NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

A star cluster around 2 million years young surrounded by natal clouds of dust and glowing gas, M16 is also known as The Eagle Nebula. This beautifully detailed portrait of the region was made with groundbased narrow and broadband image data. It includes cosmic sculptures made famous in Hubble Space Telescope close-ups of the starforming complex. Described as elephant trunks or Pillars of Creation, dense, dusty columns rising near the center are light-years in length but are gravitationally contracting to form stars. Energetic radiation from the cluster stars erodes material near the tips, eventually exposing the embedded new stars. Extending from the ridge of bright emission at lower left is another dusty starforming column known as the Fairy of Eagle Nebula. M16 lies about 7,000 light-years away, an easy target for binoculars or small telescopes in a nebula rich part of the sky toward the split constellation Serpens Cauda (the tail of the snake).

Photo by Martin Pugh

I am so small inside this big house
for here I am a little furry mouse.
My fur is shiny and the intent
is to keep me warm and the portent.
I'm a nocturnal creature and out at night,
as I do not want to give humans a fright.
How can anyone scream and others cry
for I am harmless, so sayeth I.
If you catch me in a humane trap
please put me outside in the rain.
I thank you ahead, if this happens to me
and hope that you will set me free.

a boulder
river rock ashine
pebbles

Recipe and Instructions  for this delicious Slow Cooker Beef Chili - by Dusty Hutchins-McNutt creator of Cooking Mamas https://www.cookingmamas.com

Course: Entrée
Cuisine: American
Skill Level: Easy

Servings: 8 cups

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 (16 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (15 oz.) can dark red kidney beans rinsed
1 (15 oz.) can light red kidney beans rinsed
1 1/2 c. thick and chunky mild salsa
1 c. frozen corn thawed, drained
1 onion chopped
2 T. chili powder
1 c. finely shredded Mexican style four cheese blend

Instructions

Brown ground beef; drain off excess grease.
Add to slow cooker with remaining ingredients except cheese; stir to combine.
Cover with lid. Cook on LOW 5 to 6 hours OR on HIGH 3 to 4 hours.
Stir just before serving. Serve topped with shredded cheese

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

On November 11, 2019 the Sun was mostly quiet, experiencing a minimum in its 11 year cycle of activity. In fact, the only spot visible was actually planet Mercury, making a leisurely 5 1/2 hour transit in front of the calm solar disk. About 1/200th the apparent diameter of the Sun, the silhouette of the solar system's inner most planet is near center in this sharp, full Sun snapshot. Taken with a hydrogen alpha filter and safe solar telescope, the image also captures prominences around the solar limb, the glowing plasma trapped in arcing magnetic fields. Of course, only inner planets Mercury and Venus can transit the Sun to appear in silhouette when viewed from planet Earth. Following its transit in 2016, this was Mercury's 4th of 14 transits across the solar disk in the 21st century. The next transit of Mercury will be on November 13, 2032.

Photo by John Chumack

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

The small, dark, round spot in this solar close up is planet Mercury. In the high resolution telescopic image, a colorized stack of 61 sharp video frames, a turbulent array of photospheric convection cells tile the bright solar surface. Mercury's more regular silhouette still stands out though. Of course, only inner planets Mercury and Venus can transit the Sun to appear in silhouette when viewed from planet Earth. For this November 11, 2019 transit of Mercury, the innermost planet's silhouette was a mere 1/200th the solar diameter. So even under clear daytime skies it was difficult to see without the aid of a safe solar telescope. Following its transit in 2016, this was Mercury's 4th of 14 transits across the solar disk in the 21st century. The next transit of Mercury will be on November 13, 2032.

Photo by Martin Wise

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844 -1900) German philosopher, cultural critic, composer, poet, philologist, and a Latin and Greek scholar.

"Given that it serves as the brain’s built-in therapy mechanism regulating our negative moods, given that it acts as the brain’s janitor sweeping away toxins responsible for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, sleep may be the closest thing we have a superpower" ................. Read more

https://www.brainpickings.org