Moon Dancing Through Scorpio

It's hot, it's humid, in reality it's pretty gross out there on these July days and even though we are a little farther from the sun than in mid-winter those long hours of direct sunlight will do that to July.  Take a chance and get out in the mugginess just after dark tonight and behold the gorgeous slide of our satellite through the scorpion in the sky and by the ringed world of Saturn and our bright, rusty neighbor, Mars. Mar's rival, Antares, the red giant heart of Scorpio completes the scene (well, Scorpio itself is spectacular in its own right), the dazzling display taking place in the south tonight (it was out there last night, too but it's hard to rewind all that).
In other Earth news…I'm out of the quake, volcano loop so I know there is shaking and erupting going on but fortunately not in the Central Va. zone. The real issues are the continuing insanity of religious whack jobs killing in the name of their god and the racial tensions roiling through this country.  Could we keep our believes to ourselves and try being nice to each other? There are over 7 billion humans on this relatively small planet, resources are strained and there is nothing but change on the way; we best figure out some ways to better get along or some of the changes will not be pretty.
Another Earth thought: recent events in West Virginia and the shock and surprise accompanying them avoid the geologic reality - if you live/build on a FLOOD PLAIN, at some point in the future it is going to flood (hence, the name flood plain).  I realize that living near waterways offers many advantages but that flat land beside the waterway IS GOING TO FLOOD!! How about some pictures to better explain this reality. Have a lovely day on Earth, but remember, the planet doesn't really care.
Flooded Flood Plain of the South Anna River

 But, it was a pasture...