Morning Mocha – Astronomy Picture of the Day
I bet I’m not the only person on the planet who has developed a bit of a morning Internet ritual. Some days, it’s more like five minutes, a cup of instant Bustelo, and a glance at what’s happening “out there,” but in its full form, it’s a morning mocha in a heavy glass mug at The Bean Cycle, and 20 minutes browsing half a dozen sites, bookmarked in a folder optimistically called “daily.”
Each of my daily sites has a particular reward. Perhaps you’ll enjoy seeing my list, perhaps you’ll write to mention a site you find worth checking more than now and then.
First site in my ritual is the Astronomy Picture of the Day. As they explain it: “Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.”
The images are often beautiful, and a bit of e-beauty seems like a good way to start the working day, in case I haven’t registered the abundant natural beauty on my way to work. For me, it’s also a way of checking in with Andy, my astronomer son.
These views of our larger neighborhood are also a reminder to me that we’re very small and the universe very large, that beauty is independent of us, that it’s important to strive to understand our world the best we can, but that we ultimately can’t – a reminder of the big stuff if I’m awake enough to listen.