Wikipedia:Picture of the day/September 2014
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These featured pictures, as scheduled below, appeared as the picture of the day (POTD) on the English Wikipedia's Main Page in September 2014. Individual sections for each day on this page can be linked to with the day number as the anchor name (e.g. [[Wikipedia:Picture of the day/September 2014#1]] for September 1).
You can add an automatically updating POTD template to your user page using {{Pic of the day}} (version with blurb) or {{POTD}} (version without blurb). For instructions on how to make custom POTD layouts, see Wikipedia:Picture of the day.Purge server cache
September 1
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The Great Wave off Kanagawa is an ukiyo-e woodblock print by the Japanese artist Hokusai, published sometime between 1830 and 1833. The first print in his series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (the mountain visible in the background), it depicts a large wave threatening boats off the coast of Kanagawa Prefecture. The series was very popular when it was produced, and it is likely that the original woodblocks printed around 5,000 copies. Print: Hokusai |
September 2
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The Yogapith temple in Mayapur, West Bengal, India, is a shrine constructed at the birth site of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1533). It was erected in the 1880s by Bhaktivinoda Thakur (1838–1914), a leading Gaudiya Vaishnava reformer and teacher, when, after much research, he rediscovered Chaitanya's original birthplace. Chaitanya founded Gaudiya Vaishnavism, better known in the West by its branch, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, or the Hare Krishna movement. Photo: Cinosaur |
September 3
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The Siberian blue robin (Luscinia cyane) is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. These robins breed in eastern Asia and Japan and winter in south-east Asia. Photo: JJ Harrison |
September 4
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A domesticated yak at Yamdrok Lake in Tibet. The animals are important to Tibetan culture, and have been kept for thousands of years. The yaks are a method of transportation and serve as beasts of burden. Their feces are a source of fuel, and their milk can be used for butter, which is then made into sculptures or consumed. Photograph: Dennis Jarvis
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September 5
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Sapho is a pièce lyrique in five acts composed by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Caïn and Arthur Bernède which premiered on 27 November 1897. Based on the novel by Alphonse Daudet, it follows an artist's model known as "Sapho" who falls in love with a young man, but loses him because of her bad reputation. Poster: Jean de Paleologu; restoration: Adam Cuerden
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September 6
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A solar flare, a sudden flash of brightness observed over the Sun's surface or the solar limb which is interpreted as a large energy release, recorded on August 31, 2012. Such flares are often, but not always, followed by a colossal coronal mass ejection; in this instance, the ejection traveled at over 900 miles (1,400 km) per second. Photo: Goddard Space Flight Center
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September 7
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"Daisy" is a controversial political advertisement aired on television during the 1964 United States presidential election by incumbent president Lyndon B. Johnson's campaign. Though only used once, during a September 7, 1964, telecast of David and Bathsheba on The NBC Monday Movie, it is considered an important factor in Johnson's landslide victory over Barry Goldwater and an important turning point in political and advertising history. Video: Tony Schwartz
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September 8
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A video shot at 1200 fps documenting the movement of a cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) over a set run. These felines run faster than any other land animal — as fast as 112 to 120 km/h (70 to 75 mph) in short bursts covering distances up to 500 m (1,600 ft) — and can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3 seconds. Video: Gregory Wilson
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September 9
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Armand Jean du Plessis, best known as Cardinal Richelieu (1585–1642) was a French clergyman, noble and statesman. Born to a family of the Poitou lesser nobility, by 1607 he had become Bishop of Luçon, and he soon entered politics. He worked to consolidate the royal power of King Louis XIII, and in 1624 – two years after being elevated to cardinal – he was made the King's chief minister. Richelieu was also a patron of the arts, establishing the Académie française, which is responsible for matters pertaining to the French language. Painting: Philippe de Champaigne
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September 10
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A structural diagram of a bacterium. Bacteria are one domain of prokaryote, a single-celled organism which lacks a membrane-bound nucleus (karyon), mitochondria, or any other membrane-bound organelles. Diagram: LadyofHats
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September 11
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The European goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) is a small passerine bird in the finch family. Found throughout Europe and in parts of northern Africa and western Asia, goldfinches feed on small seeds such as those from thistles but may take insects when feeding their young. Goldfinches are commonly kept by humans for both their plumage and their song. Photo: Pierre Dalous
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September 12
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Nancy Storace (1765–1817) was an English operatic soprano. Born in London, this child prodigy first performed in public at age eight before moving to Italy in 1778, where she soon embarked on a highly successful career. In 1783 Emperor Joseph II brought her to Vienna, where she starred in his new Italian opera company, appearing in works by Mozart and other composers. During a performance in 1785, her voice failed, and it never fully recovered. However, she was able to continue her career both in Vienna and later London, retiring by 1808. Several roles were written for her, including Susanna in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, and she helped her brother Stephen's operas find success. Engraving: Pietro Bettelini; restoration: Adam Cuerden
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September 13
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Lady Elliot Island and nearby coral reefs as imaged by the Seaview SVII camera. Located 46 nautical miles (85 km; 53 mi) north-east of Bundaberg, Australia, the island is the southernmost coral cay of the Great Barrier Reef. It is a common destination for snorkeling. This image can be viewed in 360 degrees here (Java required) Photo: Underwater Earth/Catlin Seaview Survey
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September 14
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Point Pinos Lighthouse is a lighthouse located in Pacific Grove, California. Lit in 1855, it is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. Photo: Frank Schulenburg
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September 15
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A Pleistocene epoch map showing the extent of pluvial lakes in the northwestern United States, around 17,500 years before present, and directions of outflows, including the flood released by Lake Bonneville. The most recent version of this lake formed about 32,000 years ago, and at its peak it covered an area similar to Lake Michigan today. Contemporary remnants include Great Salt Lake and Utah Lake. Map: Fallschirmjäger
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September 16
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The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force. Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,500 aircraft have been built since production was approved in 1976. Its features include a frameless bubble canopy, side-mounted control stick, and relaxed static stability/fly-by-wire flight control. Photo: Andy Dunaway, United States Air Force
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September 17
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Richard Lugar (b. 1932) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party. Born in Indianapolis, Lugar served two terms as that city's mayor, from 1968 to 1976. In 1977 he was elected to the United States Senate, representing Indiana. In that capacity he worked to dismantle nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. He was a co-sponsor of the Nunn–Lugar Act, which was intended to "secure and dismantle weapons of mass destruction and their associated infrastructure in former Soviet Union states". Lugar was defeated in the 2012 Senate primary by Richard Mourdock. Photo: Office of Senator Richard Lugar
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September 18
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The white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) is a large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, found in Europe and northern Asia. Measuring 66–94 cm (26–37 in) in length, the species' 1.78–2.45 m (5.8–8.0 ft) wingspan is on average the largest of any eagle. Although they often scavenge, the eagles may also hunt prey such as fish, birds and mammals. Photo Yathin S Krishnappa
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September 19
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The Carina Nebula is a large bright nebula that has within its boundaries several related open clusters of stars. Discovered by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1751–52, it is only visible from the Southern Hemisphere. Located an estimated 6,500 to 10,000 light years from Earth, it is one of the largest diffuse nebulae in the planet's skies and home to such stars as Eta Carinae and HD 93129A. Photo: European Southern Observatory/T. Preibisch
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September 20
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The Cantino planisphere is the earliest surviving map showing Portuguese geographic discoveries in the east and west. Named after Alberto Cantino, who smuggled it from Portugal to Italy in 1502, the map includes a fragmentary record of the Brazilian coast as well as detailed depictions of African coasts. The map is also the earliest extant nautical chart where places (in Africa and parts of Brazil and India) are depicted according to their astronomically observed latitudes. It is now held at the Biblioteca Estense in Modena, Italy. Map: anonymous Portuguese cartographer
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September 21
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Gassed is a 231 × 611 cm (7.6 × 20 ft) oil painting completed in March 1919 by John Singer Sargent. Painted after Sargent visited the Western Front on a commission by the British War Memorials Committee, it depicts the aftermath of a mustard gas attack during the First World War, with a line of wounded soldiers walking towards a dressing station. The painting, voted picture of the year by the Royal Academy of Arts in 1919, is now held by the Imperial War Museum. Painting: John Singer Sargent
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September 22
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Cymbiola nobilis is a species of sea snail in the family Volutidae. Found in the Pacific Ocean, from Taiwan to Singapore, it averages 6 centimetres (2.4 in) in length; females are larger than males. Because the shell is commonly collected, there has been an overharvesting of the snail, and it is now considered vulnerable. Photo: H. Zell
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September 23
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The radian is the standard unit of angular measure, used in many areas of mathematics. An angle's measurement in radians is numerically equal to the length of a corresponding arc of a unit circle, so one radian is just under 57.3 degrees (when the arc length is equal to the radius); a full circle corresponds to an angle of 2π radians. In the SI, the radian has the symbol "rad"; it was a supplementary unit until that category was abolished in 1995, and is now considered a derived unit. Diagram: Lucas V. Barbosa
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September 24
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The Hubble Ultra-Deep Field (HUDF) is an image of a small region of space in the constellation Fornax, composited from Hubble Space Telescope data accumulated over a period from September 24, 2003, through January 16, 2004, and released in 2004. Covering 2.4 arcminutes to an edge, the area was selected because of the low density of bright stars in the near-field, allowing much better viewing of dimmer, more distant objects. It required 400 rotations and a million seconds (11.6 days) of exposure to obtain sufficient light for producing this image, which contains an estimated 10,000 galaxies. Image: NASA
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September 25
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The bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica) is a large wader in the family Scolopacidae. Its migration is the longest known non-stop flight of any bird; in 2007, godwits tagged in New Zealand were tracked to the Yellow Sea in China, with one specimen continuing on to Alaska, then returning to New Zealand in a non-stop trip. Photo: Andreas Trepte
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September 26
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An Re 460 locomotive of the Swiss Federal Railways, with an IC 2000 double decker trainset, photographed between Elgg and Schottikon in Switzerland. The Re 460 series of four-axle electric locomotives replaced the Ae 3/6I, Ae 4/7 and Re 4/4I series units, and displaced many of the Re 4/4II series into lesser duties. The Re 460 series was built between 1991 and 1996 as part of the Rail 2000 project and is now used for passenger services. Photo: David Gubler
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September 27
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The yellow tang (Zebrasoma flavescens) is a saltwater fish species of the family Acanthuridae. This popular aquarium fish feeds on turf algae and other marine plant material in the wild, but is often fed meat-derived food in captivity. Photo: Luc Viatour
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September 28
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The yellow mongoose (Cynictis penicillata) is a small mammal averaging about 1 lb (1/2 kg) in weight and about 20 in (500 mm) in length. Found in southern Africa, it lives in flat areas ranging from semi-desert scrubland to grasslands. This carnivorous species lives in colonies of up to 20 individuals. Photo: Yathin S Krishnappa
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September 29
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Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, (1758–1805) was a British flag officer who served in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. Born in Norfolk, Nelson entered the navy at age 13, and in 1778 he obtained his own command. During his career he suffered from seasickness, and by the time of the Trafalgar Campaign he had already lost his right arm and sight in an eye in battles in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Corsica, respectively. In 1805 he took over the Cádiz blockade, and on 21 October of that year Nelson's fleet engaged the Franco-Spanish one at the Battle of Trafalgar. The battle was a British victory, but during the action Nelson was fatally wounded by a French sharpshooter. Numerous monuments, such as Nelson's Column, have been created in his memory, and his signal "England expects that every man will do his duty" has been widely quoted, paraphrased and referenced. Painting: Lemuel Francis Abbott
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September 30
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USS Macon was a rigid airship built and operated by the United States Navy for scouting. It also served as a "flying aircraft carrier", carrying biplane parasite aircraft, either five single-seat Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawks for scouting or two-seat Fleet N2Y-1s for training. Launched in 1933, Macon was in service for less than two years: in 1935 it was damaged in a storm and lost off California's Big Sur coast. Its wreckage is listed as "USS Macon Airship Remains" on the National Register of Historic Places. Photo: Naval Historical Center
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