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From today's featured articleThe Australasian Antarctic Expedition (1911–1914), headed by Douglas Mawson, explored the largely uncharted coast of Antarctica due south of Australia. Mawson was inspired to lead his own venture by his experiences on Ernest Shackleton's Nimrod expedition in 1907–1909. During its time in Antarctica, the Australasian Antarctic Expedition's sledging parties covered around 2,600 miles (4,180 km) of unexplored territory. Its ship, SY Aurora (pictured), navigated 1,800 miles (2,900 km) of unmapped coastline. Scientific activities included meteorological measurements, magnetic observations, an expansive oceanographic program, and the collection of many biological and geological samples, including the discovery of the first meteorite found in Antarctica. The expedition was the first to establish and maintain wireless contact between Antarctica and Australia. Its broad exploration program laid the groundwork for Australia's later territorial claims in Antarctica. (Full article...)
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Monoceros is a faint constellation on the celestial equator, not easily visible to the naked eye. Its name is Greek for 'unicorn'. The constellation is attributed to the 17th-century Dutch cartographer Petrus Plancius. Clockwise from north, it is bordered by Gemini, Orion, Lepus, Canis Major, Puppis, Hydra and Canis Minor. This illustration is plate 31 of Urania's Mirror, a set of 32 astronomical star chart cards illustrated by Sidney Hall and first published in 1824. Monoceros is fancifully depicted here as a prancing unicorn, being ridden by a small dog, representing Canis Minor. Underneath the unicorn is "Atelier Typographique", an obsolete constellation representing a printing press that has since been absorbed into Puppis. Urania's Mirror was originally advertised as containing "all the constellations visible in the British Empire", but that was not in fact the case, as some of the southern constellations are missing. The first edition showed only the stars in the featured constellations, with surrounding stars omitted; this illustration is from the second edition and includes the surrounding stars. Lithograph credit: Sidney Hall; restored by Adam Cuerden
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