By Jove!

ω

              Jupiter, which is fifth from the Sun
              in our system planetary,
              has layers of swirling clouds that stun,
              rife with splendors visionary.

              It’s the biggest gaseous giant
              of any other solar sphere,
              on which Mother Earth seems reliant
              to fend off comet impacts here.

              ‘Twas named by the Romans for sky god —
              though Zeus in the Grecian belief —
              Jupiter, king with thunderbolt rod,
              in his role of deity chief.

              Of Neptune and Pluto a brother,
              over heavens he presided,
              in power surpassed by no other;
              all state affairs too he guided.

              The divinity’s wife called Juno —
              or Hera as counterpart Greek —
              was also NASA’s venture, you know,
              planned to delve into Jove’s mystique.

              Her spousal eyes were able through clouds
              to peer and his nature unmask,
              albeit he’d tried to hide with shrouds;
              indeed, she was fit for the task.

              Now Juno’s giving a treasure trove,
              through mission exploring that realm,
              of photos to dazzle us, by Jove,
              with portrayals to overwhelm!

              The spacecraft around Jupiter loops
              exhibiting sectors cryptic,
              since every fifty-three days it swoops,
              in constant orbits elliptic.

              Citizen scientists created
              the view of my inspiration
              for poem ekphrastic related,
              with ‘dragon’s eye’ designation.

              Huge oval anticyclonic storm
              and white “pop-up” clouds in the mix
              into a cosmic tableau transform
              that the striking image depicts!

              If ‘Jumping Jupiter!’ we exclaim,
              it could also denote a scheme
              of planet evolved migration frame,
              while in this instance awe extreme.

              That panorama before our sight
              might seem a semblance glimpsed in dream,
              rather than brightest orb of the night
              after Moon and Venus’s gleam.

              The marvelous ambience marbled
              like tapestry patterned brocade
              may elicit impressions garbled
              of fabulous figures inlaid.

              Those swirly shapes remind of van Gogh,
              in rendering color-enhanced,
              or legendary scenario
              where mythical creatures were tranced.

              Aye, Jupiter’s aspects can enthrall
              beyond what mere verses convey,
              for Nature’s art is greatest of all,
              be it flower or star ballet.

              Our projects and probes seek to explore
              where curiousness incites us,
              thus to plumb the depths of evermore
              as vastness of space invites us.

              Mankind has a tendency, I fear,
              in matters pertaining to worth
              to value the far and slight what’s near,
              seen in our recklessness with Earth…

              Extraordinary domains abound
              where’er stargazing ways may rove,
              yet of all the wonders we have found
              there’s still no place like home, by Jove!

              But look within for deeper abode
              by embracing the single phrase
              that is our enlightenment’s true road
              Nam Myoho Renge Kyo always…



              ~ Harley White



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Inspiration derived from image and article ~ Spectacular ‘Dragon’s Eye’ on Jupiter Spotted by NASA’s Juno...

More info and image ~ Jovian Close Encounter...

More info ~ Juno (spacecraft)...

Additional info ~ Jumping-Jupiter scenario...

Also ~ Jupiter (mythology)...

Further inspiration derived from the teachings and writings of Nichiren Daishōnin…

Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō means to devote our lives to and found them on (Nam[u]) the Utterness of the Dharma (Myōhō) [entirety of existence, enlightenment and unenlightenment] permeated by the underlying white lotus flower-like mechanism of the interdependence of cause, concomitancy and effect (Renge) in its whereabouts of the ten [psychological] realms of dharmas [which is every possible psychological wavelength] (Kyō).

The reason that we continually recite Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō

Image info ~ Part of the Coalsack Nebula ~ The Juno probe studying Jupiter snapped this image of the gas giant’s clouds on Oct. 29, 2018. On Twitter, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory dubbed the atmospheric display a dragon’s eye. The photo shows a region scientists have dubbed Jupiter’s North North Temperate Belt. The large white oval is a type of atmospheric knot called an anticyclonic storm, which means that in the outer edge of the storm, winds are blowing in a direction that’s opposite to the surrounding air mass. Smaller cloud structures are also on view. In this Jovian close encounter, a multitude of magnificent, swirling clouds is captured in this color-enhanced image…

Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstädt/Seán Doran