Makemake is the third-largest known dwarf planet in the Solar System and one
of the two largest Kuiper belt objects (KBO) in the classical KBO
population. Its diameter is roughly three-quarters that of Pluto. Makemake
has no known satellites, which makes it unique among the largest KBOs. Its
extremely low average temperature (about 30 K) means its surface is covered
with methane, ethane and possibly nitrogen ices. Initially known as 2005 FY9
(and later given the minor planet number 136472), it was discovered on March
31, 2005 by a team led by Michael Brown, and announced on July 29, 2005. On
June 11, 2008, the IAU included Makemake in its list of potential candidates
to be given "plutoid" status, a term for dwarf planets beyond the orbit of
Neptune that would place the object alongside Pluto and Eris. Makemake was
formally classified as a plutoid in July 2008.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makemake_%28dwarf_planet%29>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
960:
Emperor Taizu began his reign in China, initiating the Song Dynasty period
that would eventually last for more than three centuries.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_Dynasty>
1703:
Forty-six of the Forty-Seven Ronin committed seppuku (ritual suicide) in
Edo, present-day Tokyo, as recompense for avenging the death of their
master, Daimyo of Akō Asano Naganori.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forty-Seven_Ronin>
1859:
German scholar Constantin von Tischendorf rediscovered the Codex Sinaiticus,
a 4th century uncial manuscript of the Greek Bible, in Saint Catherine's
Monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai in Egypt.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Sinaiticus>
1957:
USS Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine, logged her 60,000th
nautical mile, matching the endurance of the fictional Nautilus described in
Jules Verne's novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Nautilus_%28SSN-571%29>
2003:
Under a new Constitutional Charter, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was
reconstituted into a loose confederation of Serbia and Montenegro.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Republic_of_Yugoslavia>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
raconteur (n):
A storyteller, especially a person noted for telling stories with skill and
wit
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/raconteur>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Mistakes are part of the game. It's how well you recover from them, that's
the mark of a great player. --Alice Cooper
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alice_Cooper>
The Bone Wars is the name given to a period of intense fossil speculation
and discovery during the Gilded Age of American history, marked by a heated
rivalry between Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh. The two
paleontologists used underhanded methods to out-compete the other in the
field, resorting to bribery, theft, and destruction of bones. The scientists
also attacked each other in scientific publications, attempting to ruin the
other's credibility and cut off his funding. Originally colleagues who were
civil to each other, Cope and Marsh became bitter enemies after several
personal slights between them. Their pursuit of bones led them west to rich
bone beds in Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming. From 1877 to 1892, both
paleontologists used their wealth and influence to finance their own
expeditions and to procure services and fossils from dinosaur hunters. By
the end of the Bone Wars, both men exhausted their funds in fueling their
intense rivalry. Cope and Marsh were financially and socially ruined by
their efforts to disgrace each other, but their contributions to science and
the field of paleontology were massive; the scientists left behind tons of
unopened boxes of fossils on their deaths. The feud between the two men led
to over 142 new species of dinosaurs being discovered and described.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_Wars>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1488:
Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias landed in Mossel Bay, having sailed
around the Cape of Good Hope and the southern tip of Africa.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mossel_Bay>
1959:
Hours after appearing at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, USA,
American rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. "The
Big Bopper" Richardson were killed when their plane crashed shortly after
taking off from the nearby Mason City Municipal Airport.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_the_Music_Died>
1966:
The Soviet spacecraft Luna 9 became the first space probe to land on the
Moon and transmit pictures from the lunar surface to Earth.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_9>
1996:
A 7.0 Ms earthquake struck Lijiang City, Yunnan, China, killing at least 200
people and injuring 14,000 others.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Lijiang_earthquake>
2007:
A large suicide truck bomb exploded in a busy market in Baghdad, Iraq,
killing at least 135 people and injuring 339 others.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3_February_2007_Baghdad_market_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
oleaginous (adj):
1. Oily, greasy.
2. (of manner or speech) Falsely or affectedly earnest; persuasively suave
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/oleaginous>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
When war is waged it is for the purpose of safeguarding or increasing one's
capacity to make war. International politics are wholly involved in this
vicious cycle. What is called national prestige consists in behaving always
in such a way as to demoralize other nations by giving them the impression
that, if it comes to war, one would certainly defeat them. What is called
national security is an imaginary state of affairs in which one would retain
the capacity to make war while depriving all other countries of it.
--Simone Weil
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Simone_Weil>
Year Zero is the fifth studio album by American Industrial rock act Nine
Inch Nails, released on April 16, 2007, by Interscope Records. Frontman
Trent Reznor wrote the album's music and lyrics while touring in support of
the group's previous release, With Teeth (2005). In contrast to the
introverted style of songwriting Reznor used on previous records, Year Zero
is a concept album that criticizes contemporary policies of the United
States government by presenting a dystopian vision of the year 2022. The
album is part of a larger Year Zero project which includes a remix album, an
alternate reality game, and a potential television or film project. The Year
Zero alternate reality game expanded upon the album's fictional storyline by
using media such as websites, pre-recorded phone messages, and murals. Year
Zero received very positive reviews, many of which were also favorable
toward the accompanying alternate reality game. The album produced two
singles, "Survivalism" and "Capital G", the latter released as a promotional
single. Disputes arose between Reznor and Universal Music Group, parent
company of Interscope Records, over the overseas pricing of the album.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_Zero_%28album%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1536:
An expedition to the New World led by Spanish conquistador Pedro de Mendoza
founded what is now Buenos Aires, Argentina.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buenos_Aires>
1709:
Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk was rescued after spending four years as a
castaway on an uninhabited island in the Juan Fernández archipelago,
providing the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Selkirk>
1848:
The Mexican–American War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo, granting the United States the Mexican Cession.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Guadalupe_Hidalgo>
1922:
The novel Ulysses was first published in its entirety after this material by
author James Joyce first appeared in serialized parts in the American
journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, becoming one of
the most important works of Modernist literature.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_%28novel%29>
1943:
World War II: The Soviet Red Army captured 91,000 tired and starving German
soldiers, ending the Battle of Stalingrad, one of the bloodiest battles in
human history.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Stalingrad>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
cunctation (n):
(obsolete) Delay, hesitation, procrastination
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cunctation>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
History, Stephen said, is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.
--James Joyce
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Joyce>
Woodes Rogers (c. 1679 – 1732) was an English sea captain, privateer and
later the first Royal Governor of the Bahamas. He is known as the captain of
the vessel that rescued the marooned Alexander Selkirk, who was
fictionalized by Daniel Defoe as Robinson Crusoe. Rogers came from an
affluent seafaring family, grew up in Poole and Bristol, and served a marine
apprenticeship to a Bristol sea captain. His father, who held shares in many
ships, died when Rogers was in his mid-twenties, leaving Rogers in control
of the family shipping business. In 1707, Rogers was approached by Captain
William Dampier, who sought support for a privateering voyage against the
Spanish, with whom the British were at war. Rogers led the expedition, which
consisted of two well-armed ships, the Duke and the Duchess, and was the
captain of the Duke. In three years, Rogers and his men went around the
world, capturing several ships in the Pacific Ocean. En route, the
expedition rescued Selkirk, finding him on Juan Fernandez Island on 1
February 1709.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodes_Rogers>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1790:
The Supreme Court of the United States, the highest judicial body in the
United States and the head of the judicial branch of the U.S. federal
government, first convened at the Merchants' Exchange Building in New York
City.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States>
1884:
The first fascicle of the Oxford English Dictionary, a 352-page volume that
covered words from A to Ant, was published.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionary>
1946:
As a result of a compromise between the major powers within the United
Nations, Norwegian politician Trygve Lie was elected as the first UN
Secretary-General.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trygve_Lie>
1957:
Invented by German mechanical engineer Felix Wankel, the first working
prototype of the Wankel rotary engine ran for the first time at the research
and development department of German manufacturer NSU Motorenwerke AG.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wankel_engine>
2003:
The NASA Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas during reentry into
the Earth's atmosphere on its 28th and final mission, killing all seven crew
members.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Columbia_disaster>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
splinter (v):
1. To come apart into long sharp fragments.
2. To cause to break apart into long sharp fragments.
3. (figuratively) To break, or cause to break, into factions
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/splinter>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Reason is the life of the law; nay, the common law itself is nothing else
but reason. --Edward Coke
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Coke>