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User:Trödel

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Today's featured article

Virgo interferometer

The Virgo interferometer is a large-scale scientific instrument near Pisa, Italy, for detecting gravitational waves. The detector measures minuscule length variations in its two 3-kilometre (1.9-mile) arms induced by the passage of gravitational waves. The project, named after the Virgo galaxy cluster, was first approved in 1992 and construction was completed in 2003. After undergoing important upgrades between 2011 and 2016 (during which LIGO made the first detection of gravitational waves), Virgo made its first detection on 14 August 2017. This was followed by the detection of GW170817, the only gravitational wave also observed with classical methods (optical, gamma-ray, X-ray and radio telescopes) as of 2024. Virgo is managed by the Virgo Collaboration, gathering 940 members in 20 countries, in cooperation with similar detectors such as LIGO and KAGRA. (Full article...)

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Pumori

Pumori is a mountain on the China–Nepal border in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. Its peak lies at an elevation of 7,165 metres (23,507 feet) above sea level. Located 8 kilometres (5 miles) west of Mount Everest, it is sometimes known as "Everest's daughter"; the name Pumori, meaning 'the mountain daughter' in the Sherpa language, was coined by the mountaineer George Mallory. Pumori is a popular climbing peak, the easiest route being graded class 3, although with significant avalanche danger. Pumori was first climbed in 1962 by a German–Swiss expedition.

Photograph credit: Vyacheslav Argenberg

Catherine Grand

Catherine Grand (1761–1835) was a French courtesan and noblewoman. Born in India as the daughter of a French East India Company officer, she married George Grand, an officer of the English East India Company. After her marriage, she had a scandalous liaison with Bengal councillor Philip Francis in Calcutta. Her husband sent her to Paris, where she became a popular courtesan, having relationships with several powerful men, and was known as Madame Grand. She became the mistress and later the wife of French diplomat Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, the first prime minister of France. This 1783 oil-on-canvas portrait of Grand was painted by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun. It was exhibited at the Salon of the Royal Academy in Paris the same year, as one of at least ten portraits submitted by Le Brun, and was favourably received. The painting is now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Painting credit: Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun

Oak eggar

The oak eggar (Lasiocampa quercus) is a common moth in the family Lasiocampidae found in Europe and northern and western parts of Asia. The larvae feed on a wide variety of plant species, low down, including blackthorn, hawthorn, viburnum, dogwood, ivy and ling, but are not known to feed on oak. They can be infected by baculoviruses, which change their behaviour and cause them to climb out of the protection of low scrub and leave them open to predation, facilitating the spread of infection. Oak eggar larvae eventually pupate on the ground inside a silken cocoon, the exterior of which is hard and yellowish, and resembles an acorn, from which the common name "oak eggar" is derived. This oak eggar larva in the form of a fourth-instar caterpillar, with a body length of 53 millimetres (2.1 inches), was photographed on a branch in Keila, Estonia. The photograph was focus-stacked from 59 separate images.

Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus

Vaduz Cathedral

Vaduz Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of St. Florin, is a neo-Gothic church in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, and the centre of the Archdiocese of Vaduz. Originally a parish church, it has held the status of cathedral since 1997. The church was built in 1874 by Friedrich von Schmidt on the site of earlier medieval foundations. Its patron saint is Florinus of Remüs (Florin), a 9th-century saint of the Vinschgau valley. This photograph shows the nave and choir of the cathedral.

Photograph credit: A.Savin

Principles

Religion in Society

There is a great disconnect between how athiests and religionist view the proper place for religion in the public square. Briefly, atheists (usually) want no religion in the public square, and religionists want equal access (non-denominational) to the public square and view athiesm as just one other "religion" that needs access.

Wikipedia's Reputation

I've been thinking about this key principle: "[What] reliable sources ... have in common is process and approval between document creation and publication." This is also the key to Wikipedia's reliability and reputation. The core principles of neutrality and verifiability along with the standards for articles (featured/good/etc) and the implicit approval of every person who reads an article and makes no changes to it.

Intellectual Property

We (Americans) often "borrow" other people's intellectual property because the transaction method (i.e. limited use permission) does not exist and can not be created without the transaction cost exceeding the value of the permission (which is close to $0.00 in most cases) so we keep using other's work, and they don't sue us.

Committed identity: 958be6e36eac42126fb635b1513ec54d is a MD5 commitment to this user's real-life identity.

Alec Guinness edit that claims he believed Star Wars would be a big hit