Mars

Images and simulations provide an overview of Mars, the fourth planet from the sun. Mars is the outermost of the terrestrial, or Earth-like, planets.

Anglerfish

An anglerfish (order Lophiiformes) luring and capturing prey.

Apollo 11: Moon landing, 1969

Perhaps the most famous of all space films, these clips document the arrival of the first human beings on the Moon during the afternoon of July 20, 1969. They comprise footage of the landing of the Apollo 11 spacecraft, taken with a 16-mm camera mounted in Edwin Aldrin's window, and Neil Armstrong's first steps, recorded by a television camera whose signal was transmitted back to NASA Mission Control in Houston. In the audio can be heard one of the most famous misstatements in history: Armstrong had planned to say “That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind,” but forgot the “a” in the excitement of the moment.

This Day In History

More events on this day
1944: In World War II, German forces attempted to push through Allied lines in the Ardennes, beginning the Battle of the Bulge.

1838: Voortrekkers killed 3,000 Zulu at the Battle of Blood River in South Africa.

1653: British soldier and statesman Oliver Cromwell became lord protector of England.

1631: More than 3,000 people were killed by a major eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

882: Marinus I became pope after the death (possibly murder) of John VIII.

1773: Boston Tea Party
On this day in 1773, in what is known as the Boston Tea Party, American colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians threw 342 chests of tea belonging to the British East India Company into Boston Harbor to protest a tax on tea.

Historical Wonder The Hampi

The typical version Hampi’s history starts with a popular folklore. Two local chieftains, Hakka & Bukka , reports to their guru an unusual sight they saw during a hunting expedition. A hare chased by their hound suddenly turns courageous and start chasing back the hound. Vidyaranya, the guru, tells them that the place is so special and asks them to establish theirs local capital at this place. The seed of an empire was sown. Over the next 200 plus years (1336 AD – 1565 AD) four dynasties ruled Vijayanagar . History of Vijayanagar’s had been a saga of resistance against the northern Sultanates as well as building of its spectacular capital in Hampi. The capital was one major trading center. Anything from horses to gems was traded in Hampi. Art and architecture found its special place in Hampi. The rulers were great patrons of art and religion. Most of the kings associated names of their favorite gods with their names. Some of the kings were renowned for their ambitious projects. King Krishnadeva Raya (1509-1529 AD) of the Tuluva Dynasty stands tall among the rest. During his regime the empire saw its peak. By this time Vijayanagara Empire covered the whole of south India and beyond. The Krishna Temple that you can visit in Hampi was commissioned by him to commemorate the victory over the Gajapathi kings of Utkala (in present day Orissa state).
The warring Deccan Sultanates could finally join together to defeat the Vijayanagara army at Talarikota, a place north of Hampi. Vijayanagar army suffered heavy losses. The capital city was plundered, its population massacred. Treasure hunters ransacked its palaces and temples for months. Kings lost, capital fallen, population fled, Hampi turned into a ghost city. For centuries Hampi remained as a neglected place. This erstwhile metropolitan with more than half a million population slowly turned into a jungle where wild animals roamed freely. The area came under many kings from time to time with the flow of history. But it was no more considered strategic and hence neglected. During the colonial period, Hampi evoked some curiosity among the western archeologists. Robert Sewell’s (1845-1925), seminal work aptly titled as A Forgotten Empire :Vijayanagar was a major attempt to narrate the empire that was. In 1917 A.H. Longhurst’s Hampi Ruins Described and Illustrated became the first travel guide for the visitors to Hampi. UNESCO’s World Heritage Site was conferred to Hampi in 1986. Currently Hampi's monuments - hundreds of them - are popular among tourists, pilgrims and the area is one of the exotic locations for the Bollywood and local film shootings. Jackie Chan film “Myth” was shot in the Hampi.