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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Big, bright, beautiful spiral, Messier 106 dominates this cosmic vista. The nearly two degree wide telescopic field of view looks toward the well-trained constellation Canes Venatici, near the handle of the Big Dipper. Also known as NGC 4258, M106 is about 80,000 light-years across and 23.5 million light-years away, the largest member of the Canes II galaxy group. For a far far away galaxy, the distance to M106 is well-known in part because it can be directly measured by tracking this galaxy's remarkable maser, or microwave laser emission. Very rare but naturally occurring, the maser emission is produced by water molecules in molecular clouds orbiting its active galactic nucleus. Another prominent spiral galaxy on the scene, viewed nearly edge-on, is NGC 4217 below and right of M106. The distance to NGC 4217 is much less well-known, estimated to be about 60 million light-years, but the bright spiky stars are in the foreground, well inside our own Milky Way galaxy.

Photo by Kyunghoon Lim

The conflict in Gaza has become “an era-defining catastrophe.” It’s increasingly clear what — and who — is to blame. More at VOX ➜

Photo credit: Anadolu Agency

Latent were,
the first signs of Spring,
Daffodils and Tulips,
a very beautiful thing.

Colored balloons,
floating thru the air,
reminding me of
a state or county fair.

The smell of grilled onions,
and roasted ears of corn,
takes me back to Elephant
Ears and eating Kettle Corn.

I hear a melodious sound,
of your beautiful voice
like music to me,
and I do rejoice.

Our friendship is special,
and I reach out, with the new,
seeing you with your smile
as you come into view.

You are the brightness,
which I long to see.
I hope you are very happy,
for you are beautiful to me.

Hey old friend.
Hey old Pal.
I miss our conversations,
your old friend, Al.

It's hard to believe,
we've been friends, 40 years, or more.
Almost a lifetime, but,
I'm not keeping score.

He danced by himself,
in the back of the room,
thinking of memories, happy,
to brighten the gloom.

Saturday nights.
Nights to be alive,
dancing a Waltz,
the Twist, Bop or Jive.

Slipping backward,
into the darkness,
of where I am,
unaware.

Searching as
I am falling,
into darkness,
and I no longer care.

With Gusto

Where is the beginning?
When did it start?
Where love is lost,
in affairs of the heart.

I'm not your solution.
Please let me be,
for I'm being smothered.
Please respect me.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

The bird is bigger than the peak. Nicknamed for its avian shape, the Seagull Nebula is an emission nebula on the night sky that is vast, spanning an angle over five times the diameter of the full moon and over 200 light years. The head of the nebula is catalogued as IC 2177, and the star cluster under its right wing is catalogued as NGC 2343. Consisting of mostly red-glowing hydrogen gas, the Seagull Nebula incorporates some dust lanes and is forming stars. The peak over which this Seagull seems to soar occurs at Pinnacles National Park in California, USA. The featured image is a composite of long exposure images of the background sky and short exposure images of the foreground, all taken consecutively with the same camera and from the same location. Explore Your Universe: Random APOD Generator

Photo by Dheera Venkatraman

Over half of Stockton, California’s residents are diabetic or prediabetic. A prescribed meal program aims to change that. More at Reasons to be Cheerful ➜