Happy Heavenly Birthday, Allen Collins 🤘
The Lynyrd Skynyrd guitar legend who wrote one of the greatest solos ever — the iconic Free Bird solo — when he was only 17.
Here he is in 1977, absolutely on fire with the band in Oakland… before the tragedy.
Forever legendary. 🕊️
@TheExtremeMusi1 Allen Collins deserves to be in the pantheon of the guitar greats. How many kids heard "Free Bird" and where inspired to pick up a guitar? I know I was. RIP Allen Collins. You are one of the greats.
Steve McQueen was known as Hollywood’s “King of Cool,” but one of his strangest studio demands had a generous purpose. When signing on for films, he reportedly requested free items in bulk, including electric razors, jeans in different sizes, and other everyday goods. Studio executives may have assumed the wealthy actor simply wanted extra perks.
The items were actually donated to Boys Republic in Chino Hills, California, where McQueen had spent part of his troubled teenage years. The school gave him structure and direction during a difficult period, and he remained deeply connected to it after becoming famous.
McQueen regularly returned to visit the students and reportedly supported the school through donations and scholarships. Boys Republic still honors its famous 1946 alumnus through events such as the Friends of Steve McQueen Car and Motorcycle Show.
Boys Republic was founded in 1907 and continues operating as a nonprofit school and treatment community for young people facing behavioral, educational, and emotional difficulties.
#drthehistories
These pictures of the Pillars of Creation were taken 19 years apart by different telescopes, with each image capturing a unique perspective.
On the left, @NASAHubble shows more thick dust. On the right, @NASAWebb peers through the dust to show more stars. Which is your favorite?
This image beautifully illustrates the astonishing evolution of telescope technology and astrophotography over more than 130 years, comparing rare early photographs of Jupiter and Saturn from the late 19th century with stunning modern captures from the 21st https://t.co/IRwnNdLRge the top left (1879), we see one of the very first successful photographs of Jupiter—a faint, blurry disc captured by Irish astronomer Agnes Mary Clerke (published in her A Popular History of Astronomy during the Nineteenth Century). It reflects the era's limitations: long exposure times on primitive photographic plates, modest refractor telescopes, and challenges with atmospheric turbulence and guiding.Below it (1885), an early image of Saturn by the French brothers Paul-Pierre and Prosper Henry shows the planet as a small, hazy ball with barely discernible rings—another groundbreaking achievement as one of the first clear planetary photographs ever taken, using their custom 38 cm refractor.Fast-forward to the top right (around 2015): a remarkably detailed view of Jupiter from Hubble (or similar ground-based adaptive optics imaging), revealing swirling cloud bands, the iconic Great Red Spot, intricate storms, and vibrant atmospheric features in sharp color.The bottom right (2017): a breathtaking Hubble image of Saturn displays razor-sharp rings with fine divisions (like the Cassini Division), subtle ring spokes, atmospheric banding, and even hints of moons—achieved through advanced digital sensors, precise tracking, adaptive optics, and space-based clarity free from Earth's atmosphere.These dramatic improvements stem from larger apertures, better optics, digital CCD/CMOS detectors, image processing/stacking techniques, and missions like Hubble that eliminate atmospheric distortion. Planetary oppositions—when Jupiter or Saturn are closest to Earth and appear largest in the sky—have always helped maximize detail, but modern tech turns those brief windows into high-resolution https://t.co/8VsA1SK5zY's mind-blowing proof of how far we've come: from vague smudges hinting at worlds beyond our own, to images that let us study weather patterns, ring dynamics, and atmospheric chemistry in exquisite detail. Humanity's quest to see farther and clearer never stops!Have an inspiring day peering at the skies!