A galaxy is a massive system bound together by gravity that contains
stars and surrounding matter, stellar remnants, interstellar matter, and
dark matter, all orbiting a common center of gravity. Typical galaxies
range from as few as 10 million stars up to supergiants with
100 trillion stars, but most of the mass is dark matter. The Solar
System is in the Milky Way galaxy, whose nearest large neighbor, the
Andromeda Galaxy, is about 750,000 parsecs (2.4 million light years)
away from Earth; the two galaxies dominate the Local Group. There are
probably more than 200 billion galaxies in the observable universe.
Most are 1,000 to 100,000 parsecs (about 3,000 to 300,000 ly) in
diameter and are often separated from their neighbors by millions of
parsecs. There is evidence that supermassive black holes exist at the
center of many, if not all, galaxies. The Milky Way, a spiral galaxy
with a diameter of at least 26,800 parsecs (87,400 ly), has such an
object at the Galactic Center. (Full article...).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1965:
The Sound of Music (poster pictured) was released in American
theatres; it became the highest-grossing film of all time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sound_of_Music_%28film%29>
1970:
The Rhodesian monarchy was abolished by the government of
Rhodesia, which declared the internationally unrecognised country to be
a republic.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_of_Rhodesia>
1995:
Researchers at Fermilab in Illinois announced the discovery of
the top quark, the most massive of all observed elementary particles.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_quark>
2014:
The Oscar selfie, considered to be one of the most influential
photographs of all time, was taken at the 86th Academy Awards ceremony.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_selfie>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
go the whole hog:
1. (intransitive, originally Canada, US, idiomatic, informal) To do
something as completely or entirely as possible; to hold back or reserve
nothing.
2. About Word of the Day
3. Nominate a word
4. Leave feedback
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/go_the_whole_hog>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The more that you read, The more things you will know. The more
that you learn, The more places you'll go.
--Dr. Seuss
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dr._Seuss>
High and Low is a Japanese police procedural film directed by Akira
Kurosawa, released in Japan on 1 March 1963. It is a loose adaptation of
the 1959 novel King's Ransom, by Evan Hunter under the pen name Ed
McBain. Starring Toshirō Mifune and Tatsuya Nakadai, it tells the story
of Japanese businessman Kingo Gondō, who plans to use his life savings
in a leveraged buyout. When kidnappers mistakenly abduct his chauffeur's
son for ransom—believing the boy to be Gondō's son Jun—Gondō must
decide whether to use the money to complete the buyout or pay the
ransom. High and Low became the highest-grossing film at the Japanese
box office for 1963. It received positive reviews both domestically and
abroad, with critical attention focusing on the film's structure, the
moral humanism of Kurosawa's depiction of the class divide, and the use
of blocking to demonstrate character relationships. The film has been
influential among modern filmmakers, and has been remade multiple times
internationally. (Full article...).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_and_Low_%281963_film%29>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1869:
The Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev finished his design of the
first periodic table.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periodic_table>
1921:
The Australian cricket team, led by Warwick Armstrong, became
the first team to complete a whitewash in the Ashes, an achievement that
would not be repeated for 86 years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warwick_Armstrong>
1992:
A Bosnian-Serb wedding procession was attacked in Sarajevo,
resulting in what is widely considered the first casualty of the Bosnian
War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarajevo_wedding_attack>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
disinterested:
1. Having no interest or stake in the outcome, and no conflicts of
interest; free of bias, impartial.
2. (often proscribed) Synonym of uninterested (“not interested; not
concerned; indifferent”).
3. About Word of the Day
4. Nominate a word
5. Leave feedback
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/disinterested>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
A short time ago, the United States military began major combat
operations in Iran. Our objective is to defend the American people by
eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime. A vicious group of
very hard, terrible people. Its menacing activities directly endanger
the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies
throughout the world.
--Donald Trump
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Donald_Trump>