The Friday Link (on a Saturday) for 8/5/23

Hi all.  Why am I late with the Friday Link? Well, it's been a bit chaotic.  

I was supposed to go up north this weekend and spend some time with family at our cabin.  My brother and his friends had arrived from the East Coast earlier in the week and so it was going to be 4 days of fishing, swimming, saunas, and good times. 

Until late Thursday we got the call that one of the guests had come down with COVID.  It sounds like it's a pretty bad case too.  Our main focus is everyone's well-being, so I am staying in the cities this weekend.  I have offered to head up a few times to go get them whatever they need, but they've said it's probably best we stay back. My concern is for them, and through the hectic nature of yesterday, I completely forgot about this lesser element of my life. 

Because my mind is out floating in space right now, quite appropriately I'm headed to space this week.

If you have not seen the documentary on Netflix about the James Webb Space Telescope, it is remarkable. The engineering required to get such a delicate piece of equipment into orbit is unbelievable.  It makes you laugh even harder when you think of the movie Armageddon, where the good ol' country folk of 'Merica go to those pencil necks in NASA and show 'em how it's done! 

For your viewing pleasure this week, we start with the images James Webb has collected in its first year, videos posted from The Secrets of the Universe YouTube Channel. Just stunning! 

Next up is James Webb's look at our most flamboyant planet Saturn.

And finally, The Secrets of The Universe has your August monthly astronomical observations you can make! 

I hope you have a great, SAFE weekend. 

Each week I remind people to be safe and get vaccinated.  Why?  COVID is CLEARLY not over.  It is still killing people every day.  I don't want you sick, dead, or in a lifetime of debt.  Get vaccinated and be safe. 

Please take care of yourself.