“Recognize that the very molecules that make up your body, the atoms that construct the molecules, are traceable to the crucibles that were once the centers of high mass stars that exploded their chemically rich guts into the galaxy, enriching pristine gas clouds with the chemistry of life. So that we are all connected to each other biologically, to the earth chemically and to the rest of the universe atomically. That’s kinda cool! That makes me smile and I actually feel quite large at the end of that. It’s not that we are better than the universe, we are part of the universe. We are in the universe and the universe is in us.”
—Neil deGrasse Tyson
All photographs are courtesy of NASA and their APOTD Archive.
Click on each of the photos to learn more about what you’re seeing.
Wary Wonderlust 
Beautiful pictures and beautiful words by Neil Tyson. I’ll check out your novel chapters when I’ve time.
Thanks 🙂
That second shot, the nebula, is stunning beyond words.
Now, off to read your work.
Are you dropping bits before publishing?
Isn’t it? 😀
I really don’t know what I’m going to do with it. I’m working on another novel now and I have ideas for some other things as well. I like Wattpad, so I figured I’d try that out and see if I find an audience that way.
I just signed up.
Love the first paragraph, that paints a great first picture.
You want editing notes?
Thank you, John. I’ll take anything you’re willing to offer. 🙂
I’m trying to leave this message, This is an awesome opening salvo in what promises to be an epic story. The writing is gorgeous but the comments thingy isn’t playing nice 😦
You’re too kind. Thank you, friend. 🙂
Not lip service. And damn you write well.
Damn, just tried posting the message again and it still failed. Have you enabled comments on your page?
I’m stumped. I posted a comment on someone else’s story yesterday. I don’t have anything in my settings to turn comments on or off. Maybe it’s just a weird glitch. Thank you for trying, John.
goosebumps
Congrats on publishing your first 4 chapters. Yay!!
😀 Thanks, V.
Just signed up myself. 🙂
Awesome! Truly, that’s a great read. You have such a wonderful way in crafting sentences and exciting the imagination. “Folders thickened by years of school essays, research programs, and diagrams….” is a painting made form words.
The story is excellent. “we are charged with being the conscience that science does not have”… that’s it, right there. All the elements are in place for what promises to be a (potentially violent) roller coaster ride, the world has been invented, and Adela is alive.
Is the graduation the furthest you gotten into this?
😀 Thank you.
I have finished it, but I’ve been going through to make small edits and polish language. There is one later chapter that I am not happy with yet.
It’s hard to sign off on the chapters, isn’t it? They’re never quite “ready,” never quite “finished.”
Well, from an independent set of eyes, what you have their in those 4 chapters is marvellous. The stirrings of a great story.
That truly means a lot coming from you.
I’m trying to leave a comment on the site, but it doesn’t seem to be catching???
Hmm. I got a notification that you and V had looked at it. I’m sure it will behave later.
I’ll try again tomorrow. My account has been activated, but it may take some time to kick-in.
Such awe inspiring pictures. Love it!
Thank You for being you, which is….AWESOME!!!💙
🙂 ❤
I saw a picture of Pluto where someone drew the eyes, nose, and ears to make it look like the Disney Pluto, and now it’s the only thing when I see that picture.
Still, awesome photos. I can’t wait for the new space telescope to get up and running so I can see pictures of exoplanets. How freaking cool will that be?
I think I saw the same thing. I always see Pluto now, too.
That is a wonderful quote Madalyn, and it reminds me of a somewhat similar one in David Darling’s splendid book “Equations of Eternity”:
“You are roughly eighteen billion years old and made of matter that has been cycled through the multimillion-degree heat of innumerable giant stars. You are composed of particles that once were scattered across thousands of light-years of interstellar space, particles that were blasted out of exploding suns and that for eons drifted through the cold, starlit vacuum of the galaxy. You are very much a child of the cosmos.”
Love it! We are cosmos-babies.
I always love your posts! And I’m beyond excited that you published some chapters for us to feast on. I’ve signed up for Wattpost – just for you.
I’ve only read the first page but what can I say that everyone already hasn’t? You paint pictures with words, sparking the imagination. I love how you’ve crafted a story based on your background and a future most of us couldn’t picture without you. I look forward to reading more!
Thank you! I’m touched that you made an account just for me. I hope you continue to enjoy what you read. 🙂
I have to ask, because I know you’re still writing your novel, is this still a draft? I know a lot of novels undergo serious transformations along the way (including my own works).
Honestly, I don’t think we writers are ever completely satisfied with our work. 🙂
I’m definitely never satisfied. This is pretty much the final product, I think. I’m making small edits here and there as I post it, but that’s about it. Once I decide what I’m ultimately going to try to do with it, I might hire an editor. I’m indecisive about it.
I would try a reading group before an editor. If you’ve never heard of Nanowrimo.org, then you should check them out.
And of course, and this is time-consuming but so worth the effort, read your novel aloud. That goes a long way. Good luck either way!
I’m interested in a reading group, but I’m having a hard time fitting it into my schedule. NaNoWriMo is wonderful. I’ve been too immersed in other stuff to make an effort the last few years, but maybe this year. I definitely read aloud and it does help. Thank you for the tips. 🙂