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Today's featured article Hurricane Nate was an Atlantic hurricane that threatened Bermuda but remained at sea during early September 2005. The fourteenth named storm and seventh hurricane of the 2005 season, Hurricane Nate formed to the southwest of Bermuda on September 5 and initially moved very slowly to the northeast. Early forecasts suggested a possible threat to the island, but Nate passed well to the south on September 8 as a Category 1 hurricane. After moving away from the island, wind shear increased and the storm moved into cooler waters, causing it to weaken into a tropical storm before becoming extratropical on September 10. The storm was later absorbed by a larger weather system. The storm caused no reported damage although one death was reported off the New Jersey coast due to related rip currents. Nate dropped light rainfall and produced gusty winds on the island of Bermuda. The remnants of Nate and Hurricane Maria contributed to heavy rainfall in Western Norway that triggered a mudslide, killing one person. Canadian Navy ships en route to the U.S. Gulf Coast, carrying relief supplies to assist in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, were slowed while trying to avoid Hurricanes Nate and Ophelia. (more...) Recently featured: Vijayanagara Empire – Cartman Gets an Anal Probe – Prince Louis of Battenberg Did you know... From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the rock scallop (pictured) has an orange mantle and blue eyes? ... that 76-year-old Muslim rocker Laila Sari performs in a headscarf? ... that the Darmstadt Windspiel, a German sailplane which set a 1934 world distance record, was silk covered and weighed less than its pilots? ... that Rhino made his surprise debut for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling at their 2005 No Surrender pay-per-view event? ... that among the displays at the 1914 Jubilee Exhibition in Kristiania were locomotives, a farm, an African village and a ski collection? ... that the Adriatic Sea receives one third of freshwater flowing into the Mediterranean? ... that Don Eigler shared the 2010 Kavli Prize in Nanoscience for using a scanning tunneling microscope tip to arrange 35 xenon atoms to spell out the letters "IBM"?

In the news Mohammed Waheed Hassan (pictured) is sworn in as President of the Maldives following the resignation of Mohamed Nasheed. An earthquake off the coast of Negros Oriental, Philippines, kills 81 people and causes extensive damage. Russian scientists reportedly reach Lake Vostok, a body of water isolated under the Antarctic ice shield, after drilling a borehole 12,362 feet (3,768 m) deep. Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador, who tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug, is stripped of his 2010 Tour de France and 2011 Giro d'Italia victories and banned from competition for two years. Sauli Niinistö of the National Coalition Party is elected President of Finland. On this day... February 9 1825 – After no presidential candidate received a majority of electoral votes, the U.S. House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams (pictured) president. 1913 – A group of meteors was visible across much of the eastern seaboard of North and South America, leading astronomers to conclude that the source had been a small, short-lived natural satellite of the Earth. 1945 – World War II: HMS Venturer sank U-864 in history's only incident where one submarine has intentionally sunk another while both were fully submerged. 1959 – The Soviet R-7 Semyorka, the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile, became fully operational. 1971 – A 6.6 Mw earthquake struck the northern San Fernando Valley near the Los Angeles district of Sylmar, killing 65 people. More anniversaries: February 8 – February 9 – February 10 It is now February 9, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture A panoramic view of Brandenburg an der Havel, a town in the state of Brandenburg, Germany, located on the banks of the River Havel. The town was founded by the Hevelli, a tribe of Polabian Slavs, in the 8th century, and changed hands between Germans and Slavs several times. Development was restricted to the western bank of the Havel until 1196, when it was extended to the eastern side, although the two portions were regarded as separate towns until 1715. Photo: Mathias Krumbholz Recently featured: Odd-eyed cat – The Wave by William-Adolphe Bouguereau – Butterfly magnification series

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