Tag: Witchcraft Open Chats

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2022 October 18

Milky Way Auroral Flower

Image Credit & Copyright: Göran Strand

Explanation: Could the stem of our Milky Way bloom into an auroral flower? No, not really, even though it may appear that way in today’s featured all-sky image. On the left, the central plane of our home galaxy extends from the horizon past the middle of the sky. On the right, an auroral oval also extends from the sky’s center — but is dominated by bright green-glowing oxygen. The two are not physically connected, because the aurora is relatively nearby, with the higher red parts occurring in Earth’s atmosphere only about 1000 kilometers high. In contrast, an average distance to the stars and nebulas we see in the Milky Way more like 1000 light-years away – 10 trillion times further. The featured image composite was taken in early October across a small lake in Abisko, northern Sweden. As our Sun’s magnetic field evolves into the active part of its 11-year cycle, auroras near both of Earth’s poles are sure to become more frequent.

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2022 October 13

Dust Shells around WR 140 from Webb

Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, JWST, MIRI, ERS Program 1349; Processing: Judy Schmidt

Explanation: What are those strange rings? Rich in dust, the rings are likely 3D shells — but how they were created remains a topic of research. Where they were created is well known: in a binary star system that lies about 6,000 light years away toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus) — a system dominated by the Wolf-Rayet star WR 140. Wolf-Rayet stars are massive, bright, and known for their tumultuous winds. They are also known for creating and dispersing heavy elements such as carbon which is a building block of interstellar dust. The other star in the binary is also bright and massive — but not as active. The two great stars joust in an oblong orbit as they approach each other about every eight years. When at closest approach, the X-ray emission from the system increases, as, apparently, does the dust expelled into space — creating another shell. The featured infrared image by the new Webb Space Telescope resolves greater details and more dust shells than ever before.

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2022 October 12

Ou4: The Giant Squid Nebula

Image Credit & Copyright: Tommy Lease

Explanation: A mysterious squid-like cosmic cloud, this nebula is very faint, but also very large in planet Earth’s sky. In the image, composed with 30 hours of narrowband image data, it spans nearly three full moons toward the royal constellation Cepheus. Discovered in 2011 by French astro-imager Nicolas Outters, the Squid Nebula’s bipolar shape is distinguished here by the telltale blue-green emission from doubly ionized oxygen atoms. Though apparently surrounded by the reddish hydrogen emission region Sh2-129, the true distance and nature of the Squid Nebula have been difficult to determine. Still, a more recent investigation suggests Ou4 really does lie within Sh2-129 some 2,300 light-years away. Consistent with that scenario, the cosmic squid would represent a spectacular outflow of material driven by a triple system of hot, massive stars, cataloged as HR8119, seen near the center of the nebula. If so, this truly giant squid nebula would physically be over 50 light-years across.

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2022 October 11

Stars, Dust, Pillars, and Jets in the Pelican Nebula

Image Credit & Copyright: Adriano Almeida

Explanation: What dark structures arise within the Pelican Nebula? On the whole, the nebula appears like a bird (a pelican) and is seen toward the constellation of a different bird: Cygnus, a Swan. But inside, the Pelican Nebula is a place lit up by new stars and befouled by dark dust. Smoke-sized dust grains start as simple carbon compounds formed in the cool atmospheres of young stars but are dispersed by stellar winds and explosions. Two impressive Herbig-Haro jets are seen emitted by the star HH 555 on the right, and these jets are helping to destroy the light year-long dust pillar that contains it. Other pillars and jets are also visible. The featured image was scientifically-colored to emphasize light emitted by small amounts of heavy elements in a nebula made predominantly of the light elements hydrogen and helium. The Pelican Nebula (IC 5067 and IC 5070) is about 2,000 light-years away and can be found with a small telescope to the northeast of the bright star Deneb.

 

Explore Your Universe: Random APOD Generator

October 12 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

54 Nero succeeds Claudius as Roman Emperor

1307 French King Philip IV has Grand Master Jacques de Molay and Knights Templar arrested and charged of idolatry and corruption

1884 Greenwich in London established as the universal time meridian of longitude

1924 Mecca falls without struggle to Saudi forces led by Abdulaziz Ibn Saud

1943 Italy declares war on former Axis partner Germany

1944 US 1st army begins battle of Aachen, first German city captured during WWII

2010 Copiapó mining accident in Chile comes to a happy end as all 33 miners arrive at the surface after surviving a record 69 days underground

Today’s Historical Events

54 Nero succeeds Claudius as Roman Emperor

409 Vandals and Alans crossed the Pyrenees and appear in Hispania

1213 Battle of Steppes: Hugh Pierrepont, Bishop of Liège & Louis II, Count of Loon defeat Henry I, Duke of Brabant

1282 Nichiren Daishonin, founder of the Nichiren School of Buddhism, dies, his ashes are interred at Taisekiji Temple

1307 French King Philip IV has Grand Master Jacques de Molay and Knights Templar arrested and charged of idolatry and corruption

1399 Henry of Bolingbroke is crowned King Henry IV of England in Westminster Abbey, a few weeks after deposing Richard II

1448 First assembly of Catalan dioceses to choose their syndics (representative) to plead abolition of serfdom to King Alfons IV – 1st official recognition of serfs organizing to defend their rights

1483 Rabbi Issac Abarbanel starts his exegesis on Bible

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1931 Noël Coward‘s “Cavalcade” premieres in London

1950 “All About Eve” directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and starring Bette Davis and Anne Baxter premieres (Academy Awards Best Picture 1951)

1956 WAGM TV channel 8 in Presque Isle, ME (CBS/NBC/ABC) begins

1960 Third presidential debate with Nixon in Hollywood & Kennedy in NY

1962 Edward Albee‘s play “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” opens on Broadway featuring actress Uta Hagen

1967 CBS radio cancels “House Party”

1971 WTZH TV channel 24 in Meridian, MS (CBS) suspends broadcasting

1973 “Badlands” directed by Terrence Malick and starring Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek premieres at the New York Film Festival

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1870 Gustav Mahler (10) gives his 1st public piano concert

1887 Australian soprano Nellie Melba makes her operatic debut as Gilda in “Rigoletto” at Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels

1903 Victor Herbert and by Glen MacDonough’s operetta “Babes in Toyland” premieres at Majestic Theater, New York City

1931 Musical “Everybody’s Welcome” with Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey premieres in NYC

1949 “Touch & Go” opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 176 performances

1963 The term “Beatlemania” is coined after Beatles appear at the London Palladium

1966 Jimi Hendrix Experience debuts with American guitarist Jimi Hendrix, British bassist Noel Redding & British drummer Mitch Mitchell in Évreux, Normandy, France

1972 “Hurry, Harry” closes at Ritz Theater NYC after 2 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1893 Vigilant (US) beats Valkyrie II (UK) in 9th America’s Cup, in New York

1903 1st Baseball World Series: Boston Americans beat Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-0 in Game 8 at Huntington Avenue for a 5-3 series victory

1914 Baseball World Series: Boston Braves beat Philadelphia A’s, 3-1 at Fenway Park for first 4-game sweep in WS history; ‘Miracle Braves’ last in NL July 4

1915 Baseball World Series: Boston Red Sox beat Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4 at the Baker Bowl to clinch series 4-1

1920 World Series celebration in Wade Park brings out 50,000+ Clevelanders

1921 Baseball World Series: NY Giants beat NY Yankees, 1-0 at the Polo Grounds for a 5-3 series win; final WS played in best-of-nine format; Yankees first ever WS appearance

1933 Soccer team STEVO forms in Geesteren

1934 LPGA Western Open Women’s Golf, Portland G & CC: Marian McDougall outclassed Mrs Guy Riegel, 9 & 7 to win golf’s only major title

October 11 Toay in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1138 Earthquake in Aleppo, Syria, kills an estimated 230,000

1634 Burchardi flood – “the second Grote Mandrenke” kills about 15,000 in North Friesland, Denmark and Germany

1737 Earthquake reported to have killed 300,000 and destroyed half of Calcutta in India. Now thought to have been an exaggerated account of a hurricane which claimed 3,000 of the city’s estimated 20,000 residents. [1]

1797 Battle of Camperdown (Kamperduin): British navy defeats Dutch fleet

1945 Chinese civil war begins between Kuomintang government led by Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong‘s Communist Party

1962 Second Vatican Council (21st ecumenical) convened by Pope John XXIII

1986 Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev open talks at a summit in Reykjavik, Iceland

Today’s Historical Events

1138 Earthquake in Aleppo, Syria, kills an estimated 230,000

1142 Treaty of Shaoxing ratified with Chinese southern Song Dynasty agreeing to pay tribute to northern Jin dynasty

1521 Pope Leo X titles King Henry VIII of England “Defender of the Faith”

1531 Battle of Kappel: Swiss Roman Catholic cantons beat protestant forces of Zurich; Huldrych Zwingli Swiss reformation leader is killed

1540 Emperor Karel names his son Philip, Duke of Milan

1573 Battle of South Seas – Dutch rebels beat Spanish navy

1614 Adriaen Block and 12 Amsterdam merchants petition the States General for exclusive trading rights in the New Netherland colony.

1634 Burchardi flood – “the second Grote Mandrenke” kills about 15,000 in North Friesland, Denmark and Germany

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1932 1st political telecast (Democratic National Committee) at CBS, NYC

1939 Samson Raphaelson’s play “Skylark” starring Gertrude Lawrence premieres in NYC

1944 “Laura” directed by Otto Preminger starring Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews is released in NYC, New York

1948 Frank Loesser’s musical “Where’s Charley?”, starring Ray Bolger, and directed by George Abbott, opens at St James Theater, NYC; runs for 792 performances and wins a Tony Award

1950 The U.S. Federal Communications Commission issues the first license to broadcast television in color, to CBS

1959 KTHI TV channel 11 in Fargo-Grand Forks, ND (NBC) begins broadcasting

1960 Radio/TV executive John Fetzer buys a controlling interest of Detroit Tigers

1963 William Shatner stars in “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” episode of CBS anthology series “The Twilight Zone”

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1948 “Love Life” opens at 46th St Theater, NYC; runs for 252 performances

1954 “On Your Toes” opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 64 performances

1958 “Goldilocks” opens at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC for 161 performances

1967 “Yoko Plus Me” art exhibit opens in London (the “Me” is John Lennon)

1969 American blues musician Muddy Waters involved in a car crash that kills 3

1974 Columbia Records releases “Streetlife Serenade”, singer-songwriter Billy Joel‘s third studio album

1976 10th Country Music Association Award: Mel Tillis wins

1978 Columbia Records releases “52nd Street”, singer-songwriter Billy Joel‘s sixth studio album; it becomes his 1st chart-topper, and wins 3 Grammy Awards

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1902 Commencement of 1st Test Cricket between South Africa & Australia

1902 US Open Men’s Golf, Garden City GC: Scotsman Laurie Auchterlonie sets new 72-hole event scoring record to win his only major title, 6 strokes ahead of Stewart Gardner and amateur Walter Travis

1906 White Sox Ed Walsh strikes out then record 12 in a World Series game

1911 Ty Cobb (AL) and Frank Schulte (NL) are named inaugural MLB MVPs; prize is a car

1913 Baseball World Series: Philadelphia A’s beat NY Giants, 3-1 at Brush Stadium, NYC; clinch 4-1 series win for 3rd title in 10 years

1923 A pair of Babe Ruth home runs in the 4th and 5th innings is the difference; NY Yankees beat NY Giants, 4-2 at the Polo Grounds to tie World Series, 1-1

1925 NY Giants play 1st NFL game, lose to Providence 14-0

1927 New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig is named American League MVP; despite hitting MLB record 60 HR’s Babe Ruth as a former winner is not eligible

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2022 October 10

A Double Lunar Analemma over Turkey

Image Credit & Copyright: Betul Turksoy

Explanation: An analemma is that figure-8 curve you get when you mark the position of the Sun at the same time each day for one year. But the trick to imaging an analemma of the Moon is to wait bit longer. On average the Moon returns to the same position in the sky about 50 minutes and 29 seconds later each day. So photograph the Moon 50 minutes 29 seconds later on successive days. Over one lunation or lunar month it will trace out an analemma-like curve as the Moon’s actual position wanders due to its tilted and elliptical orbit. Since the featured image was taken over two months, it actually shows a double lunar analemma. Crescent lunar phases too thin and faint to capture around the New moon are missing. The two months the persistent astrophotographer chose were during a good stretch of weather during July and August, and the location was Kayseri, Turkey

October 10 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

680 Al-Hussein (Al-Ḥusayn ibn) and his followers killed at Karbala by army of Yazid, the Umayyad caliph, on the way to Kufa

1780 Great Hurricane of 1780 kills 20,000 to 30,000 in the Caribbean, hitting Barbados first. Atlantic’s deadliest recorded hurricane.

1954 Ho Chi Minh enters Hanoi after withdrawal of French troops

1957 A fire at the Windscale nuclear plant in Cumbria, England becomes the world’s first major nuclear accident

Today’s Historical Events

354 Roman Emperor Constantius gives grand circus and theater shows to mark 30th year of his reign as Caesar in Arles

680 Al-Hussein (Al-Ḥusayn ibn) and his followers killed at Karbala by army of Yazid, the Umayyad caliph, on the way to Kufa

732 Battle of Tours: Umayyad army led by Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi defeated by Frankish Aquitainian force led by Charles Martel during Umayyad invasion of Gaul

1375 Westfriese sea wall breaks flooding northern Netherlands

1471 Battle of Brunkeberg: Swedish regent Sten Sture defeats forces led by Danish King Christian I

1549 Duke of Somerset fired as Lord Protector & imprisoned

1575 Battle of Dormans: Roman Catholic forces under Duke Henry of Guise defeated the Protestants, capturing Philippe de Mornay among others.

1578 Count Johan Casimir occupies Ghent with 500 horsemen

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1954 1st National Film Awards (India): “Shyamchi Aai” wins the Golden Lotus

1956 “Giant”, directed by George Stevens, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean in his last role, premieres in NYC

1960 WGTE TV channel 30 in Toledo, OH (PBS) begins broadcasting

1961 Variety TV show “The Bob Newhart Show” premieres on NBC in the US

1963 “From Russia With Love” 2nd James Bond film based on a novel by Ian Fleming, starring Sean Connery and Daniela Bianchi, premieres in London

1965 The Supremes appear on the “The Ed Sullivan Show”

1979 Rock band Fleetwood Mac gets a star in Hollywood

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1919 Richard Strauss and Hugo van Hofmannsthal’s opera “Die Frau ohne Schatten” (The Woman Without A Shadow), premieres in Vienna, Austria

1935 George Gershwin‘s “Porgy & Bess” opens on Broadway NY

1938 Premier of Dmitri Shostakovich‘s 1st String Quartet

1947 Rodgers & Hammerstein’s musical “Allegro” premieres at Majestic Theater, NYC; runs for 318 performances

1959 “Happy Town” closes at 84th St Theater NYC after 5 performances

1960 “Laughs & Other Events” opens at Barrymore Theater NYC for 8 performances

1961 “Milk & Honey” opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC for 543 performances

1965 “Drat! – The Cat!” opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC for 8 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1892 Entire Hong Kong national cricket team dies in shipwreck off Taiwan

1899 African-American inventor Issac R. Johnson patents the bicycle frame

1904 Boston pitchers achieve 148 complete games-an AL record, also record for total complete games AL 1,098, NL 1,089

1916 In Game 3, Charlie Ebbets becomes the 1st owner to raise the price of World Series grandstand seats to $5-up from $3

1920 Cleveland Indians outfielder Elmer Smith hits baseball’s first ever World Series grand slam (Game 5, 1920)

1920 Indian Bill Wambsganns makes 1st unassisted World Series triple play

1920 Phoenix Cardinals (then in Chicago) play 1st NFL game, a 0-0 tie

1921 NFL Decatur Staleys become Chicago Staleys, win 14-10

October 9, 2022 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

768 Charlemagne and his brother Carloman I are crowned Kings of The Franks

1000 Leif Ericson discovers “Vinland” (possibly L’Anse aux Meadows, Canada) reputedly becoming first European to reach North America

1446 The Hangul (Korean) alphabet is first published in Korea by King Sejong the Great

1831 Ioannis Kapodistrias, first Head of State of modern Greece, assassinated in Nafplion

1941 US President Franklin D. Roosevelt approves an atomic program that would become the Manhattan Project

2006 North Korea conducts its first nuclear test, with an estimated yield of between 0.4-2 kilotons

Today’s Historical Events

768 Charlemagne and his brother Carloman I are crowned Kings of The Franks

869 Charles the Bald crowned king of Lotharingen

1000 Leif Ericson discovers “Vinland” (possibly L’Anse aux Meadows, Canada) reputedly becoming first European to reach North America

1192 Richard I of England, the Lion Heart, leaves Jerusalem in disguise

1200 12-year-old French noblewoman Isabella of Angoulême is crowned Queen consort of England to King John in Westminster Abbey

1238 James I of Aragon conquers Valencia and founds the Kingdom of Valencia

1290 Last of 16,000 Jews expelled by King Edward I leave England

1410 Earliest mention of Prague’s astronomical clock, the world’s oldest still in operation, built by Mikuláš of Kadaň and Jan Šindel

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1915 Louis Kaufmans comedy “Unchastened Woman” premieres in New York City

1926 NBC (National Broadcasting Corporation) forms

1948 WXYZ TV channel 7 in Detroit, MI (ABC) begins broadcasting

1954 KTIV TV channel 4 in Sioux City, IA (NBC) begins broadcasting

1968 WKMU TV channel 21 in Murray, KY (PBS) begins broadcasting

1969 The Supremes release single “Someday We’ll Be Together”, Diana Ross‘ last recording with the group

1986 “The Late Show with Joan Rivers” premieres on Fox, first woman to host a US late-night TV talk show

1992 Action thriller film “Under Siege” directed by Andrew Davis starring Steven Seagal in his most famous role is released

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1855 Joshua Stoddard of Worcester, Massachusetts, patents first calliope (steam powered musical instrument)

1929 George Kaufman & Ring Lardner’s musical “June Moon” premieres in NYC

1947 Julie Styne and Sammy Cahn’s musical “High Button Shoes” premieres at the New Century Theatre, NYC (later transferred to the Shubert, then to The Broadway Theatre, NYC; runs for 727 performances

1949 English ballerina Margot Fonteyn debuts in America with her performance of Sleeping Beauty at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York

1965 Beatles’ “Yesterday” single goes #1 & stays #1 for 4 weeks

1972 “Dude” opens at Broadway Theater, NYC; runs for 16 performances

1976 “Robber Bridegroom” opens at Biltmore Theater NYC for 145 performances

1978 12th Country Music Association Award: Dolly Parton, Crystal Gayle, and Don Williams win

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1905 First league sanctioned Baseball World Series begins; New York Giants (NL) beat Philadelphia A’s (AL), 3-0 in Game 1 at Columbia Park

1909 Ty Cobb steals home in World Series game

1910 Nap Lajorie challenges Ty Cobb batting average with 8 hits, 6 were bunts as Brown’s 3rd baseman Red Corriden played deep, Cobb still won

1915 Woodrow Wilson becomes first US President to attend a World Series game

1919 Baseball World Series: Cincinnati Reds beat Chicago White Sox, 10-5 at Comiskey Park for a 5-3 series victory; due to ‘Black Sox Scandal’ last WS to take place without a Commissioner of Baseball in place

1921 Babe Ruth‘s 1st WS homer; only Sunday game ever pitched by Carl Mays

1928 Baseball World Series: NY Yankees beat St. Louis Cardinals, 7-3 at Sportsman’s Park to become first to sweep consecutive World Series; Babe Ruth hits smashes 3 HRs for Yanks

1934 Baseball World Series: St Louis Cardinals rout Detroit Tigers, 11-0 at Navin Field to clinch 4 games to 3 series victory and 3rd championship

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2022 October 9

Auroras over Northern Canada

Image Credit & Copyright: Kwon, O Chul (TWAN)

Explanation: Gusting solar winds and blasts of charged particles from the Sun resulted in several rewarding nights of auroras back in 2014 December, near the peak of the last 11-year solar cycle. The featured image captured dramatic auroras stretching across a sky near the town of Yellowknife in northern Canada. The auroras were so bright that they not only inspired awe, but were easily visible on an image exposure of only 1.3 seconds. A video taken concurrently shows the dancing sky lights evolving in real time as tourists, many there just to see auroras, respond with cheers. The conical dwellings on the image right are tipis, while far in the background, near the image center, is the constellation of Orion. Auroras may increase again over the next few years as our Sun again approaches solar maximum.

September 30 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1520 Suleiman the Magnificent succeeds his father Selam I as Ottoman Sultan (rules till 1566)

1846 Anesthetic ether is used for the 1st time, by American dentist Dr William Morton who extracts a tooth

1862 Minister-President of Prussia Otto von Bismarck delivers his famous “Blood and Iron” speech on the unification of German territories

1938 Treaty of Munich signed by Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Édouard Daladier and Neville Chamberlain, forces Czechoslovakia to give territory to Germany. Chamberlain infamously declares “Peace for our time” on his return to London.

1946 Twenty-two Nazi leaders, including Joachim von Ribbentrop and Hermann Goering, are found guilty of war crimes and sentenced to death or prison at the Nuremberg war trials

1980 Ethernet specifications published by Xerox working with Intel and Digital Equipment Corporation [1]

Today’s Historical Events

489 Germanic King of Italy Odoacer attacks Ostrogothic leader Theodoric the Great at the Battle of Verona and is defeated again

1124 Orval abbey church consecrated in southeast Belgium

1199 Rambam (Maimonides) authorizes Samuel Ibn Tibbon to translate Guide of Perplexed from Arabic into Hebrew

1399 King Richard II of England’s (supposed) abdication read out in the House of Commons by the Archbishop of Canterbury. In reality deposed by his cousin and successor Henry IV

1520 Suleiman the Magnificent succeeds his father Selam I as Ottoman Sultan (rules till 1566)

1544 King Henry VIII draws his armies out of France

1555 Bishop of Oxford Nicholas Ridley sentenced to death as a heretic

1619 Remonstrant Society forms in Antwerp

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1939 In the first televised college football game, Fordham beats Waynesburg, 34-7 at Randalls Island, NY

1947 In first televised World Series Baseball game, NY Yankees beat Brooklyn Dodgers, 5-3 in Game 1 at Yankee Stadium; also largest WS crowd to date, 73,365

1950 Radio’s “Grand Ole Opry” is broadcast on TV for 1st time

1950 WSM TV channel 4 in Nashville, TN (NBC) begins broadcasting

1953 WICS TV channel 20 in Springfield, IL (NBC) begins broadcasting

1953 WMT (now KGAN) TV channel 2 in Cedar Rapids-Waterloo, IA (CBS) begins

1954 Sandy Wilson’s musical “The Boy Friend”, cast includes Julie Andrews, making her Broadway debut, opens at the Royale Theatre, NYC; runs for 485 performances

1955 American actor and cultural icon James Dean is killed in a car crash aged 24

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1791 Mozart‘s opera “Magic Flute”, with German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder, premieres at Schikaneder’s Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna, Austria

1935 George Gershwin‘s opera “Porgy and Bess” premieres in Boston

1963 “Student Gypsy” opens at 84th St Theater NYC for 16 performances

1964 “Oh What a Lovely War” opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 125 performances

1965 Donovan’s 1st US TV appearance (Shindig)

1982 Columbia Records releases Bruce Springsteen‘s sixth studio album “Nebraska”, a solo record, made without a backing band

1992 26th Country Music Association Award: Garth Brooks wins

1997 “Too Close” single released by Next (Billboard Song of the Year, 1998)

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1659 Peter Stuyvesant of New Netherlands forbids tennis playing during religious services (1st mention of tennis in US)

1882 British Open Men’s Golf, St Andrews: Bob Ferguson wins third consecutive Open title; beats fellow Scot Willie Fernie by 3 strokes

1887 8th America’s Cup: New York Yacht Club’s cutter Volunteer beats Scottish challenger Thistle by 11:48.75 seconds on corrected time to win series, 2-0 off Newport, RI

1904 White Sox lefty Doc White, pitches his 5th shutout in 18 days

1915 Red Sox clinch AL pennant by beating Detroit

1916 Giants lose to Braves 8-3, ends 26 consecutive win streak

1922 Yanks clinch pennant #2, beating Boston 3-1

1927 Yankees slugger Babe Ruth smacks his MLB record 60th home run off Tom Zachary in 8th inning of New York’s 4-2 win over Washington Senators at Yankee Stadium

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2022 September 30

Equinox Sunrise Around the World

Collage Image Copyright: Luca Vanzella

Explanation: A planet-wide collaboration resulted in this remarkable array of sunrise photographs taken around the September 2022 equinox. The images were contributed by 24 photographers, one in each of 24 nautical time zones around the world. Unlike more complicated civil time zone boundaries, the 24 nautical time zones are simply 15 degree longitude bands corresponding to 1 hour steps that span the globe. Start at the upper right for the first to experience a sunrise in the nautical time zone corresponding to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) + 12 hours. In that time zone, the photographer was located in Christchurch, New Zealand. Travel to the west by looking down the column and then moving to the column toward the left for later sunrises as the time zone offset in hours from UTC decreases. Or, you can watch a video of September 2022 equinox sunrises around planet Earth.

September 13 to September 29 Astronomy Picture of the Day

2022 September 29: DART Asteroid Impact from Space
2022 September 28: A Furious Sky over Mount Shasta
2022 September 27: DART: Impact on Asteroid Dimorphos
2022 September 26: All the Water on Planet Earth
2022 September 25: The Fairy of Eagle Nebula
2022 September 24: September Sunrise Shadows
2022 September 23: Ringed Ice Giant Neptune
2022 September 22: NGC 7331 Close Up
2022 September 21: The Horsehead Nebula in Infrared from Hubble
2022 September 20: Star Forming Region NGC 3582 without Stars
2022 September 19: Star Trails and Lightning over the Pyrenees
2022 September 18: Analemma over the Callanish Stones
2022 September 17: Perseverance in Jezero Crater s Delta
2022 September 16: The Tarantula Zone
2022 September 15: Harvest Moon over Sicily
2022 September 14: Waves of the Great Lacerta Nebula
2022 September 13: A Long Snaking Filament on the Sun

September 14 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1752 Britain and the British Empire (including the American colonies) adopt the Gregorian calendar (no Sept 3 – Sept 13)

1936 1st prefrontal lobotomy in America performed by Walter Freeman and James W. Watts at George Washington University Hospital in Washington D.C.

1939 World’s 1st practical helicopter, the VS-300 designed by Igor Sikorsky takes (tethered) flight in Stratford, Connecticut

1949 India’s Constituent Assembly adopts Hindi as an official language. Celebrated today as Hindi Day.

1956 IBM introduces the RAMAC 305, 1st commercial computer with a hard drive that uses magnetic disk storage, weighs over a ton

1960 Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi-Arabia and Venezuela form the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

2020 Astronomers report possible sign of life on Venus, after detecting phosphine in planets’s atmosphere by telescope [1]

2021 1 in 500 Americans have died of COVID-19 as the nation’s known death toll reaches 663,913 (Johns Hopkins) [1]

Today’s Historical Events

81 Domitian becomes Emperor of the Roman Empire upon the death of his brother Titus

786 Harun al-Rashid becomes the Abbasid caliph upon the death of his brother Al-Hadi

891 Stephen V’s reign as Catholic Pope end with his death, succeeded a few weeks later by Pope Formosus

1163 Pastor Frederik forms convent at Mariengaarde Friesland

1180 Minamoto no Yoritomo led force of 300 defeated at Battle of Ishibashiyama in Japan

1515 Battle at Marignano ends after two days in a French and Venetian victory over a Swiss army

1607 Flight of the Earls from Lough Swilly, Donegal, Ireland

1629 Siege of ‘s-Hertogenbosch: Spanish garrison surrenders to Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1958 WTAE TV channel 4 in Pittsburgh, PA (ABC) begins broadcasting

1959 WQEX TV channel 16 in Pittsburgh, PA (PBS) begins broadcasting

1960 KERA TV channel 13 in Dallas, TX (PBS) begins broadcasting

1964 WCVE TV channel 23 in Richmond, VA (PBS) begins broadcasting

1964 Walt Disney awarded Medal of Freedom at White House

1965 Western sitcom “F-Troop” premieres in the US on ABC

1972 “The Waltons” TV program premieres on CBS starring Richard Thomas, Ralph Waite, Michael Learned, and Will Geer

1979 The film “Quadrophenia”, loosely based on The Who’s 1973 rock opera of the same name, is released.

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1741 George Frideric Handel finishes his “Messiah” oratorio after working on it non-stop for 23 days

1954 Benjamin Britten‘s opera ‘Turn of the Screw’ premieres in Venice

1955 Little Richard records “Tutti Frutti” at J & M Studio in New Orleans, Louisiana

1960 Dmitri Shostakovich becomes member of Communist Party of USSR

1968 Dmitri Shostakovich‘ 12th string quartet, premieres in Moscow

1968 While on tour in England, a fire at singer Roy Orbison’s Henderson, Tennessee home kills the two eldest of his three sons

1980 “Charlie & Algernon” opens at Helen Hayes Theater NYC for 17 performances

1984 1st MTV Video Music Awards: The Cars win with “You Might Think”, and David Bowie wins with “China Girl”

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1865 British Open Men’s Golf, Prestwick GC: Scotsman Andrew Strath wins his first title; beats 2-time champion Willie Park Sr. by 2 strokes

1913 Cubs Larry Cheney hurls record 14-hit shutout against Giants (7-0)

1916 Christy Mathewson pitches & wins his final game

1923 In his 4th heavyweight boxing title defence Jack Dempsey recovers after being sent through the ropes to KO Argentine challenger Luis Firpo in the 2nd round at the Polo Grounds, NYC

1923 Red Sox 1st baseman George Burns pulls off an unassisted triple play

1924 Walter Johnson selected as the American League MVP

1929 A’s clinch AL pennant with a 5-0 win over White Sox

1929 US National Championship Men’s Tennis, Forest Hills NY: Bill Tilden wins 7th US title; beats Francis Hunter 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4

September 13 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

509 BC The temple of Jupiter on Rome’s Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September

335 Church of Holy Sepulchre consecrated in Jerusalem

1224 Francis of Assisi is afflicted with stigmata after a vision praying on Mount Verna

1501 Michelangelo begins work on his Statue of David, a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture

1845 English chemist Michael Faraday discovers the ‘Faraday effect’, the influence of a magnetic field on polarized light

1847 American-Mexican war: US General Winfield Scott captures Mexico City

1993 Public unveiling of the Oslo Accords, an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement initiated by Norway, signed by Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Shimon Peres and PLO official Mahmoud Abbas

Today’s Historical Events

509 BC The temple of Jupiter on Rome’s Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September

122 Building begins on Hadrian‘s Wall, Northern England

335 Church of Holy Sepulchre consecrated in Jerusalem

533 General Belisarius of the Byzantine Empire defeats Gelimer and the Vandals at the Battle of Ad Decimium, near Carthage, North Africa

604 Sabinian begins his reign as Pope replacing Pope Gregory the Great

1125 Duke Lotharius of Supplinburg crowned as German king Lotharius III

1224 Francis of Assisi is afflicted with stigmata after a vision praying on Mount Verna

1440 Gilles de Rais is finally taken into custody upon an accusation brought against him by the Bishop of Nantes.

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1947 WPVI TV channel 6 in Philadelphia, PA (ABC) begins broadcasting

1953 KGTV TV channel 10 in San Diego, CA (ABC/NBC) begins broadcasting

1954 WPBN TV channel 7 in Traverse City, MI (NBC) begins broadcasting

1964 WKEF TV channel 22 in Dayton, OH (NBC) begins broadcasting

1969 “Scooby-Doo Where are You” by Hanna-Barbera debuts on CBS in the US

1971 WIIQ TV channel 41 in Demopolis, AL (PBS) begins broadcasting

1973 ABC announces it obtained TV rights for 1976 Olympics

1973 US Congress passes & sends a bill to President Nixon to lift NFL football’s television blackout of sold out games

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1947 T-Bone Walker records his biggest hit “Call it Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)” in Hollywood, California

1965 Beatles release single “Yesterday” – just Paul, with a strings arranged by George Martin

1965 Beatles win 1st Grammy, for Best Group of 1964

1969 Plastic Ono Band’s 1st live performance, featuring John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Eric Clapton, the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival festival

1985 2nd MTV Video Music Awards: Bruce Springsteen

1989 “Les Miserables” opens at Fisher Theatre, Detroit

1994 “Ready To Die” debut studio album by The Notorious B.I.G. released

1997 Elton John releases “Candle in the Wind 1997”, a tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales in the UK

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1866 British Open Men’s Golf, Prestwick GC: Willie Park Sr. wins his 3rd title; beats his brother Davie Park by 2 strokes

1872 British Open Men’s Golf, Prestwick GC: Tom Morris, Jr. wins 4th consecutive title; beats fellow Scot Davie Strath by 3 strokes

1883 Hugh Daily, a one-armed pitcher for Cleveland (Forest City), tosses 1-0 no-hitter against Philadelphia

1902 Chicago Cubs infielders Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, & Frank Chance appear together as teammates for 1st time, creating the famed double-play combination of “Tinker to Evers to Chance”

1907 Canadian Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU) forms with merge of Hamilton Tigers, Toronto Argonauts (ORFU) and Ottawa Rough Riders, Montreal FC (QRFU)

1909 Ty Cobb clinches AL HR title with his 9th HR (all inside-the-park)

1910 Regina Rugby Club forms

1924 19th Davis Cup: USA beats Australia in Philadelphia (5-0)

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Here is the list for the astronomy pictures of the day from September 1 to September 12, 2022. I will go back to posting them on their day starting tomorrow.

2022 September 12: Red Sprite Lightning over the Czech Republic
2022 September 11: Planets of the Solar System: Tilts and Spins
2022 September 10: Galaxy by the Lake
2022 September 09: Interstellar Voyager
2022 September 08: North America and the Pelican
2022 September 07: Tarantula Stars R136 from Webb
2022 September 06: An Iridescent Pileus Cloud over China
2022 September 05: Carina Cliffs from the Webb Space Telescope
2022 September 04: Sea and Sky Glows over the Oregon Coast
2022 September 03: Sun and Moon and ISS
2022 September 02: M51: The Whirlpool Galaxy
2022 September 01: The Tulip and Cygnus X-1

September 12 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1758 French astronomer Charles Messier mistakenly identifies the Crab Nebula so begins his Messier Catalogue

1909 World’s first patent for synthetic rubber granted to German chemist Fritz Hofmann

1933 Leó Szilárd, waiting for a red light on Southampton Row in Bloomsbury, conceives idea of a nuclear chain reaction

1940 Four teens, following their dog down a hole near Lascaux, France discover 17,000 year old drawings now known as the Lascaux Cave Paintings

1958 US Supreme Court orders the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas to integrate

1959 Luna 2 launched by USSR; 1st spacecraft to impact on the Moon

Today’s Historical Events

490 BC Traditional date of the Battle of Marathon, where a small Athenian force defeats the Persian Empire

1015 Henry I becomes Count of Leuven

1213 Battle at Muret: Crusade of Simon de Montfort beat Pedro II of Aragon

1217 French prince Louis & English King Henry III sign peace treaty

1229 Aragonese army led by James I of Aragon disembarks at Santa Ponça, Majorca, to conquer the island

1396 Crusaders under earl of Nevers reaches Nicopolis

1543 Treaty of Venlo signed by Duke Willem of Gulik and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V during Italian Wars

1624 1st submarine publicly tested in London on the Thames for King James I

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1928 Katharine Hepburn‘s NYC stage debut in “Night Hostess”

1934 “L’Atalante”, French film directed by Jean Vigo, starring Michel Simon, Dita Parlo and Jean Dasté, is released

1952 Noël Coward‘s “Quadrille,” premieres in London

1954 WLBZ TV channel 2 in Bangor, ME (NBC) begins broadcasting

1955 KNTV TV channel 11 in San Jose, CA (ABC) begins broadcasting

1959 “Bonanza” premieres on NBC-TV

1963 WHYY TV channel 12 in Wilmington, DE (PBS) begins broadcasting

1964 Film that started Spaghetti Western genre “A Fistful of Dollars” premieres, directed by Sergio Leone, starring Clint Eastwood in his first leading role

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1910 Gustav Mahler’s 8th Symphony (“Symphony of A Thousand”) premieres in Munich with 1028 musicians

1927 Sigmund Romberg’s musical “My Maryland,” premieres in NYC

1953 “Carnival in Flanders” closes at New Century Theater NYC after 6 performances

1960 “Vintage ’60” opens at Brooks Atkinson Theatre NYC for 8 performances

1975 Pink Floyd releases their ninth album “Wish You Were Here”

1984 Cyndi Lauper sings “She-Bop” on The Tonight Show

1990 “Les Miserables,” opens at Cirkus Theater, Stockholm

1994 American country singer-songwriter George Jones undergoes successful triple bypass surgery

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1885 Highest score (35) recorded in any 1st-class soccer match is set

1895 Defender (US) beats Valkyrie III (England) in 10th America’s Cup

1895 Annie Londonderry [Annie Kopchovsky] arrives in Chicago to complete first round-the-world trip by a woman on a bicycle in 15 months and collects her $10,000 prize

1911 Future Baseball Hall of Fame pitchers dual for final time; Boston Rustlers’ Cy Young vs Christy Mathewson of the Giants; NY wins, 11-2

1914 Yankee shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh, 23, becomes youngest manager

1920 VII Summer Olympic Games close in Antwerp, Belgium

1922 Paavo Nurmi runs world record 5000m (14:35.4)

1924 International Lawn Tennis Challenge, Philadelphia, PA: Bill Johnston & Bill Tilden clinch US 5th straight title beating Australians Pat O’Hara Wood & Gerald Patterson 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 for 3-0 lead; ends 5-0

August 30 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1146 European leaders outlaw the crossbow, intending to end war for all time

1363 Beginning of the Battle of Lake Poyang; two Chinese rebel leaders Chen Youliang and Zhu Yuanzhang are pitted against each other in what was one of the largest naval battles in history during Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty

1590 Tokugawa Ieyasu enters Edo Castle (Traditional Japanese date: August 1, 1590)

1682 William Penn leaves England to sail to the New World

1862 Second Battle of Bull Run in Manassas, Virginia, ends with a Confederate victory over Union forces

1914 Battle of Tannenberg (WWI) in East Prussia ends in destruction of the Russian Second Army with 122,000-170,000 killed, injured or captured by the German 8th Army led by Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff

1928 Jawaharlal Nehru requests independence of India

Today’s Historical Events

257 St Sixtus II begins his reign as Catholic Pope

1125 Duke Lotharius of Supplinburg elected king of Germany

1146 European leaders outlaw the crossbow, intending to end war for all time

1363 Beginning of the Battle of Lake Poyang; two Chinese rebel leaders Chen Youliang and Zhu Yuanzhang are pitted against each other in what was one of the largest naval battles in history during Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty

1464 Pietro Barbo elected to succeed Pope Pius II as Pope Paul II

1481 2 Latvian monarchs executed for conspiracy to Polish king Casimir IV

1563 Jewish community of Neutitschlin, Moravia, expelled

1574 Ram Das becomes the 4th Sikh Guru

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1949 WTVN (now WSYX) TV channel 6 in Columbus, OH (ABC) begins broadcasting

1966 American medical drama series “Dr. Kildare”, starring Richard Chamberlain and Raymond Massey, ends a five season run on NBC-TV

1971 WNPI TV channel 18 in Norwood, NY (PBS) begins broadcasting

1976 Tom Brokaw becomes news anchor of NBC’s “Today Show”

1983 Elizabeth R. Zakarian (Devon Pierce), 17 of NY, crowned 1st Miss Teen USA

1983 Philadelphia TV station WKBS-TV (channel 48) ends broadcasting after surrendering its license to the FCC, the first do so in at least 10 years. Parent company Field Enterprises Inc. was unable to find a buyer. [1]

1986 43rd Venice Film Festival: “Le rayon vert” directed by Eric Rohmer wins Golden Lion

1993 “Late Show with David Letterman” debuts on CBS, from the Ed Sullivan Theater in NYC; Bill Murray is his first guest, Billy Joel performs

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1751 George Frideric Handel completes oratorio “Jephtha”

1945 Dmitri Shostakovich completes his 9th Symphony

1968 1st record released on Apple label in UK is The Beatles single “Hey Jude”

1969 120,000 attend Texas International Pop Festival

1972 John Lennon and Yoko Ono‘s “One on One” benefit shows (matinee and evening) for children at Madison Square Garden, New York, his final full concert performance

1973 Drummer Danny Seiwell quits rock band Wings, which he co-founded with Paul McCartney

1992 “2 Trains Running” closes at Walter Kerr Theater NYC after 160 performances

1992 “Most Happy Fella” closes at Booth Theater NYC after 229 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1887 US National Championship Men’s Tennis, Newport R.I.: Richard Sears wins 7th straight US singles title; beats Henry Slocum 6-1, 6-3, 6-2

1892 US National Championship Men’s Tennis, Newport, R.I.: Three straight US singles titles to Oliver Campbell; beats Fred Hovey 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5

1904 Thomas Hicks wins 3rd Olympics marathon (3:28:53.0) (40 km)

1905 Detroit Tigers future Baseball HOF center fielder Ty Cobb makes his MLB debut, doubling off Jack Chesbro in a 5-3 win over the NY Highlanders at Bennett Park, Detroit

1906 Hal Chase becomes 1st NY Yankee to hit three triples in a game

1910 Yank Tom Hughes pitches 9 no-hit innings but loses to Cleveland 5-0 in 11

1912 St Louis Brown Earl Hamilton no-hits Detroit Tigers, 5-1

1913 Phillies lead Giants 8-6 in top of 9th, fans in bleachers try to distract Giants, Umpire forefeits game to Giants, later overruled

August 29 Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2022 August 29

The Horsehead Nebula Region without Stars

Image Credit & Copyright: George Chatzifrantzis

Explanation: The famous Horsehead Nebula in Orion is not alone. A deep exposure shows that the dark familiar shaped indentation, visible just right of center, is part of a vast complex of absorbing dust and glowing gas. The featured spectacular picture details an intricate tapestry of gaseous wisps and dust-laden filaments that were created and sculpted over eons by stellar winds and ancient supernovas. The Flame Nebula is visible in orange just to the Horsehead’s left. To highlight the dust and gas, most of the stars have been digitally removed, although a notable exception is Alnitak, just above the Flame Nebula, which is the rightmost star in Orion’s famous belt of three aligned stars. The Horsehead Nebula lies 1,500 light years distant towards the constellation of Orion.

 

NASA Coverage: Artemis I Mission to the Moon
Teachers & Students: Ideas for utilizing APOD in the classroom

List of Astronomy Pictures of the Day from All of 2022 to Date

If you would like to catch up on all the Astronomy Picture of the Day from January 1 to August 28, 2022 you can click on this link From apodNASA.gov