Mushroom and Vega

Another clear night with a bright moon. This time, I found a beautiful *Boletus edulis* (porcini mushroom). Below it stands a solitary trumpet lichen fluorescing a vivid blue, while the porcini glows with a greenish hue. *Boletus edulis* is an edible mushroom found in both deciduous and coniferous forests. Technically, it is a bolete. It forms mycorrhizal associations and is therefore dependent on host trees.

In the sky, the bright star Vega is visible in the constellation Lyra.
It lies approximately 25 light-years from Earth, emits a bluish light, and rotates so rapidly that it is flattened into an egg-like or ellipsoidal shape.
Its mass is roughly 2.1 to 2.5 times that of the Sun.
It shines with a luminosity about 40–50 times greater than that of the Sun.
Surrounding the star is a disk of dust and asteroid belts that may indicate the presence of a planetary system.

Glowing moss and fungi under the stars

Glowing moss and a little fungi under the stars.

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Fungi & Night Sky

A clear evening in the woods behind my house. Simply walking around looking for beautiful little objects is a pleasure. It is now mushroom season, and many of them fluoresce under UV light. These fungi are vital, acting as nature’s cleanup crew by breaking down dead wood and leaves, thereby returning nutrients to the soil.
What we pick and call a "mushroom" is merely the fruiting body. Beneath the ground lies a vast, intricate network of fungal threads known as mycelium. It is through this mycelium that the fungus absorbs water and nutrients from the soil.
Symbiosis with trees (Mycorrhiza): Many of our most common edible mushrooms live in symbiosis with forest trees. Through underground contact, they exchange services: the fungus provides the tree with water and minerals, while the tree supplies the fungus with sugars (carbohydrates) produced via photosynthesis.
The soil's kidneys: Fungi are extremely efficient at absorbing substances from the soil. Unfortunately, this means they can also take up and store environmental toxins, heavy metals, and radioactive substances (such as cesium) if they grow in contaminated soil.
Visible in the starry sky are the constellations Perseus, Cassiopeia, and Auriga.