Wikipedia:Main Page history/2014 February 11

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Perseus is a constellation in the northern sky named after the Greek mythological hero Perseus. It was one of 48 listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy and is among the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union. It is located in the northern celestial hemisphere near several other constellations named after legends surrounding Perseus, including Andromeda and Cassiopeia. The galactic plane of the Milky Way passes through Perseus but is mostly obscured by molecular clouds. The constellation's brightest star is the yellow-white supergiant Alpha Persei, which shines at magnitude 1.79. It and many surrounding stars are members of the Alpha Persei Cluster. The best-known star is Algol, an eclipsing binary linked with ominous legends because of its variability, which is noticeable to the naked eye. Other notable features in Perseus include X Persei (a binary system containing a neutron star), GK Persei (a nova that peaked at magnitude 0.2 in 1901), the Double Cluster (comprised of two open clusters near each other in the sky), and the Perseus Cluster (a massive galaxy cluster). Perseus also hosts the radiant of the annual Perseids meteor shower. (Full article...)

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... that the Art Deco building for studying Atlantis (interior pictured) in Bremen had a crucifix, but with Odin on it?
... that Norwegian cross-country skier Finn Hågen Krogh was promised a spot in the individual sprint in the 2014 Winter Olympics but was controversially dropped 8 days later?
... that Rita Lenihan wrote the Latin motto for the WAVES and would later become their Director?
... that in the years since the Greenback Depot closed in 1954, it has been used for fertilizer storage, an antique shop, and a boat manufacturer's offices?
... that Jamie McDonald ran 5,000 miles across Canada dressed as comic book hero The Flash?
... that when astronomer Lacaille originally charted the constellation Caelum, it was recognized as an "engraver's chisel"?
... that after Harry C. Foster's expulsion in 1916, no one was expelled from the Massachusetts House of Representatives until 2014?

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The earliest human footprints outside Africa are discovered in the United Kingdom.
The Winter Olympics open (pictured) in Sochi, Russia.
In American football, the Seattle Seahawks defeat the Denver Broncos to win Super Bowl XLVIII.
Academy Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman dies at the age of 46.
India's first monorail since independence, the Mumbai Monorail, is inaugurated.
Two previously unknown poems written by seventh-century BC Greek poet Sappho are discovered.

Recent deaths: Ralph Kiner – Maximilian Schell – Arthur Rankin, Jr.

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February 11: National Foundation Day in Japan

660 BC – According to tradition, Emperor Jimmu founded Japan and established his capital in Yamato.
1826 – University College London (Main Building pictured) was founded as the first secular university in England.
1929 – To help settle the "Roman Question", Italy and the Holy See of the Roman Catholic Church signed the Lateran Treaty to establish Vatican City as an independent sovereign enclave within Italy.
1968 – After two black employees were killed on the job, about 1,300 black sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee, US, began a strike that lasted over two months.
1990 – Anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela, a political prisoner for 27 years, was released from Victor Verster Prison near Paarl, South Africa.

More anniversaries: February 10 – February 11 – February 12

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It is now February 11, 2014 (UTC) – Reload this page

Volvariella bombycina is a species of edible mushroom in the family Pluteaceae. Though uncommon, it is widespread, often growing singly or in clusters in old knotholes and wounds in elms and maples.

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