Wikipedia picture of the day feed

Wikipedia picture of the day for April 13

2015-04-13T00:00:00Z

A Gynaephora selenitica caterpillar on a meadow vetchling. The larvae of this moth species can feed on a variety of plants, mostly Fabaceae species but also including shrubs and some other plants. In the species' range, from central Europe to the Urals, larvae can be found from July to April.

Photograph: Ivar Leidus

Recently featured: Albert Bridge, London – Nautilus diagram – Mohiniyattam

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Wikipedia picture of the day for April 14

2015-04-14T00:00:00Z

The north face of Jalovec, a mountain in the Julian Alps. It is the sixth-highest peak in Slovenia, rising to 2,645 metres (8,678 ft) above sea level.

Photograph: Christian Mehlführer

Recently featured: Gynaephora selenitica – Albert Bridge, London – Nautilus diagram

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Wikipedia picture of the day for April 15

2015-04-15T00:00:00Z

The Sleeping Venus is an oil painting on canvas begun by the Italian Renaissance master Giorgione and completed by Titian after the former's death in 1510. One of Giorgione's last works, it portrays a nude woman whose profile seems to follow that of the hills in the background. This lone nude, unprecedented in Western painting at the time, influenced numerous future artists. The work is now held in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden, Germany.

Painting: Giorgione and Titian

Recently featured: Jalovec – Gynaephora selenitica – Albert Bridge, London

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Wikipedia picture of the day for April 16

2015-04-16T00:00:00Z

Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, in 2009. Born in 1955, Henri is the eldest son of Grand Duke Jean and Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium. He took the throne after his father's abdication in 2000.

Photograph: א (Aleph)

Recently featured: Sleeping Venus – Jalovec – Gynaephora selenitica

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Wikipedia picture of the day for April 17

2015-04-17T00:00:00Z

The common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is a medium-sized passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae, which is found through much of the world. Measuring about 20 cm (8 in) in length, these starlings are a noisy bird in communal roosts and other gregarious situations. This species is omnivorous, taking a wide range of invertebrates, as well as seeds and fruit.

Photograph: Pierre Selim

Recently featured: Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg – Sleeping Venus – Jalovec

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Wikipedia picture of the day for April 18

2015-04-18T00:00:00Z

The House of the Estates is a historical building located opposite of the Bank of Finland building in Helsinki, Finland. Built in 1891, it housed the three commoner estates of the four estates of the realm of Finland. It continues to be sporadically used for governmental meetings.

Photograph: Joaquim Alves Gaspar

Recently featured: Common starling – Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg – Sleeping Venus

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Wikipedia picture of the day for April 19

2015-04-19T00:00:00Z

Mycena overholtsii is a species of fungus in the family Mycenaceae which produces mushrooms which are relatively large for its genus, Mycena. The caps reach up to 5 cm (2.0 in) in diameter, with stems up to 15 cm (5.9 in) long. M. overholtsii grows on well-decayed conifer logs near snowbanks, during or just after snowmelt. It is commonly found in North America, though it has also been reported in Japan.

Photograph: Noah Siegel, United States Forest Service

Recently featured: House of the Estates – Common starling – Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg

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Wikipedia picture of the day for April 20

2015-04-20T00:00:00Z

"The Lotos-Eaters" is a poem by Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, published in his 1832 poetry collection. Written after a trip to Spain, it describes group of mariners who, upon eating the lotos, are put into an altered state and isolated from the outside world. The poem is inspired by a similar scene in Homer's Odyssey. This illustration, completed by W. E. F. Britten for a 1901 printing of Tennyson's works, accompanies the lines:

Let us swear an oath, and keep it with an equal mind,
In the hollow Lotos-land to live and lie reclined
On the hills like Gods together, careless of mankind.

Illustration: W. E. F. Britten; restoration: Adam Cuerden

Recently featured: Mycena overholtsii – House of the Estates – Common starling

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Wikipedia picture of the day for April 21

2015-04-21T00:00:00Z

A 14-frame clip showing the atmosphere of Jupiter as viewed from the NASA probe Cassini. Taken over a span of 24 Jupiter rotations between October 31 and November 9, 2000, this clip shows various patterns of motion across the planet. The Great Red Spot rotates counterclockwise, and the uneven distribution of its high haze is obvious. To the east (right) of the Red Spot, oval storms, like ball bearings, roll over and pass each other. East-west bands adjacent to each other move at different rates. Strings of small storms rotate around northern-hemisphere ovals. The large grayish-blue "hot spots" at the northern edge of the white Equatorial Zone change over time as they proceed eastward across the planet. Ovals in the north rotate counter to those in the south. Small, very bright features appear quickly and randomly in turbulent regions, possibly lightning storms. The smallest visible features at the equator are about 600 km (370 miles) across.

Animation: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Recently featured: The Lotos-Eaters – Mycena overholtsii – House of the Estates

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Wikipedia picture of the day for April 22

2015-04-22T00:00:00Z

A baseball team composed mostly of child laborers from an Indiana glassmaking factory, as photographed by Lewis Hine in August 1908. Hine (1874–1940) was an American sociologist who promoted the use of photography as an educational medium and means for social change. Beginning in 1908, he spent ten years photographing child labor for the National Child Labor Committee. The project was a dangerous one, and Hine had to disguise himself – at times as a fire inspector, postcard vendor, Bible salesman, or industrial photographer – to avoid the factory police and foremen.

Photograph: Lewis Hine; restoration: Lise Broer

Recently featured: Atmosphere of Jupiter – The Lotos-Eaters – Mycena overholtsii

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