Most galaxies have a single nucleus -- does this galaxy have four? The strange answer leads astronomers to conclude that the nucleus of the surrounding galaxy is not even visible in this image. The central cloverleaf is rather light emitted from a background quasar. The gravitational field of the visible foreground galaxy breaks light from this distant quasar into four distinct images. The quasar must be properly aligned behind the center of a massive galaxy for a mirage like this to be evident. The general effect is known as gravitational lensing, and this specific case is known as the Einstein Cross. Stranger still, the images of the Einstein Cross vary in relative brightness, enhanced occasionally by the additional gravitational microlensing effect of specific stars in the foreground galaxy.
... Image Credit & License: J. Rhoads (Arizona State U.) et al., WIYN, AURA, NOIRLab, NSF
apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211017.html
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Redwood Memorial Grove in Whakarewarewa Forest, North Island, New Zealand

On New Zealand's North Island, Whakarewarewa Forest is home to a diverse range of native plants and animals. There's also a series of lakes as well as hot springs, bubbling mud pools, and even active geysers. But Whakarewarewa Forest features something that no other forest in New Zealand can claim: a stand of majestic redwood trees called the Redwood Memorial Grove. The redwoods were introduced from their native California at the beginning of the 20th century.
... Today, the Redwood Memorial Grove is a popular hotspot for tourists hoping to walk among the giants, with an elevated walkway that winds through the roughly 15 acres of redwoods. Some of the trees have grown as high as 230 feet in the century since they were planted. These California transplants seem to have taken to their new home quite well.
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Though encrusted with marine organisms, one-meter-long blade is preserved in perfect condition, expert says; finder given outstanding citizen award for handing in relic

A UK commercial model who goes by the TIKTOK name of @rocking_alopecia woke up With Bell’s Palsy yesterday. It was posted that she has been fully vaccinated.

Bell’s Palsey is a major adverse reaction from COVID vaccines, especially Pfizer.

This model talks about and shows how she can’t smile or talk very well without drooling. She tells her TikTok followers she won’t be able to upload videos for a while until she hopefully goes back to normal.
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Bell’s Palsy can take several months to subside and can reoccur.
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Astronomers have used a planet-hunting satellite to see a white dwarf abruptly switching on and off for the first time.

The British Isles, tucked away in the northwest of Europe, has been inhabited by humans since Paleolithic times, but the people who lived there didn't develop a writing system until much later, and the first local account of the isles did not appear until Anglo-Saxon times, around the seventh century A.D.

Democrats are grappling with the increasingly dire political reality facing them in next year’s midterm elections as warning signs pile up for the party ahead of 2022.

Colin Powell, first black secretary of state, 84, has died from COVID-19. He was fully vaccinated but had been treated for multiple myeloma.

Capel Curig in Snowdonia National Park, Wales, United Kingdom

On the west coast of Great Britain, one can enjoy views of the windswept uplands and jagged peaks that surround the small village of Capel Curig in the heart of Snowdonia National Park. Renowned for its rugged and mountainous landscape, Snowdonia is the largest national park in Wales and home to over 26,000 people and even more sheep—the wooly farm animals outnumber people 3 to 1 in Wales. About 60% of the park's population speak Welsh, one of Europe's oldest languages, and today they will be wishing this spectacular setting a 'pen-blwydd hapus' (happy birthday) as Snowdonia celebrates its 70th anniversary.
... Established on October 18, 1951 as the first national park in Wales, Snowdonia boasts nine mountain ranges that cover just over half the park's 823 square miles. Its most popular peak is Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa in Welsh), the tallest mountain in Wales and England, which you can see in the background of our photo. At 3,560 feet, Snowdon is one of 15 mountains within the park that top 3,000 feet. They're clustered close enough together to make it possible to reach all 15 summits within 24 hours, a feat known as the Welsh 3000s Challenge.
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