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Explore major historical events from today or any day on Kudos 365.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Tidally locked in synchronous rotation, the Moon always presents its familiar nearside to denizens of planet Earth. From lunar orbit, the Moon's farside can become familiar, though. In fact this sharp picture, a mosaic from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's wide angle camera, is centered on the lunar farside. Part of a global mosaic of over 15,000 images acquired between November 2009 and February 2011, the highest resolution version shows features at a scale of 100 meters per pixel. Surprisingly, the rough and battered surface of the farside looks very different from the nearside covered with smooth dark lunar maria. A likely explanation is that the farside crust is thicker, making it harder for molten material from the interior to flow to the surface and form dark, smooth maria.

MG PA-based racer with a 1300cc six-cylinder engine, in the historic paddock of the Nürburgring before closed boxes. The license plate is modified. Event: DAMC 05 Oldtimer Festival 2008.

Spurzem – Lothar Spurzem (edited by Alchemist-hp), CC BY-SA 2.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Big beautiful barred spiral galaxy Messier 109 is the 109th entry in Charles Messier's famous catalog of bright Nebulae and Star Clusters. You can find it just below the Big Dipper's bowl in the northern constellation Ursa Major. In fact, bright dipper star Phecda, Gamma Ursa Majoris, produces the glare at the upper right corner of this telescopic frame. M109's prominent central bar gives the galaxy the appearance of the Greek letter "theta", θ, a common mathematical symbol representing an angle. M109 spans a very small angle in planet Earth's sky though, about 7 arcminutes or 0.12 degrees. But that small angle corresponds to an enormous 120,000 light-year diameter at the galaxy's estimated 60 million light-year distance. The brightest member of the now recognized Ursa Major galaxy cluster, M109 (aka NGC 3992) is joined by spiky foreground stars. Three small, fuzzy bluish galaxies also on the scene, identified (top to bottom) as UGC 6969, UGC 6940 and UGC 6923, are possibly satellite galaxies of the larger barred spiral galaxy Messier 109.

Photo by Robert Eder

An image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at the center of a rose window in Santa Ifigênia Church São Paulo, Brazil. Today is the Feast of the Sacred Heart in the Roman Catholic Church.

Wilfredor, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

An interstellar expanse of glowing gas and obscuring dust presents a bird-like visage to astronomers from planet Earth, suggesting its popular moniker, the Seagull Nebula. This broadband portrait of the cosmic bird covers a 3.5-degree wide swath across the plane of the Milky Way, in the direction of Sirius, alpha star of the constellation of the Big Dog (Canis Major). The bright head of the Seagull Nebula is cataloged as IC 2177, a compact, dusty emission and reflection nebula with embedded massive star HD 53367. The larger emission region, encompassing objects with other catalog designations, is Likely part of an extensive shell structure swept up by successive supernova explosions. The notable bluish arc below and right of center is a bow shock from runaway star FN Canis Majoris. Dominated by the reddish glow of atomic hydrogen, this complex of interstellar gas and dust clouds with other stars of the Canis Majoris OB1 association spans over 200 light-years at the Seagull Nebula's estimated 3,800 light-year distance.

Photo by Timothy Martin

Gimbap, a Korean dish made from cooked rice, vegetables, fish, and meat.

changupn, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

Chauncey Mitchell Depew (1834 – 1928) was an American lawyer, businessman, attorney and politician. He served for two terms as United States Senator from New York and was well know for his wit and as an orator and after dinner speaker. He did work for Cornelius Vanderbilt, as an attorney and as president of the New York Central Railroad System. Read more