Venus is the second planet from the Sun, named after the Roman goddess
Venus. It is a terrestrial planet, very similar in size and bulk
composition to Earth; it is sometimes called Earth's "sister planet"
as a result of this similarity. Although all planets' orbits are
elliptical, Venus' orbit is the most nearly circular of all, with an
eccentricity of less than 1%. Venus was known to ancient Babylonians
around 1600 BC, and probably was known long before in prehistoric
times given that it is the third brightest object in the sky after the
Sun and Moon. Its symbol is a stylized representation of the goddess
Venus' hand mirror: a circle with a small cross underneath.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_%28planet%29
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Today's selected anniversaries:
193:
Praetorian Guards assassinated Roman Emperor Pertinax and sold the
throne in an auction to Didius Julianus.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pertinax)
845:
Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, captured Paris and held
the city for a huge ransom.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragnar_Lodbrok)
1939:
Forces of the Spanish State led by Generalísimo Francisco Franco took
Madrid, ending the Spanish Civil War.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Civil_War)
1964:
Radio Caroline began broadcasting as a pirate radio station from a
boat anchored in international waters.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Caroline)
1979:
A nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
suffered a partial meltdown.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Mile_Island)
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Wikiquote of the day:
"A leader must have the courage to act against an expert's advice." --
James Callaghan
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Callaghan)