It is strange what unexpectedly brings back memories. 1986. I remember distinctly when my grandfather shared with me how this was one thing he did not want to miss before he died.
That being able to withness Halley's comet again. He had seen it when it passed through Earth's orbit in 1910 and this was a dream he had to view it once again before he died.
Brilliant, fast and clear this comet completes its cyclic orbit in fragments of 76 year cycles the last being 1986.
Witnessing the passage of time by cosmic events, while observing a passage of time is a strange union of memory because it becomes a part of one's soul experience on our planet Earth. And then to know that now my grandfather sleeps restfully on some perch in 'heaven's skies' perhaps, while I toil away trying to find my way amidst personal and real equatorial earthquakes. Just curious as the notion of time here are a few notes on Halley's comet and its orbital cycles:
(1) https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2019/10/18/last-seen-in-1986-halleys-comet-will-make-its-presence-known-this-week-with-shooting-star-show/?fbclid=IwAR0G5wXFLRFago6wYVa2po0gMo899k-AriwCrB2jEjk-048bMsM0n09S6OM#477169a37732
(2) https://www.space.com/19878-halleys-comet.html
The following is from Wikipedia:
I have very few memories of my grandfather actually. I remember his grin when he played cards and his catch phrases:
"Cut it thin to win. Cut it deep to sleep". He made math look easy and my brother, K. and he would compete in a mostly friendly way over their ability to memorize the counting of cards during pinochle, 5-card stud, and 7-card draw.
Other catch phrases: Move like a herd of turtles
As opposed to Grandma Grace's melodious: "God helps those who help themselves!" as she put out a festive sweep of fresh ears of corn, homemade vegetables, cornbread as we crowded around their round table in a kitchen built for a small family, our crowd of 8 made quite a challenge for her. Finding out her dachsund's helped with clean up was a testimony to the casualness of life at their custom-built home in South Omaha.
They had moved to nearly-Pleasant Valley in the years following my Dad's move to Omaha where my Grandfather continued to work as [foreman for the Omaha Department of Roads (?)]. He told a story of sitting in his heated truck while other guys worked! But one story in particular of when he had gotten out of his truck and locked him self out, only discovering that to be the case as the truck rolled down the traditionally hilly streets of Omaha into a lake. So much for the town truck!
That being able to withness Halley's comet again. He had seen it when it passed through Earth's orbit in 1910 and this was a dream he had to view it once again before he died.
Brilliant, fast and clear this comet completes its cyclic orbit in fragments of 76 year cycles the last being 1986.
Witnessing the passage of time by cosmic events, while observing a passage of time is a strange union of memory because it becomes a part of one's soul experience on our planet Earth. And then to know that now my grandfather sleeps restfully on some perch in 'heaven's skies' perhaps, while I toil away trying to find my way amidst personal and real equatorial earthquakes. Just curious as the notion of time here are a few notes on Halley's comet and its orbital cycles:
(1) https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2019/10/18/last-seen-in-1986-halleys-comet-will-make-its-presence-known-this-week-with-shooting-star-show/?fbclid=IwAR0G5wXFLRFago6wYVa2po0gMo899k-AriwCrB2jEjk-048bMsM0n09S6OM#477169a37732
(2) https://www.space.com/19878-halleys-comet.html
The following is from Wikipedia:
Officially designated 1P/Halley,[2] [Halley's comet is] a short-period comet visible from Earth every 75–76 years.[2][10][11][12] Halley is the only known short-period comet that is regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and the only naked-eye comet that might appear twice in a human lifetime.[13] Halley last appeared in the inner parts of the Solar System in 1986 and will next appear in mid-2061.[14]
Halley's returns to the inner Solar System have been observed and recorded by astronomers since at least 240 BC. Clear records of the comet's appearances were made by Chinese, Babylonian, and medieval European chroniclers, but, at those times, were not recognized as reappearances of the same object. The comet's periodicity was first determined in 1705 by English astronomer Edmond Halley, after whom it is now named.
During its 1986 apparition, Halley's Comet became the first comet to be observed in detail by spacecraft, providing the first observational data on the structure of a comet nucleus and the mechanism of coma and tail formation.[15][16] These observations supported a number of longstanding hypotheses about comet construction, particularly Fred Whipple's "dirty snowball" model, which correctly predicted that Halley would be composed of a mixture of volatile ices—such as water, carbon dioxide, and ammonia—and dust. The missions also provided data that substantially reformed and reconfigured these ideas; for instance, it is now understood that the surface of Halley is largely composed of dusty, non-volatile materials, and that only a small portion of it is icy.
I have very few memories of my grandfather actually. I remember his grin when he played cards and his catch phrases:
"Cut it thin to win. Cut it deep to sleep". He made math look easy and my brother, K. and he would compete in a mostly friendly way over their ability to memorize the counting of cards during pinochle, 5-card stud, and 7-card draw.
Other catch phrases: Move like a herd of turtles
As opposed to Grandma Grace's melodious: "God helps those who help themselves!" as she put out a festive sweep of fresh ears of corn, homemade vegetables, cornbread as we crowded around their round table in a kitchen built for a small family, our crowd of 8 made quite a challenge for her. Finding out her dachsund's helped with clean up was a testimony to the casualness of life at their custom-built home in South Omaha.
They had moved to nearly-Pleasant Valley in the years following my Dad's move to Omaha where my Grandfather continued to work as [foreman for the Omaha Department of Roads (?)]. He told a story of sitting in his heated truck while other guys worked! But one story in particular of when he had gotten out of his truck and locked him self out, only discovering that to be the case as the truck rolled down the traditionally hilly streets of Omaha into a lake. So much for the town truck!
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