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From today's featured article Eta Carinae is a stellar system of at least two stars with a combined luminosity over five million times that of the Sun, around 7500 light-years distant in the constellation Carina. First recorded as a 4th-magnitude star, it brightened considerably beginning in 1837 in an event known as the Great Eruption, becoming the second-brightest star in the sky between 11 and 14 March 1843 before fading well below naked eye visibility. It has been getting brighter again since about 1940, peaking above magnitude 4.5 in 2014. Eta Carinae is always above the horizon south of latitude 30°S, and never visible north of about latitude 30°N. The two main stars of the system orbit each other with a period of 5.54 years. The primary is a peculiar star similar to a luminous blue variable, initially 150–250 times as massive as the Sun but now at least 30 solar masses lighter, and is expected to eventually explode as a supernova. The secondary star is hot and also highly luminous, around 30–80 times as massive as the Sun. The system is heavily obscured by the Homunculus Nebula, material ejected from the primary during the Great Eruption. (Full article...) Recently featured: German–Yugoslav Partisan negotiations Mangrove swallow Mothers of the Disappeared Did you know... Ace of Clubs House ... that according to local lore, Texarkana's Ace of Clubs House (pictured) was built with US$10,000 won in a game of poker with an ace of clubs? ... that Charmian Gooch's investigation into the Cambodian timber trade deprived Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge regime of US$90 million a year? ... that a new electrical substation in Seattle will feature a dog park, a theater, a walking path, and public art? ... that Théophile Schuler illustrated Verne, Hugo, and an alphabet for children? ... that Beacon Hill, on the South Downs in West Sussex, supports the remains of a Bronze Age hillfort, an Anglo-Saxon burial mound, and a late 18th-century telegraph station? ... that a hat-trick was taken during Phillip Gillespie's first-class debut as a cricket umpire? ... that despite the Reich Ministry of Transport running trains to extermination camps during the Holocaust, the US later ruled some of their personnel only had "lukewarm" connections to the Nazi Party? ... that crossword compiler William Lutwiniak was promoted to sergeant the same day he joined the army?

In the news Park Geun-hye South Korea's Constitutional Court removes President Park Geun-hye (pictured) from office. Donald Tusk is re-elected as President of the European Council despite opposition from his home country, Poland. An attack on a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, kills 49 people and injures more than 60 others. The Azure Window, a limestone natural arch on the Maltese island of Gozo, collapses during a storm. WikiLeaks begins releasing Vault 7, a series of documents detailing activities of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency to perform electronic surveillance and cyberwarfare. The United States begins deployment of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-ballistic missile system in South Korea. Ongoing: Battle of Mosul Recent deaths: John Surtees Bill Leak Neila Sathyalingam Howard Hodgkin On this day... March 12: Shushan Purim begins at sunset in Jerusalem and Susa (Judaism, 2017) Harry S. Truman 538 – Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths, ended his siege of Rome, leaving the city in the hands of the victorious Roman general, Belisarius. 1881 – Andrew Watson made his debut with the Scotland national football team and became the world's first black international footballer. 1913 – The future capital of Australia was officially named Canberra during a ceremony officiated by Gertrude, Lady Denman, the wife of Governor-General Lord Denman. 1947 – Cold War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman (pictured) proclaimed the Truman Doctrine to help stem the spread of communism. 1952 – British diplomat Hastings Ismay was appointed as the first Secretary General of NATO. Charles Boycott (b. 1832) · Jessica Hardy (b. 1987) · Lazare Ponticelli (d. 2008) More anniversaries: March 11 March 12 March 13

Today's featured picture The Chapel of the Gate of Dawn is a Catholic chapel and pilgrimage site on the city gates of the Lithuanian city of Vilnius. It is home to Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn, a painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Northern Renaissance style. In this image, the painting is covered in expensive and elaborate silver and gold clothes, leaving only the face and hands visible. Legend tells that in 1702, when Vilnius was captured by the Swedish army during the Great Northern War, Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn rescued the city: at dawn, the heavy iron city gates of the gate fell, killing four Swedish soldiers and promoting a successful Lithuanian counter-attack near the gate. Photograph: David Iliff Recently featured: Wivenhoe Park Micrometer Marie-Suzanne Giroust

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