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Today's featured article
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter, with an average radius about nine times larger than the Earth's. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus (the Titan father of Zeus), the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol (♄) represents the Roman god's sickle. Along with Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune, Saturn is a gas giant. Together, these four planets are sometimes referred to as the Jovian planets, meaning "Jupiter-like". Saturn has a ring system that is divided into nine continuous and three discontinuous main rings (arcs), consisting mostly of ice particles with a smaller amount of rocky debris and dust. Sixty-two known moons orbit the planet; fifty-three are officially named. This does not include the hundreds of "moonlets" within the rings. Titan, Saturn's largest and the Solar System's second largest moon (after Jupiter's Ganymede), is larger than the planet Mercury and is the only moon in the Solar System to retain a significant atmosphere. (more...) Recently featured: Tropical Storm Barry (2001) – Macaroni Penguin – School for Creative and Performing Arts Archive – By email – More featured articles...
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From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that bird's nest ferns (pictured) grow in trees? ... that a critic's calling The Clash a "garage band" that ought to be "returned to the garage ... with the motor still running" prompted the band to write the song "Garageland"? ... that the false toadflax has an orange drupe? ... that when Jimmy Iovine asked will.i.am who he wanted to collaborate with on "T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)", will mentioned Mick Jagger because he felt it would never happen? ... that One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, called "the funniest book you will see this year", has references to works by Charles Dickens and Samuel Pepys? ... that Peter Harburn was named in the Great Britain football squad for the 1956 Olympic Games, for which, as a professional, he was ineligible? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
The first summit of CELAC, a bloc of Latin American and Caribbean nations, takes place in Caracas, Venezuela. The United Kingdom expels all Iranian diplomats from the country following an attack on its embassy in Tehran. Laurent Gbagbo (pictured), former President of Côte d'Ivoire, is extradited to the International Criminal Court to face trial over his role in the Second Ivorian Civil War. The Justice and Development Party, led by Abdelilah Benkirane, wins a plurality in the Moroccan parliamentary election. Gary Speed, manager of the Welsh national football team, is found dead in his home. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
December 4: Navy Day in India 1639 – English astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks (pictured) made the first observation of a transit of Venus. 1829 – Sati, the Hindu funeral custom of widows immolating themselves, was formally abolished in British India after years of campaigning by Ram Mohan Roy. 1909 – The Montreal Canadiens, the oldest professional ice hockey club in the world, was founded as a charter member of the National Hockey Association. 1991 – Pan American World Airways, which was the principal international airline of the United States and which was credited with many innovations, ended operations. 2006 – Six black youths in Jena, Louisiana, US, assaulted a white teenager; the subsequent court case would become a cause célèbre. More anniversaries: December 3 – December 4 – December 5 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now December 4, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

A disc of vanadium, a silvery-gray transition metal named after the Germanic goddess of beauty and fertility, Vanadís (Freyja). The element occurs naturally in about 65 minerals and in fossil fuel deposits, always in chemically combined form. It is mainly used to produce specialty steel alloys such as high speed tool steels.

Photo: Alchemist-hp

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