Light from the Heart   NASA - February 14, 2014

Sprawling across almost 200 light-years, emission nebula IC 1805 is a mix of glowing interstellar gas and dark dust clouds about 7,500 light-years away in the Perseus spiral arm of our galaxy. Stars were born in this region whose nickname, the Heart Nebula, derives from its Valentine's-Day-appropriate shape. The clouds themselves are shaped by stellar winds and radiation from massive hot stars in the nebula's newborn star cluster Melotte 15 about 1.5 million years young. This deep telescopic image maps the pervasive light of narrow emission lines from atoms in the nebula to a color palette made popular in Hubble images of star forming regions. The field of view spans about two degrees on the sky or four times the diameter of a full moon. The cosmic heart is found in the constellation of Cassiopeia, the boastful mythical Queen of Aethiopia .

The Heart and Soul Nebulas   NASA - February 11, 2014

Is the heart and soul of our Galaxy located in Cassiopeia? Possibly not, but that is where two bright emission nebulas nicknamed Heart and Soul can be found. The Heart Nebula, officially dubbed IC 1805 and visible in the above zoomable view on the right, has a shape reminiscent of a classical heart symbol. Both nebulas shine brightly in the red light of energized hydrogen. Several young open clusters of stars populate the image and are visible above in blue, including the nebula centers. Light takes about 6,000 years to reach us from these nebulas, which together span roughly 300 light years. Studies of stars and clusters like those found in the Heart and Soul Nebulas have focussed on how massive stars form and how they affect their environment.

Valentine's Day goes to issues of the heart. Aquarius can be fickle ending a relationship on Valentine's Day especially on a Full Moon in Leo. The best present to buy your partner, or wife, is always flowers, plus whatever else you feel would make her feel that you love her and have taken the time to think the gift through before deciding. If you're shopping for flowers online during Mercury Retrograde, be sure you know they will arrive on time and be fresh.

There is much to write about a kiss including love, passion, affection, peace, respect, friendship, or greeting. In some situations a kiss is a ritual, formal or symbolic gesture indicating devotion, respect, or sacrament. A kiss is an intimate moment that makes a statement and can have many levels of expression. One can kiss a ... person, object, or blow a kiss into the air, because everything is energy. A kiss connects people's grids, aligning their consciousness if only for a moment. Kissing makes a statement in the arts and literature. Most people remember their first romantic kiss as it is about feeling and we are here to experience emotions. The stronger the emotions at the time of the kiss, the more memorable and meaningful. The candy kiss is connected with the high we get from chocolate. So how far back in history does kissing go? As we express ourselves orally - (talking, kissing, other) - I would say it dates back to the beginning. Recorded History of Kissing

Raising the bar: Vietnam's luxury chocolate pioneers   AFP - February 9, 2014

Ho Chi Minh City - Deep in the Mekong Delta, two Frenchmen have their heads buried in a sack of cacao beans. The pair -- co-founders of Vietnam's first artisan chocolate maker -- resurface, murmuring appreciatively. The sweet-toothed entrepreneurs -- who quit their day jobs to set up award-winning chocolate company Marou -- buy three out of four of 64-year-old farmer Vo Thanh Phuoc's sacks of dried, fermented cacao, paying a premium on the market price for the better-than-average beans.

A Chocolate a Day?   Live Science - February 8, 2014

Is it true that a chocolate a day will keep the doctor away? That's what many chocolate companies would like you to believe in their Valentine's Day advertisements. While studies have shown that cocoa provides many positive health effects, the chocolates you buy from your local stores may not impart those benefits. The cacao bean, grown mainly in Latin America, Africa and Asia, is loaded with beneficial compounds. In fact, its early uses, dating back 3,000 years, were mainly medicinal. Treatments have included curing fatigue, angina, constipation, dental problems (tartar removal), dysentery, gout, an "overheated" heart, skin eruptions, fevers and seizures.

Pope Francis meets life-sized chocolate replica of himself   NY Daily News - February 8, 2014

Chocolate artist Mirco Della Vecchia created the heavenly treat out of a 1.5 ton block of dark chocolate. The statue was presented to Francis at the Vatican. The labor of love took the artist and his 20 students a full 30 days to complete. The chocolate pontiff is made out of a 1.5 ton block of dark chocolate from Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.

Happy Valentine's Day