Wikipedia article of the day for September 12, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for September 12, 2020 is Qibla.
The qibla is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Sacred Mosque, Mecca, Saudi Arabia, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, including ritual prayer. Muslims believe the Kaaba to be a sacred site built by the prophets Abraham and Ishmael, and that its use was ordained by God in several verses of the Quran revealed in the second Hijri year. Prior to this revelation, Muhammad and his followers in Medina faced Jerusalem for prayers. Most mosques contain a mihrab or a wall niche that indicates the direction of the qibla. Before the development of astronomy in the Islamic world, Muslims used traditional methods to determine the qibla. These methods included facing the direction that the companions of Muhammad had used when in the same place or using the setting and rising points of celestial objects. In the late 9th and 10th centuries, Muslim astronomers developed methods to find the exact direction of the qibla, and today it can be calculated using a trigonometric formula.

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Wikipedia article of the day for September 11, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for September 11, 2020 is Bank of England £20 note.
HMS Temeraire was a 98-gun ship of the line of the British Navy, serving in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Built at Chatham Dockyard, Temeraire was launched in 1798 and commissioned in 1799. After years of routine duties she joined Horatio Nelson's fleet in 1805. At the Battle of Trafalgar she was just astern of Nelson's flagship, HMS Victory. During the battle Temeraire came to Victory's rescue, and fought and captured two French ships, winning public renown in Britain. She served routinely until 1813 when she was laid up. She later acted as a prison ship, a receiving ship, a victualling depot, and a guard ship. She was sold in 1838 and towed up the Thames to be broken up. Her last voyage is depicted in a J. M. W. Turner oil painting (pictured), which was greeted with critical acclaim. The painting was voted Britain's favourite painting in a 2005 BBC Radio 4 poll, and a reproduction appears on the 2020 Bank of England £20 note.

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Wikipedia article of the day for September 10, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for September 10, 2020 is Hurricane Gordon (2006).
Hurricane Gordon was the third hurricane and first major hurricane of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the first tropical cyclone since 1992 to affect the Azores while retaining tropical characteristics. Gordon formed on September 10 in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. It gradually matured into a hurricane as it tracked northward, reaching its peak intensity with winds of 195 km/h (121 mph) early on September 14 while located about 925 km (575 mi) southeast of Bermuda. It weakened after moving over cooler waters, and passed through the Azores on September 20. Wind gusts reached hurricane force on Santa Maria Island, but the Azores sustained little damage. Gordon then became an extratropical cyclone and affected Spain, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. In Spain, wind gusts reached 183 km/h (114 mph) along the northwest coast, left 100,000 people without power, and injured five people. In Northern Ireland, high winds left 120,000 people without power and caused one injury.

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