Did you know a baby #porcupine is called a porcupette? These cute critters have soft hair mixed with barbed quills that stick up when they feel threatened to deter predators. Porcupines sleep in trees and feed on the inner bark, twigs and leaves. They live to be 5-6 years old and have one or two young, which are born with soft quills that harden within an hour. Photo courtesy of #California Department of Fish and #Wildlife. by usinterior

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Today is #MemorialDay -- a day to honor the men and women who gave their lives for our great nation. Over 58,000 names are etched into the Vietnam #Veterans Memorial in #WashingtonDC in a moving tribute to those who died serving our country. It’s one of many memorials, cemeteries and battlefields across our country that help remind us of the extraordinary sacrifices made to keep us united and free. Photo by Thomas Kredo (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). by usinterior

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Valles Marineris: The Grand Canyon of Mars Valles Marineris: The Grand Canyon of Mars

Mars will look good in Earth's skies over the next few days -- but not this good. To get a view this amazing, a spacecraft had to actually visit the red planet. Running across the image center, though, is one the largest canyons in the Solar System. Named Valles Marineris, the grand valley extends over 3,000 kilometers long, spans as much as 600 kilometers across, and delves as much as 8 kilometers deep. By comparison, the Earth's Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA is 800 kilometers long, 30 kilometers across, and 1.8 kilometers deep. The origin of the Valles Marineris remains unknown, although a leading hypothesis holds that it started as a crack billions of years ago as the planet cooled. Several geologic processes have been identified in the canyon. The featured mosaic was created from over 100 images of Mars taken by Viking Orbiters in the 1970s. Tomorrow, Mars and Earth will pass the closest in 11 years, resulting in the red planet being quite noticeable toward the southeast after sunset. via NASA http://ift.tt/24eIt5s

While #JoshuaTree #NationalPark is known for its twisty, spikey Joshua trees, the park is home to so much more! In this southern #California landmark, three distinct ecosystems come together to create extraordinary diversity. It also has some pretty amazing views, like this one of sunset over the “jumping” cholla cactus garden. Photo by Nina Mayer Ritchie (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). #findyourpark #usinterior by usinterior

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Cat s Eye Wide and Deep Cat s Eye Wide and Deep

The Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543) is one of the best known planetary nebulae in the sky. Its more familiar outlines are seen in the brighter central region of the nebula in this impressive wide-angle view. But the composite image combines many short and long exposures to also reveal an extremely faint outer halo. At an estimated distance of 3,000 light-years, the faint outer halo is over 5 light-years across. Planetary nebulae have long been appreciated as a final phase in the life of a sun-like star. More recently, some planetary nebulae are found to have halos like this one, likely formed of material shrugged off during earlier episodes in the star's evolution. While the planetary nebula phase is thought to last for around 10,000 years, astronomers estimate the age of the outer filamentary portions of this halo to be 50,000 to 90,000 years. Visible on the left, some 50 million light-years beyond the watchful planetary nebula, lies spiral galaxy NGC 6552. via NASA http://ift.tt/1XXfRhn

It’s a three day weekend -- the perfect excuse to spend some extra time in bed. Bighorn #sheep are famously elusive and quick to avoid human contact, so this photo of a napping ram at #Yellowstone #NationalPark in #Wyoming is a special find. Photo @yellowstonenps by Bill Cochran (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). #usinterior #findyourpark 🐑 by usinterior

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The Great Carina Nebula The Great Carina Nebula

A jewel of the southern sky, the Great Carina Nebula, also known as NGC 3372, spans over 300 light-years, one of our galaxy's largest star forming regions. Like the smaller, more northerly Great Orion Nebula, the Carina Nebula is easily visible to the unaided eye, though at a distance of 7,500 light-years it is some 5 times farther away. This gorgeous telescopic close-up reveals remarkable details of the region's central glowing filaments of interstellar gas and obscuring cosmic dust clouds. The field of view is over 50 light-years across. The Carina Nebula is home to young, extremely massive stars, including the stars of open cluster Trumpler 14 (below and right of center) and the still enigmatic variable Eta Carinae, a star with well over 100 times the mass of the Sun. Eta Carinae is the brightest star, seen here just above the dusty Keyhole Nebula (NGC 3324). While Eta Carinae itself maybe on the verge of a supernova explosion, X-ray images indicate that the Great Carina Nebula has been a veritable supernova factory. via NASA http://ift.tt/1ORra3a

A brilliant, fog-free #sunrise graces the #GoldenGateBridge in this photo taken from Golden Gate National Recreation Area (@goldengatenationalparks) in the Marin Headlands of #California. On this day in 1937 -- 79 years ago -- this iconic bridge first opened. With towers extending 700 feet into the sky and over 100 feet beneath the #SanFrancisco Bay, the bridge is an engineering marvel. In addition to driving, you can walk or bike the entire length of its 1.2-mile expanse, bounded on either side by spectacular scenery. Photo courtesy of Bruce Getty (@gettyphotography). #usinterior #findyourpark by usinterior

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What better way to kick off #MemorialDay weekend and the unofficial start of #summer than with this amazing #sunset photo from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in #Michigan. Here you can find pristine waters, perfect waves, miles of sandy beaches and incredible views! Photo @sleepingbearnps by Lorie D’Elia (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). #usinterior #findyourpark by usinterior

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IC 5067 in the Pelican Nebula IC 5067 in the Pelican Nebula

The prominent ridge of emission featured in this sharp, colorful skyscape is cataloged as IC 5067. Part of a larger emission nebula with a distinctive shape, popularly called The Pelican Nebula, the ridge spans about 10 light-years following the curve of the cosmic pelican's head and neck. This false-color view also translates the pervasive glow of narrow emission lines from atoms in the nebula to a color palette made popular in Hubble Space Telescope images of star forming regions. Fantastic, dark shapes inhabiting the 1/2 degree wide field are clouds of cool gas and dust sculpted by the winds and radiation from hot, massive stars. Close-ups of some of the sculpted clouds show clear signs of newly forming stars. The Pelican Nebula, itself cataloged as IC 5070, is about 2,000 light-years away. To find it, look northeast of bright star Deneb in the high flying constellation Cygnus. via NASA http://ift.tt/1qLt7rO