Eye on Faith

Monday, October 26, 2020

Ice is Nice

Water's Hydrogen Bonds (Image by Qwerter)

If you’re slipping and sliding here on Planet Earth, ice can be deadly. But if you’re heading to Mars, ice can be your new best friend.

NASA announced that there are pockets of water ice on the moon’s surface. These can hopefully be mined for the creation of rocket fuel. Water is largely composed of bonded hydrogen. Break those bonds, and you’ve got lots of hydrogen with which to blast off.

And blasting off from the moon is a whole lot easier, weight-wise, than blasting off from Earth. This kind of a lunar fuel supply can carry astronauts far and wide into deep space.

Resources

https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-scientists-discover-moons-hidden-water-stores-2020-10

Hot and Clumpy

Milky Way over Nevada (Photo by Steve Jurvetson)

Angels aren’t the only ones with halos. Turns out that galaxies have them too.

Our very own Milky Way has a hot and clumpy one. There’s even a fancy name for it: the circumgalactic medium, but you can call it CGM for short. It serves as a sort of recycling center for stars. Dying and birthing stars eject their hot gases into this halo, resulting in what goes around comes around.

And the clumps? These congeal in regions where this recycling most occurs. We on Earth can surely be inspired by this waste-not-want-not galactic example.

Resources

https://phys.org/news/2020-10-milky-galaxy-clumpy-halo.html

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

In a New York Zeptosecond

Times Square, NYC (Photo by Terabass)

As life speeds up in unprecedented ways, the New York minute is no longer a sufficient descriptor.

Meet the zeptosecond: “the time it takes a light particle to cross a hydrogen molecule.” This is now “the shortest unit of time ever.”

To put it in mathematical perspective, a zeptosecond equals “a trillionth of a billionth of a second.” For those who prefer visuals, it’s “a decimal point followed by 20 zeroes and a 1.”

In any event, it’s fast. Before you can say “Times Square,” it’s long gone.

Resources

https://www.livescience.com/zeptosecond-shortest-time-unit-measured.html

The Cat Came Back

Paracas Bottle with Cat Face (Public Domain)

They say that a cat has nine lives, but this cat has had one long existence.

Across a hillside in the Nazca Desert of Peru, a giant feline outline was recently discovered. Archaeologists estimate that it was etched into the sediment by Paracas artists “between 2,500 and 1,800 years ago.”

Cats tend to be mysterious, and this one is no different. Scientists remain perplexed about its ancient cultural significance.

Resources

https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/10/a-giant-cat-picture-was-just-discovered-among-the-nazca-lines/

Dancing with the Politicians

The Fire of Rome (by Hubert Robert, 1785)

They say that Nero fiddled as Rome burned, while today's headliners dance as America burns.

Trump has been flaunting his YMCA moves during super-spreader rallies. Not to be outdone by either him or Gene Kelly, Harris has been cutting a rug in the Florida rain.

The nation might be better served if both were to do-si-do toward one another. This could be far more fruitful than side-stepping their way through questions and tap-dancing their way through issues.

Resources

https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/kamala-harris-trump-dance-off-092239958.html

It's Always Something

Rush in 2019 (Photo by Gage Skidmore)

Humility is not often a trait that’s associated with Rush Limbaugh, and yet he’s been decidedly humble about his health status.

Refraining from public displays of “poor me,” Limbaugh explains that he’s far from the only one who suffers in this world. He recently stated, “If it isn’t lung cancer, it’s some kind of cancer. If it isn’t you, it’s somebody real close to you. If it isn’t an illness, it’s something.”

Meanwhile, Limbaugh’s been carrying on in stalwart fashion. Remaining upbeat, he focuses upon progress and hope, setting an inspiring example for all who suffer.

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/rush-limbaugh-says-lung-cancer-032146486.html

Better Breath

(Chart by Cruithne9)

No, we’re not talking mouthwash here. We’re talking the basics of belly breathing.

Most of us breathe without even thinking about it. This can be a good thing, since we have lots more to contemplate than our inhalations. But this can result in shallow breathing that chips away at the rest of life.

Babies instinctively breathe right down to their bellies. As they grow older, more and more stress prevails. Stress then tends to stifle breathing. We either hold back or quit at the upper-chest level.

Fortunately, we can consciously change such habits. Practicing belly breaths on a regular basis can bring us back to instinctive deep breathing. So why not make those 23,000 daily infusions work for us rather than against us?

Resources

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/how-to-take-the-perfect-breath-why-learning-to-breathe-properly-could-change-your-life