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The historic Geigersberg vineyard, northeast of the Sachsenheim district of Ochsenbach in Germany, still retains many of its old dry stone walls and is home to rare plant and animal species.

Roman Eisele, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

Edgar Degas - (1834 1917) French Painter, Sculptor, and Printmaker. More than half of his works depict dancers.

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Hvítserkur is a 15 m high basalt stack along the eastern shore of the Vatnsnes peninsula, in northwest Iceland. The rock has two holes at the base, which give it the appearance of a dragon who is drinking. The base of the stack has been reinforced with concrete to protect its foundations from the sea. Several species of birds, such as gulls and fulmars, live on at Hvítserkur and its name (“white shirt” in Icelandic) comes from the color of the guano deposited on its rocks.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

How does the Moon's appearance change during a total lunar eclipse? The featured time-lapse video was digitally processed to keep the Moon bright and centered during the 5-hour eclipse of 2018 January 31. At first the full moon is visible because only a full moon can undergo a lunar eclipse. Stars move by in the background because the Moon orbits the Earth during the eclipse. The circular shadow of the Earth is then seen moving across the Moon. The light blue hue of the shadow's edge is related to why Earth's sky is blue, while the deep red hue of the shadow's center is related to why the Sun appears red when near the horizon. Tomorrow night, people living in Eastern Asia, Australia, and much of North America may get to see a Total Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse. Here the term blood refers to the (likely) red color of a fully eclipsed Moon. Almost Hyperspace: Random APOD Generator

Famous sanctuary of the temple of Ramses II, Abu Simbel, Egypt. The Great Temple at Abu Simbel, which took about twenty years to build, was completed around year 24 of the reign of Ramesses the Great (which corresponds to 1265 BC). It was dedicated to the gods Amun, Ra-Horakhty, and Ptah, as well as to the deified Ramesses himself. It is generally considered the grandest and most beautiful of the temples commissioned during the reign of Ramesses II, and one of the most beautiful in Egypt. In the sanctuary are rock cut sculptures of four seated figures: Ra-Horakhty, the deified king Ramesses, and the gods Amun Ra and Ptah, the main divinities in that period. It is believed that the axis of the temple was positioned by the ancient Egyptian architects in such a way that on October 22 and February 22 (allegedly the king's birthday and coronation day, respectively), the rays of the sun would penetrate the sanctuary and illuminate the sculptures on the back wall, except for the statue of Ptah, a god connected with the realm of the dead, who always remained in the dark. People gather at Abu Simbel on these days to witness this.

Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Fans of the western sky after sunset have lately enjoyed this month's remarkable array of bright planets. Witnessed from some locations, on February 18 planet Mercury even appeared to slide behind the Moon, an event known as a lunar occultation. These two snapshots, taken in early evening skies show before and after telescopic views of the rare disappearance of innermost planet behind young Moon. The top panel finds bright Mercury just visible at the northern (right) edge of the earthshine-illuminated lunar disk. In the bottom panel the bright planet has emerged in darker skies beyond the Moon's sunlit crescent. As seen south of Sallisaw, Oklahoma, planet Earth, this lunar occultation of Mercury lasted only about 3 minutes (video). But you can still check out a parade of planets tonight. March 3: Total Lunar Eclipse

Photo by Fabrizio Melandri

Jogger crossing the icy right barrier gate of the Jahnwehr weir in Bamberg, Germany.

Ermell, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.