Mensa (Latin for "table") is a constellation in the southern celestial
hemisphere near the south celestial pole. It is one of the 88 modern
constellations, and one of twelve drawn up in the 18th century by
French astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille. Originally named for Table
Mountain overlooking Cape Town, South Africa, where Lacaille made
observations, it covers a keystone-shaped wedge of sky of approximately
153.5 square degrees. Other than the south polar constellation of
Octans, it is the most southerly of constellations and is only
observable south of the 5th parallel of the Northern Hemisphere. Barely
visible in suburban skies, Mensa is one of the faintest constellations
in the night sky. At least three of its star systems have been found to
have exoplanets. Parts of the Large Magellanic Cloud, several star
clusters and a quasar lie in the area covered by the constellation.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensa_%28constellation%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1876:
A railway bridge over the Ashtabula River in Ohio collapsed
when a Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway train was crossing over
it, killing 92 people and injuring 64 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashtabula_River_railroad_disaster>
1911:
Sun Yat-sen was elected in Nanjing as the Provisional President
of the Republic of China.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Yat-sen>
1959:
Physicist Richard Feynman gave a speech entitled "There's
Plenty of Room at the Bottom", anticipating the field of nanotechnology.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There%27s_Plenty_of_Room_at_the_Bottom>
1997:
In order to prevent the spread of the H5N1 flu virus, the Hong
Kong government began the slaughter of 1.3 million chickens.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_spread_of_H5N1>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
dashcam:
(automotive) A digital video recorder mounted on the dashboard of a
vehicle or elsewhere inside the vehicle to record occurrences in the
vicinity, such as traffic accidents that the vehicle has been involved
in, to provide evidence for criminal prosecutions, insurance claims,
etc.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dashcam>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Take chances, make mistakes. That's how you grow. Pain nourishes
your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.
--Mary Tyler Moore
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mary_Tyler_Moore>