Journeys of Heart and Mind

Comet G3 (Atlas)

[This] image featured in NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day for 25th January 2025. Visit the website and have a browse around, there are so many fine images here!

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Image 131 – What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye. I’m posting an image every day or so.

This might be the most striking photo you’ll ever see of a comet. OK, I dare say there will be better images out there, but this one is still pretty amazing.

The image featured in NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day for 25th January 2025. Visit the website and have a browse around, there are so many fine images here!

If you look closely (click the thumbnail and expand it as far as it will go) you’ll see plenty of stars in the image, too. Of course, they are way, way in the background far beyond the Solar System whereas the comet is right here inside the system along with the Sun, Planets, Moon, me and you.

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If you enjoyed this or found it useful, please like, comment, and share below. (If you don’t see those links, click the article’s title above the main photo and they will appear.) Send a link to friends who might enjoy the article or benefit from it – Thanks! My material is free to reuse (see conditions), but a coffee is always welcome and encourages me to write more often!

John 16:12-15 – The Spirit

This is fully mature fruit seen at its most complete in the heart of the One who will send the Spirit. This is the source of the spiritual fruit talking.

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Bible text – Read it yourself (opens in a new tab)

Getting the whole story

Just four verses this time. Why so few? It’s because these verses are so heavily loaded with deep truth. There’s a lot here that we need to consider and absorb.

Jesus simply can’t tell them everything he wants them to know; he’s well aware they wouldn’t be able to deal with. It would, he says, ‘be more they they could bear’. It says a very great deal about his nature that he holds back for their sakes, so they won’t be overwhelmed. This is caring, this is gentleness, this is concern for the other, this is understanding.

Cast your mind forward to Paul writing to the Galatians about the fruit of the Spirit – love, patience, kindness, gentleness, self control (Galatians 5:22-23). This is fully mature fruit seen at its most complete in the heart of the One who will send the Spirit. This is the source of the spiritual fruit talking. Interrupting his precious narrative because he respects his followers’ weakness. It would destroy them so he holds back. We can learn so much from him about spiritual fruit.

Jesus is also the author and source of faith, he knows he can leave essential things unsaid because he knows in all certainty that the Spirit he will later send will explain these things to them, when they are able to cope with the hard, difficult truth. He doesn’t worry, or think, ‘What if they just don’t get it later?’ He knows it’s safe to wait. He doesn’t just have faith, he is faith incarnate! We can learn so much from him about faith.

A trustworthy Spirit

In verse 13, Jesus explains how they will know later what he cannot share with them right now. He needs to explain that the Spirit (who they have not yet experienced) will ‘guide them into all the truth’.

The Spirit will not speak ‘on his own’ – He will, in fact, speak with the Father and with the Son, so his words will be of them and from them, and will carry their full authority.

He will speak only ‘what he hears’. – The Spirit is privy to what the Father and the Son say to one another.

He will ‘tell you what is yet to come’. – In other words the Spirit is prophetic, he will share with them whatever they need to know, even if it’s about things that have not yet happened.

The disciples would not have missed the connection with the Jesus they already know and love. He has claimed to be one with the Father and to say only what he hears the Father say. And isn’t Jesus, here in this conversation, telling them about ‘things that are to come’? That is to say, the Holy Spirit.

And then finally, in verses 14 and 15, Jesus repeats what he’s already told them. He wants to be absolutely sure they understand! The links in the chain are as clear as they could possibly be; what belongs to the Father (Yahweh, the one who just IS) has been given to Jesus. Next, these things are given by Jesus to the Spirit, and then, finally, the Spirit will pass it all on to his followers.

Simple, straightworward, but oh how awesome!

And if you are following Jesus, then it is all your inheritance too. You don’t need to do a thing to inherit something, you just need a family member who has decided to pass it on. Jesus is handing all the richness of heaven and of the Father to you on a plate! The least you can do is receive it and be grateful!

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Lichens

Lichens are the main food source for a variety of animal species from small mites and insects to the remarkably large reindeer. They tend to be protein-poor but may be rich in carbohydrates.

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Image 130 – What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye. I’m posting an image every day or so.

Lichens are amazing. They’re always small, they grow in slowly expanding colonies, and they consist of cooperating fungi and algae. A number of different species of fungi can grow like this, combined with various yeasts and bacteria. The assemblage often looks like a simple plant, often almost flat, but sometimes filamentous, branching or in the form of flakes. Circular forms like the one in the image are common. The Wikipedia article listed below has photos of a range of different forms.

The grey colony in the photo has grown out from the centre ‘cleaning’ other life forms from the surface of the underlying limestone and spreading out further around the perimeter. The black lichen was destroyed as the grey lichen crossed over it, but new colonies of the black lichen have established on the clean rock left behind. The situation is dynamic, but very slow. Return for another photo a month later and little will have changed.

Lichens are the main food source for a variety of animal species from small mites and insects to the remarkably large reindeer. They tend to be protein-poor but may be rich in carbohydrates.

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Science and technology – 1

Getting enough sleep is important of course, but the quality of our sleeping matters too. Good exercise, diet and quiet, undisturbed surroundings are helpful factors.

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Welcome to a new feature on JHM, a series of articles on science and technology. I’ve posted articles like this before, but not as a regular series. From now on science and technology articles will be easier to find and browse with their own index.

This time, we look at the topic of sleep.

Sleeping well

Why sleep matters

Sleeping well is clearly important. We all know that lack of sleep makes us tired, perhaps a bit grumpy, and affects our ability to focus. We’re more inclined to doze off, and microsleeps lasting a second or so can be absolutely deadly (quite literally) for someone trying to drive or use heavy machinery.

But there are longer term health effects too (see the Nature article listed below).

Improving your sleep

The New Scientist articles cover many aspects of sleep. Getting enough sleep is important of course, but the quality of our sleeping matters too. Good exercise, diet and quiet, undisturbed surroundings are helpful factors. It’s useful to consider how our time awake will affect our sleep. There are hormonal effects affecting both falling asleep and waking up – melatonin and cortisol – so we need to consider those as well.

In terms of practical advice, useful tips include – using bright lighting in the morning (especially in wintertime), and dim lighting in the evenings – keeping the bedroom cool and dark – avoid eating and drinking late in the evening and be wary of late caffeine intake – avoid stress near bedtime if possible.

Surprisingly, perhaps, your gut microbiome is another factor, and it works both ways. Sleep patterns can affect the microbiome, but a healthy microbiome helps provide better sleep.

Going deeper

The links below provide further reading. The New Scientist link will give you an overview with introductions to all the articles, though if you want the full text you’ll need a subscription or access to the printed version Many libraries will have a copy.

The other two links are free for the full text.

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Forward look – Ukraine – 4

The end may come during 2025 or 2026, but it might also happen very much sooner. It’s likely to be a surprise and it will almost certainly end the war, with Ukraine being the survivor.

January 2025

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It’s time for another look at the war, to see where things stand in January 2025 and where they may go next. Donald Trump has now taken office as President of the USA and the only thing we can be sure about is that his policies for America’s actions will be different from those of his predecessor, Joe Biden.

Meanwhile, in Russia, there are economic, political and military considerations in play and all of them seem problematic for Vladimir Putin (to say the least).

Ukraine continues to take a battering but resistance remains stubborn and determined. For both the population and the armed forces a combination of tiredness, resolve and good morale are all clearly detectable. They are a long way from giving up and a long way from being defeated.

The fighting

Russia and Ukraine have very different approaches to events on the frontline. Putin has demanded a heavy-handed approach, losing an enormous number of troops and huge quantities of equipment, currently throwing wave after wave of infantry at well defended Ukrainian positions (and now some North Korean infantry as well). Russian forces have been ignoring the rules of war, sometimes shooting prisoners, using chemical weapons and so forth.

Ukraine has lost men and equipment too, but on a far smaller scale. Their stubborn resistance along 1200 km of front line has prevented Russian forces from breaking through and although the forward momentum has been in favour of Russian forces it has also been momentum of a very slow, creeping kind. Ukraine has acted entirely within Geneva Convention rules.

On the missile and drone warfare there is a similar difference in approach between the two sides. Russia has targeted residential areas of towns and cities, even hospitals, schools, shopping centres and cultural treasures along with critical infrastructure, especially electricity power stations and local distribution transformers. Again, most of these targets are illegal under international laws and agreements, Russia being a signatory to many of them.

Ukraine has focused on military targets – command and control centres, airfields, naval dockyards and ships, army training camps, troop concentrations, oil production and storage facilities, arms factories, ammunition storage facilities, radar equipment, bridges, railways and roads feeding military traffic to the frontlines.

The effects so far

There have been small, creeping movements along the frontline, mostly in Russia’s favour, although the trend has been slower and slower over the past month and now Ukraine is beginning to make small advances as well from time to time, usually by means of well-planned and well-executed actions when good opportunities arise.

Economic considerations

The Russian economy is showing serious and dangerous strain. The rouble has lost a lot of value against western currencies. Interest rates are high as the central bank has used this as an effective tool to restrict inflation; but the increased borrowing costs have killed industrial investment. Unemployment is very low and Putin has claimed that as a great success, though the reason for it is that military casualties are in excess of 800 000 men and even larger numbers have fled the country to avoid being sent to the frontlines. Most industries are seriously short-staffed; skilled professionals are particularly hard to find.

By defeating Russia in the Black Sea, Ukraine has been able to continue her grain exports whereas Russia’s income from sales of oil and natural gas have fallen due to western sanctions as well as Ukrainian strikes on depots, production and transport facilities.

Military production

Russia is still producing new drones, missiles, ammunition, aircraft, tanks and other armoured vehicles, but at a slower rate than the losses inflicted by Ukraine. Stocks of all these essential items have therefore dwindled away and now appear to be in short supply.

Ukraine has also ramped up production of military hardware and consumables and is now in a position to continue fighting even if supplies from the West diminish.

Innovation

Russia has made progress with drone development, and has recently been making more use of FPV drones controlled via optic cable since this cannot be blocked by radio jamming.

However, Ukrainian production and scale of use of advanced drones far outstrips Russian developments. Recently, Ukrainian sea drones have been fitted with both machine guns and ground to air missiles and have downed helicopters sent to destroy them. This is a major new technological achievement.

And the future?

The balance has been shifting in Ukraine’s favour in so many ways, and the best predictions suggest the Russian economy will collapse, most likely slowly, then suddenly. It’s impossible to know precisely when ‘suddenly’ will come, but it will be devastating when it does. And economic collapse will likely mean military defeat and political upheavals as well.

My opinion based on what I have read and heard, is that the end may come during 2025 or 2026, but it might also happen very much sooner. It’s likely to be a surprise and it will almost certainly end the war, with Ukraine being the survivor.

Militarily too, Ukraine seems to be getting the upper hand. I think it’s very likely that things will go more and more Ukraine’s way in this war in the next few months. There are many unknowns of course, but on balance I expect Russia to eventually lose the war, probably through a combination of economic and military failure, and quite possibly by a Russian decision to withdraw from the conflict altogether. This could happen either as a decision from Putin following pressure internally or by a change of government. These details are not remotely predictable, however.

We in the West should do our part by continuing to apply political and economic pressure, and by continuing and extending our support for Ukraine.

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Really?

Professor J P Hudson offered a prize to anyone who could submit a paper for publication without … a spelling mistake, or a punctuation error, or an unclear phrase. And I don’t think he ever had to pay out the prize.

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Image 129 – What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye. I’m posting an image every day or so.

I was amused when I saw this in a local shop window a couple of years ago. Sometimes we’re not quite as good with words as we should be, and right at the start I admit that I’m just as bad as anyone else. But this one did give me a chuckle. It just begs the question,

‘So.. er… What would unconscious eating be, exactly?’

Just my silly sense of fun!

I think what happens, ever so easily, is that I word something in a way that’s not clear and then cannot, myself, spot the issue. It needs a fresh eye, a fresh mind to spot mistakes like this.

When I worked at Long Ashton Research Station in the 1970s, the Director, Professor J P Hudson, offered a prize to anyone who could submit a paper for publication without him spotting a spelling mistake, or a punctuation error, or an unclear phrase. And I don’t think he ever had to pay out the prize (£5 I think, quite a lot in those days).

Sometimes we need to see what we have written from a new perspective in order to fix or avoid simple mistakes. And sometimes we need the same fresh look at our habits, likes and dislikes, relationships with others, understanding of science, what we believe about the world, the people we meet, and not least, what we believe to be true about spiritual things.

It’s far too easy to go along familiar pathways in our lives without seeing the need to question what we think and say and do.

When: 25th September 2023
Where: Cirencester

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A quarter of a million miles

The horizon is, perhaps, 2 km away, you can see buildings and trees out there, they give a good clue to scale. Some of the clouds might be a bit further away.

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Image 128 – What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye. I’m posting an image every day or so.

This is a view of the local neighbourhood, you can only see a short distance – little more than 380 000 km or about 250 000 miles.

Uh?!

Can you see why I wrote about seeing 380 000 km? Is there something you missed in the photo? Look more closely…

The horizon is, perhaps, 2 km away, you can see buildings and trees out there, they give a good clue to scale. Some of the clouds might be a bit further away. But that little white dot near the centre of the photo is the Moon, the furthest thing you can see in this picture.

The scale of our universe is nothing short of astonishing! The Moon is just our nearest neighbour in terms of the Solar System. All of the other planets are much, much further away than our friendly little Moon. Then consider that the entire Solar System is just a little speck in terms of our galaxy, The Milky Way. And if you travelled the Milky Way from end to end you’d still have seen only a very, very, very insignificant fraction of everything else that’s out there. My goodness this is a big place!

If you want to get a feel for this, try Scale of the Universe. It starts with things of everyday size and you can slide left (smaller) or right (larger).

When: 10th September 2025
Where: Cirencester

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John 16:1-11 – Warnings and leaving

If his apprentices had been given a vote, they would all have called for Jesus to stay with them. Of course from our perspective it’s clear that the sending of the Holy Spirit was the necessary next step in the life of the church. But that’s very much the benefit of hindsight!

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Bible text – Read it yourself (opens in a new tab)

Dangers ahead

From what Jesus tells them next, the future sounds pretty dreadful; but there’s purpose in the telling. What he has already told them was to prevent them from giving up. There’s nothing like hard times to discourage us, and Jesus is well aware of that. But now, knowing time is short, he explains how bad it will get and the great hope that remains.

Jesus explains that people who know neither him nor his Father will reject his followers and even murder them, thinking they are serving Yahweh in doing so. Now that Jesus is leaving the disciples he’s telling them things he’d shielded them from previously.

Where next?

Jesus has told them several times before that he is leaving them, he’s well aware that they haven’t asked where he plans to go and are already feeling sad and downcast (even abandoned) at losing him. It’s easy to imagine them thinking they’ve failed in some way, that he’s going to look for better followers somewhere else. So he explains that his departure will be good for them because if he stays the ‘Advocate’ won’t come. They won’t understand what this means until Pentecost when the Holy Spirit will fill them and a lot of mysteries will begin to be answered in their minds and hearts. For some reason he says that unless he leaves them, he won’t be able to send this ‘Advocate’.

Sin, righteousness, and judgement

The world (and especially the Jewish world in which the disciples lived) knew that sin, righteousness and judgement were important things. The Law and the Prophets were full of these three ideas – from Genesis right through to Malachi. Mankind is sinful because of disobedience, sinful people cannot claim any sort of righteousness, and without sacrifice for sin all are judged and found wanting.

Jesus now tells them that the world has all three of these important things wrong – completely wrong!

In the case of sin, people are wrong because they don’t believe in Jesus, He came to deal with sin once and for all, but many of the learned people saw Jesus himself as sinful, a blasphemer, misinformed, deserving of arrest and punishment – even a death sentence!

In the case of righteousness, people were wrong because Jesus was now returning to the Father where he could no longer be seen. Jesus himself is our righteousness and he represents us in the Father’s presence.

And in the case of judgement, people were wrong because they’d backed the wrong horse. They’d chosen ‘The Prince of this World’ who was now condemned. And who might that be? Not Jesus, clearly, but the Evil One, the opposer of everything good, who tried to condemn Yahweh but is now himself condemned.

Get sin, righteousness and judgement wrong and you have no hope! Get these right, follow Jesus, and it will all become clear. What a revelation!

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Cirencester Gasworks

With the coming of the railways coal could be delivered more cheaply by steam train, delivered to the gas work’s private siding from the nearby Watermoon Station.

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Image 127 – What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye. I’m posting an image every day or so.

Cirencester Gasworks had its heyday before homes, offices and industries had electricity supplies. The gas was manufactured near this building on a site alongside the canal. Coal was brought in by barge and heated to create what was called ‘coal gas’ or ‘town gas’, coke, a sticky, bituminous liquid called ‘coal tar’, and ammonia. The coke was sold as fuel for industry and for domestic boilers. The gas was stored under pressure in huge, squat gas-holders floating on, and sealed by water; the stored, pressurised gas was fed to homes and businesses through underground pipes. Coal tar was good for surfacing roads, preserving timber, waterproofing buildings and boat hulls, and many other purposes. Ammonia was used as a cleaning agent.

The building in the photo, now a private residence, housed the gas company’s offices, I believe. Its curved end mimicked the shape of the gas holders nearby. This was an industrial part of the town. With the coming of the railways coal could be delivered more cheaply by steam train, delivered to the gas work’s private siding from the nearby Watermoon Station. The canal became less and less profitable as more and more transport migrated to rail.

When: 26th September 2023
Where: Watermoor, Cirencester

Cirencester

For convenience, here’s a list of all the Cirencester area images:

A417 roadworks, Advent Market, Bishops Walk, Baunton, Canal 1, 2, Castle Street, Christmas lights 1, 2, Church 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Churn flood, Countryside, Fallen tree, Fleece, Gasworks, Gloucester Street, Hare 1, 2, Hospital, Market Place 1, Phoenix Fest, Riverside Walk, Stone plaque, Stratton Meadow, Tank traps, View, Wonky 1, 2, Yellow Iris

Themed image collections

The links below will take you to the first post in each collection

Cirencester, Favourites, Irish holiday 2024, Roman villa

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Sunset sky over sheds

Everything on this planet is recycled sooner or later, if not by us, then eventually by nature. Even city buildings, bridges, roads and all of out technologies will go the same way in the end.

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Image 126 – What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye. I’m posting an image every day or so.

The sun is setting over these old sheds in more than one sense, not only is the sun getting lower in the sky, but the sheds themselves are no longer useful, have been roped off as they’re unsafe, and will fall down completely in the next few years or decades.

There must have been a time when these structures were a handy place to store farm equipment, maintain and repair things, perhaps make tea or eat lunch before starting the afternoon’s jobs. At a guess it might have started as a smaller building, extended over the years as more space was required. It had glazed windows (though some of the glass has fallen out) and must have been weatherproof earlier in its existence. Perhaps it was even painted, though more likely creosoted.

The corrugated iron roof is rusty and most likely lets in the rain. Various fungi and bacteria will be attacking the timber. Assuming nobody dismantles what remains and removes it, what will happen as the years go by?

Everything will return to the earth from which it originally came. Iron will rust and crumble to powdery iron oxides of one kind or another, the corrugated roof, nails and screws holding the timbers together, door and window hinges, they’ll all go the same way. If there are any brass fittings they will last a lot longer, but eventually they’ll end up as oxides of copper and zinc. Glass will last a very long time (many thousands of years) but will be ground down to smaller and smaller sizes with any disturbance. The putty used to hold the window glass in place will also crumble away to clay as the remnants of oil it contains are digested and metabolised by bacteria. And the commonest material used to build the structure will be one of the fastest to decay; all the timber in the framework, walls, floors, doors and window frames will be digested away and crumble to dust as well.

We ourselves will end the same way whether simply buried in the ground after death or turned to ash by cremation. It’s true for all living things, we develop from one cell, become many cells working together, and die through accident or disease or else of old age. Everything on this planet is recycled sooner or later, if not by us, then eventually by nature. Even city buildings, bridges, roads and all of our technologies will go the same way in the end.

We don’t look forward to our inevitable dissolution of course; but the awareness of it, whether we are young or old, should encourage us to do what we can in life to help others, care for the sick, give good advice to those who seek it, and be kind and generous in everything we do.

When: 27th September 2023
Where: Cirencester

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Getting the whole story

A trustworthy Spirit

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Sleeping well

Why sleep matters

Improving your sleep

Going deeper

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January 2025

The fighting

The effects so far

Economic considerations

Military production

Innovation

And the future?

See also:

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Dangers ahead

Where next?

Sin, righteousness, and judgement

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Cirencester

Themed image collections

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