Wikipedia:Picture of the day/September 2016

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These featured pictures, as scheduled below, appeared as the picture of the day (POTD) on the English Wikipedia's Main Page in September 2016. Individual sections for each day on this page can be linked to with the day number as the anchor name (e.g. [[Wikipedia:Picture of the day/September 2016#1]] for September 1).

You can add an automatically updating POTD template to your user page using {{Pic of the day}} (version with blurb) or {{POTD}} (version without blurb). For instructions on how to make custom POTD layouts, see Wikipedia:Picture of the day.Purge server cache


September 1

A time lapse video showing one rotation of the Falkirk Wheel; in this video, the rotation period of approximately 10 minutes has been compressed to ten seconds. Connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal near Falkirk, Scotland, the rotating boat lift raises and lowers boats by 24 m (79 ft). It was opened in 2002 as part of the Millennium Link project.

Video: David Iliff

Recently featured:

September 2

ColecoVision

The

second-generation home video-game console released by Coleco Industries in August 1982. It offered more powerful hardware than competitors, along with the means to expand the system's basic hardware. Its library of games consisted of approximately 145 titles, including Nintendo's Donkey Kong and Sega's Zaxxon
. ColecoVision was retired in 1985.

Photograph: Evan Amos


September 3

The Great Day of His Wrath

The Great Day of His Wrath is an 1851–1853 oil painting on canvas by the English painter John Martin. It has variously been described as showing the "destruction of Babylon and the material world by natural cataclysm" (as a response to the emerging industrial scene of London), "the collapse of Edinburgh in Scotland", and a portion of the Biblical Book of Revelation. The painting is held by Tate Britain in London.

Painting: John Martin


September 4

Venezuelan peso

A one peso banknote from the United States of Venezuela, dated 27 August 1811, less than two months after the Venezuelan Declaration of Independence from Spain. This was the first national issue of Venezuelan paper currency.

Banknote: Venezuelan Government; image courtesy of the National Numismatic Collection


September 5

Subpage 2

Plum Park in Kameido

Flowering Plum Tree (after Hiroshige), a copy of the ukiyo-e woodblock print Plum Park in Kameido by the Japanese artist Hiroshige. Completed in 1887, this painting is one of several Japanese-influenced works created by Vincent van Gogh after the opening up of Japan. In his copy, van Gogh ignored the shading present in the trunk and background of Hiroshige's image, which there implied age, and instead used colours with more "passion" and "youthfulness".

See Hiroshige's original version

Painting: Vincent van Gogh, after Hiroshige


September 6

Viborg Katedralskole

Catholic seminary, the school was male-only until 1904. The present school building, which was designed by Hack Kampmann and began construction in 1922, has a Neoclassical
exterior and a Scandinavian modern interior.

Photograph: Slaunger


September 7

Lambert azimuthal equal-area projection

The Lambert azimuthal equal-area projection is a projection used for mapping a sphere to a disk. It accurately represents area in all regions of the sphere, but it does not accurately represent angles. It is used in scientific disciplines such as geology for plotting the orientations of lines in three-dimensional space, and by the National Atlas of the US in its online map-making application.

Map: Strebe, using Geocart


September 8

Space Shuttle Enterprise, with Star Trek and NASA staff

The

Nyota Uhura), Leonard Nimoy (Spock), Gene Roddenberry (Star Trek creator), an unnamed official, and Walter Koenig (Pavel Chekov
).

The naming of the space shuttle after Star Trek's lead ship is only part of the series' extensive cultural influence. The first American series to feature an interracial cast, it drew public interest to space travel, birthed a new language, and spawned five successor series, thirteen movies, a plethora of merchandise, and a multi-billion dollar industry.

Photograph: NASA


September 9

Great cormorant

The great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) is a widespread member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It breeds in much of the Old World and the Atlantic coast of North America. It can dive to considerable depths, but often feeds in shallow water. It frequently brings its prey, mostly fish, to the surface.

Photograph: JJ Harrison


September 10

Alexander the Great

Philoxenos of Eretria
. The whole mosaic measures 2.72 × 5.13 m (8 ft 11 in × 16 ft 9 in).

Mosaic: Unknown


September 11

World Trade Center (1973–2001)

The

tallest buildings
in the world. The other five buildings were completed between 1975 and 1985.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Al-Qaeda-affiliated hijackers flew two Boeing 767 jets into the twin towers in a coordinated act of terrorism. After burning for 56 minutes, the South Tower collapsed, followed 29 minutes later by the North Tower. Falling debris and fires led to the partial or complete collapse of all other buildings in the complex and caused catastrophic damage to surrounding structures. The attacks killed 2,606 people in and around the towers, as well as all 157 on board the two aircraft.

Photograph: Carol M. Highsmith; edit: Soerfm


September 12

The Death of Socrates

The Death of Socrates is a 1787 oil-on-canvas painting by the French painter Jacques-Louis David depicting the story of the execution of Socrates, as told by Plato in his Phaedo. The painting is now held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Painting: Jacques-Louis David


September 13

Ely Cathedral

The ceiling and lantern of

Anglican church in Cambridgeshire, England. First built in 1083, it is the seat of the Bishop of Ely and a suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Huntingdon. The central octagon, described by Nikolaus Pevsner
as Ely's "greatest individual achievement of architectural genius", was built in the 14th century following the collapse of the Norman central crossing tower. The central lantern, which is also octagonal in form, has panels which can be opened to allow access from the octagon roof-space.

Photograph: David Iliff


September 14

Lesser whistling duck

The

Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia
. They are nocturnal feeders and during the day may be found in flocks around lakes and wet paddy fields. They can perch on trees and sometimes build their nest in the hollow of a tree. This brown and long-necked duck has broad wings that are visible in flight and produces a loud two-note wheezy call.

Photograph: JJ Harrison


September 15

Flaming June

Flaming June is a painting by Sir Frederic Leighton created in 1895. Painted with oil paints on a 47-by-47-inch (1,200 mm × 1,200 mm) square canvas, it is considered to be Leighton's magnum opus, showing his classicist nature. It has been interpreted as alluding to the figures of sleeping nymphs and naiads, with the toxic oleander branch in the top right symbolizing the fragile link between sleep and death. The painting is held by the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

Painting: Frederic Leighton


September 16

Samuel D. Ingham

Nicholas Biddle. In 1831 Ingham resigned in protest during the Petticoat affair
.

Engraving: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; restoration: Andrew Shiva


September 17

Lilium bulbiferum

herbaceous European lily with underground bulbs, belonging to the Liliaceae
. It reaches an average height of 20–90 centimetres (7.9–35.4 in), with bulbs that can reach about 1.5 centimetres (0.59 in) of diameter. L. bulbiferum has two varieties, L. bulbiferum var. croceum and L. bulbiferum var. bulbiferum; only the latter always produces secondary aerial bulbs.

Photograph: Uoaei1


September 18

Bothriechis schlegelii

arboreal, these snakes are characterized by their wide array of color variations, as well as the superciliary scales over the eyes. They are the most common of the palm-pitvipers and are often present in zoological exhibits. The specific name schlegelii honors the German ornithologist, Hermann Schlegel
. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Photograph: Geoff Gallice


September 19

Sunita Williams

spacewalks
by a woman (seven) and most spacewalk time for a woman (50 hours, 40 minutes).

Photograph: NASA



September 20

Woman Holding a Balance

Woman Holding a Balance is an oil painting by Dutch Baroque artist Johannes Vermeer. Opinions on the theme and symbolism of the painting differ, with the woman alternatively viewed as a symbol of holiness or earthliness. The woman's actions have likewise been interpreted in several ways; at one time the painting, completed 1662–63, was known as Woman Weighing Gold, but closer evaluation has determined that the balance in her hand is empty. The painting is held at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Painting: Johannes Vermeer


September 21

Lambert conformal conic projection

The

cone over the sphere of the Earth and projects the surface conformally onto the cone. The cone is unrolled, and the parallel that was touching the sphere is assigned unit scale. By scaling the resulting map, two parallels can be assigned unit scale, with scale decreasing between them and increasing outside them. Unlike other conic projections, no true secant
form of this projection exists.

Map: Strebe, using Geocart


September 22

Card money

playing cards
, was issued from the 17th to the 19th century to supplement the supply of money in several countries and colonies.

This playing card from

bills of exchange from the Netherlands; but later it was released unsecured, and inflation
was an issue for much of the currency's lifetime, with the value fluctuating wildly until it was replaced with paper money in 1826 and formally discontinued two years later.

Card: Government of Dutch Guiana; image courtesy of the National Numismatic Collection


September 23

Henri Frenay

Conseil National de la Résistance
.

Photograph: Maurice Frink/Psychological Warfare Branch; restoration: Christoph Braun


September 24

Monroe Street Bridge

The

Kirtland Kelsey Cutter
and Karl Malmgren. At the time of completion, it was the largest concrete-arch bridge in the United States and the third longest in the world.

Photograph: W.O. Reed; restoration: Lise Broer


September 25

Subpage 1

Sony Alpha 77 II

A front view of a

megapixels
.

Photograph: Colin

Subpage 2

Sony Alpha 77 II

A rear view of a

megapixels
.

Photograph: Colin

Subpage 3

Sony Alpha 77 II

A top view of a

megapixels
.

Photograph: Colin


September 26

Daniel in the Lions' Den

Washington DC. Based on Daniel 6:1–28, it depicts the Biblical figure Daniel trapped in a den of lions by King Darius the Mede. Rubens modelled the lions on a Moroccan species, examples of which were then in the Spanish governor's menagerie in Brussels
.

Painting: Peter Paul Rubens


September 27

The Mystery of the Leaping Fish is a 1916 American short silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks, Bessie Love, and Alma Rubens. Directed by John Emerson, the story – a comedy which focused on "Coke Ennyday", a cocaine-using detective who is a parody of Sherlock Holmes – was written by Tod Browning with intertitles by Anita Loos. A 35 mm print of the film exists in its entirety and is in the public domain.

Film: John Emerson


September 28

Subpage 1

The Biham–Middleton–Levine traffic model for a 144 x 89 lattice, with a traffic density of 39%. The model has self-organized to a disordered intermediate phase. The red cars and blue cars take turns to move; the red ones only move rightwards, and the blue ones move downwards. Every time, all the cars of the same colour try to move one step if there is no car in front. This video has been sped up such that only one in four frames is shown.

See the periodic intermediate phase

Film: Dllu

Subpage 2

The Biham–Middleton–Levine traffic model for a 144 x 89 lattice, with a traffic density of 38%. The model has self-organized to a periodic intermediate phase. The red cars and blue cars take turns to move; the red ones only move rightwards, and the blue ones move downwards. Every time, all the cars of the same colour try to move one step if there is no car in front. This video has been sped up such that only one in four frames is shown.

See the disordered intermediate phase

Film: Dllu


September 29

Les Invalides

Napoleon Bonaparte
, are buried.

Photograph: DXR


September 30

Laura

Laura is a painting completed by the Italian Renaissance master Giorgione in c. 1506. It has been variously identified as a young bride or a courtesan. The painting hangs in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria.

Painting: Giorgione


Picture of the day archives and future dates

2004: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2005: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2006: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2007: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2008: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2009: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2010: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2011: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2012: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2013: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2014: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2015: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2016: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2017: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2018: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2019: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2020: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2021: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2022: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2023: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2024: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2025: January February March April May June July August September October November December