Good morning, Whitewater.

Friday will be mostly sunny with a high of sixty-two. Sunrise is 7:08 and sunset is 6:59, for 11h 50m 18s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 53% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1781, William Herschel announces the discovery of a planet:

Sir Frederick William Herschel,[1] KH, FRS (German: Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel; 15 November 1738 – 25 August 1822) was a German-born British astronomer, composer, and brother of Caroline Herschel. Born in the Electorate of Hanover, Herschel followed his father into the Military Band of Hanover, before migrating to Great Britain at the age of nineteen.

Herschel became interested in astronomy in 1773, and after constructing his first large telescope in 1774, he spent nine years carrying out thorough sky surveys, where his purpose was the investigation of double stars. The resolving power of the Herschel telescopes revealed that the nebulae in the Messier catalogue were clusters of stars: catalogues of nebulae were published in 1802 (2,500 objects) and 1820 (5,000 objects). In the course of an observation on 13 March 1781 he realized that one celestial body he had observed was not a star, but a planet, Uranus. This was the first planet to be discovered since antiquity and Herschel became famous overnight. As a result of this discovery George III appointed him ‘Court Astronomer’. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society and grants were provided for the construction of new telescopes.

Herschel pioneered the use of astronomical spectrophotometry as a diagnostic tool, using prisms and temperature measuring equipment to measure the wavelength distribution of stellar spectra. Other work included an improved determination of the rotation period of Mars, the discovery that the Martian polar caps vary seasonally, the discovery of Titania and Oberon (moons of Uranus) and Enceladus and Mimas (moons of Saturn). In addition, he was the first person to discover the existence of infrared radiation. Herschel was knighted in 1816. He died in August 1822, and his work was continued by his only son, John Herschel….

In March 1781, during his search for double stars, Herschel noticed an object appearing as a nonstellar disk.[11] Herschel originally thought it was a comet or a star. He made many more observations of it, and afterwards Russian Academician Anders Lexell computed the orbit and found it to be probably planetary.[12] Herschel determined in agreement that it must be a planet beyond the orbit of Saturn.[13] He called the new planet the ‘Georgian star’ (Georgium sidus) after King George III, which also brought him favour; the name did not stick. In France, where reference to the British king was to be avoided if possible, the planet was known as ‘Herschel’ until the name ‘Uranus’ was universally adopted. The same year, Herschel was awarded the Copley Medal and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1782, he was appointed “The King’s Astronomer” (not to be confused with the Astronomer Royal). He and his sister subsequently moved to Datchet (then in Buckinghamshire but now in Berkshire) on 1 August 1782. He continued his work as a telescope maker and achieved an international reputation for their manufacture, profitably selling over 60 completed reflectors to British and Continental astronomers.[14]

Here’s the final game in Puzzability‘s Miss Taken series:

This Week’s Game — March 9-13

Miss Taken

Who are all the missing misses? For each day this week, we started with a name or word that can follow “Miss,” like “Congeniality” or “Hannigan.” Then we hid it in a sentence, with spaces added as necessary. The answer spans at least two words in the sentence and starts and ends in the middle of words. The day’s clue gives the sentence with a girl in place of the answer.

Example:

I think the creator of this strawberry rhubarb pie reciieved the utmost in baking perfection.

Answer:

Peach (recipe achieved)

What to Submit:

Submit the name or word (as “Peach” in the example) for your answer.

Friday, March 13

At the Atlanta airport, my bad experience witpered my willingness to ever rent a car from them again.

Good morning, Whitewater.

We’ll have a sunny day with a high of sixty-two in the Whippet City today. Sunrise is 7:10 and sunset 6:58, for 11h 47m 22s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous, with 63.1% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1933, FDR gives his first fireside chat:

…eight days after his inauguration, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gives his first national radio address or “fireside chat,” broadcast directly from the White House.

Roosevelt began that first address simply: “I want to talk for a few minutes with the people of the United States about banking.” He went on to explain his recent decision to close the nation’s banks in order to stop a surge in mass withdrawals by panicked investors worried about possible bank failures. The banks would be reopening the next day, Roosevelt said, and he thanked the public for their “fortitude and good temper” during the “banking holiday.”

Here is the first part of that chat:

Puzzability‘s Thursday game is part of the week’s Miss Taken series:

This Week’s Game — March 9-13

Miss Taken

Who are all the missing misses? For each day this week, we started with a name or word that can follow “Miss,” like “Congeniality” or “Hannigan.” Then we hid it in a sentence, with spaces added as necessary. The answer spans at least two words in the sentence and starts and ends in the middle of words. The day’s clue gives the sentence with a girl in place of the answer.

Example:

I think the creator of this strawberry rhubarb pie reciieved the utmost in baking perfection.

Answer:

Peach (recipe achieved)

What to Submit:

Submit the name or word (as “Peach” in the example) for your answer.

Thursday, March 12

The mint juleps at the elegant picnic were of a high capical of the hostess’s other high-class events.

Good morning, Whitewater.

Our morning will be foggy, giving way to sunny skies and a high of forty-nine. Sunrise is 7:12 and sunset 6:56, for 11h 44m 27s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 72.6% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1941, Pres. Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Bill into law, assuring Britain and others a supply of armaments in their fight against Nazi Germany. Here is a New York Times account of the signing:

Washington, March 11 _ President Roosevelt signed the history making lease-lend bill at 3:50 P. M. today immediately after receiving it from the Capitol, where the House completed action by accepting the Senate amendments by a vote of 317 to 71.

Five minutes after the bill was signed the President approved a list of undisclosed quantities of war materials to be transferred at once from the American Army and Navy to the British and the Greeks, to bolster these powers in their life-and-death struggle with the Axis. Most of these first materials, the nature of which the President guarded, will go to Great Britain. Having thus promptly set the machinery to motion toward making the United States “the Arsenal of democracy,” Mr. Roosevelt began work on a request to be sent to Congress tomorrow for an immediate appropriation of $7,000,000,000 with which to press the lease-lend effort to the fullest possible extent under the new law. This, he intimated, would be likely to include help to China as well as to Great Britain and Greece, and to all other nations which later may find themselves under threat of the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo alliance.

Puzzability offers the Wednesday game in its Miss Taken series:

This Week’s Game — March 9-13

Miss Taken

Who are all the missing misses? For each day this week, we started with a name or word that can follow “Miss,” like “Congeniality” or “Hannigan.” Then we hid it in a sentence, with spaces added as necessary. The answer spans at least two words in the sentence and starts and ends in the middle of words. The day’s clue gives the sentence with a girl in place of the answer.

Example:

I think the creator of this strawberry rhubarb pie reciieved the utmost in baking perfection.

Answer:

Peach (recipe achieved)

What to Submit:

Submit the name or word (as “Peach” in the example) for your answer.

Wednesday, March 11

My elderly aunt finds correct use of gramasing to the ear, and won’t put up with any misused words.

Good morning, Whitewater.

Tuesday will be a day of gradual clearing with a high of fifty-two. Sunrise is 7:14 and sunset is 6:55, for 11h 41m 31s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 81.1% of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Parks & Recreation Board meets this afternoon at 5:30 PM.

On this day in 1864, the Union Army’s Red River campaign begins:

1864 – (Civil War) Red River Campaign Begins in Louisiana
The Red River Campaign took place in Louisiana and Texas. At a crucial moment in the campaign, Wisconsin Captain Joseph Bailey (1827-1867) of Wisconsin Dells freed 60 stranded transport ships and their accompanying ironclad gunboats as Confederate troops approached to capture them. The 8th, 14th, 23rd, 29th and 33rd Wisconsin Infantry regiments and the 1st Wisconsin Light Artillery participated in the Red River Campaign. The Red River expedition lasted until May 22.

Here’s the Tuesday game in Puzzability‘s Miss Taken series:

This Week’s Game — March 9-13

Miss Taken

Who are all the missing misses? For each day this week, we started with a name or word that can follow “Miss,” like “Congeniality” or “Hannigan.” Then we hid it in a sentence, with spaces added as necessary. The answer spans at least two words in the sentence and starts and ends in the middle of words. The day’s clue gives the sentence with a girl in place of the answer.

Example:

I think the creator of this strawberry rhubarb pie reciieved the utmost in baking perfection.

Answer:

Peach (recipe achieved)

What to Submit:

Submit the name or word (as “Peach” in the example) for your answer.

Tuesday, March 10

The crerried into the dining room for tea doesn’t quite match the sugar bowl that’s already there, but it’ll do.