Wikipedia:Main Page history/2022 January 10b

Diagram of Ursa Minor's seven main stars

Ursa Minor (Little Bear) is a constellation in the northern sky. In North America, it is also known as the Little Dipper since its seven main stars appear to form a ladle shape (diagram pictured). One of 88 modern constellations, it was also one of 48 listed by 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy. Polaris, its brightest star, is currently less than one degree away from the north celestial pole. Because this position stays nearly fixed as the Earth rotates, the star has been important for navigation, particularly by mariners. Polaris is a yellow-white supergiant and the brightest Cepheid variable star, ranging in apparent magnitude (m) from 1.97 to 2.00. Beta Ursae Minoris, also known as Kochab, has swollen and cooled to become an orange giant with a slightly fainter m of 2.08. Ursa Minor also contains an isolated neutron star—Calvera—and H1504+65, the hottest known white dwarf, with a surface temperature of 200,000 K. Planets have been detected orbiting four of its stars, including Kochab. (Full article...)

Depiction of Osnas winning the Cross of St. George

• ... that Russian-Jewish medical student Leo Osnas won the first Cross of St. George of the First World War by saving his regiment's colours from capture (pictured)?
• ... that Tulsa and Old Dominion, who played in the 2021 Myrtle Beach Bowl, each had to win their final regular season game to achieve bowl eligibility?
• ... that the British University of Nottingham has named a building at their Jubilee Campus after Chinese Communist Party politician Xu Yafen?
• ... that though Broadway's Ambassador Theatre was characterized as having a "relatively lackluster career", it has hosted the same musical since 2003?
• ... that Alexander Wehrle was denied a move to VfB Stuttgart because his parents wanted him to focus on his studies?
• ... that the owner of Mississippi radio stations WGUF and WGUF-FM purposefully fell behind on his royalty payments because he did not like copyright fees?
• ... that Alicia Girón García was the first woman to become the director of the Biblioteca Nacional de España?
• ... that The New York Times described China Chalet "as if New York's art world had been transported to a Holiday Inn in the Midwest"?

Sidney Poitier

• An apartment fire in the Bronx, New York City, kills at least 17 people.
• Sidney Poitier (pictured), the first black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, dies at the age of 94.
• Anti-government protests triggered by an increase in fuel prices result in at least 160 deaths and 7,900 arrests across Kazakhstan.
• Peter Wright wins the PDC World Darts Championship.

January 10: Coming of Age Day in Japan (2022)

Construction of the Metropolitan Railway

• AD 9 – The Western Han dynasty of China ended after the throne was usurped by Wang Mang, who founded the Xin dynasty.
• 1475 – Moldavian–Ottoman Wars: Stephen the Great led Moldavian forces to defeat an Ottoman attack under Hadım Suleiman Pasha near Vaslui in what is now Romania.
• 1863 – Service began on the Metropolitan Railway (construction depicted) between Paddington and Farringdon Street, today the oldest segment of the London Underground.
• 1923 – Lithuanian residents of the Memel Territory rebelled against the League of Nations decision to leave the area as a mandated region under French control.
• 2007 – A general strike began in Guinea as an attempt to force President Lansana Conté to resign, eventually resulting in the appointment of two new prime ministers.