Maybe from the caption you can tell I'm having a little trouble putting my nouns and verbs together this morning. Not to mention putting on my make-up. Some would say it's a problem for me EVERY morning, but for them, I'll just say ....
Oh, yeah? Well, have YOU got a comet?
.

.
Because I do. Halley's Comet, to be precise, as photographed in 1996 by the Giotto spacecraft, and
Astronomy Picture of the Day today.

I've always wondered what a comet really looks like, and now my question is answered. It looks like a lot of people's heads probably feel this morning as they return to work after a long holiday break. Rocky. And maybe like a lot of people's stomachs feel. But I won't go there.
No, don't thank me. Really.
Anyway. What actually interested me about the description that went with this photo is the reminder that this comet's orbit more-or-less intersects with Earth's orbit, both coming and going, making Halley's Comet responsible for two different meteor showers during the year. And that further reminded me that I haven't seen either of those meteor showers for a very long time.
In turn, this reminds me of my second New Year's Resolution for 2010, which is to look up more. I used to follow this stuff like a religion, but in recent years, not so much. And that's had negative effect on my spiritual well-being. This year, I resolve to make more effort to look up ... and to be where I CAN look up.
