Wikipedia:Main Page history/2014 July 21

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Leo Major and Leo Minor

Leo Minor is a small and faint constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere. Its name is Latin for "the smaller lion", in contrast to Leo, the larger lion (19th-century illustration of both pictured). It lies between the larger and more recognizable Ursa Major to the north and Leo to the south. Leo Minor was not regarded as a separate constellation by classical astronomers; it was designated by Johannes Hevelius in 1687. There are 37 stars brighter than apparent magnitude 6.5 in the constellation; three are brighter than magnitude 4.5. 46 Leonis Minoris, an orange giant of magnitude 3.8, is located some 95 light-years from Earth. At magnitude 4.4, Beta Leonis Minoris is the second brightest star and the only one in the constellation with a Bayer designation. It is a binary star, the brighter component of which is an orange giant and the fainter a yellow-white main sequence star. The third brightest star is 21 Leonis Minoris, a rapidly rotating white main-sequence star of average magnitude 4.5. The constellation also includes two stars with planetary systems, two pairs of interacting galaxies, and the unique deep-sky object Hanny's Voorwerp. (Full article...)

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July 21: National Day in Belgium (1831); Marine Day in Japan (2014)

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A photograph of two grey benches facing a short stone wall with metal plaques on top all in front of a large number of trees under a bright sky

Between 1942 and 1978, a total of 22 Australians were decorated with the George Cross (GC), the highest civil decoration for heroism in the United Kingdom and in several countries comprising the Commonwealth of Nations. Fourteen of these medals were awarded directly: nine to military personnel and five to civilians. At the time of the institution of the GC, living recipients of the Empire Gallantry Medal automatically became recipients of the new award, and were required to return their previous medal; two Australians became GC holders through this method. In 1971, when the British Government announced that living recipients of the Albert Medal would be invited to exchange their medals for the GC, six of the 27 Australian holders of the Albert Medal were living and all opted to exchange their insignia for the GC. Australians received the GC under the Imperial honours system until the establishment of the Australian honours system in 1975. One further award of the GC, however, was granted after this date to Constable Michael Kenneth Pratt in 1978. (Full list...)

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Beppe Grillo

Beppe Grillo (b. 1948) is an Italian comedian, actor, blogger and political activist who established the Five Star Movement in 2009. Born in Genoa, Grillo became well-known as a comic through several television shows in the 1980s, but following jokes which attacked the corruption of the Italian Socialist Party and its leader Bettino Craxi he was banned from television. Grillo continued to tour as a comedian while speaking out against corruption and banking scandals, and in 2005 Time named him a European hero.

Photograph: Niccolò Caranti

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