Wikipedia:Picture of the day/Archive
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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 the last 30 days.
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.
November 21
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C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) is a long-period comet discovered in 2014 by Australian astronomer Terry Lovejoy using a 0.2-meter (8 in) Schmidt–Cassegrain telescope. It was discovered at apparent magnitude 15 in the southern constellation of Puppis, and is the fifth comet discovered by Lovejoy. Its blue-green glow is the result of organic molecules and water released by the comet fluorescing under the harsh UV and optical light of the sun as it passes through space. Photograph: John Vermette
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November 20
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Otto von Habsburg (20 November 1912 – 4 July 2011) was the last crown prince of Austria-Hungary from 1916 until the dissolution of the empire in November 1918. In 1922, he became the pretender to the former thrones, head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, and sovereign of the Austrian Order of the Golden Fleece, upon the death of his father. He resigned as Sovereign of the Golden Fleece in 2000 and as head of the Imperial House in 2007. This photograph of von Habsburg was taken in 2006 by German photographer Oliver Mark. Photograph credit: Oliver Mark
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November 19
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The grey-headed honeyeater (Ptilotula keartlandi) is a species of bird in the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae. It is endemic to Australia, where it has an extensive range covering much of the central arid and semi-arid areas of the continent. It mostly frequents eucalyptus scrub and woodlands in stony hill country and timbered gullies within ranges, but has also been observed on sand-plains with flowering vegetation, mulga and mallee woodlands, riverine areas and occasionally in Mitchell grasslands. The grey-headed honeyeater is thought to be largely sedentary, but undertakes nomadic movements in response to flowering events. The bird is relatively small for a honeyeater, with a total body length of 13–16.5 cm (5.1–6.5 in) and a mass of 12–18 g (0.4–0.6 oz). Adults have a distinctive grey crown above a black facial mask with the nape and remaining upper body parts coloured dark fawn-grey, with light olive-yellow breast, belly, flanks, and throat streaked with brown, a light-grey brown rump and a short black bill. It feeds on invertebrates as well as insects on the wing and, like many honeyeaters, it consumes nectar from flowering trees. This grey-headed honeyeater was photographed in Watarrka National Park in Australia's Northern Territory. Photograph credit: JJ Harrison
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November 18
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The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. Drought and a failure to apply dryland farming methods to prevent wind erosion caused the phenomenon. The drought came in three waves, 1934, 1936, and 1939–1940, but some regions of the high plains experienced drought conditions for as many as eight years. This black-and-white photograph, captioned "Broke, baby sick, and car trouble!", was taken by the American photographer Dorothea Lange in 1937 and depicts the jalopy of a Missouri migrant family of five on U.S. Route 99 near Tracy, California. Photograph credit: Dorothea Lange; restored by Adam Cuerden
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November 17
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The Council of Clermont was a mixed synod of ecclesiastics and laymen of the Catholic Church, called by Pope Urban II and held from 17 to 27 November 1095 at Clermont, Auvergne, at the time part of the Duchy of Aquitaine. The council was intended as a synod focused on implementing the Cluniac reforms, enacting decrees and settling local and regional issues. This also included the extension of the excommunication of Philip I of France for his adulterous remarriage to Bertrade of Montfort and a declaration of renewal of the Truce of God, an attempt on the part of the church to reduce feuding among Frankish nobles. The most notable event in the council was Pope Urban's speech on 27 November which included a call to arms that would result in the First Crusade, and eventually the capture of Jerusalem and the establishment of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. This image comes from the Passages d'outremer, a chronicle of the crusades published and illustrated three centuries after this event. Illustration credit: Jean Colombe
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November 16
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The African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is a species of true buffalo in the Bovidae family. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa, where it is found in a number of disjoint ranges stretching from south-eastern Senegal through West and Central Africa to South Africa. It lives in savannas, swamps and floodplains, as well as mopane grasslands, and the forests of the major mountains of Africa. The African buffalo is a large bovid, with a shoulder height ranging from 1.0 to 1.7 m (3.3 to 5.6 ft) and head-and-body length between 1.7 and 3.4 m (5.6-11.2 ft). There is variation between subspecies, the African forest buffalo having a mass of 250 to 450 kg (600 to 1,000 lb) while the Cape buffalo weighs 425 to 870 kg (937 to 1,918 lb), males being about 100 kg (220 lb) heavier than females. The adult African buffalo is known for its characteristic horn. This male African buffalo was photographed in Phinda Private Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It has a red-billed oxpecker (Buphagus erythrorhynchus) perched on its muzzle. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
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November 15
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The pied-billed grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) is a species of water bird in the grebe family, Podicipedidae. It is found in ponds throughout the Americas, from Canada south to Argentina and Chile. The pied-billed grebe is small, stocky, and short-necked, with a length of around 31 to 38 centimeters (12 to 15 in), a wingspan of 45 to 62 centimeters (18 to 24 in) and a mass of 253 to 568 grams (8.9 to 20.0 oz). It is mainly brown, with a darker crown and back. The undertail is white and it has a short, blunt, light-grey bill, encircled in summer by a broad black band, giving the bird its name. There is no sexual dimorphism, and juveniles have black and white stripes. The pied-billed grebe rarely flies, but is known for its slow dive, which can reach depths of 6 meters (20 ft). It feeds mainly on aquatic invertebrates, and also on small fish and amphibians. This pied-billed grebe of the subspecies P. p. antarcticus was photographed in Parque La Florida, Cundinamarca, on the outskirts of Bogotá, Colombia. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
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November 14
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The Czapski Palace is a palatial complex in the center of Warsaw, Poland. It was constructed in about 1686 for the country's Catholic primate, Michał Stefan Radziejowski, using a design by Dutch-born Polish architect and engineer Tylman van Gameren. The palace was reconstructed between 1712 and 1721, and acquired its present rococo character in 1752–65. The building has been home to various notable individuals, including artist Zygmunt Vogel, composer Frédéric Chopin, and poets Zygmunt Krasiński and Cyprian Norwid. It now houses the Academy of Fine Arts. This photograph shows the front façade of the Czapski Palace's main building. Photograph credit: Adrian Grycuk
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November 13
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The Lockheed T-33 is an American subsonic jet trainer produced by Lockheed. It was manufactured between 1948 and 1959 with Lockheed producing a total of 5,691 and a further 866 built under licence by other manufacturers. The two-seater T-33s were used in the United States Air Force as an advanced trainer, and they have also been used for such tasks as drone director and target towing. It has also been supplied for use in the militaries of around 25 other countries. The plane was retired in the US in 1997 and its final operator, the Bolivian Air Force, retired it in 2017. This photograph shows a Lockheed T-33 aircraft in flight during the Arctic Thunder Special Needs and Family Day at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Alaska, in 2016. Photograph credit: Alejandro Pena, for the United States Air Force
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November 12
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The large milkweed bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus) is a medium-sized hemipteran (true bug) in the family Lygaeidae. It is distributed throughout North America, from Central America through Mexico, the Caribbean and the United States, to southern Canada. It inhabits disturbed areas, roadsides, and open pastures. Due to this widespread geographic distribution, this insect exhibits varying life history trade-offs depending on the population location, including differences in wing length and other traits based on location. Adult large milkweed bugs are around 11–12 mm in length and have a red/orange and black X-shaped pattern on their wings underneath the triangle that is typical to hemipterans. Its diet often consists of milkweed seeds, but it has also been observed feeding on aphids, monarch caterpillar eggs, and larvae, displaying opportunistic behavior. The insect is often used as a model organism and reared for laboratory experiments due to being easy to rear and handle, short developmental time, few instars, and high fecundity. This large milkweed bug was photographed in the Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York City, United States. Photograph credit: Rhododendrites
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November 11
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Kurt Vonnegut (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American author known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels and three short story collections; further works were published after his death. Born and raised in Indianapolis, Vonnegut enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1943. Deployed to Europe to fight in World War II, he was captured by the Germans and interned in Dresden, where he survived the Allied bombing of the city in a slaughterhouse. Vonnegut published his first novel, Player Piano, in 1952. Two of his novels, The Sirens of Titan (1959) and Cat's Cradle (1963), were nominated for the Hugo Award. Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), a best-seller that resonated with its readers for its anti-war sentiment amidst the ongoing Vietnam War, thrust Vonnegut into fame as an important contemporary writer and a dark humor commentator on American society. Numerous scholarly works have examined Vonnegut's writing and humor. This photograph by Bernard Gotfryd shows Vonnegut in 1965. Photograph credit: Bernard Gotfryd; restored by Adam Cuerden
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November 10
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Buddha's hand (Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis), also known as the fingered citron, is a citron variety whose fruit is segmented into finger-like sections, resembling those seen on representations of the Buddha. Like other citrons, the plant is a shrub or small tree with long, irregular branches covered in thorns. It has large pale green oblong leaves and white flowers. The fruit's fingers contain only the white part of the fruit and sometimes a small amount of acidic pulp, but many of them are completely juiceless and some are seedless. The fruit is used for its aroma, as a zest in food and drinks, as candied fruit, and in traditional medicine. It is also sometimes used as a religious offering in Buddhist temples and has been sold as a Halloween novelty under the trademark "goblin fingers". Photograph credit: Kaldari
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November 9
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Kumaon is a revenue and administrative division in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Historically known as Manaskhand and Kurmanchal, the Kumaon region has been ruled by several dynasties over the course of its history, most notably the Katyuri and the Chand. In 1790, the Kingdom of Kumaon was invaded and annexed by the Gorkhas, from whom it was conquered by the British East India Company in 1815, following which it became part of the Ceded and Conquered Provinces (which later became the United Provinces). After Indian independence in 1947, it remained part of the state of Uttar Pradesh until 2000, when the state of Uttarakhand was created as a result of the Uttarakhand movement. The people of Kumaon are known as Kumaonis and speak the Kumaoni language. This picture shows a panoramic view of the Kumaon Himalayas as seen from the hill station and town of Ranikhet, with mountains such as Trisul (7,120 m, 23,360 ft), Nanda Devi (7,817 m, 25,646 ft), Nanda Kot (6,861 m, 22,510 ft), Panchachuli (6,904 m, 22,651 ft), and other peaks prominently visible. Photograph credit: Harshit Rautela; edited by UnpetitproleX
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November 8
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The Indian paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi) is a medium-sized passerine bird in the family Monarchidae, the monarch flycatchers. It is native to the Indian subcontinent, with resident and breeding populations in most of Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka, as well as parts of Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. The bird has a length of 20 to 50 centimetres (7.9 to 19.7 inches) from beak to tail. Males have elongated central tail feathers, and a black and rufous plumage in some populations, while others have white plumage. Females are short-tailed with rufous wings and a black head. The Indian paradise flycatcher feeds on insects, including grasshoppers, butterflies and praying mantises, as well as flies. It typically captures prey in the air, kills it by hitting it on a rock, and then extracts the inner parts. This Indian paradise flycatcher in flight was photographed in Pilibhit in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Photograph credit: Prasan Shrestha
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November 7
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The Fraunhofer lines are a set of spectral absorption lines. They are dark absorption lines, seen in the optical spectrum of the Sun, and are formed when atoms in the solar atmosphere absorb light being emitted by the solar photosphere. The lines are named after the German physicist Joseph von Fraunhofer, who observed them in 1814. This image shows the solar spectral irradiance measured with a calibrated optical spectrometer, as viewed on a sunny day in Switzerland in 2022. Some of the characteristic Fraunhofer lines and their corresponding elements are indicated for the extended visible spectrum – the highlighted area of the graph. Graph credit: Cyamahat
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November 6
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Mordançage is an alternative photographic technique developed in the 1960s that alters gelatin silver prints to give them a degraded effect. The mordançage solution works in two ways: it chemically bleaches the print so that it can be redeveloped, and it lifts the black areas of the emulsion away from the paper, giving the appearance of veils. Once the emulsion is lifted, it can then be removed or manipulated depending on the desired outcome. Areas where the emulsion was removed appear to be in relief. These prints can become oxidized during their creation, further altering the tonality of the image. This self-portrait shows an example of mordançage applied to a photographic print. Artwork credit: Stacey Svendsen
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November 5
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The eastern amberwing (Perithemis tenera) is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is very small, reaching a total length of no more than 25 millimetres (0.98 in). Males have orange or amber wings, and both sexes have a red pterostigma. The species is found in eastern North America, from northern Mexico northwards to south-eastern Canada. The eastern amberwing is one of the only types of dragonfly that actively mimics a wasp; the yellow and brown stripes on its abdomen encourage predators to stay away. This male eastern amberwing was photographed in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, New York City. Photograph credit: Rhododendrites
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November 4
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Linaria vulgaris, also known as the common toadflax, yellow toadflax, or butter-and-eggs, is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae, native to Europe, Siberia and Central Asia. It has also been introduced to and is now common in North America. It is a perennial plant with short spreading roots, a stem height of 15 to 90 centimetres (6 to 35 inches), and fine glaucous blue-green leaves. The flowers are pale yellow with an orange lower tip, borne in dense terminal racemes from mid-summer to mid-autumn, and visited mostly by bumblebees. Its fruit is a globose capsule containing numerous small seeds. The species is most commonly found as a wildflower, toadflax, but is sometimes cultivated as a cut flower or in children's gardens. These L. vulgaris flowers were photographed in Keila, Estonia. This picture was focus-stacked from 30 separate images. Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus
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November 3
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"Dewey Defeats Truman" was an erroneous banner headline on the front page of the earliest edition of the Chicago Daily Tribune on November 3, 1948, the day after incumbent U.S. president Harry S. Truman won an upset victory over his opponent, Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York, in the 1948 presidential election. The Chicago Daily Tribune, which had once referred to Democratic candidate Truman as a "nincompoop", was a famously Republican-leaning paper. For about a year before the 1948 election, the printers who operated the linotype machines at the Tribune and other Chicago papers had been on strike in protest of the Taft–Hartley Act. Around the same time, the Tribune had switched to a method by which copy was composed on typewriters, photographed, then engraved onto printing plates. This required the paper to go to press several hours earlier than had been usual. On November 4, as Truman passed through St. Louis Union Station in Missouri on the way to Washington, he stepped onto the rear platform of his train car, the Ferdinand Magellan, and was handed a copy of the erroneous Tribune edition of November 3. Happy to exult in the paper's error, he held it up for the photographers gathered at the station, as seen in this press photograph. Truman reportedly smiled and said, "That ain't the way I heard it!" Photograph credit: Byron H. Rollins
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November 2
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The black-throated green warbler (Setophaga virens) is a small songbird in the New World warbler family, Parulidae. It breeds in coniferous, mixed forests and sometimes cypress swamps in eastern North America and western Canada, with migration to southern Florida, Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, and occasionally northern South America. It has a length of around 11 to 12 centimetres (4.3 to 4.7 inches), with an olive-green crown, yellow face and olive markings. Adult males have a black throat and upper breast; females and immature males have a pale throat and black markings on their breast. The bird's song is a buzzed zee-zee-zee-zooo-zeet or similar, while the call is a sharp tsip. This male black-throated green warbler was photographed in Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York City. Photograph credit: Rhododendrites
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November 1
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The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne is an oil-on-panel painting by Leonardo da Vinci, painted around 1501 to 1519. It depicts Saint Anne, her daughter the Virgin Mary, and the infant Jesus. Christ is shown grappling with a sacrificial lamb on the edge of a precipice, symbolizing his Passion. It is likely that the painting was commissioned by King Louis XII of France following the birth of his daughter Claude in 1499, but it was never delivered to him. Leonardo explored incorporating these figures together through preparatory works including the Burlington House Cartoon, now in the National Gallery, London, and a drawing which resides in the Louvre, Paris. The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne is also in the Louvre. Painting credit: Leonardo da Vinci
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October 31
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Nosferatu is a 1922 silent German expressionist horror vampire film directed by F. W. Murnau from a screenplay by Henrik Galeen. It stars Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who preys on the wife (Greta Schröder) of his estate agent (Gustav von Wangenheim) and brings the plague to their town. Nosferatu was produced by Prana Film and is an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. Various names and other details were changed from the novel, including Count Dracula being renamed Orlok. Although those changes are often represented as a defense against accusations of copyright infringement, the original German intertitles acknowledged Dracula as the source. Even with several details altered, Stoker's widow Florence sued over the adaptation's copyright violation, and a court ruling ordered that all copies of the film be destroyed. However, several prints of Nosferatu survived, and the film came to be regarded as an influential masterpiece of cinema and the horror genre. Film credit: F. W. Murnau
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October 30
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Oxybelis aeneus, commonly known as the Mexican vine snake or the brown vine snake, is a species in the family Colubridae, the colubrid snakes. It is endemic to the Americas, being found from the mountains of southern Arizona in the United States south through Mexico to northern South America and Trinidad and Tobago. The species is usually encountered in trees or shrubs on open, steep, and grassy slopes, but is also associated with wooded canyons, especially those with abundant vegetation. Its diet consists mainly of lizards (mostly anoles), but it also eats frogs, small rodents and birds. This O. aeneus snake was photographed by the Gulf of Mexico coast in the El Palmar State Reserve, near Sisal in the Mexican state of Yucatán. Photograph credit: The Cosmonaut
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October 29
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Le droit d'aînesse ("The Birthright") is an opéra bouffe composed by Francis Chassaigne. The original French libretto was written by Eugène Leterrier and Albert Vanloo, with an English-language version titled Falka translated and adapted by Henry Brougham Farnie. The story concerns an arranged marriage intended to make a governor's heir, his nephew, an aristocrat. Through a series of mishaps that place the governor's nephew and his niece each in danger, the niece, Falka, becomes the noble heir. Falka was first produced at the Comedy Theatre in London on 29 October 1883, the same year as the French premiere, with Violet Cameron in the title role of Falka, running for 157 performances. It was revived at the Avenue Theatre in 1885, still starring Cameron, and also enjoyed successful productions in Australia, New Zealand and the United States, including productions in 1884 and 1900 on Broadway. This poster for Falka was produced for a production at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, in 1885. Poster credit: David Allen & Sons Ltd.; restored by Adam Cuerden
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October 28
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Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan, is the southernmost part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. The area is the historical birthplace of New York City and in the 17th and 18th centuries composed the entirety of the city. Lower Manhattan serves as the seat of government of both Manhattan and the city as a whole. Lower Manhattan's central business district forms the core of the area below Chambers Street and includes the Financial District and the World Trade Center site. At the island's southern tip is Battery Park. This view of the Lower Manhattan skyline was taken from Governors Island in New York Harbor. Photograph credit: Rhododendrites
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October 27
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Theodore Roosevelt (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919) was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York politics, including serving as the state's 33rd governor for two years. He served as the 25th vice president under President William McKinley for six months in 1901, assuming the presidency after McKinley's assassination at the age of 42, making him the youngest person to assume the position. As president, Roosevelt emerged as a leader of the Republican Party and became a driving force for anti-trust and Progressive Era policies. Polls of historians and political scientists rank him as one of the greatest American presidents. This photograph by the Pach Brothers shows Roosevelt in 1904. Photograph credit: Pach Brothers; restored by Adam Cuerden
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October 26
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The grey-breasted partridge (Arborophila orientalis) is a bird species in the family Phasianidae. It is endemic to highland forest in the eastern salient of Java, Indonesia. Measuring 28 cm (11 in), the species is a stocky, short-legged bird. Its mostly grey plumage is barred on the lower back and tail. It has a black crown and nape, and conspicuous white forehead, cheeks and throat. The bare skin around the eyes is red, as are the legs, while the bill is black. This grey-breasted partridge was photographed in a nature preserve near the volcanic crater of Ijen in Banyuwangi Regency, Java. Photograph credit: JJ Harrison
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October 25
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Human gaits are the various ways in which humans can move, either naturally or as a result of specialized training. In general, a gait is a manner of limb movements made by animals during locomotion. Human gaits can be classified in various ways, according to whether the person remains in continuous contact with the ground, with each gait categorized as either natural (one that humans use instinctively) or trained (a non-instinctive gait learned via training). Examples of the latter include hand walking and specialized gaits used in martial arts. One variable in assessing gait is which part of the foot connects with the ground first. Typically this is one of forefoot strike, mid-foot strike or heel strike. This photograph shows a heel strike in a runner at the 2024 Ljubljana Marathon. In this gait the heel of the foot lands, then the plantar flexes to ball. Photograph credit: Petar Milošević
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October 24
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The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis is an oil painting by the Dutch painter Rembrandt, produced around 1661–62. It depicts an episode from Tacitus's Histories of the Batavian rebellion (AD 69–70), led by the one-eyed chieftain Claudius Civilis. The painting was commissioned by the city council of Amsterdam for the Town Hall, and was originally Rembrandt's largest-ever painting. It was placed briefly in the town hall but eventually returned to Rembrandt, who may never have been paid for the work. In financial difficulties, he was forced to cut the painting down in size and partly repaint it, after which it was sold. After passing between various private owners, it was eventually deposited in the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts, and is now in the collection of the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm. Painting credit: Rembrandt
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October 23
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Pachygrapsus marmoratus, also known as the marbled crab, is a species in the family Grapsidae, the marsh crabs. The species is found in southern Europe and northern Africa, in the waters of the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and parts of the Atlantic Ocean. It is a dark violet-brown crab, with yellow marbling, and with a body up to 36 millimetres (1.4 inches) long. A semiaquatic omnivore, it feeds on algae and various animals including mussels and limpets. This P. marmoratus crab was photographed near the shore of Butrint Lagoon in Butrint National Park, southern Albania, near the coast of the Ionian Sea. The picture has been focus-stacked from 12 separate images. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
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