attend to beauty

"Comet Donati", colour lithograph by Philippe Benoist, from Amédée Guillemin's Le Ciel (1877).

Kirikane decorated balls by National Living Treasure of Japan as a Kirikane artist, Sayoko ERI (1945~2007) まり香盒　人間国宝・江里佐代子 (A kirikane is a decorative technique used for Buddhist statues and paintings, using gold leaf, silver leaf, platinum leaf cut into lines, diamonds and triangles.)

ASTRONOMY PICTURE OF THE DAY June 23, 2025 How do stars form? Images of the star forming region W5 like those in the infrared by NASA's Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE, later NEOWISE) satellite provide clear clues with indications that massive stars near the center of empty cavities are older than stars near the edges. A likely reason for this is that the older stars in the center are actually triggering the formation of the younger edge stars. The triggered star formation occurs when hot outflowing gas compresses cooler gas into knots dense enough to gravitationally contract into stars. In the featuredscientifically colored infrared image, spectacular pillars left slowly evaporating from the hot outflowing gas provide further visual clues. W5 is also known as Westerhout 5 (W5) and IC 1848. Together with IC 1805, the nebulas form a complex region of star formation popularly dubbed the Heart and Soul Nebulas. The featured image highlights a part of W5 spanning about 2,000 light years that is rich in star forming pillars. W5 lies about 6,500 light years away toward the constellation of Cassiopeia. Image: https://ift.tt/l3bjQZ9 via NASA https://ift.tt/Lfw26Rt APOD --> https://ift.tt/HrhnMc6

Japanese mother-of-pearl hairpin.  date unknown

Artur Pastor.

Note the beautiful palette curving across the photograph in this quiet, but intensely alive, moment.

“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.” ― Henri Matisse Jazz cut-out by Henri Matisse (1947).

Yashima Gakutei WHITE CRESENT MOON AND PLUM BLOSSOMS Edo period, 1615-1868

Waterpot (Suichū). ca. 1850–60s. Credit line: Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/47081

Cat, fiddle. The Latch key of my bookhouse. 1921.