A Room With A View

Artist’s impression of the exotic binary star system AR Scorpii

This artist’s impression shows the strange object AR Scorpii. In this unique double star a rapidly spinning white dwarf star (right) powers electrons up to almost the speed of light. These high energy particles release blasts of radiation that lash the companion red dwarf star (left) and cause the entire system to pulse dramatically every 1.97 minutes with radiation ranging from the ultraviolet to radio.

Credit: M. Garlick/University of Warwick, ESA/Hubble

Beneath the Milky Way

Deep in the Chilean Desert, astronomers staying at ESO’s La Residencia, the VLT Observatory’s hotel, witness a skyscape like few others on Earth.

In this photograph, the plane of the Milky Way can be seen above La Residencia, as passing staff members take a moment to admire the spectacular sight.

Credit: ESO/Luis Calçada/Herbert Zodet

Anon to avoid links. Freshman year college, roommate and I HATED each other, long story, not relevant. But the week before Thanksgiving I started getting sick, ignored it, got a lot sicker very quickly. She’s packing to go home for the holiday and bitching to someone one the phone that I’m faking it, not really sick etc. Meanwhile my fever is skyrocketing and I’m starting to hallucinate. I remember telling her that I needed help, needed water, practically begging. She laughs and says ‘if you die can I have your stuff’, and left. I managed to get to my cellphone and realized that the battery is gone (never did find it, she swears she never touched it, so…) Pretty much spaced out after that.

A guy I’d been dating for all of three weeks came by the room to see why I was ditching classes and avoiding him, heard what turned out to be me knocking a lamp over, and broke down the door. One trip to the ER and a week in his apartment (side note, he had the BEST roommates in the world, two guys and a girl welcomed me without hesitation and really took care of me) and I come back to the room. She’s packed up all of my stuff and shoved it into a corner.

My revenge? she had a huge crush on a guy… guess who? yep one of my new boyfriend’s roommates. I told him, also told him she was working up the nerve to approach him. End of semester we’re at a party and she walked up to him and started talking. He’s acting all in to her (Award winning performance) then stopped and really loud “wait aren’t you Mouse’s roommate” and started telling random people there “dude she totally left Mouse to die in that room”. She’s trying to blow it off, saying we’re such good friends. He just gave her one of those 'scrape it off your shoe’ looks and says “Bullshit. She’s MY friend and I wouldn’t date you if your nipples dripped brew.” He’s a bit loud and by the next semester I think he told everyone on campus the story.

Three years later and I can still remember the look on her face when he said that. Especially once the other drunk partiers started in on her. More So when she realized I was there and listening to it all. I’m now engaged to that 'new boyfriend’ (he kicked down a door for me, how could I not) and his friend is going to be his best man. Roommate? Transferred after freshman year ended. B-bye now.

Horsehead Nebula 

Next level backyard astrophotography!

“Amateur astrophotographer David Ellison captured this image **from his backyard** in Chattanooga, Tenn. Located approximately 1,500 light years from Earth in the constellation Orion, the Horsehead Nebula is simple to spot due to its unique shape resembling a horse’s head. A light-year is the distance light travels in one year, or about 6 trillion miles (10 trillion kilometers). This image is a narrow band photograph of four hours of exposure using a QSI camera and a 4-inch telescope. The star seen just above the Flame nebula is Alnitak. Goodnight, Earthlings! Credit and Copyright: David Ellison.“

Olympics Meme

White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) at Sunset

Lido Key Beach, FL

Mercury’s transit at Garching

The ESO Photo Ambassador Petr Horálek captured this image on 9 May 2016, the Mercury’s transit day. The little black dot visible in the lower part of the orange Sun disc is indeed the planet while orbiting between the Earth and the Sun. This stunning picture was taken in the surroundings of ESO’s Headquarters, located at Garching, near Munich, in Germany.

Credit: ESO/P. Horálek

It’s peak Dry Season in South Florida, but Wet Season is right around the corner. The afternoon thunderstorms, or Florida mountains, are forming and will soon be widespread. 

Myakka River State Park, FL

In 2004, I was a young comedian in New York City, and I secured an audition at one of the city’s top clubs. Their host would watch a few of us audition before the pros came on, and she’d recommend anyone she liked to become a regular at the club. I was super excited, and spent weeks crafting the set I wanted her to see.

My first joke did okay, but my second was stronger and by the end I was crushing. I finished with a big applause break, and said good night - but the host was nowhere to be found. I called out for her twice and joked that I must have done so well that they gave me more time before she finally came back up. I realized she probably wasn’t watching my set, or she’d have known when I was finished.

Her phony feedback after the show made it worse. “You started strong,” she said. “But you faded at the end.” Why couldn’t she have just told me she got distracted and offered me another audition in the future? Why couldn’t she be an adult about it? I wanted to be sure that she was lying - so despite having done no subway material, I asked her what she thought about my subway material. She told me it was generic. Not only was she lying to me - but now in her lie, I was a bad comic. I was furious - but I politely thanked her for her time, knowing that there was nothing I could do.

Thankfully, other clubs were more responsible with their new talent, and I got the regular stage time I needed to grow. A few years later, I was on the Late Late Show, and things continued to progress.

In 2012, I opened my own comedy club in New York City. During construction, a woman came in to ask if we were hiring a new talent director. I recognized her immediately - but she clearly had no recollection of every meeting me before.

I asked her for her resume, with absolutely no intention of ever reading it - like she’d metaphorically done to me 8 years earlier. And then I politely thanked her for her time, knowing that there was nothing she could do.

TLDR; When you keep your head down and do good work, the universe will get petty revenge for you.

Afternoon Thunderstorms roll across the prairie. 

Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, FL