Wikipedia:Main Page history/2022 January 10

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

Diagram of Ursa Minor's seven main stars

Ursa Minor (Little Bear) is a constellation in the northern sky. In North America, it is also known as the Little Dipper since its seven main stars appear to form a ladle shape (diagram pictured). One of 88 modern constellations, it was also one of 48 listed by 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy. Polaris, its brightest star, is currently less than one degree away from the north celestial pole. Because this position stays nearly fixed as the Earth rotates, the star has been important for navigation, particularly by mariners. Polaris is a yellow-white supergiant and the brightest Cepheid variable star, ranging in apparent magnitude ( $m$ ) from 1.97 to 2.00. Beta Ursae Minoris, also known as Kochab, has swollen and cooled to become an orange giant with a slightly fainter $m$ of 2.08. Ursa Minor also contains an isolated neutron star—Calvera—and H1504+65, the hottest known white dwarf, with a surface temperature of 200,000 K. Planets have been detected orbiting four of its stars, including Kochab. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know ...

Ladoga Skerries National Park

... that Ladoga Skerries National Park (pictured) in Russia has more than 350 species of various liverworts, hornworts and mosses?
... that Surinamese trade unionist Louis Doedel was involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital by the governor-general for 43 years?
... that the 1999 video game Interplay Sports Baseball Edition 2000 used a public-address announcer while its rivals were switching to two commentators as featured on real MLB game broadcasts?
... that Austrian master metalsmith Cyril Colnik chose to close his shop rather than make armaments for World War I?
... that The New-England Courant has been noted as the first newspaper to publish a writing by Benjamin Franklin?
... that British architect Chris Wilkinson redeveloped Victorian-era industrial gasholders in Kings Cross, London into modern residential apartments?
... that after The West Wing's live, open presidential debate episode, MSNBC polled viewers on whom they thought won?
... that Vancouver-based binner turned social entrepreneur Ken Lyotier took the 2010 Winter Olympics torch with him so that other binners could take photographs with it?

In the news

Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier (pictured), the first black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, dies at the age of 94.
Anti-government protests triggered by an increase in fuel prices result in at least 160 deaths and 5,800 arrests across Kazakhstan.
Peter Wright wins the PDC World Darts Championship.
American actress and comedian Betty White dies at the age of 99.

On this day

January 10: Coming of Age Day in Japan (2022)

Construction of the Metropolitan Railway

AD 9 – The Western Han dynasty of China ended after the throne was usurped by Wang Mang, who founded the Xin dynasty.
1475 – Moldavian–Ottoman Wars: Stephen the Great led Moldavian forces to defeat an Ottoman attack under Hadım Suleiman Pasha near Vaslui in what is now Romania.
1863 – Service began on the Metropolitan Railway (construction depicted) between Paddington and Farringdon Street, today the oldest segment of the London Underground.
1923 – Lithuanian residents of the Memel Territory rebelled against the League of Nations decision to leave the area as a mandated region under French control.
2007 – A general strike began in Guinea as an attempt to force President Lansana Conté to resign, eventually resulting in the appointment of two new prime ministers.

Georg Forster (d. 1794)
Issai Schur (b. 1875; d. 1941)
Yip Pin Xiu (b. 1992)

More anniversaries:

From today's featured list

Vijay Sethupathi

The National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor is an honour presented annually at India's National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF), an organisation set up by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. A national panel appointed annually by the DFF selects the actor who has given the best performance in a supporting role within Indian cinema. The award is presented by the President of India at a ceremony held in New Delhi. Including ties and repeat winners, the government of India has presented a total of 32 Best Supporting Actor awards to 29 different actors. The first recipient was Victor Banerjee, who was honoured at the 32nd National Film Awards for his performance in the Bengali film Ghare Baire (1984). Three actors—Nana Patekar, Pankaj Kapur, and Atul Kulkarni—have been honoured twice. The most recent recipient of the award is Vijay Sethupathi (pictured), for his performance in the Tamil film Super Deluxe (2019). (Full list...)

Recently featured:

Today's featured picture

The southern rough-winged swallow (Stelgidopteryx ruficollis) is a small member of the swallow family, Hirundinidae. It is native to Central and South America, with some populations being sedentary and others migratory. It occurs in forest clearings and other open areas and nests in holes in walls or banks. This bird, of the subspecies S. r. ruficollis, was photographed in the Pantanal in Brazil.

Photograph credit: Charles James Sharp

Recently featured:

Other areas of Wikipedia

Community portal – Bulletin board, projects, resources and activities covering a wide range of Wikipedia areas.
Help desk – Ask questions about using Wikipedia.
Reference desk – Serving as virtual librarians, Wikipedia volunteers tackle your questions on a wide range of subjects.
Site news – Announcements, updates, articles and press releases on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation.
Teahouse – To ask your first basic questions about contributing to Wikipedia.
Village pump – For discussions about Wikipedia itself, including areas for technical issues and policies.