The Kreutz Sungrazers are a family of comets, characterized by orbits
which take them extremely close to the Sun at perihelion. They are all
believed to originate from the fragmentation of one very large comet
several centuries ago, and are named for the astronomer Heinrich
Kreutz, who first demonstrated that they were related. Several members
of the Kreutz family have become Great Comets, occasionally visible
near the Sun in the daytime sky. The most recent of these was Comet
Ikeya-Seki in 1965, which may have been one of the brightest comets in
the last millennium. Many hundreds of smaller members of the family
have been discovered since the launch of the SOHO satellite in 1995.
Some are just a few metres across; none has survived its perihelion
passage. Amateur astronomers have been very successful at discovering
Kreutz comets in the data available in real time via the Internet.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kreutz_Sungrazers
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1609:
Bohemia was granted freedom of religion.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/freedom_of_religion)
1785:
The dollar was unanimously chosen as the money unit for the United
States. This was the first time a nation had adopted a decimal
currency system.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_dollar)
1885:
Louis Pasteur successfully tested his vaccine against rabies on Joseph
Meister.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Pasteur)
1887:
David Kalakaua, monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, was forced at
gunpoint, at the hands of Americans, to sign the Bayonet Constitution
giving Americans more power in Hawaii while stripping Hawaiian
citizens of their rights.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayonet_Constitution)
1957:
Althea Gibson won the Wimbledon championships, becoming the first
black athlete to do so.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Althea_Gibson)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"I have not yet begun to fight!" -- John Paul Jones
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Paul_Jones)
The Order of Canada is Canada's highest civilian honour, awarded to
those who adhere to the Order's motto Desiderantes meliorem patriam
meaning "they desire a better country." Created in 1967, it was
established to recognize the lifetime contributions made by Canadians
who made a major difference to Canada. The Order also recognizes
efforts made by non-Canadians who made the world better by their
actions. Musicians, politicians, artists, TV stars and benefactors and
many more have been accepted into the Order. The Queen of Canada,
Queen Elizabeth II, is Sovereign of the Order and the serving Governor
General of Canada is its Chancellor and Principal Companion. Since
1967, more than 5,000 people have been appointed to the Order of
Canada.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Canada
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1687:
Volume One of Isaac Newton's Philosophiae Naturalis Principia
Mathematica was published for the first time.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophiae_Naturalis_Principia_Mathematica)
1811:
Venezuela declared its independence from Spain.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venezuela)
1951:
William Shockley invented the junction transistor.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transistor)
1962:
Algeria became independent from France.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algeria)
1989:
Oliver North was sentenced for his part in the Iran-Contra Affair.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_North)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"From time to time the exceptional is necessary. For events as well as
for men, the stock company is not enough; geniuses are needed among
men, and revolutions among events. Great accidents are the law; the
order of things cannot get along without them; and, to see the
apparitions of comets, one would be tempted to believe that Heaven
itself is in need of star actors." -- Victor Hugo in ''Les Misérables
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Victor_Hugo)
Spamming is the use of any electronic communications medium to send
unsolicited messages in bulk, indiscriminately – unlike sending to a
selected group in normal marketing. In the popular eye, the most
common form of spam is that delivered in e-mail as a form of
commercial advertising. However, over the short history of electronic
media, people have done things comparable to spamming for many
purposes other than the commercial, and in many media other than
e-mail. Spammers have developed a variety of spamming techniques,
which vary by media: e-mail spam, instant messaging spam, Usenet
newsgroup spam, Web search engines spam, weblogs spam, and mobile
phone messaging spam. Spamming (the name of which derives from a Monty
Python sketch about SPAM brand processed meat) is economically viable
because it allows advertisers to shift their operating costs to the
public, as Internet service providers must add extra capacity to cope
with the deluge. Spamming is widely reviled, and has been the subject
of legislation in a number of jurisdictions, including the U.S.
CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spam_%28electronic%29
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1054:
Chinese astronomers observed a supernova in the Crab Nebula.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_Nebula)
1187:
Saladin defeated Guy of Lusignan at the Battle of Hattin.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hattin)
1776:
The Continental Congress of the Thirteen Colonies approved a
Declaration of Independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_Independence_%28United_States%29)
1802:
At West Point, New York, the United States Military Academy opened.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States)
1976:
Operation Entebbe: Israeli commandos raided Uganda's Entebbe Airport
to free hostages taken by PLO and RAF militants.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Entebbe)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness." -- ''The Declaration of Independence of the United States
of America
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/w%3ADeclaration_of_Independence_%28United_Stat…)
Panavision is a motion picture equipment company specializing in
camera, lens, and grip equipment, along with related accessories.
After starting out as a small partnership that created anamorphic
attachments for projection lenses, they have slowly but steadily
expanded their operations and product lines while maintaining a high
level of design and quality, making for a prestigious brand name in
the eyes of film crews. Unlike most of their competition, including
rival Arri, Panavision operates exclusively as a rental house and owns
their entire inventory. (Ironically, their comprehensive offerings of
in-house and externally produced camera models means they are also one
of Arri's top customers.) The company is currently based in Woodland
Hills, California, United States. Any major production that uses
Panavision's services is contractually obligated to provide a credit
that says "Filmed with Panavision Cameras and Lenses" if using
spherical lenses, or "Filmed in Panavision" if using anamorphic
lenses.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panavision
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
323:
Constantine the Great defeated Licinius.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_the_Great)
987:
Hugh Capet was crowned King of France, the first of the Capetian
dynasty that ruled France till the French Revolution in 1792.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Capet_of_France)
1608:
Quebec City was founded by Samuel de Champlain.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_City)
1863:
Pickett's Charge occurred during the final and bloodiest day of
fighting in the Battle of Gettysburg, marking a turning point in the
American Civil War.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickett%27s_Charge)
1938:
The LNER Mallard reached a speed of 203 km/h (126 mph), a world
record for a steam railway locomotive.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNER_Class_A4_4468_Mallard)
1964:
President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
prohibiting racial segregation in public places in the United States.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"The splendor of life forever lies in wait about each one of us in all
its fullness, but veiled from view, deep down, invisible, far off. It
is there, though; not hostile, not reluctant, not deaf. If you summon
it by the right word, by its right name, it will come." -- Franz Kafka
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Franz_Kafka)
The Convention on Psychotropic Substances is a United Nations treaty
designed to control psychoactive drugs such as amphetamines,
barbiturates and LSD. During the 1960s, drug use and abuse exploded
worldwide, especially in the Western developed nations. Availability
of stimulants soared as manufacturers and traffickers took advantage
of the inconsistent patchwork of national laws to circumvent
restrictions on production and trade. The Single Convention on
Narcotic Drugs of 1961 could not regulate the plethora of
newly-discovered psychotropics, due to its limited scope. On February
21, 1971, plenipotentiaries signed the Convention, which was worded
broadly enough to be capable of encompassing almost any mind-altering
substance. Today, 175 nations are Parties to the treaty, which
contains import and export restrictions and other rules aimed at
limiting drug use to scientific and medical purposes. Many laws have
been passed to implement the Convention, including the U.S. Controlled
Substances Act, the U.K. Misuse of Drugs Act, and the Canadian
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_Psychotropic_Substances
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1644:
The Battle of Marston Moor, one of the decisive encounters of the
English Civil War, was fought near York.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Marston_Moor)
1839:
A cargo of 53 African slaves mutinied on the slave ship Amistad off
the coast of Cuba.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amistad)
1900:
First Zeppelin flight on Lake Constance near Friedrichshafen, Germany.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeppelin)
1937:
Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific
Ocean.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelia_Earhart)
1976:
North and South Vietnam united to form the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Republic_of_Vietnam)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"Wisdom is not communicable. The wisdom which a wise man tries to
communicate always sounds foolish... Knowledge can be communicated,
but not wisdom." -- Hermann Hesse
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hermann_Hesse)