe it. What is the equivalent of “light years” we can say to explain how small the smallest thing is?
But let’s stay on the human scale where regular folks make decisions.
I enjoy the escape sometimes, but my version of escape is not usually thinking about our insignificance. It's usually watching home improvement shows on HGTV and British mysteries on Britbox!!!
DK Brooklyn, if you have not already done so, I recommend Margaret Wheatley’s “Who Do We Choose To Be?: Facing Reality, Claiming Leadership, and Restoring Sanity” second edition. Thanks for your thoughtful post.
Thank you for your continued support for democracy and decency. And for spending the extra time so we hear your own voice conveying your thoughts, alerts, and perspectives in a cadence that makes sense. I am always so grateful to listen to a human voice who doesn’t mispronounce and see your photos that remind us of our place in this universe.
Thanks for the link. "...promises to be a thrilling ride, full of surprises and cosmic fireworks....this comet is definitely one to watch. Stay tuned..." Kinda describes Kamala, eh?
Thank you for this. One of my favorite reminders that we are stardust. And maybe a special kind of stardust, atoms and elements from across the universe. Maybe like our country is a collection of earthlings from all points on our globe. A welcoming beacon for aliens looking for a home.
"Stardust" is also, of course, a reference to that wonderful Joni Mitchell song. "We are stardust, we are golden ...." Robert, is that part of what you are reminding us about?
A brief respite from politics for the weekend after an emotional and inspirational week of the DNC! I signed up to do letters with votefwd.org, as a change from writing postcards, and because I have a ton of Forever stamps collected over a few decades.
Ha! I just found a bunch of Forevers in the bottom of a box, so, yeah, figured I'd get a batch of addresses from votefwd. It was my go-to before postcards.
That's a nifty photo, Bob. Which galaxy is that? This is one of your shots, right? I saw your mention of the equipment you used. I looked it up, but couldn't figure out the resolution in terms of the older measures like "8 inch reflector" or the like. Does your equipment have a rating in terms like that?
Thanks. The central galaxy is NGC 7331. I captured the image using a Celestron Origin, which is an integrated camera / RASA f/2.2 scope. The photo was taken on 8/11/2024.
How can a person who has been obscenely rich and cosseted from birth be so nasty, vindictive, and sad?
Here in Sunny Oz, the really rich are always seen having a ball - at the races, at the best beaches, on their yachts sipping bubbly, at the A-list parties. What a dick he is ... he's basically stuffed up his life, chasing what?
Why didn't he just retire early and enjoy his resorts and care for the grandkids?
Dear Robert, I love your photos of the universe and beyond. They are fascinating, lyrical with wonder! Thank you.
Now back to brass tacks. Please advise ,if you are comfortable in doing so, with links, where is the best outpost to send contributions. I've been thinking money is most needed in swing states and not my NY and Ma home states. My wish, as is that of so many, is that Kamala crosses the finish line the victorious winner with numbers so robust that Trump cannot challenge iher win in any way..
“In my Thursday newsletter I mentioned that critical grassroots and downballot groups like Movement Voter Project, Run For Something, and the States Project are, ironically, raising less money in the past month thanks to donors focusing on the Harris-Walz campaign.
A distressed but motivated reader contacted me in response with an offer to match the next $10,000 that CWCW readers give to both Run For Something and the States Project, and the next $20,000 to Movement Voter Project. That would turn our $40,000 into $80,000 total for these great organizations--WOWOW! Can we make it happen? I hope so!
We must not forget about the downballot races as well. Supporting them cuts both ways. Also, if anyone has any influence, can we stop asking for "donations," and instead ask for "investments?"
When I listen to Trump, I feel like I’m being asked to go to war…when I listen to Kamala, it’s like being asked to come to a wedding. Even as a military veteran, I know which one I would rather attend!
Apologies for the confusion that my spare post has caused. The photo in the newsletter is of NGC 7331, a galaxy 40 million light years from Earth. Humans cannot take a photo of the Milky Way from a similar perspective because we sit within one of its spiral arms. I used NGC 7331 as a surrogate to suggest that we are in a boundless universe within a tiny galaxy.
Freedom with Responsibility. My children’s school took that for their motto… and while this week was a week for looking to leadership for guidance, clarity, and joy, it is We The People who must take on the mantle of Responsibility and ensure those Freedoms enumerated in Chicago are secured for all of us.
…even if we are just a tiny dollop of light in a vast sea of galaxies illuminating but a tiny bit of cosmic truth. Thank you for your photography, Robert, and creating/caring for this community.
That should be our motto too
How about, "Freedom with Responsibility and Joy?"
I'm thinking "FRESHTA": "Freedom from Ever Seeing or Hearing Trump Again!"
FRESHTA will boost mental health, worldwide!
Leslie loved the way you connected a great lesson to the galaxy that we are so fortunate to be able to see much better through Robert's photography.
JD that would be a great motto for us.
Freedom WITH ✅
Your ability to connect our local realities here on Earth, here in America, with the larger reality of the cosmos is beautifully profound. Thanks for connecting. Have a great weekend.
We are part of the cosmos and part of eternity and yet, despite what in the big picture is minuscule, fleeting, and certainly insignificant, is so vital and important to us humans. The universe and even just our planet doesn’t know or care if we deal with the environmental or human issues. We can kill ourselves in wars, pollute the waters and atmosphere, heat the planet so it becomes uninhabitable for humans, burn all the books, and it won’t matter in the big picture. Except it matters so much in our human scale reality, and I think that is why this newsletter is something I look forward to every morning and also why I read so many of the comments.
Beautifully said, DK! You just put my deepest feelings into words! Thank you!
Thanks. there are many of us who understand this. Also amazing is seeing the minuscule aspect of the universe, how it is all put together and held together by things so small there are no words I know to describe it. What is the equivalent of “light years” we can say to explain how small the smallest thing is?
But let’s stay on the human scale where regular folks make decisions.
I enjoy the escape sometimes, but my version of escape is not usually thinking about our insignificance. It's usually watching home improvement shows on HGTV and British mysteries on Britbox!!!
Yes, my sentiments, exactly. Thank you.
Amen, DK!
DK Brooklyn, if you have not already done so, I recommend Margaret Wheatley’s “Who Do We Choose To Be?: Facing Reality, Claiming Leadership, and Restoring Sanity” second edition. Thanks for your thoughtful post.
Thank you for your continued support for democracy and decency. And for spending the extra time so we hear your own voice conveying your thoughts, alerts, and perspectives in a cadence that makes sense. I am always so grateful to listen to a human voice who doesn’t mispronounce and see your photos that remind us of our place in this universe.
Is that the Kamala galaxy? :)
Can name Comet 3 G after her. https://www.seti.org/unistellar-network-detects-faint-new-comet-c2024-g3-atlas#:~:text=Although%20G3%20is%20predicted%20to,around%2017.5%20at%20the%20time.
Thanks for the link. "...promises to be a thrilling ride, full of surprises and cosmic fireworks....this comet is definitely one to watch. Stay tuned..." Kinda describes Kamala, eh?
Thank you for this. One of my favorite reminders that we are stardust. And maybe a special kind of stardust, atoms and elements from across the universe. Maybe like our country is a collection of earthlings from all points on our globe. A welcoming beacon for aliens looking for a home.
"Stardust" is also, of course, a reference to that wonderful Joni Mitchell song. "We are stardust, we are golden ...." Robert, is that part of what you are reminding us about?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRjQCvfcXn0
Yes!
Coincidentally, today's (Sunday) Dan Rather post is about Crosby Stills Nash & Young performing at Woodstock!
Thanks, Robert. We all need rest. I hope Jill is feeling better. Have a great weekend.
But, you know, Robert, wherever you are, you are “here.” 😄
100% correct!
A brief respite from politics for the weekend after an emotional and inspirational week of the DNC! I signed up to do letters with votefwd.org, as a change from writing postcards, and because I have a ton of Forever stamps collected over a few decades.
Ha! I just found a bunch of Forevers in the bottom of a box, so, yeah, figured I'd get a batch of addresses from votefwd. It was my go-to before postcards.
That's a nifty photo, Bob. Which galaxy is that? This is one of your shots, right? I saw your mention of the equipment you used. I looked it up, but couldn't figure out the resolution in terms of the older measures like "8 inch reflector" or the like. Does your equipment have a rating in terms like that?
Thanks. The central galaxy is NGC 7331. I captured the image using a Celestron Origin, which is an integrated camera / RASA f/2.2 scope. The photo was taken on 8/11/2024.
If more people understood the cosmos, they might appreciate Trump is nothing but dark matter!
He’s a black hole that sucks the joy out of everything he touches…
How can a person who has been obscenely rich and cosseted from birth be so nasty, vindictive, and sad?
Here in Sunny Oz, the really rich are always seen having a ball - at the races, at the best beaches, on their yachts sipping bubbly, at the A-list parties. What a dick he is ... he's basically stuffed up his life, chasing what?
Why didn't he just retire early and enjoy his resorts and care for the grandkids?
Don’t give him any celestial descriptor. He is all the negatives I can think of rolled into the ugliest blob…
Thank you for sharing this and then it brought out a near instant response from 'Bob'.
Dear Robert, I love your photos of the universe and beyond. They are fascinating, lyrical with wonder! Thank you.
Now back to brass tacks. Please advise ,if you are comfortable in doing so, with links, where is the best outpost to send contributions. I've been thinking money is most needed in swing states and not my NY and Ma home states. My wish, as is that of so many, is that Kamala crosses the finish line the victorious winner with numbers so robust that Trump cannot challenge iher win in any way..
From Jess Craven yesterday:
“In my Thursday newsletter I mentioned that critical grassroots and downballot groups like Movement Voter Project, Run For Something, and the States Project are, ironically, raising less money in the past month thanks to donors focusing on the Harris-Walz campaign.
A distressed but motivated reader contacted me in response with an offer to match the next $10,000 that CWCW readers give to both Run For Something and the States Project, and the next $20,000 to Movement Voter Project. That would turn our $40,000 into $80,000 total for these great organizations--WOWOW! Can we make it happen? I hope so!
So here we go! You can give here
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/run-for-something-cwcwsummer24match to Run For Something.
Give here https://www.grapevine.org/giving-circle/KXMhoaJ/Chop-Wood-Carry-Water?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email for the States Project.
And give here https://secure.actblue.com/donate/mvpac for the Movement Voter Project.”
Please share widely. Robert, I hope it’s appropriate to share from another’s newsletter.
pinning to the top!
Yay! 🥳
We must not forget about the downballot races as well. Supporting them cuts both ways. Also, if anyone has any influence, can we stop asking for "donations," and instead ask for "investments?"
Woo-hoo! Especially for us "short form" filers with no deductibles.....
Exactly! BTW, they're not deductible anyway, so why use a term that makes them sound like they are?
🤔
When I listen to Trump, I feel like I’m being asked to go to war…when I listen to Kamala, it’s like being asked to come to a wedding. Even as a military veteran, I know which one I would rather attend!
Thank you for putting your life on the line for all of us. Wife of a Vietnam vet here.
Sounds like war against our own country...
Perspective.
I'm a Trekkie. I still believe in an optimistic future.
Let's BOLDLY GO!
We are going forward not backward and the journey begins in earnest.
You get some rest, too, Robert; though in your case hanging out with the cosmos counts as rest, I expect!
Can someone explain taht haunting photo. Is the bright star the sun, or the earth reflecting the sun?
It is a galaxy about 40 million light years from Earth. I used it to make the point that we are surrounded by the vastness of the universe.