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