Lord of the Dance

 

'Lord of the Dance' - digital painting George Roberts September 2023 

"Dance, then, wherever you may be,

I am the Lord of the dance, said he,

And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,

And I'll lead you all in the dance, said he".

In loving memory of our dear friend, and consigliere

 Michael John Brookes 1944-2023

The Constellation Delphinus over Carlton Marsh

 

The small Constellation Delphinus, the dolphin, leaping up from the horizon next to the Milky Way on a warm September night. 

Kurt Thrust's favourite image of Saturn at Opposition 2023

 

Saturn and four of its moons imaged from the Jodrell Plank Observatory the United Kingdom's most easterly Observatory.  

Our good friend Kurt Thrust, astronomer by night and party boy by day, sent us this image of the ringed planet Saturn and its brighter moons, Dione, Tethys, Enceladus and Rhea. Saturn can be seen with the naked eye in the Northern Hemisphere night sky just about due south at midnight. It will look like a dull yellow star not too far above the horizon. A telescope providing a magnification of at least x30 will be required if you want to see the rings. Jupiter, the largest of the Solar System planets, is also visible in the night sky but much much brighter than Saturn. Look to the East to see it. Four of Jupiter's 'Galilean Moons' may be seen with binoculars as they move around their orbits. Galileo witnessed these moons with his very basic refractor telescope and based on these observations his contention that the Earth and all the planets orbit the Sun.

Sunflowers

 

Sunflowers - digital artwork by George Roberts September 2023

"I'm now painting with all the elan of a Marseillais eating soup, which won't surprise you when I tell you I'm painting large sunflowers. The idea? To decorate the studio, now there's hope of Gauguin living here. I aim at a dozen panels of sunflowers in the room I've set aside for Gauguin".

Vincent Van Gogh

Gastropods making art whilst devouring algae

 

Zebra Nerite aquatic snail by day artist by night.

I noticed that the aquatic snails in our aquarium were  grazing overnight  upon the algae which forms readily on the inside of the aquarium glass walls. Randomly, the pair of Zebra Nerite snails had created  patterns of great complexity and beauty, which were illuminated by the autumnal sunlight streaming through our patio door.  Easy to underestimate the joy that can be delivered  inadvertently by a hungry tropical aquatic gastropod!