Free Republic

Archaeologists in Chile have uncovered a 16th-century silver coin, confirming the location of one of South America's most infamous failed colonial settlements at the site of Rey Don Felipe – later known as Puerto del Hambre, or "Port Famine".Located on the north shore of the Strait of Magellan, Rey Don Felipe was founded in 1584 with around 300 Spanish settlers. According to historical accounts, the extreme conditions led to the settlers starving or freezing to death, and by the arrival of English navigator Thomas Cavendish in 1587, the settlement was mostly in ruins.The coin, valued at eight reals and bearing...

MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday urged Filipinos to learn from history and "never again allow any other tribe to compromise our sovereignty," as he marked the 500th anniversary of the landing of the Spanish expedition in the Philippines. Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew landed in the Philippines on March 16, 1521, in the first circumnavigation of the world. He died on the shores of Mactan, Cebu, in a battle with chieftain Lapu-Lapu, which Duterte called "an exemplary display of firm leadership and extraordinary courage defeated and drove away the colonials."

Chile and Spain are celebrating the 500th-anniversary discovery of the Magellan Strait, on November first 1520, by the round of the world expedition of Fernando Magellan and his second in command Sebastián Elcano, who had left Spain on September 1519, with five ships and some 247 crew, and only returned three years later with one vessel and 18 men. The five vessels expedition called in Cabo Verde island, the bay of Rio do Janeiro, the River Plate and San Julián in Patagonia, where they decided to land and spend the challenging austral winter, before heading for their destination of the...

Explanation: The 16th century Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan and his crew had plenty of time to study the southern sky during the first circumnavigation of planet Earth. As a result, two fuzzy cloud-like objects easily visible to southern hemisphere skygazers are known as the Clouds of Magellan, now understood to be satellite galaxies of our much larger, spiral Milky Way galaxy. About 160,000 light-years distant in the constellation Dorado, the Large Magellanic Cloud is seen in this sharp galaxy portrait. Spanning about 15,000 light-years or so, it is the most massive of the Milky Way's satellite galaxies and is the...

New analysis of images captured in the early 1990s by NASA's Magellan spacecraft reveals evidence of volcanic activity on Venus, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Science. This computer-generated 3D model of Venus’ surface shows the summit of Maat Mons. Image courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech ================================================================= Altitude data for the Maat and Ozza Mons region on Venus is shown to the left. At right, are the before and after Magellan observations showing the expanded vent on Maat Mons, with possible new lava flows after a volcanic eruption. Images courtesy of Robert Herrick/UAF ================================================================= A computer-simulated map of Venus...

Explanation: What is the Small Magellanic Cloud? It has turned out to be a galaxy. People who have wondered about this little fuzzy patch in the southern sky included Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan and his crew, who had plenty of time to study the unfamiliar night sky of the south during the first circumnavigation of planet Earth in the early 1500s. As a result, two celestial wonders easily visible for southern hemisphere skygazers are now known in Western culture as the Clouds of Magellan. Within the past 100 years, research has shown that these cosmic clouds are dwarf irregular galaxies,...

The fifth mirror for the GMT's 7 segment primary mirror is being cast at the Richard F. Caris Mirror Laboratory at the University of Arizona. In this image, a worker at the lab places the last piece of glass for mirror 5. Image: Giant Magellan Telescope Organization Astronomy, News, Observatories They Just Began Casting the Giant Magellan Telescope’s 5th Mirror. What a Monster Job. Article written: 7 Nov , 2017 by Evan Gough The fifth mirror for the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) is now being cast, according to an announcement from the Giant Magellan Telescope Organization (GMTO), the body...

Five hundred years ago, no one suspected the 16th-century vessel the Nao Victoria would become the stuff of legend. In 1519, a Portuguese consul called the Spanish carrack “very old and patched up” and unfit to even “sail … to the Canaries.” Nevertheless, the Nao Victoria was chosen for a five-ship expedition, crewed by 270 men, that would come to be known as one of the most significant journeys in the history of human exploration. The captain of this unprecedented adventure was Portuguese explorer Fernão de Magalhães, anglicized Ferdinand Magellan. On September 20, 1519, he set sail aboard the flagship...

A single injection of a new, off-the-shelf stem cell therapy for knee osteoarthritis significantly improved pain and function for up to 12 months in 75% of participants involved in a clinical trial. The treatment also has the potential to halt the disease’s progression. In 2020, 7.6% of the global population had the painful degenerative condition osteoarthritis, an increase of 132.2% in total cases since 1990. It’s expected that by 2050, cases will have increased by 74.9% for knee, 48.6% for hand, and 78.6% for hip osteoarthritis. Current treatment includes pain relief, usually with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), exercise as tolerated,...

Names have significance, especially when they’re written in the stars. A group of astronomers is coalescing around an idea to rename two neighbors of the Milky Way, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. Named after explorer Ferdinand Magellan, the satellite galaxies are visible with the naked eye from the Southern Hemisphere. But Magellan’s name is not fitting, astronomer Mia de los Reyes and colleagues argue. The leader of the first expedition to successfully circle the globe, Magellan enslaved and killed Indigenous people encountered on the voyage, which set out from Spain in 1519 (SN: 9/17/19). “Because we’re naming things in...

Astronomers have advocated for a renaming of two galaxies, currently named the Large and Small Megellanic Clouds after Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, due to his record of “violent colonialism.”

In the year of our Lord 1521, on Easter Sunday, March 31, the first Mass on what would later be known as the Philippine archipelago was said on a small island known as Limasawa. Little did those attending that Mass realize that the seed planted that day would blossom into a brilliant faith that, 500 years later, would make the Philippines one of the most devoutly Catholic nations in the world. An account of that epochal event exists, written by Antonio Pigafetta, a Venetian accompanying Ferdinand Magellan on his voyage of circumnavigation, who kept a detailed journal of events: Here...

Posted on March 12, 2021March 12, 2021 by Matt WilliamsThe Giant Magellan Telescope’s 6th Mirror has Just Been Cast. One More to GoBy 2029, the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) in northern Chile will begin collecting its first light from the cosmos. As part of a new class of next-generation instruments known as “extremely large telescopes” (ELTs), the GMT will combine the power of sophisticated primary mirrors, flexible secondary mirrors, adaptive optics (AOs), and spectrometers to see further and with greater detail than any optical telescopes that came before.At the heart of the telescope are seven monolithic mirror segments, each measuring...

In light of all the controversy surrounding the Cruz Colorado voterless win. We find that Trump would have won Colorado quite easily. If a Republican Presidential Primary Election were to take place in Colorado, 44% of likely voters would vote for Donald Trump, 34% support Ted Cruz, 17% support John Kasich and 5% are undecided. When asked to choose between only Ted Cruz or Donald Trump, 48% support Trump and 42% support Cruz, and 10% are undecided. These results are interesting in light of the results at the Republican State Convention where Ted Cruz won all 34 delegates awarded. What...

The Turkish Science Minister has become the latest public figure to make outrageous claims over Islam's hand in science and technology, the Hurriyet Daily News reported Friday - this time, claiming that Muslims discovered that the world is round. "Some 700-800 years before Galileo, 71 Muslim scientists led by al-Khwarizmi convened by the order of the Caliph Al-Ma'mun and revealed that the Earth is a sphere," Minister Fikri stated on Thursday. Fikri further claimed that a copy of the original document proving Islam's role in astronomy is currently in the Museum of Islamic Science and Technology in Istanbul. The Earth...

Among all respondents, only 37% approve of the job the President is doing and 57% disapprove of the job he is doing. Again looking at key voter subgroups, 53% of women, 56% of independents, 72% of Hispanics and 59% of seniors disapprove of the job Barack Obama is doing. SNIP Among all respondents, 37% think Barack Obama deserves re‐election and 57% think he does not deserve re‐election. SNIP Link to Hot Air article.Link to Magellan Strategies PDF survey results.

Tom Tancredo will become Colorado's next governor, and Republicans will take over the state's legislature while Attorney General John Suthers will be re-elected, predicted David Flaherty, president and CEO of Magellan Data and Mapping Strategies, a Louisville, CO, pollster that works for Republicans around the country. In a phone interview, Flaherty said polls that show John Hickenlooper winning the gubernatorial race are using demographics and turnout numbers that incorrectly skew their results in favor of Democrats. "I do believe that Tom Tancredo is going to win," Flaherty declared. In recent polls, Tancredo has about 73% of Republican voters. Flaherty thinks...

Reigniting international interest in Oman’s long maritime heritage and emulating the fabled feats of one of the country’s most renowned mariners, the legendary Sinbad, an Omani sailor has become the first Arab ever to sail non-stop around the world. Sailing as a crewman onboard the 75-foot trimaran 'Musandam', 33-year-old Mohsin Al Busaidi was welcomed home by thousands of his countrymen waiting dockside when his yacht anchored in the historic trading port of Muscat on Friday for the first time in 76 days. Setting out on 08 January, Al Busaidi sailed over 24,000 nautical miles crossing the Southern Ocean and passing...

With a resolving power ten times sharper than Hubble and five times sharper than its replacement, the James Webb Space Telescope, the GMT is a big step up in terms of power. Composed of an array of seven mirrors, each 8.4 m in diameter (some of the largest ground-based telescopes currently have a diameter of 10 m), it will have the capacity of a telescope with a diameter of 24.5 m -- far larger than any telescope built so far... "We are confident that it will have a great impact on our understanding of extrasolar planets, black holes and early...