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June 15

June 15

June 15 is the 166th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (167th in leap years), with 199 days remaining.

Events

- 763 BC - Assyrians record a solar eclipse that will be used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history.
- 923 - Battle of Soissons: King Robert I of France is killed and King Charles the Simple is arrested by the supporters of Duke Rudolph of Burgundy.
- 1184 - King Magnus V of Norway is killed at the battle of Fimreite.
- 1215 - King John of England puts his seal to the Magna Carta.
- 1219 - Dannebrog - oldest national flag in the world - and flag of Denmark. According to legend, fell from the sky during the Battle of Lyndanisse in Estonia, and turned the Danes' luck.
- 1246 - With the death of Duke Frederick II, the Babenberg dynasty ends in Austria.
- 1389 - Battle of Kosovo: The Ottoman Empire defeats Serbs and Bosnians.
- 1409 - Western Schism: The Catholic church is led into a double schism as Petros Philargos is elected Pope Alexander V by the Council of Pisa, joining Pope Gregory XII in Rome and Pope Benedict XII in Avignon.
- 1520 - Pope Leo X threatens to excommunicate Martin Luther.
- 1667 - The first human blood transfusion is administered by Dr. Jean Baptiste. He transfuses 12 fluid ounces (350 ml) of sheep blood to a 15-year-old boy. The boy later dies and Baptiste is accused of murder.
- 1752 - Benjamin Franklin proves that lightning is electricity.
- 1775 - American Revolutionary War: George Washington is appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army.
- 1776 - Delaware Separation Day - The Delaware General Assembly votes to suspend government under the British Crown.
- 1785 - Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, co-pilot of the first-ever manned flight (1783), and his companion, Pierre Romain, become the first-ever casualties of an air crash when their hot air balloon explodes during their attempt to cross the English Channel.
- 1804 - New Hampshire approves the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratifying the document.
- 1808 - Joseph Bonaparte becomes King of Spain.
- 1836 - Arkansas is admitted as the 25th U.S. state.
- 1844 - Charles Goodyear receives a patent for vulcanization, a process to strengthen rubber.
- 1846 - The Oregon Treaty establishes the 49th parallel as the border between the United States and Canada, from the Rocky Mountains to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
- 1859 - Pig War: Ambiguity in the Oregon Treaty leads to the "Northwestern Boundary Dispute" between U.S. and British/Canadian settlers.
- 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Petersburg begins – Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant and troops led by Confederate General Robert E. Lee battle for the last time.
- 1864 - Arlington National Cemetery is established when 200 acres (0.8 km²) around Arlington Mansion are officially set aside as a military cemetery by U.S. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton.
- 1877 - Henry Ossian Flipper becomes the first African American cadet to graduate from the United States Military Academy.
- 1904 - A fire aboard the steamboat General Slocum in New York City's East River kills 1000.
- 1905 - Princess Margaret of Connaught marries Gustav, Crown Prince of Sweden.
- 1909 - Representatives from England, Australia and South Africa meet at Lords and form the Imperial Cricket Conference.
- 1911 - Tabulating Computing Recording Corporation (IBM) is incorporated.
- 1913 - US troops under General John 'Black Jack' Pershing massacre at least 2,000 Philippine men, women and children at Bud Bagsak.
- 1916 - U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signs a bill incorporating the Boy Scouts of America.
- 1919 - John Alcock and Arthur Brown complete first nonstop transatlantic flight at Clifden, County Galway, Ireland.
- 1924 - Native Americans are proclaimed United States citizens.
- 1934 - The U.S.'s Great Smoky Mountains National Park is founded.
- 1944 - World War II: Battle of Saipan: The United States invades Saipan.
- 1944 - In the Saskatchewan general election, 1944, the CCF, led by Tommy Douglas, is elected and forms the first socialist government of North America.
- 1945 - The General Dutch Youth League (ANJV) is founded in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- 1954 - UEFA (the Union des Associations Européennes de Football) is formed in Basle, Switzerland.
- 1955 - The Eisenhower administration stages the first annual "Operation Alert" (OPAL) exercise, an attempt to assess the USA's preparations for a nuclear attack.
- 1957 - Eindhoven University of Technology is founded.
- 1962 - Students for a Democratic Society complete the Port Huron Statement.
- 1969 - Hee Haw debuts on CBS television, quickly becoming an institution.
- 1978 - King Hussein of Jordan marries 26-year-old Lisa Halaby.
- 1992 - The United States Supreme Court rules in US vs. Alvarez-Machain that it is permissible for the USA to abduct suspects in foreign countries and bring them to the USA for trial, without approval from those other countries. No reciprocal right is recognized for the reverse to happen in the USA.
- 1994 - Israel and Vatican City establish full diplomatic relations.
- 1996 - In Manchester, UK, a terrorist bomb injures over 200 people and devastates a large part of the city centre.
- 1999 - George Morber Senior and Carolyn Frederick are murdered by Ángel Maturino Reséndiz in Gorham, Illinois, USA. They are his eighth and ninth victims, in his seventh and final incident.

Births

- 1330 - Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales (d. 1376)
- 1594 - Nicolas Poussin, French painter (d. 1665)
- 1623 - Cornelis de Witt, Dutch politician (d. 1672)
- 1624 - Hiob Ludolf, German orientalist (d. 1704)
- 1755 - Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy, French chemist (d. 1809)
- 1767 - Rachel Donelson Jackson, First Lady of the United States
- 1789 - Josiah Henson, American slave and settlement founder (d. 1883)
- 1801 - Benjamin Raymond, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1883)
- 1805 - William Butler Ogden, first Mayor of Chicago (d. 1877)
- 1843 - Edvard Grieg, Norwegian composer (d. 1907)
- 1882 - Ion Antonescu, Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1946)
- 1888 - Ramón López Velarde, Mexican poet (d. 1921)
- 1900 - Gotthard Günther, German philosopher (d. 1984)
- 1902 - Erik Erikson, psychoanalyst (d. 1994)
- 1906 - Léon Degrelle, Belgian SS officer (d. 1994)
- 1914 - Yuri Andropov, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (d. 1984)
- 1915 - Thomas Huckle Weller, American virologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- 1916 - Herbert Simon, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2001)
- 1917 - John Fenn, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1917 - Lash La Rue, American actor (d. 1996)
- 1921 - Errol Garner, American musician (d. 1977)
- 1932 - Mario Cuomo, Governor of New York
- 1936 - William Joseph Levada, American Catholic prelate
- 1937 - Waylon Jennings, American singer (d. 2002)
- 1938 - Billy Williams, baseball player
- 1939 - Brian Jacques, British author
- 1941 - Harry Nilsson, American singer and composer (d. 1994)
- 1943 - Xaviera Hollander, Dutch author
- 1943 - Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, Prime Minister of Denmark
- 1946 - Noddy Holder, English singer (Slade)
- 1947 - John Hoagland, American photographer
- 1948 - Mike Holmgren, American football coach
- 1949 - Dusty Baker, baseball player and manager
- 1949 - Simon Callow, British actor
- 1954 - James Belushi, American actor
- 1958 - Wade Boggs, baseball player
- 1958 - Eric Heiden, American speed skater
- 1963 - Helen Hunt, American actress
- 1964 - Courteney Cox, American actress
- 1965 - Bernard Hopkins, American boxer
- 1967 - Eric Stefani, American musician and animator
- 1969 - Ice Cube, American singer and actor
- 1969 - Oliver Kahn, German footballer
- 1971 - Edwin Brienen, Dutch director
- 1972 - Andy Pettitte, baseball player
- 1973 - Neil Patrick Harris, American actor
- 1973 - Tore André Flo, Norwegian footballer
- 1978 - Wilfred Bouma, Dutch footballer
- 1980 - Cara Zavaleta, American model
- 1981 - Mary Carey, American actress
- 1981 - Billy Martin, American musician

Deaths

- 923 - Robert I of France (b. c. 865)
- 1073 - Emperor Go-Sanjō of Japan (b. 1034)
- 1246 - Duke Frederick II of Austria (b. 1219)
- 1381 - John Cavendish, Lord Chief Justice of England
- 1381 - Wat Tyler, English rebel
- 1383 - John VI Cantacuzenus, Byzantine Emperor
- 1389 - Prince Lazar, Serbian Orthodox saint (b. 1329)
- 1467 - Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1396)
- 1521 - Tamás Bakócz. Hungarian Catholic cardinal and statesman (b. 1442)
- 1614 - Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton, English politician (b. 1540)
- 1679 - Guillaume Courtois, French painter (b. 1628)
- 1724 - Henry Sacheverell, English churchman and politician (b. 1674)
- 1750 - Marguerite De Launay, Baronne Staal, French writer (b. 1684)
- 1768 - James Short, Scottish mathematician and optician (b. 1710)
- 1772 - Louis-Claude Daquin, French composer (b. 1694)
- 1849 - James Knox Polk, 11th President of the United States (b. 1795)
- 1888 - Emperor Friedrich III of Germany (b. 1831)
- 1889 - Mihai Eminescu, Romanian poet (b. 1850)
- 1934 - Alfred Bruneau, French composer (d. 1857)
- 1941 - Evelyn Underhill, British writer (b. 1875)
- 1941 - Otfrid Foerster, German neurologist (b. 1873)
- 1962 - Alfred Cortot, Swiss pianist (b. 1877)
- 1965 - E. A. Speiser, American Bible scholar (b. 1902)
- 1968 - Sam Crawford, baseball player (b. 1880)
- 1971 - Wendell Meredith Stanley, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
- 1976 - Jimmy Dykes, baseball player and manager (b. 1896)
- 1984 - Meredith Willson, American composer (b. 1902)
- 1985 - Andy Stanfield, American athlete (b. 1927)
- 1989 - Victor French, American actor (b. 1934)
- 1991 - Arthur Lewis, British economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
- 1993 - John Connally, American politican (b. 1917)
- 1993 - James Hunt, English race car driver (b. 1947)
- 1995 - John Vincent Atanasoff, American computer pioneer (b. 1903)
- 1996 - Ella Fitzgerald, American singer (b. 1917)
- 2003 - Hume Cronyn, Canadian actor (b. 1911)

Holidays and observances

- Commemoration of Evelyn Underhill (Anglican mystic and poet)
- Roman Empire – ninth and final day of the Vestalia in honor of Vesta
- Roman Catholic Church – Feast of Saint Germaine Cousin, patron of shepherdesses and of victims of child abuse
- Saint Vitus' Day – Vitus Diena held in medieval Latvia
- Malawi's Freedom Day
- Commemoration of William Adams (Miura Anjin 三浦按針) a man shipwrecked in Japan in the 1600s, and whom James Clavell's "Shogun" was based upon.
- Flag Day in Denmark

External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/15 BBC: On This Day] ---- June 14 - June 16 - May 15 - July 15 – listing of all days ko:6월 15일 ms:15 Jun ja:6月15日 simple:June 15 th:15 มิถุนายน

June 15

June 15 is the 166th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (167th in leap years), with 199 days remaining.

Events

Births

Deaths

Holidays and observances

External links

Leap year

A leap year (or intercalary year) is a year containing an extra day or month in order to keep the calendar year in sync with an astronomical or seasonal year. Seasons and astronomical events do not repeat at an exact number of days, so a calendar which had the same number of days in each year would over time drift with respect to the event it was supposed to track. By occasionally inserting (or intercalating) an additional day or month into the year, the drift can be corrected. Leap years (which keep the calendar in sync with the year) should not be confused with leap seconds (which keep clock time in sync with the day).

Gregorian calendar

The Gregorian calendar, the current standard calendar in most of the world, adds a 29th day to February in all years evenly divisible by 4, except for century years (those ending in -00), which receive the extra day only if they are evenly divisible by 400. Thus 1996 was a leap year whereas 1999 was not, and 1600, 2000 and 2400 are leap years but 1700, 1800, 1900 and 2100 are not. The reasoning behind this rule is as follows:
- The Gregorian calendar is designed to keep the vernal equinox on or close to March 21, so that the date of Easter (celebrated on the Sunday after the 14th day of the Moon that falls on or after 21 March) remains correct with respect to the vernal equinox.
- The vernal equinox year is currently about 365.242375 days long.
- The Gregorian leap year rule gives an average year length of 365.2425 days. This difference of a little over 0.0001 days means that in around 8,000 years, the calendar will be about one day behind where it should be. But in 8,000 years' time the length of the vernal equinox year will have changed by an amount we can't accurately predict (see below). So the Gregorian leap year rule does a good enough job. Image:Gregoriancalendarleap.png

Which day is the leap day?

The Gregorian calendar is a modification of the Julian calendar first used by the Romans. The Roman calendar originated as a lunar calendar (though from the 5th century BC it no longer followed the real moon) and named its days after three of the phases of the moon: the new moon (calends, hence "calendar"), the first quarter (nones) and the full moon (ides). Days were counted down (inclusively) to the next named day, so 24 February was ante diem sextum calendas martii ("the sixth day before the calends of March"). Since 45 BC, February in a leap year had two days called "the sixth day before the calends of March". The extra day was originally the second of these, but since the third century it was the first. Hence the term bissextile day for 24 February in a bissextile year. Where this custom is followed, anniversaries after the inserted day are moved in leap years. For example, the former feast day of Saint Matthias, 24 February in ordinary years, would be 25 February in leap years. This historical nicety is, however, in the process of being discarded: The European Union declared that, starting in 2000, 29 February rather than 24 February would be leap day, and the Roman Catholic Church also now uses 29 February as leap day. The only tangible difference is felt in countries that celebrate feast days.

Julian calendar

The Julian calendar adds an extra day to February in years divisible by 4. This rule gives an average year length of 365.25 days. The excess of about 0.0076 days with respect to the vernal equinox year means that the vernal equinox moves a day earlier in the calendar every 130 years or so.

Revised Julian Calendar

The Revised Julian calendar adds an extra day to February in years divisible by 4, except for years divisible by 100 that do not leave a remainder of 200 or 600 when divided by 900. This rule agrees with the rule for the Gregorian calendar until 2799. The first year that dates in the Revised Julian calendar will not agree with the those in the Gregorian calendar will be 2800, because it will be a leap year in the Gregorian calendar but not in the Revised Julian calendar. This rule gives an average year length of 365.242222… days. This is a very good approximation to the mean tropical year, but because the vernal equinox tropical year is slightly longer, the Revised Julian calendar does not do as good a job as the Gregorian calendar of keeping the vernal equinox on or close to 21 March.

Chinese calendar

The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, so a leap year has an extra month, often called an embolismic month after the Greek word for it. In the Chinese calendar the leap month is added according to a complicated rule, which ensures that month 11 is always the month that contains the northern winter solstice. The intercalary month takes the same number as the preceding month; for example, if it follows the second month then it is simply called "leap second month".

Hebrew calendar

The Hebrew calendar is also lunisolar with an embolistic month. In the Hebrew calendar the extra month is called Adar Alef (first Adar) and is added before Adar, which then becomes Adar Sheni (second Adar). According to the Metonic cycle, this is done seven times every nineteen years, specifically, in years, 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 19. In addition, the Hebrew calendar has postponement rules that postpone the start of the year by one or two days. The year before the postponement gets one or two extra days, and the year whose start is postponed loses one or two days. These postponement rules reduce the number of different combinations of year length and starting day of the week from 28 to 14, and regulate the location of certain religious holidays in relation to the Sabbath.

Hindu Calendar

In the Hindu calendar, which is a lunisolar calendar, the embolismic month is called adhika maas (extra month). It is the month in which the sun is in the same sign of the stellar zodiac on two consecutive dark moons.

Iranian calendar

The Iranian calendar also has a single intercalated day once in every four years, but every 33 years or so the leap years will be five years apart instead of four years apart. The system used is more accurate and more complicated, and is based on the time of the March equinox as observed from Teheran. The 33-year period is not completely regular; every so often the 33-year cycle will be broken by a cycle of 29 or 37 years.

Long term leap year rules

The accumulated difference between the Gregorian calendar and the vernal equinoctial year amounts to 1 day in about 8,000 years. This suggests that the calendar needs to be improved by another refinement to the leap year rule: perhaps by avoiding leap years in years divisible by 8,000. (The most common such proposal is to avoid leap years in years divisible by 4,000 [http://www.google.com/search?q=%22gregorian+calendar%22+error+%22leap+year%22+4000]. This is based on the difference between the Gregorian calendar and the mean tropical year. Others claim, erroneously, that the Gregorian calendar itself already contains a refinement of this kind [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mleapyr.html].) However, there is little point in planning a calendar so far ahead because over a timescale of tens of thousands of years the number of days in a year will change for a number of reasons, most notably: #Precession of the equinoxes moves the position of the vernal equinox with respect to perihelion and so changes the length of the vernal equinoctial year. #Tidal acceleration from the sun and moon slows the rotation of the earth, making the day longer. In particular, the second component of change depends on such things as post-glacial rebound and sea level rise due to climate change. We can't predict these changes accurately enough to be able to make a calendar that will be accurate to a day in tens of thousands of years.

Marriage proposal

There is a tradition, said to go back to Saint Patrick and Saint Bridget in 5th century Ireland, whereby women may only make marriage proposals in leap years.

Saint Patrick and the leap year

:Saint Patrick, having driven the frogs out of the bogs was walking along the shores of Lough Neagh, when he was accosted by Saint Bridget in tears, and was told that a mutiny had broken out in the nunnery over which she presided, the ladies claiming the right of popping the question. :Saint Patrick said he would concede them the right every seventh year, when Saint Bridget threw her arms round his neck, and exclaimed, "Arrah, Pathrick, jewel, I daurn't go back to the girls wid such a proposal. Make it one year in four." Saint Patrick replied, "Bridget, acushla, squeeze me that way again, an' I'll give ye leap-year, the longest of the lot." Saint Bridget, upon this, popped the question to St Patrick himself, who, of course, could not marry: so he patched up the difficulty as best he could with a kiss and a silk gown. (Source: Evans, Ivor H, Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, Cassell, London, 1988) According to a 1288 law in Scotland, fines were levied if the proposal was refused by the man; compensation ranged from a kiss to a silk gown to soften the blow. Because men felt that put them at too great a risk, the tradition was in some places tightened to restricting female proposals to 29 February.

Birthdays

A person who was born on 29 February may be called a "leapling". In non-leap years they usually celebrate their birthday on 28 February or 1 March. There are many instances in children's literature where a person's claim to be only a quarter of their actual age turns out be based on counting their leap-year birthdays. A similar device is used in the plot of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance. Category:Calendars Category:Units of time als:Schaltjahr ko:윤년 ja:閏年 simple:Leap year th:ปีอธิกสุรทิน

763 BC

Centuries: 9th century BC - 8th century BC - 7th century BC Decades: 810s BC 800s BC 790s BC 780s BC 770s BC - 760s BC - 750s BC 740s BC 730s BC 720s BC 710s BC ----

Events and trends

- June 15 763 BC - A solar eclipse at this date is used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history

Significant people

- Category:760s BC

Solar eclipse

eclipse]] A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes in front of the Sun and obscures it totally or partially. This configuration can only exist at New Moon, when Sun, Moon and Earth are on a single line with the Moon in the middle. There are four types of solar eclipses:
- A partial solar eclipse occurs when the Sun is only partially overlapped by the Moon. This is similar to a (lunar) penumbral eclipse, and the part of the Earth experiencing the total eclipse is in the moon's penumbra.
- A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon completely obscures the Sun. This happens when the Moon is near perigee and its angular diameter as seen from Earth is identical to or slightly larger than that of the Sun. The part of the Earth experiencing the total eclipse is in the moon's umbra. A total solar eclipse is the only opportunity to observe the Sun's corona without specialised equipment.
- An annular (ring-formed) eclipse occurs when the Moon's center passes in front of Sun's center while the Moon is near apogee. The Moon's angular diameter is then smaller than that of the Sun so that a ring of the Sun can still be seen around the Moon. The part of the Earth experiencing the total eclipse is in the moon's antumbra.
- A hybrid eclipse occurs when the curvature of Earth's surface causes a single solar eclipse to be observed as annular from some locations but total from other locations. A total eclipse is seen from places on the Earth's surface that lie along the path of the eclipse and are physically closer to the Moon, and so intersect the Moon's umbra; other locations, further from the Moon, fall in the Moon's antumbra and the eclipse is annular. antumbra 1999 eclipse]] The term "solar eclipse" is a misnomer: the phenomenon is actually an occultation. An "eclipse" occurs when one celestial object passes into the shadow cast by another (as with an eclipse of the Moon). An "occultation' occurs when one body passes in front of another. When at its new phase the Moon passes in front of, or occults, the Sun, as seen from Earth, the Moon also casts a small shadow on Earth. An "occultation" of the Sun is therefore also a partial "eclipse" of Earth. occultation annular eclipse]] occultation) during the October 3 2005 annular eclipse]] 2005 2005

Observing a solar eclipse

2005]] Looking at the Sun is dangerous at any time when any part of the brilliant visible disk of the Sun (its photosphere) is visible; to do so can cause permanent eye damage. This is true at any time, including during solar eclipses; since an eclipse offers an unusually high temptation to look at the Sun, there is a high incidence of eye damage caused during solar eclipses. Viewing the Sun through any kind of optical aid —binoculars, a telescope, or even a camera's viewfinder— is extremely dangerous.

Safe Solar Viewing

- NEVER look directly at the sun with binoculars or telescope etc - NEVER even look at the sun with the naked eye - Eye damage will result, which may cause permanent blindness! The Sun can be viewed using appropriate filtration to block the harmful part of the Sun's radiation. Note that sunglasses are of little use, since they don't block the harmful and invisible infra-red radiation which causes retinal damage; other improvised methods, such as using a reflection in water, or looking through a compact disk, are equally dangerous. Only properly designed and certified solar filters should ever be used for direct viewing of the Sun; and these must be in perfect condition, as even a small defect could cause damage. The safest way to view the Sun is by indirect projection. This can be done by projecting an image of the sun onto a white piece of paper or card using a pair of binoculars (with one of the lenses covered), a telescope, or another piece of cardboard with a small hole in it (about 1 mm diameter), often called a pinhole camera. The projected image of the sun can then be safely viewed; this technique can be used to observe sunspots, as well as eclipses. However, care must be taken to ensure that no-one looks through the projector (telescope, pinhole, etc.) directly, as this will cause severe eye damage; particular care should be taken if children are present. It is safe to directly observe the total phase of a total solar eclipse, when the Sun's photosphere is completely covered by the Moon; indeed, this is a very beautiful sight. The Sun's faint corona will be visible, and even the chromosphere, solar prominences, and possibly even a solar flare may be visible. The danger here is of being caught out by the end of the total phase, and the return of the "exposed" Sun; because all parts of the Sun's disk are of similar intensity, even a tiny sliver of the Sun could cause permanent eye damage. For this reason, viewing the total phase of a solar eclipse through binoculars or a telescope should not be recommended. For more information on safe eclipse viewing, see:
- [http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEhelp/safety.html Eye Safety During Solar Eclipses], Fred Espenak, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
- [http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/eclipses/article_609_1.asp How to Watch a Partial Solar Eclipse Safely], Alan M. MacRobert, Sky & Telescope magazine

Eclipse frequency and cause

solar flare Total and annular eclipses both occur when the Moon lines up with the Sun exactly, but since the Moon's orbit is not perfectly circular it is sometimes farther away from Earth and doesn't always cover the entire solar disc from Earth's point of view. It is one of the most remarkable coincidences of nature that the Sun lies approximately 400 times as far away from Earth as does the Moon, and the Sun is also approximately 400 times as large in diameter as the Moon. As a result, as seen from Earth, the Sun and the Moon appear to be nearly the same apparent size. The Moon orbits Earth in an elliptical, or elongated orbit, however, and not in a circular orbit. Thus during about 55-60% of its orbit the Moon is far enough from Earth ("apogee") that it is too small to cover the Sun's surface completely. During the remaining portion of its orbit, it is closer to Earth ("perigee") and large enough in apparent size to cover the Sun completely. When a solar eclipse occurs near apogee, there is therefore a small ring or annulus of Sun that remains uncovered even at the moment of maxiumum eclipse. This produces an "annular" eclipse, during which the brilliant and blinding uncovered ring of the Sun makes the solar corona invisible. When a solar eclipse occurs near perigee, however, the Moon is close enough to Earth and large enough in the sky that it can cover the entire bright surface (the photosphere) of the Sun completely, and the observer sees a total eclipse, at which time the ghostly white solar corona appears. A solar eclipse can only be seen in a band across Earth as the Moon's shadow moves across its surface, while a total or annular eclipse is actually total or ring-formed in only a small band within this band (the eclipse path), and partial elsewhere (total eclipse takes place where the umbra of the Moon's shadow falls, whereas a partial eclipse is visible where the penumbra falls). The full band is generally around 100 km in width. The eclipse path will be widest if the Moon happens to be at perigee, in which case the eclipse path alone can reach 270 km in width. Total solar eclipses are rare events. Although they occur somewhere on Earth approximately every 18 months, it has been estimated that they recur at any given spot only every 300 to 400 years. And after waiting so long, the total solar eclipse only lasts for a few minutes, as the Moon's umbra moves eastward at over 1700 km/h. Totality can never last more than 7 min 40 s, and is usually a good deal shorter. During each millennium there are typically fewer than 10 total solar eclipses exceeding 7 minutes. The last time this happened was June 30, 1973. Observers aboard a Concorde jet were able to stretch totality to about 74 minutes by flying along the path of the Moon's umbra. Those alive today probably won't live to see it happen again — on June 25, 2150. The longest total solar eclipse during the 8,000-year period from 3000 BC to 5000 AD will occur on July 16, 2186, when totality will last 7 min 29 s. (eclipse predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC.) For astronomers, a total solar eclipse forms a rare opportunity to observe the corona (the outer layer of the Sun's atmosphere). Normally this is not visible because the photosphere is much brighter than the corona.

Calculating the date of a solar eclipse

If you know the date and time of a solar eclipse, you can predict other eclipses using eclipse cycles. Two well-known eclipse cycles are the Saros cycle and the Inex cycle. The Saros cycle is probably the most well known, and one of the best, eclipse cycles. The Inex cycle is itself a poor cycle, but it is very convenient in the classification of eclipse cycles. After a Saros cycle finishes, a new Saros cycle begins 1 Inex later (hence its name: in-ex). Inex

Historical solar eclipses

In the Odyssey, XIV, 151, Homer states that Odysseus will return to his home, and take vengeance on the suitors of Penelope, at the failing of the old moon and the coming of the new. Later in the Odyssey (XX, 356-357 and 390), Homer adds that the Sun vanished out of heaven and an evil gloom covered all things about the hour of the midday meal, during the celebration of the new moon. A total eclipse of the Sun was visible from the Greek island of Ithaca on April 16, 1178 BC. This would be six years after the end of the Trojan War, as traditionally dated (1184 BC), though within the Odyssey narrative it is ten years after the war. 1184 BC text]] A solar eclipse of 15 June, 763 BC mentioned in an Assyrian text is important for the Chronology of the Ancient Orient. A double (solar and lunar) eclipse took place 23 years after the ascension of king Shulgi of Babylon. This has been identified with eclipses that occurred on 9 May (solar eclipse) and 24 May (lunar eclipse), 2138 BC . This identification is however much less commonly accepted than the eclipse of 763 BC. See also Chronology of Babylonia and Assyria. On June 4, 780 BC a solar eclipse was recorded in China. Herodotus wrote that Thales of Milete predicted an eclipse which occurred during a war between the Medians and the Lydians. Soldiers on both sides put down their weapons and declared peace as a result of the eclipse. Exactly which eclipse was involved has remained uncertain, although the issue has been studied by hundreds of ancient and modern authorities. One likely candidate took place on May 28, 585 BC, probably near the Halys river in the middle of modern Turkey. An annular eclipse of the Sun occurred at Sardis on February 17, 478 BC, while Xerxes was departing for his expedition against Greece, as Herodotus, VII, 37 recorded ([Hind and Chambers, 1889: 323] considered this absolute date more than a century ago). Herodotus (book IX, 10, book VIII, 131, and book IX, 1) reports that another solar eclipse was observed in Sparta during the next year, on August 1, 477 BC. The sky suddenly darkened in the middle of the sky, well after the battles of Thermopylae and Salamis, after the departure of Mardonius to Thessaly at the beginning of the spring of (477 BC) and his second attack on Athens, after the return of Cleombrotus to Sparta. Note that the modern conventional dates are different by a year or two, and that these two eclipse records have been ignored so far. The foundation of Rome took place 437 years after the capture of Troy (1182 BC), according to Velleius Paterculus (VIII, 5). It took place shortly before an eclipse of the Sun that was observed at Rome on June 25, 745 BC and had a magnitude of 50.3%. Its beginning occurred at 16:38, its middle at 17:28, and its end at 18:16. Varro may have used the consular list with its mistakes, calling the year of the first consuls "245 ab urbe condita" (a.u.c.). A new study claims that the Varronian date has been superseded. Its correctness has not been proved scientifically but it is used worldwide. According to Lucius Tarrutius of Firmum, Romulus was conceived in the womb on the 23rd day of the Egyptian month Choiac, at the time of a total eclipse of the Sun. This eclipse occurred on June 15, 763 BC, with a magnitude of 62.5% at Rome. Its beginning took place at 6:49, its middle at 7:47 and its end at 8:51. He was born on the 21st day of the month of Thoth. The first day of Thoth fell on 2 March in that year (Prof. E. J. Bickerman, 1980: 115). That implies that Rhea Silvia's pregnancy lasted for 281 days. Rome was founded on the ninth day of the month Pharmuthi, which was April 21, as universally agreed. The Romans add that, about the time Romulus started to build the city, an eclipse of the Sun was observed by Antimachus, the Teian poet, on the 30th day of the lunar month. This eclipse (see above) had a magnitude of 54.6% at Teos, Asia Minor. It started at 17:49 and was still eclipsed at sunset, at 19:20. Romulus vanished in the 54th year of his life, on the Nones of Quintilis (July), on a day when the Sun was darkened. The day turned into night, which sudden darkness was believed to be an eclipse of the Sun. It occurred on July 17, 709 BC, with a magnitude of 93.7%, beginning at 5:04 and ending at 6:57. All these eclipse data have been calculated by Prof. Aurél Ponori-Thewrewk, retired director of the Planetarium of Budapest. Plutarch placed it in the 37th year from the foundation of Rome, on the fifth of our month July, then called Quintilis, on "Caprotine Nones". Livy (I, 21) also states that Romulus ruled for 37 years. He was slain by the Senate or disappeared in the 38th year of his reign. Most of these have been recorded by Plutarch (Lives of Romulus, Numa Pompilius and Camillus), Florus (Book I, I), Cicero (The Republic VI, 22: Scipio's Dream), Dio (Dion) Cassius and Dionysius of Halicarnassus (L. 2). Dio in his Roman History (Book I) confirms these data by telling that Romulus was in his 18th year of age when he founded Rome. Therefore, three eclipse records prove that Romulus reigned from 746 BC to 709 BC. 709 BC

Observations

During a solar eclipse special observations can be done with the unaided eye. Normally the spots of light which fall through the small openings between the leaves of a tree, have a circular shape. These are images of the sun. During a partial eclipse, the light spots will show the partial shape of the sun, as seen on the picture.

Special observation campaigns

- May 30, 1965: Launch of rockets at Charlestown, USA
- May 20, 1966: Launch of rockets at Karystos, Greece to watch the solar eclipse
- November 12, 1966: Launch of two Titus-rockets fom Las Palmas, Argentina
- February 26, 1979: Launch of rockets from Red Lake, Canada
- February 16, 1980: Launch of rockets from San Marco platform

Solar eclipse before sunrise or after sunset

It is possible for a solar eclipse to attain totality (or in the event of a partial eclipse, near totality) before sunrise or after sunset from a particular location. When this occurs shortly before the former or after the latter, the sky will appear much darker than it would otherwise be immediately before sunrise or after sunset. On these occasions, an object — especially a planet (often Mercury) — may be visible near the sunrise or sunset point of the horizon when it could not have been seen without the eclipse.

Simultaneous occurrence of solar eclipse and transit of a planet

In principle, the simultaneous occurrence of a Solar eclipse and a transit of a planet is possible. But these events are extremely rare because of their short durations. The next anticipated simultaneous occurrence of a Solar eclipse and a transit of Mercury will be on July 5, 6757, and of a Solar eclipse and a transit of Venus is expected on April 5, 15232. Only 5 hours after the transit of Venus on June 4, 1769 there was a total solar eclipse, which was visible in Northern America, Europe and Northern Asia as partial solar eclipse. This was the lowest time difference between a transit of a planet and a solar eclipse in the historical past. More common — but still quite rare — is a conjunction of any planet (not confined exclusively to Mercury or Venus) concomitant with a total solar eclipse, in which event the planet will be visible very near the eclipsed Sun, when without the eclipse it would have been lost in the Sun's glare (unless the line-up of it and the Sun was so exact that the Sun occulted it). At one time, some scientists — including Albert Einstein — hypothesized that there may have been a planet even closer to the Sun than Mercury; the only way to confirm its existence would have been to observe it during a total solar eclipse. When no such planet was found during such an eclipse, the possibility of its existence was ruled out.

Solar eclipses by artificial satellites

Artificial satellites can also get in the line between Earth and Sun. But none are large enough to cause an eclipse. At the altitude of the International Space Station, for example, an object would need to be about 3.35 km across to blot the Sun out entirely. This means the best you can get is a satellite transit, but these events are difficult to watch, because the zone of visibility is very small. The satellite passes over the face of the Sun in about a second, typically. Like a transit of a planet it will not get dark. [http://eclipse.astronomie.info/transit/venus/isstransit/isstransit.html]

Past and future eclipses

Although there is a total eclipse visible somewhere on Earth most years, some are more conveniently observed than others. Eclipses where the path of totality crosses major population centres generate the most interest in the general public. Selected past and upcoming eclipses are: (
- ) Duration of central eclipse.

External links

- [http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEhelp/safety.html Eye Safety During Solar Eclipses], Fred Espenak, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
- [http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/eclipses/article_609_1.asp How to Watch a Partial Solar Eclipse Safely], Alan M. MacRobert, Sky & Telescope magazine
- [http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/319/7208/469 UK hospitals assess eye damage after solar eclipse], British Medical Journal, 21 August 1999; pp 319-469
- [http://www.hermit.org/Eclipse/ Detailed eclipse explanations and predictions] by Hermit Eclipse
- [http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/ NASA's Eclipse Home Page]
- [http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990830.html APOD 8/30/99 - Solar eclipse viewed from Mir Space Craft]
- [http://www.zam.fme.vutbr.cz/~druck/Eclipse/ Prof. Druckmüller's eclipse photography site]
- [http://eclipse.span.ch/eclipse8april.htm Pictures of the 2005-04-08 eclipse]
- [http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEatlas/SEatlas.html World Atlas of Solar Eclipse Paths] by Fred Espenak
- Wikisource has some detailed information about recently solar eclipses as seen from [http://wikisource.org/wiki/Solar_eclipses_as_seen_from_Beijing Beijing], [http://wikisource.org/wiki/Solar_eclipses_as_seen_from_Shanghai Shanghai] and [http://wikisource.org/wiki/Solar_eclipses_as_seen_from_Tianjin Tianjin] Category:Solar System Category:Eclipses ko:일식 ms:Gerhana matahari ja:日食 th:สุริยุปราคา

Mesopotamia

, ca. 24th century BC]] Mesopotamia (Greek: Μεσοποταμία, translated from Old Persian Miyanrudan "between rivers"; Aramaic name being Beth-Nahrain "House of Two Rivers") is a region of Southwest Asia. Strictly speaking, it is the alluvial plain lying between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, composing parts of Iraq, Turkey and Syria. More commonly, the term includes these river plains in totality as well as the surrounding lowland territories bounded by the Syrian Desert to the west, the Arabian Desert to the south, the Persian Gulf to the southeast, the Zagros Mountains to the east and the Caucasus mountains to the north. Mesopotamia is famous for the site of some of the oldest civilizations in the world. Writings from Mesopotamia (Uruk, modern Warka) are among the earliest known in the world, giving Mesopotamia a reputation of being the "Cradle of Civilization". The age of Sumerian writing is about on a par with Egyptian hieroglyphs, and some yet older inscriptions are known, probably ranking as proto-writing (Old European script, Naqada [http://www.touregypt.net/ebph5.htm].

City states and Imperial glory

Mesopotamia was settled, and conquered, by numerous ancient civilizations:
- Mesopotamia was home to some of the oldest major ancient civilizations, including the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians and Assyrians.
- In 5000 BC, the Sumerians arrived in Mesopotamia. The Semites arrived in 2900 BC and by 2000 BC they had mixed peacefully with the Sumerians and had assumed political dominance.
- The Mitanni were an eastern Indo-European people (belonging to the linguistic "satem" group) who settled in northern Mesopotamia circa 1600 BC South-East of Turkey and by circa 1450 BC established a medium-size empire east, north and west, and temporarily made tributary vassals out of kings in the west, even as far as Kafti (minoic Crete) and making them a major threat for the Pharaoh.
- By 1300 BC they had been reduced to their homeland and the status of vassal of the Hatti (the Hittites), a western Indo-European people (belonging to the linguistic "kentum" group) who dominated most of Asia Minor from their capital of Hattutshash (modern Turkey) and threatened Egypt even more.
- Meanwhile the Kassites established a strong realm, Sangar, in southern Mesopotamia, with Babel as its capital, not touched by Mitanni or Hittites. But the Elamites threatened or invaded them.
- Chaldaean New Babylonia circa 600 BC.

Later history

Elamites
- The region ceased to be a major power house since its inclusion in the Persian Empire of the Achaemenids, apparently as two satrapies, Babylonia in the south and Athura (from Assyria) in the north.
- After the conquest of all Persia by the Hellenizing Macedonian king Alexander the Great, the satrapies were part of the major diadochy, the Seleucid Empire, almost until its elimination by Greater Armenia in 83 BC.
- Most of Mesopotamia then became part of the Parthian Empire of the Arsakides. However part, in the northwest, became Roman. Under the Tetrarchy, this was divided into two provinces, called Osrhoene (around Edessa; roughly the modern-day border between Turkey and Syria) and Mesopotamia (a bit more northeast).
- During the time of the Persian Empire of Sassanids, their much larger share of Mesopotamia was called Dil-i Iranshahr meaning "Iran's Heart" and the metropol Ctesiphon (facing ancient Seleukia across the Tigris), the capital of Persia, was situated in Mesopotamia.
- Since the early caliphs annexed all Persia and advanced even further, Mesopotamia was reunited, but governed as two provinces: northern Mesopotamia (with Mosul) and southern Iraq (with Baghdad, the later caliphal capital). Add education

List of links

Baghdad These civilizations arose from earlier settlements and cultures which were among the first to make use of agriculture.
- Neolithic settlements e.g., Jarmo, Tell Abu Hureyra
- Hassuna period
- Halaf period (or Halafian)
- Samarra period (or Samarran), e.g., Choga Mami
- Ubaid period, e.g., Eridu
- Uruk period, named after the city Uruk.
- Sumerian Early Dynastic period Early cities in this region include:
- lower Mesopotamia / Sumer
- Uruk
- Isin
- Lagash
- Akkad
- Agade
- Babylon
- Kish
- Nippur
- upper Mesopotamia / Assyria
- Assur
- Nineveh
- Mari
- Aleppo

923

Events

- June 15 - Battle of Soissons: King Robert I of France is killed, King Charles the Simple is arrested by the supporters of Duke Rudolph of Burgundy
- Topiltzin Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl becomes ruler of the Toltecs (approx. date)

Births

- Emperor Suzaku of Japan

Deaths

- Athelm, Archbishop of Canterbury Category:923 ko:923년

Battle of Soissons

The Battle of Soissons can refer to one of several important historical battles, all of which took place in the vicinity of the French town Soissons:
- Battle of Soissons, 486 - A battle between the Franks, under Clovis I, and the Kingdom of Soissons, under Syagrius. See Battle of Soissons (486) for details.
- Battle of Soissons, 923 - A battle during which King Robert I of France was killed, possibly by King Charles III, and the latter was defeated and imprisoned by Rudolph, Duke of Burgundy who succeeded Robert I as French monarch.
- Battle of Soissons, 1918 - A

June 15

Events

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June 15

Events

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Leap year

Gregorian calendar

Which day is the leap day?

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Marriage proposal

Saint Patrick and the leap year

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763 BC

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Significant people

Solar eclipse

Observing a solar eclipse

Safe Solar Viewing

Eclipse frequency and cause

Calculating the date of a solar eclipse

Historical solar eclipses

Observations

Special observation campaigns

Solar eclipse before sunrise or after sunset

Simultaneous occurrence of solar eclipse and transit of a planet

Solar eclipses by artificial satellites

Past and future eclipses

See also

External links

Mesopotamia

City states and Imperial glory

Later history

List of links

Further reading

923

Events

Births

Deaths

Battle of Soissons