Astronomy Tuesday

The Spindle Galaxy lies about 50 million light years away, near the constellation Draco.

Because we're seeing it from the side, we miss all of the typical galactic detail and see only a line of dust and some bright blue young stars. But I love that even though the real beauties of this galaxy are reserved for those with better seats, that halo of light surrounding it is still worth looking at, and bright enough to earn it spot number 102 in Messier's catalog.

Image Credit and Copyright: Adam Block, Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter, U. Arizona

Sunday bird blogging

Here's a different kind of masterpiece -- a male cardinal in Central Park.

And speaking of Art Deco

This screen features the most Art Deco fish imaginable. Those tails would make amazing gowns for an Erté illustration.

For gracious entertaining

This gorgeous coffee service is from 1958, but those angular handles give it an Art Deco flourish that I love.

More Kirkland vignettes

That giant blue disk in the photo on the bottom right is a radio from the 1930's. I remember when audiophiles were competitive over who had the biggest stereo speakers -- now it's probably whose system is the tiniest -- but whoever owned that radio would win any competition.

Kirkland Museum

This is a kind of odd but wonderful museum, built around the work of Colorado artist Vance Kirkland and including his original (although relocated) studio, and many of his paintings, along with those of other Colorado artists.

The paintings adorn the walls of rooms full of mostly 20th century furniture, everything from Art Deco to mid-century to Pop Art, along with cases of ceramics and glassware. Everything is arranged in vignettes, with period lamps, phones and radios.

I loved the concept, but hated that they put the labels directly on the furniture. I confess to photoshopping the most irritating ones out.

Saturday reflections

There isn't really much of a reflection here, but it's abstract enough to pretend, and it's a segue into the final batch of pictures from Denver: an Art Deco tray and cocktail shakers at the Kirkland Museum.

Urban poetry

This patch of pink sidewalk near the Kirkland Museum in Denver looks like a piece of abstract art in its own right.

Astronomy Tuesday

This image taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows one of the dark streaks seen on the Martian surface. Scientists aren't really sure what they are, but they do change with Martian seasons.

Image Credit: HiRISE, MRO, LPL (U. Arizona), NASA

Sunday bird blogging

I think that must be a dragonfly that this blackbird at Lily Lake is showing off so proudly (picture is unfortunately not as sharp as it could be.)

She was strutting back and forth, clearly very pleased with herself, but paused so I could offer my admiration and capture this permanent record of her hunting prowess.

Practical architecture

This is the bread and butter of Denver area buildings -- small, square, a little squat. Completely practical, and yet lovely in their own understated way -- yes, those are the windows in the reflections from last weekend.

(Sorry, I was sleepy last night and posted the wrong picture originally, in case you're wondering where the parking lot went.)

Denver architecture

Apart from some interesting ultramodern structures, like the art museum and the nearby library, and the typical glass boxes in the business district, there's a lot of red in Denver architecture. The building on the left is a former school, now being turned into apartments; on the right is Salvation Army headquarters.