Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 July 31

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Today's featured article
The definition of planet has comprised many different things. Early use of the term was never strict and its meaning has blurred to include or exclude a variety of objects. By the end of the 19th century, the word planet had a more firm definition: it applied only to objects in the Solar System, a number small enough that any differences could be dealt with on an individual basis. After 1992 however, astronomers began to discover many additional objects beyond the orbit of Neptune, as well as hundreds of extrasolar planets. These discoveries not only increased the number of potential planets, but expanded their variety and peculiarity. The issue of a clear definition for planet came to a head in 2005 with the discovery of the trans-Neptunian object Eris, a body larger than the smallest then-accepted planet, Pluto. In its 2006 response to the discovery, the International Astronomical Union released its decision on the matter. Its definition, which applies only to the Solar System, states that a planet is a body that orbits the Sun, is massive enough for its own gravity to make it round, and has "cleared its neighbourhood" of smaller objects around its orbit. Under this new definition, Pluto, along with the other trans-Neptunian objects, does not qualify as a planet. (more...) Recently featured: Horses in World War I – Christopher Smart's asylum confinement – Jack L. Warner Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the male common box turtle (pictured) has to lean back past the vertical to mate with the female? ... that Dorothy Reitman was the first woman president of the Canadian Jewish Congress? ... that olaflur, a toothpaste ingredient for the prevention of caries, is synthesized from cattle's tallow? ... that Al Lerner, 1940s pianist in the Harry James band, wrote the music for "So Until I See You", the closing theme for Tonight Starring Jack Paar in the early 1960s? ... that in Bach's late chorale cantata Es ist das Heil uns kommen her, BWV 9, three bass recitatives deliver a Lutheran sermon on salvation, based on twelve stanzas of the chorale? ... that Gustaf Aspelin was the first Swedish consul in Kristiania? ... that though it was decided as early as 1882 to install a lighthouse at Contendas Point on Terceira Island, the Ponta das Contendas Lighthouse was not built and inaugurated till almost 52 years afterwards? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Tropical Storm Nock-ten causes 41 deaths in the Philippines and the evacuation of more than 27,000 people in China. Ollanta Humala (pictured) is inaugurated as President of Peru. Asteroid 2010 TK₇ is confirmed as the first Earth Trojan asteroid discovered. Truong Tan Sang becomes the new President of Vietnam and nominates Nguyen Tan Dung to another term as Prime Minister. In cycling, Cadel Evans wins the 98th edition of the Tour de France, becoming the first Australian to do so. Protests against rising house prices in Israel continue, with tens of thousands gathering in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
July 31: Ka Hae Hawai'i Day (Flag Day) in Hawaii; Feast day of Saint Ignatius of Loyola 1201 – John Komnenos the Fat briefly seized the throne of the Byzantine Empire from Alexios III Angelos, but he was soon caught and executed. 1917 – World War I: The Battle of Passchendaele began near Ypres in West Flanders, Belgium, with the Allied Powers aiming to force German troops to withdraw from the Channel Ports. 1941 – The Holocaust: Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring ordered SS General Reinhard Heydrich to settle "the final solution of the Jewish question". 1991 – The Soviet Union and the United States signed the bilateral START I treaty, the largest and most complex arms control treaty in history, which eventually removed 80% of all strategic nuclear weapons then in existence. 2006 – Following intestinal surgery, Fidel Castro provisionally transferred the duties of the Cuban presidency to his brother Raúl (pictured). More anniversaries: July 30 – July 31 – August 1 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now July 31, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

The flower of an Isophysis tasmanica plant, the only member of the Isophysis genus in the iris family. The plant is endemic to the mountains of Western Tasmania, growing in heathland on sandy soils. It has grass-like foliage and star-like dark red-purple or yellow flowers with reflexed tepals, as well as a characteristic superior ovary, which distinguishes it from other Iridaceae.

Photo: JJ Harrison

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