I mentioned the other day how Shiva the Cow Cat dropped the ball while we were praying up Old Sol. I’m not going to say with certainty Shiva’s responsible for this, but if she is, I’m going to give her a special scratch behind the ears as a reward.
“CORONAL HOLE: NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory is monitoring a dark gash in the sun’s atmosphere–a coronal hole. It’s the dark vertical feature in this extreme UV image taken on Jan. 13th:
“Coronal holes are places where the sun’s magnetic field opens up and allows the solar wind to escape. This yawning hole is about 120,000 km wide and more than a million km long. Solar wind flowing from its UV-dark abyss will reach Earth on Jan. 16th or 17th, possibly sparking auroras for high-latitude sky watchers.”
Mayan calendar enthusiasts, on the other hand, choose to ignore the coincidence of Shiva’s lapse and attribute the hole to the obvious sinister consequences of the rock calendar having runned spang out of numbers.
Meanwhile, astrophysicists, unaware of Shiva’s blink, speculate it’s the work of Proxima Centauri, a hot tempered red dwarf cholla who hangs out in the same honkytonks as Old Sol, and who has a long history with a switch-blade.
I’m leaning to Shiva doing it, but what the hell do I know?
Old Jules
So Far From Heaven 
An enjoyable and intriguing post. “The same honkytonks as Old Sol.”
I can see by Shiva’s picture she’s The Cat Who Knows. And is perfectly willing to take metaphysical action.
Teresa Evangeline: Shiva’s got her secrets and we all try to give her elbow room around here. Always been somewhat inscrutable. Gracias, Jules
I look forward to the night sky on the 16th and 17th. Thanks for the heads-up and beautiful, spooky photos you shared.
K.S. Schultz: Glad you came for a visit. Jules
I am over the moon about Sol’s windy leakage! I’ve never seen an aurora, I grew up in Florida. I’m high enough here to be in with a chance! Now if only the rain will stay away for a few days…
HTBS: That leak’s probably hissing like a tire losing air if we had our ears tuned to it. Good luck on the light show. Gracias, Jules
I remember seeing SHB at the Vulcan Gas Company way back in 1971. A band called Eternal Life Corporation open the show for them. How’s that for a trip in the Way-Back Machine?
Michael Ultra. I’ll bet you remember Jethro Tull, too. Yeah, it’s a long way back. Hadn’t thought about the Vulcan Gas Company in a longish while. Gracias, Jules
I’ll have to check out the sky on those dates. The psychadellic screen reminded me of the Fox in Atlanta in the sixties. Cool
Secondhand Surfer: Wishing you a sky worthy of craning the neck. Gracias, Jules
You have a clever Mark Twain kinda way of mixing common sense with metaphysics and astrophysics, along with a tasty amount of humour…
Lindy Lee: Mark Twain’s a tough act to follow. Thanks for the kind words. Gracias, Jules
I wasn’t sure how I ended up on your site. I typed in Yitzchak and the well named shiva. After reading alot of your writing, enjoying it tremendously, and having some great belly laughs, I realized that one of your cats is named shiva! Do you think her cat spirit readirected me here? God bless you, and your cats! J. Warren
Thanks J. Warren, and likewise. I’d guess there’s no telling what Shiva the Cow Cat does in her moments of pondering and plotting. Gracias, Jules