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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

silon Tauri lies 146 light-years away. A K-type red giant star, epsilon Tau is cooler than the Sun, but with about 13 times the solar radius it has nearly 100 times the solar luminosity. A member of the Hyades open star cluster the giant star is known by the proper name Ain, and along with brighter giant star Aldebaran, forms the eyes of Taurus the Bull. Surrounded by dusty, dark clouds in Taurus, epsilon Tau is also known to have a planet. Discovered by radial velocity measurements in 2006, Epsilon Tauri b is a gas giant planet larger than Jupiter with an orbital period of 1.6 years. And though the exoplanet can't be seen directly, on a dark night its parent star epsilon Tauri is easily visible to the unaided eye.

Photo by Reg Pratt

Wind in the Willows,
shaking limbs of trees,
a freshet burst of wind,
a very strong breeze.

Soon Spring will come.
A time to sip the wine,
enjoying Nature's beauty,
the beautiful Columbine.

A Comment by Loy

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Loy • 01/26/2024 at 08:35PM • Like 1 • Profile

Love the photos- makes me anxious for Spring 💐

A Comment by MFish

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MFish • 01/26/2024 at 09:25PM • Like • Profile

I'm ready to plant.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

You might not immediately recognize this street map of a neighborhood in Jyväskylä, Finland, planet Earth. But that's probably because the map was projected into the night sky and captured with an allsky camera on January 16. The temperature recorded on that northern winter night was around minus 20 degrees Celsius. As ice crystals formed in the atmosphere overhead, street lights spilling illumination into the sky above produced visible light pillars, their ethereal appearance due to specular reflections from the fluttering crystals' flat surfaces. Of course, the projected light pillars trace a map of the brightly lit local streets, though reversed right to left in the upward looking camera's view. This light pillar street map was seen to hover for hours in the Jyväskylä night.

Photo by Harri Kiiskinen

Flowers Bloom

Posted by MFish • Profile • 01/25/24 at 11:23AM • Gardening • See more by MFish

Flowers will bloom,
in early Spring.
Oh, the joys,
warm days will bring.

Daffodils will raise
their trumpet high,
as Spring comes,
making a floral sky.

Tulips will be next,
when they grow,
putting on a,
Spring floral show.

A Comment by Loy

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Loy • 01/25/2024 at 09:21PM • Like 1 • Profile

❤️💕

A Comment by MFish

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MFish • 01/25/2024 at 11:11PM • Like 1 • Profile

Loy. Thank you for your friendship.

Wounds

Posted by MFish • Profile • 01/25/24 at 04:08AM • Other • See more by MFish

Wounds to the soul.
Those who others cannot see.
Not an easy spot to be in,
when questions asked thoughtlessly.

They can't help it, is what I hear.
Explanation not good enough for me.
It has been the same person,
who is probing, incessantly.

Sorry my friend,
I know not what to say,
except, "leave us alone"
and for thee I'll pray.

A withered rose,
it's life now spent,
after struggling,
when grown in cement.

Look at me.
How pretty I was.
Now here I am,
once pretty, now dust.

A Comment by Loy

Your avatar
Loy • 01/25/2024 at 09:27PM • Like • Profile

Beautiful photos, although I like the live rose best.

A Comment by MFish

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MFish • 01/25/2024 at 11:19PM • Like • Profile

Me also.

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