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Planets of the Solar System

A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor a stellar remnant. The Solar System has eight (pictured): four terrestrial planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars; and four giant planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. The term "planet" at first included the Sun, Moon and the five naked-eye planets that move across the background of the stars; they were seen as having associations with the gods. Copernicus theorized the Earth was a planet and, like the others, orbited the Sun. "Planet" came to include many objects, such as moons, within and beyond the Solar System. The International Astronomical Union in 2006 defined a planet in the Solar System to have cleared its neighborhood of other bodies, and that extrasolar planets should orbit stars and not be large enough to support deuterium fusion. Many planetary scientists, though, still apply the word "planet" more broadly, including dwarf planets, planetary-mass moons, rogue planets and brown dwarfs. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Mencap video featuring George Webster

... that the CBeebies presenter George Webster (pictured) has "effervescence, bubbly charm, a quick wit", and "an extra chromosome"?
... that the ancient Homeric Hymns influenced the works of James Joyce, Alfred Hitchcock and Neil Gaiman?
... that Jasprit Bumrah holds the record for scoring the highest number of runs in a single over in Test cricket?
... that the Natives Representative Council held meetings in school halls?
... that Kenji Tanigaki, the action director of Rurouni Kenshin and Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, began his career as a stuntman on the invitation of action choreographer Stephen Tung?
... that after presenting a televised singing contest won by Sarah Geronimo, Regine Velasquez co-headlined a concert with her?
... that Qin Huasun criticized Taiwan's bid to join the United Nations as a "brazen attempt [...] at splitting a sovereign state"?
... that Don Hutson and Forrest Gregg were the only Green Bay Packers' players selected for all three NFL All-Anniversary Teams?
... that Utter served as a Stockholm police horse for more than 23 years, participating in 515 changings of the Royal Guards?

In the news

Iga Świątek and Carlos Alcaraz

A fire in a residential building in Mangaf, south of Kuwait City, kills fifty people.
A plane crash near Chikangawa, Malawi, kills nine people, including Vice President Saulos Chilima.
In tennis, Iga Świątek wins the women's singles and Carlos Alcaraz wins the men's singles titles at the French Open (both pictured).
In the Indian general election, the National Democratic Alliance, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is re-elected with a reduced majority.

On this day

June 18: Autistic Pride Day

Cadaver Tomb of René of Chalon

1898 – The Cadaver Tomb of René of Chalon (pictured) in Bar-le-Duc, France, was designated a monument historique.
1958 – English composer Benjamin Britten's one-act opera Noye's Fludde was premiered at the Aldeburgh Festival.
1981 – The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, the first operational aircraft to be designed around stealth technology, made its maiden flight.
1994 – The Troubles: Ulster Volunteer Force members attacked a crowded bar in Loughinisland, Northern Ireland, with assault rifles, killing six people.
2009 – The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, NASA's first mission to the Moon in more than ten years, was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Rogier van der Weyden (d. 1464)
Ambrose Philips (d. 1749)
Lou Brock (b. 1939)
Stephanie Kwolek (d. 2014)

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Today's featured picture

The copper sunbird (Cinnyris cupreus) is a species of passerine bird in the family Nectariniidae. It is native to tropical Africa, its range extending from Senegal and Guinea in the west to South Sudan and Kenya in the east, and southwards to Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. It feeds on nectar that it extracts from selected flowers, such as Calliandra spp., Leonotis leonurus, Syzygium spp., and Senegalia polyacantha. It also takes fruits, spiders and insects, some of which are caught while in flight. This female copper sunbird of the subspecies C. c. cupreus was photographed in a Persian silk tree in Kakum National Park, Ghana.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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