This is Saturday, May 30, 2026, day #150 of the year. Some historic events on this day.- 1431 19-year old Joan of Arc is burned at the stake.
- Why? Heresy and cross-dressing.
- She was an example of efforts being made by the English to undermine the legitimacy of French King Charles.
- Twenty years later, the verdict was nullified by the Catholic Church, declaring her to instead be a matryr and saint.
1806 Future U.S. President Andrew Jackson kills Charles Dickinson in a duel.- 1868 Decoration Day is observed in the U.S. for the first time...became Memorial Day. This happened only in 1967 when Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, moving this day from May 30 to the last Monday in May to create a 3-day weekend.
1899 Pearl Hart, a female outlaw of the Old West, robs a stage coach 30 miles southeast of Globe, Arizona.- The first recorded stagecoach robbery occurred in California in 1856, when bandits targeted shipments of gold from the Gold Rush.
The height of this activity was in the period from 1870 to 1890 when outlaws like Black Bart were prominent in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest.- Railroads replaced stage coaches, and the last such robbery occurred in Yellowstone in 1914.
1911 The first Indianapolis 500 held, with Ray Harroun in his Marmon Wasp being the first winner.- 1922 Lincoln Memorial dedicated in DC.
- 1942 The Holocaust: Josef Mengele becomes the chief medical officer of Auschwitz.
1972 Lod (now Ben Gurion) Airport) massacre of 24 people in Tel Aviv, Israel, by members of the Japanese Red Army.- A communist organization in Japan dedicated to overthrowing the Japanese government and monarchy.
- Was founded in the early 1970s by Fusako Shigenobu.
- However, mostly operated out of Lebanon, with funding from Muammar Gaddafi, Baathist Syria and North Korea.
- Shigenobu was not arrested until 2000, and was liberated in 2022.
- 1989 Tiananmen Square protest.
- 1998 Pakistan explodes a plutonium bomb.
- 2024 Donald Trump becomes a felon.
Another May 30 event: An NBA game, something I don't watch on TV.
- But I've been now and then featuring Victor Wembanyama, 22-year old Frenchman who turns out to be "only" 7 feet 3.5 inches in bare feet. Sometimes said to be 7'5", but that is in special shoes. Officially 235 pounds. He, however, has a wingspan of someone who is 8 feet tall.
- About the NBA, there are Eastern and Western Conferences.
- The New York Knicks, only above average the past two seasons, has become a juggernaut, averaging a staggering postseason point differential of +19.4/game, and is the Eastern champ awaiting the team from the West. They have no superstar, but guard Jalen Brunson has masterfully controlled their half-court game, Karl-Anthony Towns has been dominant inside and Josh Hart has become a rebound fiend.
- The remaining two West teams are the highly favored Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs.
- The Thunder, over the past few years have developed well, and is led by NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, an amazing scorer, with a good supporting cast.
- SG-A is from Canada.
- Shaivonte was cut from his high school's junior team in the ninth grade, and sent to the midget team. Was 5'6" tall.
- Grew to 6'2" by his sophomore year.
- Went to the University Kentucky, where he only played for one year, and was drafted 11th overall by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2018 NBA draft. Found his way to the Thunder in his second year. That was in 2019.
- Was named GQs Most Stylish Man of the year in 2022 and has walked the runway at Paris Fashion Week.
- His Converse sneaker is a best seller. Sells for $130.
- Was the driving force behind Canada's historic bronze medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Canada first medal in history.
- Is only 6'6" tall.
- But on to Wembanyama and the Spurs.
- They blew out the Thunder in game 6, 118-91, forcing this 7th game, to be played in Oklahoma City.
- Wemby, sometimes known as The Alien, scored 28 points, with 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks.
- Game 7 tip-off is today at 8PM EDT (2PM Hawaii time) on NBC.
- The Thunder favored by 3.5 points. But keep in mind that the Spurs went 4-1 against the Thunder this year....in Oklahoma City. And Thunder guard Jaylen Williams is out with an injury.
- Over/Under set at 212.5 points.
- I might just watch this game, which would be my first in a decade.
- This will not happen again for more than 25 years!
- Note that the graphic to the right says May 31, but that is the AM time at peak. You begin watching from May 30, which is tonight.
- Our Moon will be the smallest-appearing and farthest away from Earth of any full moon this year.
- A blue moon refers to the second full moon in a single month, which is fairly uncommon, happening only every two to three years. The last one was on 21August2024, and the next one will be on 31December2028.
- Of course, a blue moon is not blue in color, the name refers to the rarity of the phenomenon. That photo on the right next to the Jefferson Memorial in DC was taken on May 1 this month, and the one tonight should be this color, orangish.
- A micromoon, is a full or new moon at the farthest distance in the moon's orbit from Earth, known as the apogee.
- And perigee is when the moon is closest to us.
- The Moon appears 14% larger and 30% brighter.
- Similarly, looks 14% smaller and 30% less brighter at apogee, as will be the case tonight.
- So at apogee, 252,360 miles away, average at 238,900 miles and perigee at 225,130 miles.
- And you ask, why we have these apogee and perigee? The Moon has an elliptical trajectory around Earth, and our planet is at one of the two foci, not in the center of the orbit.
- My recollection is that the Moon did look a little smaller when I saw it last night.
- However, much of what is written and seen might not quite be so. What makes the moon appear so large and so small is an illusion based on its position relative to the horizon and backdrop, like mountains, building and trees. Your mind inflates the reality because you are pre-warned.
- As much as I indicated just above, this article says that the micromoon tonight will be 10% dimmer and 6% smaller, so I'm now further confused.
- This you might not know, but the first full moon of a two full moon month, as occurred on May 1, is called a flower moon.
- And tonight the true apogee will occur at 4:45AM EDT. And to further educate you, the Moon will be near Antares, the bright star at the heart of the constellation Scorpius, which resembles a scorpion in the sky. This will be true whether you are in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere. Well, maybe not, for in the south, the Moon might cover Antares. In any case, I should look at 10:45PM tonight from my apartment in Honolulu to see the smallest moon possible, and a rare blue one at that.
-
Comments
Post a Comment