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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

A male Adelie penguin performed this Ecstatic Vocalization in silhouette during the December 4 solar eclipse, the final eclipse of 2021. Of course his Ecstatic Vocalization is a special display that male penguins use to claim their territory and advertise their condition. This penguin's territory, at Cape Crozier Antarctica, is located in one of the largest Adelie penguin colonies. The colony has been studied by researchers for over 25 years. From there, last December's eclipse was about 80 percent total when seen at its maximum phase as the Moon's shadow crossed planet Earth's southernmost continent. Status Updates: Deploying the James Webb Space Telescope

Photo by Point Blue Conservation Science

A bright, piece of life
is more grey today,
as my beautiful wife,
is not here to stay.
Her Advanced Dementia,
Alzheimer's, took her away.
Now all the brightness
has changed to grey.

Ellie, oh Ellie,
I'm missing you so.
I turn in the bed
and you aren't there,
while all my senses,
see you everywhere.
I am such a wimp
and want you to be safe,
cared for every day.
To be loved and nurtured,
in every, possible way.
I am sorry for not
being there, as I now wallow,
in my own self despair.

Your life is special,
it belongs to you.
Caring for yourself
and others too,
is good for your Soul.
It's what you do.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

That's not a young crescent Moon posing behind cathedral towers after sunset. It's Venus in a crescent phase. About 40 million kilometers away and about 2 percent illuminated by sunlight, it was captured with camera and telephoto lens in this series of exposures as it set in western skies on January 1 from Veszprem, Hungary. The bright celestial beacon was languishing in the evening twilight, its days as the Evening Star coming to a close as 2022 began. But it was also growing larger in apparent size and becoming an ever thinner crescent in telescopic views. Heading toward a (non-judgemental) inferior conjunction, the inner planet will be positioned between Earth and Sun on January 9 and generally lost from view in the solar glare. A crescent Venus will soon reappear though. Rising in the east by mid-month just before the Sun as the brilliant Morning Star. Status Updates: Deploying the James Webb Space Telescope

Photo by Tamas Ladanyi

This recipe uses whole grain mustard to create a creamy and tangy pasta sauce tossed with asparagus, Italian sausage, and strozzapreti, It is a quick and easy weeknight meal. Click to read the recipe

Stepping into the traffic,
Stare down a bus.
Hitting their brakes,
Hear them all cuss.
"You crazy, old fool"
What did you do?
Are you so foolish?
Is it really you?

My wish for you
is sweet happiness.
My prayer is for
your continued success.

It was such a fitting surprise
to see the candlelight glints,
in your beautiful eyes,
of brown with golden tints.

How foolish we were
when we were young.
We wanted adventure,
but we wouldn't succumb,
to the rules of adults.
Is someone here dumb?
We wanted to play,
from morning to dusk,
for we were immortal,
having God's trust.
It is the way in life,
until we happen to see,
what happens to friends,
more reckless than we.

My writings
in this most
recent of time,
do not stand alone,
and probably won't rhyme.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Does the Sun always rise in the same direction? No. As the months change, the direction toward the rising Sun changes, too. The featured image shows the direction of sunrise every month during 2021 as seen from the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The camera in the image is always facing due east, with north toward the left and south toward the right. As shown in an accompanying video, the top image was taken in 2020 December, while the bottom image was captured in 2021 December, making 13 images in total. Although the Sun always rises in the east in general, it rises furthest to the south of east on the December solstice, and furthest north of east on the June solstice. In many countries, the December Solstice is considered an official change in season: for example the first day of winter in the North. Solar heating and stored energy in the Earth's surface and atmosphere are near their lowest during winter, making the winter season the coldest of the year. Status Updates: Deploying the James Webb Space Telescope

Photo by Luca Vanzella