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Famous sanctuary of the temple of Ramses II, Abu Simbel, Egypt. The Great Temple at Abu Simbel, which took about twenty years to build, was completed around year 24 of the reign of Ramesses the Great (which corresponds to 1265 BC). It was dedicated to the gods Amun, Ra-Horakhty, and Ptah, as well as to the deified Ramesses himself. It is generally considered the grandest and most beautiful of the temples commissioned during the reign of Ramesses II, and one of the most beautiful in Egypt. In the sanctuary are rock cut sculptures of four seated figures: Ra-Horakhty, the deified king Ramesses, and the gods Amun Ra and Ptah, the main divinities in that period. It is believed that the axis of the temple was positioned by the ancient Egyptian architects in such a way that on October 22 and February 22 (allegedly the king's birthday and coronation day, respectively), the rays of the sun would penetrate the sanctuary and illuminate the sculptures on the back wall, except for the statue of Ptah, a god connected with the realm of the dead, who always remained in the dark. People gather at Abu Simbel on these days to witness this.

Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

redcharlie on Unsplash

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Fans of the western sky after sunset have lately enjoyed this month's remarkable array of bright planets. Witnessed from some locations, on February 18 planet Mercury even appeared to slide behind the Moon, an event known as a lunar occultation. These two snapshots, taken in early evening skies show before and after telescopic views of the rare disappearance of innermost planet behind young Moon. The top panel finds bright Mercury just visible at the northern (right) edge of the earthshine-illuminated lunar disk. In the bottom panel the bright planet has emerged in darker skies beyond the Moon's sunlit crescent. As seen south of Sallisaw, Oklahoma, planet Earth, this lunar occultation of Mercury lasted only about 3 minutes (video). But you can still check out a parade of planets tonight. March 3: Total Lunar Eclipse

Photo by Fabrizio Melandri

Jogger crossing the icy right barrier gate of the Jahnwehr weir in Bamberg, Germany.

Ermell, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

Marcreation on Unsplash

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Normally faint and elusive, the Jellyfish Nebula is caught in this alluring telescopic field of view. Floating in the interstellar sea, the nebula is anchored right and left by two bright stars, Mu and Eta Geminorum, at the foot of the celestial twins. The Jellyfish Nebula itself is right of center, seen as a brighter arcing ridge of emission with dangling tentacles. In fact, this cosmic jellyfish is part of bubble-shaped supernova remnant IC 443, the expanding debris cloud from a massive star that exploded. Light from the explosion first reached planet Earth over 30,000 years ago. Like its cousin in astrophysical waters the Crab Nebula supernova remnant, the Jellyfish Nebula is known to harbor a neutron star, the ultradense remnant of the collapsed stellar core. An emission nebula cataloged as Sharpless 249 fills the field at the upper left. The Jellyfish Nebula is about 5,000 light-years away. At that distance, this image would be about 300 light-years across.

Photo by Katelyn Beecroft

Abbey church and bell tower of the former Benedictine monastery Lorch Abbey in Lorch, Germany.

Roman Eisele, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

Cornelia Arnolda Johanna "Corrie" Ten Boom (1892 – 1983) was a Dutch watchmaker, resistance hero and later a Christian writer and public speaker. Her most famous book, The Hiding Place, is a biography that recounts the story of her family's efforts to help many Jewish people escape from the Nazis during World War II, and how after she was caught, arrested and sent to a concentration camp she found and shared hope in God while she was imprisoned.
Quote source: Corrie Ten Boom, Clippings from My Notebook