Vega is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, the fifth brightest star in the night sky and the second brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is a relatively close star at only 25 light-years from Earth, and one of the most luminous stars in the Sun's neighbourhood. Vega has been extensively studied by astronomers. It was the first star other than the Sun to have its photograph taken and the first to have its spectrum photographed. Historically, Vega served as the northern pole star around 12,000 BCE and will do so again at 13,727 CE. Vega is only about a tenth the age of the Sun, but it is evolving so quickly that it has already approached the midpoint of its life expectancy. It has an unusually low abundance of the elements with a higher atomic number than that of helium. It is rotating rapidly with a velocity of 274 km/s at the equator. Based on an observed excess emission of infrared radiation, Vega appears to have a circumstellar disk of dust. This dust is likely the result of collisions (pictured) between objects in an orbiting debris disk, which is analogous to the Kuiper belt in the Solar System. Irregularities in Vega's disk also suggest the presence of at least one planet, likely to be about the size of Jupiter.
Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vega
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1777:
American Revolutionary War: The Americans led by General John Stark routed British and Brunswick troops under Friedrich Baum at the Battle of Bennington in Walloomsac, New York. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bennington
1819:
Cavalry charged into a crowd of 60–80,000 gathered at St Peter's Field, Manchester, England, to demand the reform of parliamentary representation, killing 15 people and injuring 400–700 others. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterloo_Massacre
1896:
A group led by Skookum Jim Mason discovered gold near Dawson City, Yukon, Canada, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klondike_Gold_Rush
1929:
A long-running dispute between Muslims and Jews over access to the Western Wall in Jerusalem escalated into a week-long period of violent riots throughout Palestine. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1929_Palestine_riots
1977:
Elvis Presley , "The King of Rock and Roll", was officially pronounced dead at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, after he was found unresponsive on the floor of his Graceland bathroom. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_Presley
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
gumshoe (n): 1. A sneaker or rubber overshoe. 2. (slang) A detective http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gumshoe
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Nine-tenths of tactics are certain, and taught in books: but the irrational tenth is like the kingfisher flashing across the pool, and that is the test of generals. It can only be ensured by instinct, sharpened by thought practising the stroke so often that at the crisis it is as natural as a reflex. --T. E. Lawrence http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/T._E._Lawrence