An explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986 spread a radioactive cloud over large parts of the Soviet Union; millions of people in the three countries were exposed to the radiation.
The World Day for Safety and Health at Work will focus on addressing the outbreak of infectious diseases at work, in particular, on the COVID-19 pandemic.
May Day is a public holiday usually celebrated on 1 May or the first Monday of May. It is an ancient festival of spring and a current traditional spring holiday in many European cultures. Dances, singing, and cake are usually part of the festivities. In 1889, May Day was chosen as the date for International Workers' Day by the Socialists and Communists of the Second International to commemorate the Haymarket affair in Chicago. International Workers' […]
The Eta Aquariids are a strong shower when viewed from the southern tropics. From the equator northward, they usually only produce medium rates of 10-30 per hour just before dawn. Activity is good for a week centered the night of maximum activity. These are swift meteors that produce a high percentage of persistent trains, but […]
Mother's Day in the United States is an annual holiday celebrated on the second Sunday in May. Mother's Day recognizes mothers, motherhood and maternal bonds in general, as well as the positive contributions that they make to society. It was established by Anna Jarvis, with the first official Mother's Day celebrated through a service of worship at St. Andrew's Methodist […]
Arthur Leonard Schawlow (May 5, 1921 – April 28, 1999) was an American physicist and co-inventor of the laser with Charles Townes. His central insight, which Townes overlooked, was the use of two mirrors as the resonant cavity to take maser action from microwaves to visible wavelengths. He shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics with Nicolaas Bloembergen and Kai Siegbahn for his work using lasers to determine atomic energy levels […]
Mother's Day in the United States is an annual holiday celebrated on the second Sunday in May. Mother's Day recognizes mothers, motherhood and maternal bonds in general, as well as the positive contributions that they make to society. It was established by Anna Jarvis, with the first official Mother's Day celebrated through a service of worship at St. Andrew's Methodist […]
Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet KH FRS (/ˈhɜːrʃəl, ˈhɛər-/; 7 March 1792 – 11 May 1871) was an English polymath, mathematician, astronomer, chemist, inventor, experimental photographer who invented the blueprint, and did botanical work. Herschel originated the use of the Julian day system in astronomy. He named seven moons of Saturn and four moons of Uranus – the seventh planet, discovered by his father Sir William Herschel. He made many contributions to the science of photography, […]
New Moon. By the modern definition, New Moon occurs when the Moon and Sun are at the same geocentric ecliptic longitude. The part of the Moon facing us is completely in shadow then. Pictured here is the traditional New Moon, the earliest visible waxing crescent, which signals the start of a new month in many […]
The Moon’s distance from Earth varies throughout its monthly orbit because the Moon’s orbit isn’t perfectly circular. Every month, the Moon’s eccentric orbit carries it to apogee – its most distant point from Earth – and then, some two weeks later, to perigee – the Moon’s closest point to Earth in its monthly orbit. - earthsky.org
Eid al-Fitr (/iːd əl ˈfɪtər/ eed əl FIT-ər; Arabic: عيد الفطر ʻĪd al-Fiṭr, IPA: ), also called the "Festival of Breaking the Fast" or Lesser Eid, is a religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan. This religious Eid is the only day in the month of Shawwal during which Muslims are not permitted to fast. The date for the start of any lunar Hijri month varies based […]
Astronomy Day is an international event observed each fall and spring near the first quarter Moon. Local astronomical societies, planetariums, museums, and observatories sponsor public viewing sessions, presentations, workshops, and other activities to increase public awareness about astronomy and our wonderful universe.
This fall, Astronomy Day will be held on October 12, 2021.
Astronomy Day is an international event observed each fall and spring near the first quarter Moon. Local astronomical societies, planetariums, museums, and observatories sponsor public viewing sessions, presentations, workshops, and other activities to increase public awareness about astronomy and our wonderful universe.
Brendan of Clonfert (c. AD 484 – c. 577) Brénainn moccu Alti or Brénainn maccu Alti (Irish: Naomh Bréanainn or Naomh Breandán; Latin: Brendanus; Icelandic: (heilagur) Brandanus), also referred to as "Brendán moccu Altae" (Brendan of the Fosterling Folk), called "the Navigator", "the Voyager", "the Anchorite", and "the Bold", is one of the early Irish monastic saints and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. He is primarily renowned for his legendary […]
The International Day of Light is a global initiative that provides an annual focal point for the continued appreciation of light and the role it plays in science, culture and art, education, and sustainable development, and in fields as diverse as medicine, communications, and energy. The broad theme of light will allow many different sectors […]
Theme: "Accelerating Digital Transformation in challenging times". World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) has been celebrated annually every 17 May since 1969 to mark the founding of ITU and the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention in 1865. The COVID-19 crisis has not only highlighted the critical role of information and communication […]
World Metrology Day is an annual celebration of the signature of the Metre Convention on 20 May 1875 by representatives of seventeen nations. The Convention set the framework for global collaboration in the science of measurement and in its industrial, commercial and societal applications. The original aim of the Metre Convention - the world-wide uniformity […]
Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov (21 May 1921 – 14 December 1989) was a Soviet and Russian nuclear physicist, dissident, Nobel laureate, and activist for disarmament, peace and human rights. He became renowned as the designer of the Soviet Union's RDS-37, a codename for Soviet development of thermonuclear weapons. Sakharov later became an advocate of civil liberties and civil reforms in the Soviet Union, for which […]
Towel Day is an annual celebration on the 25th of May, as a tribute to the late author Douglas Adams (1952-2001). On that day, fans around the universe carry a towel in his honor. Towel Day 2021 marks the 43rd anniversary of the first BBC broadcast of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1978).
The Full Moon rises at sunset, is visible all night, and is high in the sky around midnight. May's Full Moon is called the Flower Moon by The Old Farmer’s Almanac.
Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Memorial Day 2021 will occur on Monday, May 31. Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday […]
In April 2018, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 3 as International World Bicycle Day. The resolution for World Bicycle Day recognizes "the uniqueness, longevity and versatility of the bicycle, which has been in use for two centuries, and that it is a simple, affordable, reliable, clean and environmentally fit sustainable means of transport." Read More: https://www.un.org/en/observances/bicycle-day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Bicycle_Day
During World War II (1939-1945), the Battle of Normandy, which lasted from June 1944 to August 1944, resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. Codenamed Operation Overlord, the battle began on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, when some 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches […]