Wikipedia:Main Page history/2015 September 25

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From today's featured article

The Eagle Nebula, located in Serpens

Serpens is a constellation of the northern hemisphere, representing a serpent. One of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, it remains one of the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union. It is unique among the modern constellations in being split into two non-contiguous parts, the head (Serpens Caput) to the west and the tail (Serpens Cauda) to the east. Between these two halves lies the constellation of Ophiuchus, the "Serpent-Bearer", with the body of the serpent passing behind Ophiuchus. The brightest star in Serpens is the red giant star Alpha Serpentis, with an apparent magnitude of 2.63. The Eagle Nebula and its associated cluster (pictured) are located in Serpens, as is the nearby star-forming region Westerhout 40. Extragalactic objects in Serpens include Seyfert's Sextet, one of the densest galaxy clusters known; Arp 220, the prototypical ultraluminous infrared galaxy; and Hoag's Object, the most famed of the rare ring galaxies. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Giant basket star

... that the giant basket star (pictured) climbs to an elevated position and spreads its arms to "fish"?
... that at age 70, music conductor Rolf Beck is still active with choral academies he founded, presenting Carmina Burana in Brazil and Bach motets at the Rheingau Musik Festival?
... that Adventures in Stationery was described by one reviewer as "high-class pornography for the stationery enthusiast"?
... that the first geothermal energy project in Chile has been planned at the Apacheta-Aguilucho volcanic complex?
... that the ornithologist Joseph Bryan Nelson spent a year living in a tent on the Galápagos Islands, where he was visited by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh?
... that the YouTube trailer of Friends with Benefits attracted over a million views in 48 hours, becoming the most viewed video in the film category?
... that in the 10th century BC, King Zhao of the Chinese Zhou dynasty drowned during his disastrous campaign against the state of Chu?
... that David Greenglass was part of a spy ring that included his sister and brother-in-law Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, who were later executed for espionage?

In the news

Martin Winterkorn

A stampede during the Hajj pilgrimage at Mecca, Saudi Arabia, kills more than 700 people and injures at least 800 others.
Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn (pictured) resigns after company officials admit widespread rigging of diesel emissions test results.
A U.S. federal judge rules that the copyright to "Happy Birthday to You", claimed by Warner/Chappell Music, is invalid.
More than 100 people are killed in a series of bombings across Borno State, Nigeria.
Syriza wins a plurality in the Greek legislative election.
Japan's upper chamber of parliament approves legislation allowing use of Japanese military forces outside Japan for the first time since World War II.

Ongoing events:
- European migrant crisis
Recent deaths:

On this day...

September 25

Peking opera performer

275 – After the assassination of Aurelian, Tacitus was chosen by the Senate to succeed him as Roman emperor.
1790 – Peking opera (performer pictured) was born when the Four Great Anhui Troupes introduced Anhui opera to Beijing in honor of the Qianlong Emperor's eightieth birthday.
1911 – An explosion of badly degraded propellant charges on board the French battleship Liberté detonated the forward ammunition magazines and destroyed the ship.
1964 – Unrest and frustration amongst many indigenous Mozambican populations against Portuguese rule erupted in a war for independence that lasted ten years.
1983 – In one of the largest prison escapes in British history, 38 Provisional Irish Republican Army prisoners hijacked a prison meals lorry and smashed their way out of HM Prison Maze in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

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From today's featured list

D-Day in Normandy: U.S. troops wading through water and German gunfire. The picture is titled Into the Jaws of Death.

The United States Army designated certain "campaigns" of World War II. These campaigns were the basis of campaign streamers awarded to units and campaign medals awarded to servicemen. In all, the Army designated forty-four campaigns as such. There were twenty-four campaigns in the Asiatic–Pacific Theater, nineteen in the European–African–Middle Eastern Theater, and one in the American Theater. In addition, there were also three "blanket campaigns": air combat, ground combat, and anti-submarine combat. The blanket campaigns were designated in all theaters except the American Theater, where only one was designated, anti-submarine warfare. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

The Iberian midwife toad (Alytes cisternasii) is a species of frog in the family Alytidae found in Portugal and western Spain. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, intermittent rivers and freshwater marshes, pastureland, and aquaculture ponds. The species is affected by habitat loss, and the IUCN lists it as being "Near Threatened".

Photograph: Benny Trapp

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