Wikipedia:Picture of the day/September 2017

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Cancer is a medium-size constellation and one of the twelve constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for crab, and it is commonly represented as one. Cancer's stars are rather faint, with its brightest star Beta Cancri having an apparent magnitude of 3.5. It contains two stars with known planets. Located at the center of the constellation is Praesepe (Messier 44), one of the closest open clusters to Earth and a popular target for amateur astronomers.

Cancer is shown here as depicted in Urania's Mirror, a set of constellation cards published in London in about 1825.

Illustration: Sidney Hall; restoration: Adam Cuerden

A malachite kingfisher (Corythornis cristatus) at Lake Baringo, Kenya. Although many male birds have brighter colours than females, this is not the case with the malachite kingfisher; both sexes are equally colourful. When fishing, these birds often perch less than a metre above the water, diving in once they spot fish, aquatic insects, or crustaceans to prey upon.

Photograph: Charles J. Sharp

The Queen Elizabeth II Great Court is the central quadrangle of the British Museum in London. Based on a 1970s design by Colin St John Wilson, it was developed during the late 1990s by Foster and Partners after the British Library relocated to its own building. In its centre is the British Museum Reading Room, formerly the main reading room of the Library. The Court, covered by a tessellated roof, also includes twelve sculptures from the British Museum's collection.

Photograph: David Iliff

The 1804 dollar is a dollar coin struck by the Mint of the United States; despite the date on the coin, none were struck before the 1830s. First created for use in special proof coin sets used as diplomatic gifts during Edmund Roberts' trips to Siam and Muscat, several restrikes were ordered in the 1840s. Today, only fifteen specimens are known to exist, divided into three slightly different classes. The Class III example pictured is one of only six known, and sold in a 2009 auction for USD $2,300,000.

Coin: Mint of the United States; photograph: Heritage Auctions

Kings' Fairy Tale, a painting by the Lithuanian painter, composer, and writer

Thomas Müller (b. 1989) is a German professional footballer who has played for Bayern Munich since 2009; he is also the team's vice-captain. A versatile player, Müller plays as a midfielder or forward but has also been deployed in attacking roles such as attacking midfielder, second striker, centre forward and on either wing. He has represented Germany on its national team since 2010.

Photograph: Michael Kranewitter

Taractrocera ceramas, commonly known as the Tamil grass dart, is a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae. It is found from the Western Ghats to Mumbai, in the hills of southern India and northern Burma. Taken at Kadavoor, Kerala, India.

Photograph: Jeevan Jose

A bird's eye view of

The Shard is a 95-storey skyscraper in Southwark, London, that forms part of the London Bridge Quarter development. Standing 309.7 m (1,016 ft) high, the Shard is the tallest building in the United Kingdom. Designed by Renzo Piano and constructed between 2009 and 2012, it has 72 habitable floors, with a viewing gallery and open-air observation deck on the 72nd floor.

Photograph: Colin

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Act I, Scene I of King Lear, a play by William Shakespeare first performed in 1606, as depicted by Edwin Austin Abbey. Based on the legend of Leir of Britain, it depicts King Lear's gradual descent into madness after he disposes of his kingdom to two of his three daughters based on their flattery. This tragedy has frequently been adapted for the stage and motion pictures, with the title role coveted by many of the world's most accomplished actors.

In this scene, Cordelia, the youngest of Lear's three daughters, is banished for refusing to profess her love in return for one third of the kingdom. Instead, she proclaims that there is nothing to compare her love to, nor words to properly express it.

Painting: Edwin Austin Abbey

A colour-composite image of the Carina Nebula, revealing details in the stars and dust of the region. Several astronomical objects can be seen in this wide field image, including the binary star Eta Carinae to the bottom left, adjacent to the Keyhole Nebula. Two open star clusters, Trumpler 14 and Collinder 228, can be found above and below Eta Carinae, respectively.

Photograph: ESO

Drainage of water in Lake Urmia in Iran between 1984 and 2014. Once the largest lake in the Middle East, with a surface area of approximately 5,200 km² (2,000 sq mi), this salt lake has shrunk to less than 10% of its former size.

Video: مانفی using NASA imagery

Photograph: Thomas Wolf

Photograph: Betty Wills

A female cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) on the Phinda Private Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Cheetahs accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour (0 to 97 km/h) in less than 3 seconds and average 40 mph (64 km/h) during a chase. The species is classified as vulnerable, with only 7,000 left in the wild.

Photograph: Charles J. Sharp

William Faulkner (1897–1962) was an American writer and Nobel Prize laureate from Oxford, Mississippi. Although he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays, and screenplays, he is primarily known for his works set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County. Faulkner's work was published widely during the 1920s and 1930s, but he remained relatively unknown until receiving the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature. Two of his works, A Fable (1954) and The Reivers (1962), won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Today, Faulkner is one of the most celebrated writers in American literature.

Photograph: Carl Van Vechten; restoration: Adam Cuerden

Karang Bolong Beach is a white-sand beach on the island of Nusa Kambangan in Cilacap Regency, Central Java, Indonesia. Located on the eastern end of the island, inside a nature reserve, the beach is situated near an old Dutch fortress.

Photograph: Chris Woodrich

A panoramic view of Toledo, as seen from the Parador Hotel in 2014. This central Spanish city is the capital of the province of the same name. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986 for its extensive cultural and monumental heritage. It has historically been influenced by the co-existence of Christians, Muslims and Jews. As of 2015^[update], the city has a population of 83,226 and an area of 232.1 km² (89.6 sq mi).

Photograph: Chensiyuan

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