estimating, photos on Flickr

The Elephant’s Trunk Nebula (IC 1396A) by George Bok

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IC 1396A is the Elephant's Trunk nebula, located in the constellation Cepheus. The Elephant's Trunk Nebula is a concentration of interstellar gas and dust within the much larger ionized gas region IC 1396, at an estimated distance of about 2,500 light years.

At the heart of the nebula lies the open star cluster Trumpler 37, where several hot, young stars (less than 100,000 years) are thought to be forming. These stars emit copious amounts of hot plasma winds and energetic particles that ionize the gas in the nebula and causing it to glow with the characteristic red light of hydrogen atoms. The winds are also sculpting the nebula creating the central cavity, but also compressing the gas in dense regions and triggering a new generation of protostars, hidden inside the dust.

At the estimated distance of the nebula, the Elephant's Trunk is about 20 light-years long.

Thanks to all for your continuous support and kind comments. I wish to all my Flickr friends a happy and relaxing summer and looking forward for your beautiful photos and stories!

Technical Info:

Telescope: Orion EON 80ED refractor, F = 500 mm, f/6.25

Camera: Canon EOS 20Da

Mount: Vixen Sphinx

Filter: Astronomik CLS

Guiding: 80/400 Skywatcher refractor - SkyWatcher SynGuider

Light frames: 24 x 5 mins (total: 2 hours), ISO 3200, Custom WB, calibrated with darks

Date: 17-18 October 2020

Location: Chalkidiki, Greece

Software: SiriL (calibration, background extraction, registration, stacking, color calibration, stretch), StarNet++, Adobe Photoshop CC 2022 with Astronomy Tools Actions.

Lapwing 010218 (4) by Richard Collier

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Taken at WWT Slimbridge - It was estimated that there was about 12,000 lapwings at the reserve.

The Blanco River by Jim Allen

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Business has been slow, so I didn't have to work today. I took a drive to the hill country looking for something to photograph. I got a few I liked and than the sun was just too bright and everything starting looking ugly..:)

Early in the morning on May 24, during the 2015 Texas–Oklahoma floods, the Blanco River experienced catastrophic flooding. The river at Wimberley rose more than 30 feet in less than three hours, and set a new record high crest of more than 40 feet while disabling the gauge.

Rainfall totals of 10 to 13 inches were reported upstream in southern Blanco County, and all of this water entered the Blanco River and Little Blanco River. The Fischer Store Rd. bridge over the Blanco River was destroyed by flood waters west of Wimberley. The Blanco River, down stream from the bridge, at Wimberley reached a record crest. The gauge failed at 40 feet and the USGS later estimated the crest at 44.9 feet with peak flow of 175,000 cubic feet per second (5,000 m3/s). This height was more than 10 feet over the previous record height of 33.3 feet from 1929. Homes along the banks of the Blanco River from the City of Blanco, through Wimberley, and down to San Marcos experienced an historic flood. Many homes were totally destroyed and swept down stream. Many homes were struck by large debris, including full size cypress trees which typically lined the banks of the river.

Three Alligator Babies by Ellsasha

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I’m estimating that these baby Alligators are a few weeks old. Saw them as I was hiking towards an area known for perching Bald Eagles. Not an eagle in sight, but found these babies, as consolation.

Young alligators remain in the area where they are hatched and where their mother protects them. After two to three years, they leave that area in search of food or when driven out by larger alligators.

Alligators measure 6-8” when they hatch, then juveniles grow about a foot in length each year.

Września - The Roman Catholic Church of Assumption Blessed Virgin Mary by Zygmunt Borowski

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The construction of this brick church (parish church) is estimated at the middle of the 15th century.

In the following centuries, the church was damaged many times as a result of hostilities and by fires. Large losses were caused by the fire of 1629, during which almost the entire city of Września burnt down. As a result of destruction and looting during the Swedish invasion (1655-1656), the northern wall of the nave and the vaults collapsed. After the reconstruction and removal of damage in 1672, the shape of the inter-nave arcades was changed and the naves were covered with wooden ceilings. During the German occupation in 1939-45, the church was turned into a military warehouse, and its equipment was devastated. After the war, the necessary renovation and restoration works were carried out. Currently, it looks magnificent, showing its original late Gothic character.

-

Powstanie tego murowanego kościoła (fary) szacuje się na połowę XV wieku, zaś dobudowaną później wieżę na koniec tego samego wieku.

W następnych stuleciach kościół był niejednokrotnie niszczony w wyniku działań wojennych oraz przez pożary. Duże straty spowodował pożar 1629 roku, podczas którego spłonęło nieomal całe miasto Września. W wyniku zniszczeń i grabieży podczas najazdu szwedzkiego (1655-1656) zawaliła się ściana północna nawy głównej oraz sklepienia. Po odbudowie i usunięciu zniszczeń w 1672 roku, zmieniono kształt arkad międzynawowych a nawy przykryte zostały drewnianymi stropami. W okresie okupacji niemieckiej w latach 1939-45, kościół zamieniono na magazyn wojskowy, a jego wyposażenie zostało zdewastowane. Po wojnie wykonano niezbędne prace remontowe świątyni oraz restauracyjne. Obecnie prezentuje się okazale, pokazując swój pierwotny późnogotycki charakter. i św. Stanisława BM we Wrześni.

Mmmm - tasty......... by Linda Martin

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Alligator with what I think is an armoured catfish. It was a pretty big alligator - I estimated it to be between 10 and 12 feet long and the catfish must have been a good couple of feet.

Pont Du Gard, France by Chris van Kan

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The Pont du Gard is an ancient Roman aqueduct that crosses the Gardon River in southern France. Located near the town of Vers-Pont-du-Gard, the bridge is part of the Nîmes aqueduct, a 50-kilometre (31 mi) system built in the first century AD to carry water from a spring at Uzès to the Roman colony of Nemausus (Nîmes). Because of the uneven terrain between the two points, the mostly underground aqueduct followed a long, winding route that called for a bridge across the gorge of the Gardon River. The Pont du Gard is the highest of all elevated Roman aqueducts, and, along with the Aqueduct of Segovia, one of the best preserved. It was added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1985 because of its historical importance.

The bridge has three tiers of arches, standing 48.8 m (160 ft) high. The whole aqueduct descends in height by only 17 m (56 ft) over its entire length, while the bridge descends by a mere 2.5 centimetres (1 in) – a gradient of only 1 in 3,000 – which is indicative of the great precision that Roman engineers were able to achieve, using only simple technology. The aqueduct formerly carried an estimated 200,000 m3 (44,000,000 imp gal) of water a day to the fountains, baths and homes of the citizens of Nîmes. It continued to be used possibly until the 6th century, with some parts used for significantly longer, but lack of maintenance after the 4th century meant that it became increasingly clogged by mineral deposits and debris that eventually choked off the flow of water.

Endemic Red-bellied Grackle by Priscilla Burcher

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La Ceja, Colombia; 2.300 meters above sea level.

Hypopyrrhus pyrohypogaster (Red-bellied Grackle / Cacique candela)

The red-bellied grackle is endemic to Colombia where it is found in all three Andean ranges at altitudes of 800 to 2,400m (2,600 to 7,900ft) above sea level.

Its natural habitat is tropical forest, but the trees are increasingly being felled for timber and to make way for agriculture, and little virgin forest remains within its range.

H. pyrohypogaster was formerly classified as "endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature but in 2012 the threat level was lowered to "vulnerable". This is on the basis that, although its forest habitat remains under pressure, it has been found at some new locations where it was not known before. The total population is now estimated to be in the range 2,500 to 9,999 individuals.

www.birdyinfo.com/show/bird/Red-bellied-Grackle/11155

DSP07737 - House Sparrow ♀ (Passer domesticus) by David Smith

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Recently estimated as dropping by 71 per cent in England between 1977 and 2008 with substantial declines in both rural and urban populations.

Kings Mill Reservoir

Stork dinner by Andrzej Kocot

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Dąbrówka

It's evening, the sun has already hidden behind the horizon. My wife and I drive slowly along our country roads, and at the end of our first journey during the ending epidemic and the necessary isolation we want to look at the Drzewicki reservoir from the Dąbrówka side. Suddenly we noticed a stork walking majestically through the field. I am slowly driving along a dirt road without stopping the engine - he does not run away, looks and continues to search for his delicacies. I have to hurry, but in order not to scare him away, he is close and there is a great atmosphere, you need to capture her. It is already quite dark and in these conditions I try to get the most out of the equipment. I take the first photos with high ISO sensitivity, burned, I automatically change to the native ISO sensitivity - photo - and I see that a dark photo, I do not have time to think about it, I raise it to ISO 800, then 1250, 1600. I don't know if I have anything, but this moment was extraordinary. Finally, the stork estimates that there is too much traffic around and breaks away, it flies further to the center of the field and we can not see it anymore. I had to wait until the next day to assess what pictures we have - unfortunately, practically all the pictures were out of focus (too long exposure time in difficult conditions despite raising the ISO, with the aperture open to the maximum), I almost gave up, but I remembered that I still have dark photo - this is the photo.

Now I am thinking about how to optimize the technique of taking pictures with this relatively dark lens in order to maximize the quality of the received pictures. I chose it because of the focal lengths, and because it is over 6 times (x 6.44) cheaper than the bright M.Zuiko 300mm f / 4.0, in the hope that in good light I will take great photos with it, and in low light - well well what can be squeezed. But by accident it may turn out that relatively low ISO - maybe not native but something between ISO 400 - 800, combined with the short times required to freeze fast moving objects - will give dark photos that can be easily processed in post-production. I can't wait for the next locations

Maybe this picture is not yet perfectly sharp and technically exemplary, but the pictures are not taken literally, the most important are emotions, mood and narration.

Września - The Roman Catholic Church of Assumption Blessed Virgin Mary by Zygmunt Borowski

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The construction of this brick church (parish church) is estimated at the middle of the 15th century.

In the following centuries, the church was damaged many times as a result of hostilities and by fires. Large losses were caused by the fire of 1629, during which almost the entire city of Września burnt down. As a result of destruction and looting during the Swedish invasion (1655-1656), the northern wall of the nave and the vaults collapsed. After the reconstruction and removal of damage in 1672, the shape of the inter-nave arcades was changed and the naves were covered with wooden ceilings. During the German occupation in 1939-45, the church was turned into a military warehouse, and its equipment was devastated. After the war, the necessary renovation and restoration works were carried out. Currently, it looks magnificent, showing its original late Gothic character.

-

Powstanie tego murowanego kościoła (fary) szacuje się na połowę XV wieku, zaś dobudowaną później wieżę na koniec tego samego wieku.

W następnych stuleciach kościół był niejednokrotnie niszczony w wyniku działań wojennych oraz przez pożary. Duże straty spowodował pożar 1629 roku, podczas którego spłonęło nieomal całe miasto Września. W wyniku zniszczeń i grabieży podczas najazdu szwedzkiego (1655-1656) zawaliła się ściana północna nawy głównej oraz sklepienia. Po odbudowie i usunięciu zniszczeń w 1672 roku, zmieniono kształt arkad międzynawowych a nawy przykryte zostały drewnianymi stropami. W okresie okupacji niemieckiej w latach 1939-45, kościół zamieniono na magazyn wojskowy, a jego wyposażenie zostało zdewastowane. Po wojnie wykonano niezbędne prace remontowe świątyni oraz restauracyjne. Obecnie prezentuje się okazale, pokazując swój pierwotny późnogotycki charakter.

Atacama Desert by Joost van Veen

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The Atacama desert lies between the slopes of the Andes and the pacific ocean in Chile and Peru. It is estimated to cover over 100.000 square km and is the driest place on earth.

1881 Casa de Indiano by Draculina (Anne)

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Quoting livingasturias.com/los-indianos-de-asturias/

In the 19th century, many people in Spain left their country for the New World, to find their fortune. The Americas were discovered for centuries, but the big movement happened much later. The most popular destinations were Cuba and Puerto Rico. After having gathered wealth, some of them returned to their homeland at the end of the 19th or beginning of 20th century.

The name Indianos refers to the name people gave to the Americas, “las Indias”.

Only few of these people became successful and returned to Asturias. It’s estimated that about 5 percent of who left came back. These wealthy "Indianos" built impressive houses for themselves in Asturias, or the region where they came from. Some say, their goal was to show their new fortune to their community.

This photo was taken in one of such houses, today it's a small country hotel, the Hotel El Algaire in La Arquera de Salas.

ThyssenKrupp-Hauptquartier by Michael Otto

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Nebengebäude

Das Thyssenkrupp-Hauptquartier, offiziell auch als „thyssenkrupp Quartier“ bezeichnet, ist die Konzernzentrale der Thyssenkrupp AG im Westviertel der Stadt Essen. Das Quartier ist Kern des städtebaulichen Projektes Krupp-Gürtel und steht genau auf dem Grund, auf dem Krupp mit der Gussstahlfabrik in Essen seine Wurzeln hat. Der neue Bürocampus ist ein Ensemble aus verschiedenen Einzelgebäuden, die auf einem „grünen Teppich“ mit Bäumen, verbindenden Wegen und kleinen Plätzen angeordnet sind. Dem Konzern als Auftraggeber war es dabei besonders wichtig, dass sich die Neubauten flexibel an Veränderungsprozesse innerhalb des Unternehmens anpassen lassen. Die Kosten für den ersten Bauabschnitt des Hauptquartiers werden auf über 300 Millionen Euro beziffert.

Das Gebäude Q1 als Hauptgebäude des neuen Campus ist als markanter Hochpunkt auf der zentralen Wasserachse platziert, die dem Gelände seine Struktur verleiht. Neben diesem und weiteren Bürogebäuden gehören eine öffentliche Kita, das Veranstaltungsgebäude Q2, ein Parkhaus und eine Tiefgarage zum Quartier. Der städtebauliche und architektonische Entwurf des Campus steht für Offenheit, Begegnung und Kommunikation – innerhalb des Quartiers und nach außen in die angrenzenden Stadtteile.

The Thyssenkrupp headquarters, also officially known as the “thyssenkrupp Quartier”, is the corporate headquarters of Thyssenkrupp AG in the western quarter of the city of Essen. The quarter is the core of the urban development project Krupp-Gürtel and stands exactly on the ground on which Krupp with the cast steel factory in Essen has its roots. The new office campus is an ensemble of various individual buildings arranged on a “green carpet” with trees, connecting paths and small squares. As the client, it was particularly important to the group that the new buildings could be flexibly adapted to change processes within the company. The costs for the first construction phase of the headquarters are estimated at over 300 million euros.

Building Q1 as the main building of the new campus is placed as a prominent high point on the central water axis, which gives the site its structure. In addition to this and other office buildings, a public day-care center, the Q2 event building, a multi-storey car park and an underground car park are part of the quarter. The urban and architectural design of the campus stands for openness, encounters and communication - within the quarter and to the outside in the neighboring districts.

Bald Eagle Estimated to Be a 4 Year-Old by Ken Helal

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The Chicken Dance by Don's PhotoStream

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(From my 2015 Archives)

I’m still rooting around in my archives trying to cull the 90 percent bad and keep the 10 percent that are okay.

Found this Pelican on a local pier, and thought it was doing a pretty good rendition of the Chicken Dance.

The Chicken Dance is a well-known drinking and dancing song at American Oktoberfest events. It is also a popular dance at weddings, particularly in whose culture includes polka music. Over 140 versions have been recorded worldwide, including some that were released by Walt Disney Records, together making an estimated 40,000,000 records or more pressed.

(Nikon, 300/4.0, 1/1250 @ f/5.6, ISO 250, edited to taste)

Sh2-68 by Jochen Maes

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Sh2-68 is a planetary nebula in the Serpens constellation, estimated to be around 980 light years from earth (planetary nebulae are extremely difficult to perform distance measurements on, let alone accurate ones). It's sometimes refered to as "The flaming skull" nebula. Usually, I think these names are quite far-fetched; with this one I can sort of see it though.

At first sight, this is your typical planetary nebula. Meaning a low to intermediate mass star came to the end of its life and the colourful gas we see is what used to make up the outer shell of said star. However, the "tail" of gas moving away (towards the right of the frame) is somewhat unusual. So what's going on there?

The central star within the nebula is moving through space at a fairly high speed. Additionally, the area of space it's in contains a fair bit of gas/dust of its own. As a result, the material being expelled by the star is meeting some resistance as it collides with the already present gas (and is being slowed down if you will), while the star itself continues on its merry way. Over a long period of time, the distance between the star and the expelled gas becomes great enough to be perceived as a "tail".

Image acquisition details:

50x1800" HA

23x1800" OIII

15x1200" Luminance

12x900" Red

12x900" Green

12x900" Blue

www.jochenmaes.com

680. Four faced Tiffany Clock in Grand Central Terminal, Manhattan, NY by Paddu Rao

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Estimated value of the Clock is 20 million dollars !

World Giraffe Day – 21 June 2020 by Achim

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In the 1980s, the total number of all giraffe in Africa was estimated at more than 155,000 individuals. Today, GCF estimates the current Africa-wide giraffe population at approximately 111,000 individuals. This is a drop by almost 30%, a slightly less bleak picture than previously portrayed in the 2016 IUCN Red List assessment that estimated giraffe at less than 100,000 individuals. However, this updated information is based more on improved data rather than on actual increases in numbers. Unfortunately, in some areas traditionally regarded as prime giraffe habitat, numbers have dropped by 95% in the same period.

In 2016, the giraffe as a species was uplisted to Vulnerable from Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. In 2018, seven of the nine currently recognised subspecies were assessed and are now listed on the IUCN Red List. Two subspecies (Kordofan and Nubian giraffe), are now listed as Critically Endangered, Reticulated giraffe as Endangered, Thornicroft’s giraffe as Vulnerable, while Angolan giraffe are listed as Least Concern. Both the West African and Rothschild’s giraffe were down-listed from Endangered to Vulnerable and Near Threatened, respectively, due to targeted conservation efforts in their core habitats.

More information and how you can help to save these wonderful animals at Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) !

An estimate of 15,780 individuals of reticulated giraffes remain in the wild – a decline of over 50% from the approximate 36,000 three decades ago.

Reticulated Giraffe / Netzgiraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) in evening sunlight

Samburu National Reserve, Kenya, Africa

More pictures of these fascintaing animals in my Giraffe Album !

The BIG GREEN Sumatra DSC_4804 by Joseph Kiesecker

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It is estimated that 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions are the result of deforestation. Natural Climate Solutions focuses on strategies for protecting and restoring ecosystems and incentivizing more sustainable land uses in order to avoid emissions and/or enhance biological sequestration of carbon. Latest research suggests such strategies are capable of mitigating a third of human emissions, making them critical to achieving climate stabilization of 2 degrees or less. Read more about The Nature Conservancy’s work on this issue:

global.nature.org/our-global-solutions/lands

www.nature.org/science-in-action/our-scientists/bronson-g...

The look of love (Mr & Mrs Red-bellied Grackle) by Priscilla Burcher

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La Ceja, Colombia; 2.300 meters above sea level.

Hypopyrrhus pyrohypogaster

(Red-bellied Grackle / Cacique candela)

The red-bellied grackle is endemic to Colombia where it is found in all three Andean ranges at altitudes of 800 to 2,400m (2,600 to 7,900ft) above sea level.

Its natural habitat is tropical forest, but the trees are increasingly being felled for timber and to make way for agriculture, and little virgin forest remains within its range.

H. pyrohypogaster was formerly classified as "endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature but in 2012 the threat level was lowered to "vulnerable". This is on the basis that, although its forest habitat remains under pressure, it has been found at some new locations where it was not known before. The total population is now estimated to be in the range 2,500 to 9,999 individuals.

www.birdyinfo.com/show/bird/Red-bellied-Grackle/11155

Bad estimate? by M&K Amateur photography

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The Poike Volcano from Vaihu-Anakena Road, East Coast, Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile, Oceania. by Elias Rovielo

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Poike, the oldest volcano:

The Poike volcano was the first piece of land that emerged from the sea and, together with subsequent volcanic eruptions, formed the present territory of Easter Island. Its somewhat remote and isolated location and its difficult access make Poike a little-visited place. However, this mysterious territory contains secret corners and ancient legends that invite to discover it calmly and to know better the past of the island.

Poike, the first volcano on the island:

The name of Poike, usually translated by “hill”, seems to come from the Rapanui expression “Po” (night); “ike” (break) which means “place where the night breaks” because it is the first place on the island that receives the first rays of the rising sun.

Indeed, the Poike is located at the eastern end of Easter Island, and is the oldest of the three main volcanoes on the island, next to the Rano Kau and the Ma’unga Terevaka, which originated their formation. It is estimated that this first eruptive center emerged from the sea about 3 million years ago creating the so-called Poike Peninsula, although its activity was maintained until about 300 thousand years ago. Originally this peninsula was an island but later it was joined to the main body of the island, by lava flows coming from the Terevaka and other nearby volcanic centers.

The Poike is now an inactive volcano with a fairly symmetrical cone shape. The main crater has a circular shape and by its resemblance to a halo of sun or moon was called Pua Katiki, although in another version its name would mean “hill that serves to monitor the cattle.” Unlike other craters, this is totally dry and measures around 150 meters in diameter and about 10 meters deep. Inside a small eucalyptus forest grows that crowns the summit like a leafy green plume visible from afar.

From Pua Katiki, where the Poike reaches a maximum height of 460 meters, a wide plain of gentle slope is observed. which covers an area of about 4.5 km from east to west and 3.5 km from north to south. This large area, almost exclusively covered by a type of grass called here hoi (Sporobolus indicus), ends abruptly on 100-meter-high coastal cliffs formed by the continuous erosion of the sea on the Poike peninsula.

_______________________________________________

For some unknown reason, during the period of construction of the large statues, considered the golden age of the island, it is believed that the inhabitants of the Poike peninsula remained separate from the others and hardly participated in the work of carving in the quarries of Rano Raraku.

One proof of its isolation is that only two of the statues found in the Poike are made of the lapilli tuff of the Rano Raraku, while the rest of the statues were made of the white trachyte coming from the Poike deposits.

***

21km northeast of Hanga Roa.

"The mountains are calling and I must go." John Muir by Donald Mosher

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The other day I went hiking to a local state park in Connecticut to do an estimated 3-4 mile round trip hike. A trifling hike if I was twenty five years old but enough of a challenge for my almost 67 year old legs. Never the less spending the day in a very nice and beautiful woodland ambiance was quite enjoyable and I came across many people who had their canine companions with them. Woodland hikers I say are some of the nicest people you can ever meet with friendly greetings from other senior hikers who know what our legs are going feel like the next day to respectful nods of acknowledgement from the younger hikers seeing someone who is old to be their parent or even grandparent persevering on a hiking trail as for many of my peers because of their physical decline through health problems, bad health habits and or lack of exercise the days where they can do miles on a hiking trail are long gone never to be seen again.

Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) by Don Delaney

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According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Rusty Blackbird is one of North America’s most rapidly declining species. The population has plunged an estimated 85-99 percent over the past forty years and scientists are completely puzzled as to what is the cause.

They are relatively uncommon denizens of wooded swamps, breeding in the boreal forest and wintering in the eastern U.S. In winter, they travel in small flocks and are identified by their distinctive rusty feather edges and pallid yellow eyes.

Sturgeon County, Alberta.

Obelisco, Buenos Aires, Argentina/ mide 67, 5 metros de altura by Martasusanaperez

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El Obelisco de Buenos Aires es un monumento histórico considerado un ícono de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina, construido en 1936 con motivo del cuarto centenario de la llamada primera fundación de Buenos Aires por Pedro de Mendoza.

Está emplazado en la Plaza de la República, en la intersección de las avenidas Corrientes y 9 de Julio, en el barrio de San Nicolás en Buenos Aires.

(Avenida Corrientes, 1051, Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentine Republic)

Address 9 de Julio Avenue and Corrientes Avenue

Coordinates 34 ° 36′14 ″ S 58 ° 22′54 ″ O Coordinates: 34 ° 36′14 ″ S 58 ° 22′54 ″ W (map)

General information

Complete Status

Lookout uses

Start March 20, 1936

Estimated completion May 23, 1936

Construction May 23, 1936

Cost 200,000 m $ n

Owner Flag of the City of Buenos Aires Autonomous City of Buenos Aires

Height of the top floor 67.5 m

Design and build

Architect Alberto Prebisch

Structural Engineer Alberto Prebisch

Siemens Contractor

[edit data on Wikidata]

The Obelisk of Buenos Aires is a historical monument considered an icon of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina, built in 1936 on the occasion of the fourth centenary of the so-called first foundation of Buenos Aires by Pedro de Mendoza.

It is located in the Plaza de la República, at the intersection of Corrientes and 9 de Julio avenues, in the San Nicolás neighborhood in Buenos Aires.

Bode's and Cigar Galaxies by George Bok

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Messier 81 (left) and Messier 82 (right) are a pair of interacting galaxies in the constellation Ursa Major. They are relatively close - astronomically speaking! - to our own Milky Way Galaxy, since their distance is estimated to be about 12 million light years. The two galaxies are separated by about 150,000 light years. German astronomer Johann Bode discovered them in 1774, thus M81 is also referred as Bode's galaxy and sometimes both galaxies are called Bode's Nebulae, although M82 is more often referred as the Cigar galaxy.

M81 can be seen with binoculars and small telescopes and a few observers have reported seeing it with just their naked eye under exceptional seeing conditions. With large telescopes M81 presents an exceptional sight, the "grand design" spiral arms becoming visible extending outwards from the core. Its mass has been calculated to be around 250 billion suns, while the galactic nucleus harbors a supermassive black hole with a mass of about 70 million suns.

Astronomers studying the motions of the two galaxies believe that a few hundred million years ago, a close encounter took place between the two galaxies. As a result, tidal forces have deformed the shape of M82 and triggered massive star formation, so M82 is classified as a prototype starburst galaxy. Photographs of M82 taken with large telescopes reveal a bipolar outflow of material emanating from the core of the galaxy, where the rate of star formation has increased ten-fold compared to "normal" galaxies.

M81 and M82 are part of the Messier 81 galaxy group, one of the nearest galaxy groups to our Local Group. Up to now 34 galaxies have been identified as members of this group, including M81, M82 and NGC 3077, the small galaxy seen at upper left. Our Local Group of galaxies (with the Milky Way and Andromeda as the largest members) and the M81 group are in turn members of a larger group, called the Virgo Supercluster of galaxies.

Thanks to all for looking - clear skies!

Image Details:

Telescope: Orion EON ED 80/500 refractor

Mount: Modified Vixen Sphinx (NexSXW)

Camera: Canon EOS 20Da

Light frames: 11 x 2 mins (total: 22 mins), ISO 1600, Daylight WB

Guiding: Skywatcher 80/400 refractor, Skywatcher Synguider autoguider

Date & Location: 2/5/2019 - Chalkidiki, Greece

Processing: DSS 4.1.1, Adobe Photoshop CS6 with Astronomy Tools Actions Set (spikes added to brightest stars)

Gateway to the galaxy by GOOD•NEWS•SNAPS

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There is estimated to be more than a hundred billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy. Again, experts suggest that there are more than a hundred billion galaxies like the Milky Way in the universe.

No one really knows for sure quite how many stars there are; apart from the original designer, of course!

Psalm 147:4-5

He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.

Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) by Sue Roehl

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Kaziranga National Park

Assam

Northeast India

To see the rhinos, you need to ride on elephants. It is an experience which is hard to forget. Image in the first comment section.

The Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), also called the greater one-horned rhinoceros and great Indian rhinoceros, is a rhinoceros native to the Indian subcontinent. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, as populations are fragmented and restricted to less than 20,000 km (7,700 sq mi). Moreover, the extent and quality of the rhino's most important habitat, alluvial grassland and riverine forest, is considered to be in decline due to human and livestock encroachment.

The Indian rhinoceros once ranged throughout the entire stretch of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, but excessive hunting and agricultural development reduced their range drastically to 11 sites in northern India and southern Nepal. In the early 1990s, between 1,870 to 1,895 rhinos were estimated to have been alive. In 2015, a total of 3,555 Indian rhinoceros are estimated to live in the wild. – Wikipedia

Arctic Fox - Iceland by Bernie Duhamel

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Iceland estimates there are over 8,000 arctic fox in the country. Most live in the Hornstrandir Nature Reserve in the remote area of north western Iceland. People see them on rare occasions all over the country. I wasn't so lucky in my 12 days of travel. They are not very big and really blend into the terrain. This image I took at the Reykjavík Zoo.

www.instagram.com/bernieduhamel61/

Lesser Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis canadensis) by Don Dunning

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Worldwide, it is estimated that there are about 650,000 Sandhill Cranes; 450,000-500,000 being Lessers. "The Merced NWR hosts the largest wintering concentration of Lesser Sandhill Cranes in the Pacific Flyway with as many as 20,000 cranes using the Refuge." Source: Merced NWR online brochure. "It takes a patient and sharp eye to discern the difference between Greater and Lesser Sandhill Cranes. They have a similar body shape, plumage and color. Lesser Sandhill Cranes stand four feet high, with a four-inch, dagger-like bill. The greater is five feet tall, with a five-inch bill. These sub-species both migrate northward. The lesser breeds in northern Canada and Alaska, and the greater breeds in northeastern California, the Northwest and Great Lakes states. Greater sandhill cranes are threatened due to the loss of wetlands." Source: cranefestival.com

Pale and Withering... how long can it last ? by bessonlee

158 17

Some give it two years; others say, half a year. The latest estimate is three months, at most ...

Elton John : Candle in the Wind

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdrRLTgavus

Heifetz plays Melodie by Gluck

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tenI_FyFeZ0

Rachmaninoff plays Melodie by Gluck

www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2O0mVzmftY

Heifetz plays Wieniawski Scherzo Tarantelle

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv5XZbgNWEo

Heifetz, Tchaikovsky's Melodi

www.youtube.com/watch?v=22YUP0zQ3sA

*

Many music lovers find Horowitz and Martha Argerich spellbinding, yea, they are exciting but somehow I don't return to them often. Instead I would revisit Samuil Feinberg's Well-tempered Clavier from time to time. Needless to say, Mieczyslaw Horzowski and Maria Yudina's Bach are very inspiring too, particularly so for those who miss the chance of going to the Church:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=94XFV8X77U0

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAZJcpbDAxY

The French pianists of the older generation like Marguerite Long, Robert Casadesus, and Yves Nat or even Cortot are interesting too. Lesser known but equally amazing is

Lazare-Levy : Mozart Sonata in A Minor, K310

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK0GEXiWBN8

Later on, we have :

Marcelle Meyer: Complete Inventions & Sinfonias, Partitas, Toccatas, Italian Concerto ..

www.youtube.com/watch?v=spHBTyagfZ4

www.youtube.com/watch?v=maAQ-FI5gGk&list=RDCMUC2zlRzq...

Scarlatti

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Iiyzo9vdYA

And,

Yvonne Lefébure (among her pupils were Dinu Lipatti, Samson François) Mozart Concerto, No 20 with Furtwangler

www.youtube.com/watch?v=idX9c58bdZE

Reine Gianoli

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hga9MGCpJXk

Then,

Nikita Magaloff in recital 4/4/1991 Tokyo

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CLrpIfatSg

Chopin Etudes Op.10 & 25

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQOK1MuTP8o

And then Samson Francois

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIw2mfcYpBM

Last but not the least, Brigitte Engerer who went the opposite direction of Magaloff who was first trained in Russia (by Siloti, Francis Lizst pupil, Rachmaninoff's cousin/mentor and assistant to Tchaikovsky ) ended up studying in France. Brigitte Engerer was first trained in France having won the first prize in Concours International Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud. She furthered her studies in Russia under Stanislav Heuhaus for 9 years:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU8_upVBnT4

There was also the Polish pianist with a little bit of French Veneer, Halina Czerny-Stefańska : Chopin complete Polonaises, Heroïque, Militaire, Brillante, Fantaisie

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wHiamaEen4&t=1639s

More French was Lithuania/Russia born Vlado Perlemuter who landed in France since he was three, who lost one eye and who actually spent quite sometime in an asylum:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zCli50F3xQ

86 Tokyo Recital

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-svcMlCIxJ0

Well, never say never, the finishing touch of the winner of 2015 Chopin Internation Piano competition, a Korean, was also done in Paris, even though the influence of the Russian School seems to be stronger than the French in his Chopin:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZYYoDDmg8M

*

I further stumbled into Edwin Fischer's WTC recorded in 1933-36 which I haven't gone through as yet. But Edwin Fischer, unlike his pupil Alfred Brendel, is almost always interesting despite his slips :

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JysTlgUXuXk

Later on, we have Samuil Feinberg whom most serious pianists view as the best recorded WTC ever. After Feinberg, we have Tatiana Nikolayeva whose WTC ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNpwAZf6thY&t=72s ) is so fascinating. And then we have Evelyne Crochet, a more modern French reading of WTC and before her Walter Gieseking also recorded WTC. In between, I find Horszowski's WTC celestial. Wilhelm Kempff's WTC is appealing albeit in a totally different way from Yudin. But I'm unable to find the whole book of WTC from the latter two in record. Instead we have one from Canada and another lady pianist from US who was musically educated in Russia. Personally, I don't spend much time on the latter two. Oh, yes, Richter and Gulda recorded WTC as well. But it seems Bach music is so interwoven with spirituality, and by nature it snubs any showmanship at all...

IMG_2835 sandhill cranes by Chuck Starr

25 21

an estimated 400k birds were in the area on this particular day......

PYTANY (CASTLE OF ÇANDARLI) by nejdet düzen

76 273

One of the historical richness of Çandarlıi is the castle of Pytany whose present name is Çandarlı Castle. Glorious Pytany Castle which is estimated to be built in the 13th century and restored by the Turks is one of the best preserved castles in Turkey.

Elusive by Amanda

27 4

They estimate there are only about 7000 snow leopards left in the world but due to community education and support to those who live with snow leopards their numbers are slowly increasing.

From Røldal stavkirke, Norway. by Gorm Helge Grønli Rudschinat

57 1

The estimated construction date of the Church is generally suggested to be between 1200 and 1250. A baptismal font in the church is dated to the same period. A crucifix in the church dates from about 1250. The altarpiece dates to 1629. It was the design of German born painter Gottfried Hendtzschel from Breslau in Silesia.

The Church has a rectangular-shaped nave and chancel. The baptismal font is of soapstone and dated 1200-1300 century. The Bergen Museum holds a variety of building components and other artifacts from the medieval church. These include altar frontal and wooden sculptures of St. Olaf from about 1250, of the Virgin Mary with child from about 1250, and the Archangel Michael, dated about 1200. In the Middle Ages, Røldal Church received large donations from many of pilgrims who flocked to the church. As a result, the small village where the church is located, became quite prosperous. In the 17th century the walls inside the church were richly decorated with paintings.

During reconstruction of the church in 1844, some of the history of the church was uncovered. This led to an investigation to determine how the church was built. The resulting belief is that Røldal Stave Church was quite different from other stave churches. Some controversy developed about whether this is in fact a stave church or rather an example of the assumed predecessor type, a post church.[

Mang'ati, A Male Elephant, His Name Means Enemy by Sue Roehl

46 128

Samburu National Reserve

Kenya

Elephant Bedroom Camp

Meet Mang’ati, a wild male elephant in Samburu National Reserve. He was named this by the guides in Elephant Bedroom Camp. His name means Enemy.

Elephant numbers have dropped by 62% over the last decade, and they could be mostly extinct by the end of the next decade. An estimated 100 African elephants are killed each day by poachers seeking ivory, meat and body parts, leaving only 400,000 remaining. An insatiable lust for ivory products makes the illegal ivory trade extremely profitable and has led to the slaughter of tens of thousands of African elephants.

If the elephants are to survive, the demand for ivory must be drastically reduced. As of 2011, the world is losing more elephants than the population can reproduce, threatening the future of African elephants across the continent. Bull elephants with big tusks are the main targets and their numbers have been diminished to less than half of the females. Female African elephants have tusks and are also killed, leaving an increasing number of orphaned baby elephants. As of 2017, there are more African elephants being killed for ivory than are being born.

Elephants are a keystone species. It means they create and maintain the ecosystems in which they live and make it possible for a myriad of plant and animal species to live in those environments as well. The loss of elephants gravely affects many species that depend on elephant-maintained ecosystems. - Wikipedia

Customer estimating by A. Yousuf Kurniawan

70 7

Swift Parrot by Lance BB

275 88

A critically endangered bird with estimates to be between 300 and 2,000 left in the wild. Taken at Taronga Zoo. I've been trying to get a decent photo of one for years.

The tree of life - Oak of Paavola by Samuli Vainionpää

37

Estimates say that the ancient oak is over 300 years old, it has seen a lot and more.

Cederblad 214 (2024) (SHO Palette) by Kirk

222 18

Object: Cederblad 214 (2024) (SHO Palette)

Ced 214 or Cederblad 214 is an emission nebula contained within the larger star forming complex called NGC 7822 in the northern part of the constellation of Cepheus. It contains the star cluster Berkley 59 whose stars illuminate the nebula. It is estimated to be about 3000 light years away from Earth. The area also contains many dark nebulae listed below.

Lynds Dark Nebulae (LDN):

- LDN 1267

- LDN 1269

- LDN 1270

- LDN 1271

- LDN 1272

- LDN 1275

Details:

- Acquisition Date: 10/12/2024 to 10/24/2024

- Location: Western Massachusetts, USA

- Imaging Camera: QHY600PH-M -10°C - Mode 1(High Gain) Offset:15 Gain:56

- Telescope: Celestron EdgeHD 11 Celestron 11" Edge HD @f/7

- Focal reducer: Celestron .7x Focal Reducer, for 11 HD

- Mount: Astro-Physics AP1100 w/GTO4

- Guide scope: Celestron Off Axis Guider

- Guide Camera: ASI174m mini

- Software: Adobe Photoshop CS5, Sequence Generator Pro, PixInsight 1.8 Ripley, Aries Astro Pixel Processor

Filters:

- Chroma Ha 3nm 50mm

- Chroma OIII 3nm 50mm

- Astrodon SII 3nm 50mm

Exposure Times:

- Hydrogen Alpha (Ha): 40x 10min. (400min) bin 1x1

- Oxygen III (OIII):20 x 10min. (200min) bin 1x1

- Sulfur II (SII):20 x 10min. (200min) bin 1x1

Total Exposure:800min. (13.33hr)

Sky Quality:

-Magnitude: 19.71

-Bortle Class 5

-1.41 mcd/m^2 Brightness

-1234.6 ucd/m^2 Artificial Brightness

Coffee Shop Competition. by Neil Moralee

89 6

Between rain showers.

The estimated Number of Coffee Outlets in the UK

Around 25,500–26,000+ coffee shops and outlets (including branded chains, independents, and cafés) in the UK as of 2025.

That number is based on market research covering the broader coffee shop sector — not just big chains.

Taunton, Somerset, UK.

Vintage by the Sea festival 2024 (Morecambe, UK) by Ian Betley

93 9

An estimated 45,000 people visited Morecambe for this year's Vintage by the Sea festival including record crowds on the first day.

The event on Morecambe Promenade, in its 11th year, celebrated the iconic music, fashion, film, art, design and dance of the 20th century on Saturday and Sunday.

The vintage festival, centred around the Midland, the Platform and the Promenade Gardens, was blessed with glorious sunny weather on Saturday and Sunday was mainly dry too, with rain only coming late in the afternoon.

People dressed in fashions from the 20s to the 90s to strut their stuff and the Vintage Marketplace at The Platform and the local and regional makers' market in The Midland were huge attractions.

Perfectly preserved classic cars outside the Midland and Ribble Vehicle Preservation Trust’s vintage bus rides from Heysham to Bare also proved very popular.

Other events included the iconic Best In Show catwalk, vintage cycle bike rides, and the new Boogie Ballroom with popular classes including Bhangra with Sohan Kailey, the Charleston, Northern Soul and even breakdancing with the nationally acclaimed UC Crew Powered by Hip Hop.

"We were absolutely thrilled to see so many thousands and thousands of people in Morecambe this weekend, enjoying not only the joyful festival programme made possible by so many artists and performers, but also to see our audiences take in everything else Morecambe has to offer as so many local cafes, restaurants, bars and shops put on their own Fringe events, ensuring the Promenade has never felt so vibrant," said Elena Jackson from Deco Publique and the festival organising team.

"Vintage by the Sea really is a shared celebration of this place and we’d like to thank each and every person who had a role in making the event happen and who joined as a visitor over the weekend”.

Estimated time of arrival 9:30 a.m. by marky b55

33 11

Vintage by the Sea festival 2024 (Morecambe, UK) by Ian Betley

82 2