Lullaby for Grown-Ups - Israel Kamakawiwo Ole

Perhaps you're one of the 7.4 million people who have viewed this video of Israel Kamakawiwo Ole's version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World. If so, here's your chance to enjoy it again. If not, here's your opportunity to view a classic, with its wonderfully jumbled up lyrics and Ole's sweet, soulful voice. It's a simple, lovely video that has touched so many.

Deep Space Inhabitants - Black Holes

Credit: X-Ray: NASA/CXC/D.Hudson, T.Reiprich et al. (AIfA);
Radio: NRAO/VLA/NRL

The true magnitude of the weirdness of deep space becomes clear when you start to think about things like black holes. Most garden-variety black holes are remnants of supernova explosions that collapse in on themselves. They reach a point of zero volume and infinite density, from which no light can escape.

So how can there be pictures of black holes? It works if you can capture signals other than light. It also helps to target supermassive black holes, which are thought to exist at the centers of some galaxies.

The image above is a composite of x-ray and radio signals and reveals a binary black hole. According to the information on this image, these objects are "surrounded by multimillion degree x-ray emitting gas, and blasting out jets of relativistic particles."

Composite Image Credit: X-ray in red - NASA/CXC/S.Allen (Kavli Inst., Stanford) et al.;
Radio in blue - NRAO/G.Taylor (VLA);
Infrared in green - NASA/ESA/W.Harris (McMaster Univ.)

Another composite image, this one including infrared, shows material that fell towards a supermassive black hole, then was blasted back out. The blue regions are radio-emitting bubbles that measure about 10,000 light years across.

I like the idea of using different signals to image black holes. When one way of seeing fails, try another. The persistence of astronomers has revealed extraordinary processes where powerful energies swirl around regions of nothingness. These processes allow us to see the cosmic dance of creation and destruction that otherwise would have been hidden by the void of space and of the black holes themselves. Kind of makes me wonder what else we might be missing for fear of the dark...

Lullaby for Grown-Ups - Curtis Mayfield

This week's lullaby is a wonderful performance of the classic R&B song People Get Ready, performed by Curtis Mayfield, the song's composer. This is a clip from the TV show Night Music, which aired in the late 1980s. I mention this to explain the credits that start running toward the end of the clip. That's Taylor Dane singing backup and David Sanborn on the sax. I hope you enjoy this poignant, lovely performance.

Deep Space Inhabitants - Nebulae

Credit: NASA/ESA/HEIC/The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Acknowledgment: R. Corradi (Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes, Spain), Z. Tsvetanov (NASA)

Deep space nebulae - the eye candy of astronomy. These clouds of space dust, plasma and hydrogen are some of the most beautiful objects in deep space. The image above is of the Cat's Eye nebula, which is actually a dying star. If you've noticed a similarity between it and Sauron's eye from the Lord of the Rings movies, you're not the first. It wasn't the only nebula I found that looked like an eye. I'll end this post with another one.

Credit: T.A.Rector (NOAO/AURA/NSF)/Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA/NASA)

Perhaps more familiar is the Horsehead nebula in the constellation of Orion. I remember this nebula from school, so we've had pictures of it for a while. This one is from the Hubble Space Telescope, as are all the images here. It's a wonderful thing when science and art converge.

Credit: NASA/ESA/The Hubble Heritage
(STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration
Acknowledgment: J. Hester (Arizona State University)

The delicate colors of the Veil nebula, above, are the remnants of a supernova explosion.

Credit: NASA/ESA/J. Hester and A. Loll (Arizona State University)

The same is true of the Crab nebula - it's also the remains of a supernova. Its blue glow comes from a neutron star at its center. According to the news release for this image, "The blue light comes from electrons whirling at nearly the speed of light around magnetic field lines from the neutron star. ... A neutron star is the crushed ultra-dense core of the exploded star."

Credit: NASA/ESA/J. Hester (Arizona State University)

Nebulae aren't always about star deaths. They can also be places of star formation. The Omega or Swan nebula, above, is a complex structure, with ultraviolet radiation interacting with hydrogen, oxygen and sulfur. The radiation is coming from young stars that aren't quite in the image.

Credit: NASA/ESA/M. Robberto (Space Telescope Science Institute/ESA)/
The Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team

Another region of star formation is the Orion nebula, only 1,500 light years from Earth. Thousands of stars are being born in this beautiful chaos.

Credit: NASA/H. Ford (JHU)/G. Illingworth (UCSC/LO)/M.Clampin (STScI)/
G. Hartig (STScI)/The ACS Science Team/ESA

Finally, we have one more image of the Omega or Swan nebula. This is the other eye I saw - notice the red half-circle to the right of and below center. Notice also the red arc to its right. Then imagine some reclining being and that's its eye, with a red eyebrow. Not as scary as Sauron, but still not someone I'd like to have an encounter with anytime soon. Nebulae are gorgeous, until you start finding stuff in them...

Lullaby for Grown-Ups - Pavel Tukki

The calming experience of being near water, whether it's a river, lake, or even a pond, is beautifully captured in this video. The music is by Russian artist Pavel Tukki, whose work has been described as "uniquely intimate, vibrant and atmospheric." The song is Ambio #2 (reflections).

Deep Space Inhabitants - Galaxies

Credit: NASA/Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Heaven's net casts wide.
Though its meshes are coarse, nothing slips through. - Lao Tzu

While the various spacecraft have been flying through the solar system to bring us images of the planets, the Hubble Space Telescope has been quietly orbiting the Earth for 18 years, capturing extraordinary pictures of deep space, including gorgeous images of galaxies.

It's hard to believe, but it wasn't until the early 20th century that astronomers began to seriously think that what they had been calling "spiral nebulae" might actually be star systems beyond our own Milky Way galaxy. With advances in the optics of telescopes, it became clear that these nebulae were not new solar systems forming within the Milky Way, as was previously thought. As it stands now, astronomers calculate there are 100 billion galaxies in the universe; each contains between 10 million and a trillion stars.



Those are the kinds of numbers that make it hard for people to get their minds around astronomy, especially when it comes to extragalactic phenomena. This video tries to make the numbers easier to understand, and also explains two deep field images taken by Hubble. They revealed a surprising number of galaxies in two areas of the sky that were thought to be pretty empty. Whether they're among the most important images ever taken, as the video claims, I'll leave to your judgement. They certainly are amazing.

For more galaxy images, maybe to update your screen saver, check the Hubble gallery site. You can also find images of galaxy collisions that were recently released.

There's always a danger when discussing the vastness of the universe that a person might end up feeling insignificant, like a single grain of sand on a beach. But here's another perspective to consider, from writer Timothy Ferris:

The reassuring aspect of the portrait of the universe we now see drawn across the sky lies in its reconciliation of humanity with the material world. That we are part of the galaxy is literally true. The atoms of which we are formed were gathered together in the toilings of a galaxy; their fantastical assembly into living creatures was nourished by the warmth of a star in a galaxy; we look at the galaxies with a galaxy's eyes. To understand this is to give voice to the silent stars.

Random Post - Sleepy Homer

Yes, it's Homer Simpson. I've been looking for this Simpsons clip for a while. Here's the setup - Homer is working two jobs and exhausted. While driving home, he has a wonderful, sleepytime dream. Enjoy this silliness, and please don't drive when you're too tired. Stop for some coffee, at least.

Lullaby for Grown-Ups - The Cardigans

I woke up with this song in my head this morning, so I figured I would make it this week's lullaby. It's No Sleep by the Cardigans, a lovely and poignant tribute to the night. The visual is the album cover, I think; normally, I'd try to find a video with more interesting images, but the song is so wonderful, I'm willing to make an exception in this case.

Diversions for Insomniacs #6

There's nothing like messing with your brain to make the sleepless fog of insomnia even stranger. Here are two diversions that can do just that.

The first is the puzzle of the
dancing lady. Which direction is she turning in? Most people see her going counterclockwise. Initially, I saw her going only clockwise; now, I can get her to change direction pretty much at will. I always thought of myself as fairly logical, so she surprised me. Some of the people who left comments were convinced it was at trick, since they could only see her going one way. It's all about perception.

The second diversion is designed to challenge our perception of time. One of the more curious aspects of insomnia is that it affects how we experience the passage of time. I may think I've been awake for two hours, but I've probably been sleeping lightly for part of that time. Each check of the clock is a surprise (although not usually a pleasant one). You never really know what it will read. There's a Chinese proverb that says, "Only when one cannot sleep does one know how long the night is."

But what if the way we experience time, during the night or the day, is just a result of cultural conditioning? The web site Grasshopper Enterprises has an interesting exercise, How to Stop Time. Can you make the second hand on the clock slow down? If so, what does that mean? Click on "Why Did Time Stop" for a very trippy explanation involving time, perception and consciousness.

Lullaby for Grown-Ups - Air

The weather is finally turning, so for this week's lullaby I thought I'd post something a little more upbeat. This is La Femme D'Argent from the ambient pop French duo Air. Accompanying the music are some beautiful images from the Hubble space telescope. This is a fun song - mellow, but with a nice groove. Enjoy!

Counting the Stars

Credit: European Space Agency/NASA;
Acknowledgment: E. Olszewski (Univ. of Arizona)

For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream. - Vincent van Gogh

In our consideration of the night sky so far, we've looked at the moon and the planets, as well as the aurora borealis. But the night sky is nothing without the stars, those tiny jewels of light hung on the blackness of space. (Unless, of course, you're up close to one, in which case it's an inferno of nuclear fusion, fusing hydrogen atoms into helium at temperatures in excess of 20 million degrees Fahrenheit. It's like a big, fiery twinkle factory.)

How many stars are there? It's an age-old question, but we may be gaining some insight into it. Astronomers routinely conduct star counts, usually in the Milky Way galaxy, then multiply that number by the estimated number of galaxies in the universe. As you might guess, it's hard to come up with a precise total. One estimate is that there are 400 billion stars in the Milky Way, but that may be off by as much as 50 percent.

Sometimes the public can get in on the star-counting action. Recently scientists asked "citizen-scientists" to help with a star count to determine the level of light pollution in different areas. The GLOBE at Night campaign collected data from around the world, hoping to find "dark sky oases" where night sky observations can be made more easily, away from city lights that obscure the stars.



But honestly, all this talk of star-counting is just a prelude (or really, an excuse) to post this wonderful video, a Russian animation called Hedgehog in the Fog. The hedgehog and his friend, the bear cub, spend their evenings counting the stars. But one night, on his way to his friend's place, the hedgehog encounters a white horse in a thick fog. I'll leave it to you to ponder the deeper meaning of his adventure.

Lullaby for Grown-Ups - Shakuhachi Music

A few days ago I looked out the window and saw two sandhill cranes making their way through the alfalfa field across the street. Migrating birds are returning to Wisconsin - it's nice to hear bird song again after a hard winter.

To honor our avian friends, the lullaby tonight features lovely images of birds set to a melody played on a shakuhachi, or Zen flute. I find this music calming and centering. I hope you enjoy it.

In the Darkness, Beautiful Lights

I was in Target the other day to get some potting soil, so I went back to the patio/garden area and spotted some very pretty light strings. They made me think of summer entertaining, and how fun and relaxing it is, if you can keep the mosquitoes at bay. Then I thought about the home decorating tradition of lighting the patio for outdoor parties. Some people use chinese lanterns or tiki torches, or float candles in the pool. Now we have cool light strings to buy.

Using light to decorate our homes and public spaces is a lovely idea that extends beyond the darkness of the winter solstice. I went in search of light art and light sculptures to see what artists were creating using light.

Copyright: Stone Ridge Glass 2007

This first one, from Stone Ridge Glass, is a "glasscape" with colored glass pieces that can be rearranged at will. The base contains a light that provides a dramatic backdrop for the glass. An inviting and interactive piece.


A more organic and complex use of light, above, is seen in the extraordinary work of artist Raquel Cohen. She notes that "light as a medium opens into unknown, ethereal realms." She fills an entire space in light that emanates from well-placed vessels.


Another room features her sculpture "Palos Santos," or Holy Woods. She is fascinated by how light "can transfigure a space so dramatically, how it can transform a tiny room into a galaxy simply by bathing floors, ceilings and walls with fleeting points of light. This ineffable effect on surrounding space fascinates me." It's as if she has imagined the life force of the trees, then rendered it in light. Gorgeous.

Copyright: Chris Freeman 1998

Light sculpture has also been used in public spaces, such as this wonderful work, "Color Bars" (Heller Series #2) by Chris Freeman. He used neon lighting to create a four-story light sculpture on an historical building in New York City. I love the bold, primary-colored light against the urban backdrop. It reminds me of the LED throwies that are sometimes used as graffiti. It's an unexpected use of light for its own sake, rather than for commercial or utilitarian purposes.



Finally, here is a video of an amazing installation last year at London's Victoria and Albert Museum. "Volume" was an interactive light and sound sculpture. According to the museum's web site, it was the work of design collective United Visual Artists, and Robert Del Naja and Neil Davidge (as part of their music production company, one point six). This has more of a high-tech aesthetic to it, and is especially interesting in that it responded to the movement of visitors.

These light sculptures are so different from each other, yet they each make such wonderful use of light. Clearly my fascination with pretty colored lights continues unabated.

Lullaby for Grown-Ups - Norah Jones

Tonight we have the smooth, silky voice of Norah Jones to relax to. This is the video to her song Rosie's Lullaby, with the moon and the waves telling Rosie to "close your eyes and dream..."

The Sound of Springtime Evenings

© Pancaketom | Dreamstime.com

For my wall calendar this year, I bought the 2008 Phenology Calendar, which is specific to Wisconsin and produced by state and university experts. Phenology is concerned with tracking plant and animal cycles, such as when wild plants bloom and when birds and animals arrive in the spring or emerge from hibernation.

According to the calendar, in the month of April, I can expect brown bats (both little and big) to return to the area. Coyote pups will be born as well. The nocturnal creatures are stirring, becoming active again.

I can also expect to hear the chorus of leopard and pickerel frogs. They aren't singing yet, but they will be soon. This nighttime serenade is such a wonderful part of springtime evenings. Here's a video preview of what's to come.