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Map of Hydrus

Hydrus is a small constellation in the deep southern sky. Its first appearance was on a celestial globe published in 1598 in Amsterdam by the astronomer Petrus Plancius and the cartographer Jodocus Hondius. The first celestial atlas to depict it was Johann Bayer's Uranometria, in 1603. The French explorer and astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille charted the brighter stars and gave their Bayer designations in 1756. Its name means "male water snake", as opposed to Hydra, a much larger constellation that represents a female water snake. Hydrus remains below the horizon for most Northern Hemisphere observers. The brightest star is the 2.8-magnitude Beta Hydri, also the brightest star within 15° of the south celestial pole. Pulsating between magnitude 3.26 and 3.33, Gamma Hydri is a variable red giant some 60 times the diameter of our Sun. Near it is VW Hydri, one of the brightest dwarf novae in the heavens. Four star systems have been found to have exoplanets to date, including HD 10180, which might bear up to nine planetary companions. (Full article...)

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Shah Mosque
Shah Mosque

In the news

Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in 2011
Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral

On this day...

December 12: Yule Lads begin arrival in Iceland

Scene of the Clapham Junction rail crash
Scene of the Clapham Junction rail crash
More anniversaries:
Rajinikanth in 2010
Rajinikanth

Rajinikanth's film career includes over 150 films. He made his screen debut with a small role in the Tamil film Apoorva Raagangal (1975). After playing antagonistic roles for the most part in his early career, he graduated to a lead actor. His performance in Mullum Malarum (1978) earned him a Special Mention at the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. In the 1980s, he starred in a series of commercially successful films in Tamil cinema. During this time, he also had a brief stint in Bollywood, where he mostly played supporting roles; however, in the 1990s he had continued success as a lead actor in Tamil cinema with films like Annamalai (1992), Uzhaippali (1993), Baashha (1995) and Muthu (1995). The last one was a commercial success in Japan and was instrumental in creating a large fan base for him in the country. Rajinikanth was paid 260 million for Sivaji; it made him the second-highest paid actor in Asia. He played dual roles – as a scientist and an android – in the 2010 science fiction film Enthiran, which is among the highest grossing Indian films of all time. (Full list...)

Lars Kruse

Lars Kruse (1828–1894) was a fisherman from Skagen in the far north of Jutland, Denmark, who was credited with saving over 200 lives. In one case, on 27 December 1862, he rescued much of the crew of the Swedish brig Daphne when it was stranded during a storm. Kruse also gained fame through his portraits, painted by Michael Ancher, and an account of his mistreatment written by Holger Drachmann in a mixture of poems and prose.

Painting: Michael Ancher

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