And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by

pokerfan

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Thu Dec-18-08 06:47 PM
Original message

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by

Y Canum Venaticorum (Y CVn) is a very rare star in planet Earth's night sky. It's also very red, exhibiting such a remarkable spectrum of light, 19th century astronomer Angelo Secchi dubbed it La Superba. Located 710 light-years away in northern constellation Canes Venatici (the Hunting Dogs), the star varies in brightness over a period of about half a year. Near maximum, it becomes just bright enough to see with the unaided eye, but the star's beautiful red hue is easy to see in binoculars or a small telescope.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap081218.html">More

I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

(Sea-Fever by John Masefield)

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trof

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Thu Dec-18-08 06:57 PM
Response to Original message

1. Kick for the Masefield poem.

I like that.

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pokerfan

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Thu Dec-18-08 07:15 PM
Response to Reply #1

2. I am ashamed

Edited on Thu Dec-18-08 07:16 PM by pokerfan

to admit that I first learned of this poem from watching the original Star Trek.

:blush:

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Lucian

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Thu Dec-18-08 07:16 PM
Response to Original message

3. That is a great APOD pic today.

:thumbsup:

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pokerfan

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Thu Dec-18-08 07:26 PM
Response to Reply #3

4. Everyone fawns over deep sky objects

but sometimes a simple star is just as beautiful. Such as http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/albireo.html">Alberio:

(randybrewer.net)

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Lucian

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Thu Dec-18-08 07:55 PM
Response to Reply #4

6. One of the corners of the Summer Triangle.

:thumbsup:

Nice pic.

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pokerfan

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Thu Dec-18-08 08:25 PM
Response to Reply #6

7. Are you thinking of the Summer Cross?

I was taught that the Summer Triangle Vega, Altair and Deneb.

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Lucian

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Fri Dec-19-08 02:04 AM
Response to Reply #7

8. D'oh!

I'm so embarrassed! :blush: I got the wrong star! Yes, Deneb, Altair, and Vega make up the Summer Triangle. I know that too! :banghead:

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RandomThoughts

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Thu Dec-18-08 07:39 PM
Response to Original message

5. It is very beautiful poem

pulls on my heart strings for sure, been in one place way to long.

It is like a prayer.

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krispos42

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Fri Dec-19-08 02:30 AM
Response to Original message

9. Second star on the right and straight on 'til dawn

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CaliforniaPeggy

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Fri Dec-19-08 03:54 AM
Response to Original message

10. My dear pokerfan!

That is one stunning pic!

And this poem is so perfect with it!

The two together are just dynamite...

Thank you for posting them like this, sweetie...

:hug:

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Lex

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Sat Dec-20-08 11:00 AM
Response to Original message

11. Beautiful.

I especially love this stanza:

I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

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Tue Apr 30th 2024, 05:23 AM
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