- Maple Valley — Thumbnail History (historylink.org)
Maple Valley, a King County community nestled 10 miles southeast of Renton within the sheer-cliffed Cedar River valley, grew from its outskirts inward toward its center. Originally a hodgepodge of homesteader cabins, its growth can be attributed to the lumber industry, coal mining, railroads, watersheds, and highway development.
- Messier 81 (Wikipedia)
Messier 81 (also known as NGC 3031 or Bode’s Galaxy) is a grand design spiral galaxy about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. It has a D25 isophotal diameter of 29.44 kiloparsecs (96,000 light-years). Because of its relative proximity to the Milky Way galaxy, large size, and active galactic nucleus (which harbors a 70 million M☉ supermassive black hole), Messier 81 has been studied extensively by professional astronomers. The galaxy’s large size and relatively high brightness also makes it a popular target for amateur astronomers. In late February 2022, astronomers reported that M81 may be the source of FRB 20200120E, a repeating fast radio burst.