German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle discovered the
planet Neptune at the Berlin Observatory.

Neptune, generally the eighth planet from the sun, was
postulated by the French astronomer Urbain-Jean-Joseph
Le Verrier, who calculated the approximate location of the
planet by studying gravity-induced disturbances in the
motions of Uranus. On September 23, 1846, Le Verrier
informed Galle of his findings, and the same night Galle
and his assistant Heinrich Louis d’Arrest identified
Neptune at their observatory in Berlin. Noting its movement
relative to background stars over 24 hours confirmed that it
was a planet.

The blue gas giant, which has a diameter four times that of
Earth, was named for the Roman god of the sea. It has eight
known moons, of which Triton is the largest, and a ring
system containing three bright and two dim rings. It completes
an orbit of the sun once every 165 years. In 1989, the U.S.
planetary spacecraft Voyager 2 was the first human
spacecraft to visit Neptune.

1838 painting of the New Berlin Observatory.

Johann Gottfried Galle
(June 9, 1812 – July 10, 1910)

CAMILLE BOHANNON

SANDY KOZEL

Mount Vesuvius erupted killing approximately 20,000 people on this
day in 79 AD. The cities of Pompeii, Stabiae and Herculaneum were buried in volcanic ash.

The above Photos of Plaster casts were made from actual victims trapped in the lava flows of the  ancient Roman city of Pompeii, Italy.      

        
       

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Florida City: Gary Davis cradles his chihuahua Boo Boo in front of
his mobile home in the Goldcoaster Mobile Home Park the morning
after Hurricane Andrew.

Washington, DC, was invaded by British forces that set fire to the
White House and Capitol on this day in 1814.

The United States Capitol depicted after the 1812 burning of WA. D.C.

An artists depiction of the White House ruins after the conflagration
of August 24, 1814.

The planet Pluto was reclassified as a "dwarf planet" by the
International Astronomical Union on this day in 2006. Pluto’s
status was changed due to the IAU’s new rules for an object
qualifying as a planet. Pluto met two of the three rules because
it orbits the sun and is large enough to assume a nearly round
shape. However, since Pluto has an oblong orbit and overlaps
the orbit of Neptune it disqualified Pluto as a planet.

On this day in 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly
across the U.S. non-stop. The trip from Los Angeles, CA to Newark,
NJ, took about 19 hours.

It was on this day in 1989.

Peter Edward Rose Sr. turned 77 in April.

On this day in 1974, Mariner 10, the U.S. space probe became the
first spacecraft to reach the planet Mercury. It had been launched
on November 3, 1973. Mariner 10 was the first spacecraft to return
high-resolution digital color images.

A photomosaic of Mercury images taken by Mariner 10, tinted to approximate the appearance of Mercury.

SANDY KOZEL

The Mount Vesuvius eruption killed approximately 20,000 people
and much of the area was buried in volcanic ash. 

It happened on this day in 1814.

On this day in 2006.

The planet Pluto was reclassified as a "dwarf planet" by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Pluto’s status was changed due to the IAU’s
new rules for an object qualifying as a planet. Pluto met two of the three
rules because it orbits the sun and is large enough to assume a nearly
round shape. However, since Pluto has an oblong orbit and overlaps the
orbit of Neptune it disqualified Pluto as a planet.
 

On this day in 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly
across the U.S. non-stop. The trip from Los Angeles, CA to Newark,
NJ, took about 19 hours in her Lockheed Vega (above).

Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Model 5B Vega, NR7952, on display at
the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum.

On this day in 1989, Pete Rose, the manager of the Cincinnati Reds,
was banned from baseball for life after being accused of gambling
on baseball.

Former Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose at the start of a
news conference at Riverfront Stadium after being given his 
lifetime suspension from baseball.