Nov 20th “Near-total Beaver Moon lunar eclipse”

Near-total Beaver Moon lunar eclipse, longest of its kind of the century, wows stargazers

Skywatchers across North America got a first class view of the longest partial lunar eclipse in nearly 600 years, though for some, frigid weather threatened to ruin the experience.

The Beaver Moon lunar eclipse of 2021, which saw the moon 97% covered by Earth’s shadow at its peak at 4:02 am EST (9:02 GMT), was potentially visible to millions of stargazers across North America, Central and South America, as well as parts of Australia, Europe and Asia.

Beaver Moon eclipse 2021:

Amazing photos of the longest partial eclipse in 580 years

Nov 19th “NATIONAL PLAY MONOPOLY DAY”

NATIONAL PLAY MONOPOLY DAY – November 19

National Play Monopoly Day on November 19th recognizes the iconic board game that lands us on Park Place, Boardwalk or even in jail.

Known as one of the most popular board games in the world, Monopoly was originally based on a board game designed by Elizabeth Magie in 1902. Since then, the game has been played by an estimated 500 million people since 1935.

When is National Scrabble Day?

The object of the game is to collect as many properties as you can to create a monopoly. When players land on your property, you get to collect rent. The more properties you own, the more money you make, too. But watch out, there are taxes and other fees involved. To win the game, you need to bankrupt your opponents and be the last landowner standing. Many families have house rules that make the game more interesting, too.

Monopoly also comes in numerous versions. Do you enjoy a particular book or movie franchise or hobby? The game likely comes in themes focusing on famous characters and likely scenarios. How about sports teams or pop culture? Monopoly money goes there, too!

Monopoly was published by Parker Brothers, an American toy and game manufacturer since 1883.

HOW TO OBSERVE #PlayMonopolyDay

Put your banker cap on. Gather your family and friends together and play Monopoly. See if you can come out the winner. What are your house rules? How long do games last in your house or do they end up in turmoil? Use #PlayMonopolyDay to post on social media.

We even have more board game fun in 7 Stories Behind Our Favorite Games.

Educators and families, visit the National Day Calendar Classroom for even more fun ways to Celebrate Every Day!

NATIONAL MONOPOLY DAY HISTORY

National Day Calendar® continues researching the origins of this board game holiday.

Monopoly FAQ

Q. What were the original Monopoly playing pieces?
A. When Parker Brothers originally published Monopoly in 1935, the game contained eight playing pieces known as tokens including a battleship, boot, cannon, thimble, top hat, and iron. Soon a race car, purse, lantern, and rocking horse were added, bringing the total to twelve.

Q. When was the terrier added to the game?
A. Ah, the little dog, a classic figure in the game of Monopoly was added in 1940.

Q. If I buy a Monopoly game today, what tokens will be included in the game?
A. As of 2017, the Monopoly board game includes the top hat, battleship, race car, dog (all introduced before 1941), cat (introduced in 2000), t-rex, penguin, and rubber ducky (all introduced in 2017).

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Nov 18th “MICKEY MOUSE BIRTHDAY”

On November 18th, Mickey Mouse Birthday commemorates the debut of a lovable mouse that was once a rabbit called Oswald. His character got his start on film on November 18, 1928, but before that, the story begins in 1927, when Walt Disney first sketched a floppy-eared bunny while under contract to Universal Studios. The events that unraveled brought us Mickey Mouse.

HOW TO OBSERVE #MickeyMouseBirthday

Wish Mickey Mouse a Happy Birthday! Use #MickeyMouseBirthday to share on social media.

Check out these 5 Artists Who Brought Animation to Life!

MICKEY MOUSE BIRTHDAY HISTORY

While his creator and studio have applied several different birth dates to the lovable mouse over the years, November 18, 1928, was finalized as Mickey’s birth date with stardom. Before that, Mickey Mouse came under the roller coaster events of Oswald’s success and Universal’s disappointing contract negotiations. Disney Bros. Studio took their leave of both the studio and Oswald and set to work, creating a character who would go on to lead the company into the future.

From a rabbit named Oswald to a mouse named Mortimer, eventually, the squeaky-voiced rodent was dubbed Mickey. He flopped in two animated short films without any success. Then on November 18, 1928, Mickey’s star was born. The first animation synchronized to music and sound effects, Steamboat Willie premiered in New York.

Mickey Mouse Club

Within a year, a Mickey Mouse Club popped up in Salem, Oregon. This particular club offered admission as a fundraiser for the Salvation Army. Patrons donated either a potato or a small toy and a penny as admission. According to a December 22, 1929, Statesman Journal (Salem, Oregon) article, $12 and three truckloads of potatoes and toys were collected by eager new members.

Remember, the stock market crashed just 20 days before Mickey Mouse was born. That a cute little mouse could bring smiles to the faces of children at an uncertain time isn’t such a surprise.

Generally, new members joined the club by completing an admission form obtained from a local merchant and attending meetings held during matinees at local movie houses. The price of admission often was reduced for good deeds and report cards. By the end of 1930, the Mickey Mouse Clubs had spread across the country.

New Look & Companions

In 1935, animator Fred Moore gave Mickey a new look that enabled a more fluid movement to the animation.

A makeover in 1935 by animator Fred Moore gave Mickey the look we are familiar with today. The big eyes, white gloves, and the pert little nose. More lovable than ever before, he propelled himself even further into the hearts of children everywhere.

His companions Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto joined him along the way, bringing vaudevillian comedy with them.

Mickey FAQ

Q. When did Minnie Mouse make her debut?
A. Incidentally, Minnie Mouse shares the same birthday as Mickey since she debuted in the same cartoon – Steamboat Willie.

Q. What’s Mickey’s full name?
A. Mickey’s full name is Michael Theodore “Mickey” Mouse.

Q. What did Walt Disney do during World War I?
A. His first job was as an ambulance driver in France. Then his abilities as an artist came to the attention of the military; Disney was making side money drawing decorations on the uniforms of service personnel. He was soon assigned the duty of camouflaging sniper helmets, trucks, and other such military equipment.

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Nov 17th “Leonid meteor shower: Bright fireballs in November”

Leonid meteor shower: Bright fireballs in November

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Editor’s Note: This year’s Leonid meteor shower will peak overnight on Nov. 16-17, 2021.

Many years, the Leonids are one of the best meteor showers skywatchers can catch. Every November, observers can expect peaks of 10 to 15 meteors an hour. Occasionally, the display turns sublime: every 33 years or so, there have been instances of the Leonids producing meteors at a rate of about 1,000 — or more — in an hour. However, this won’t happen again until 2034.

The particles that make up the Leonid shower appear to emanate from the constellation Leo in the Northern Hemisphere. The source of the meteor shower is Comet Tempel-Tuttle, which is falling apart as it makes periodic runs around the sun and its ices melt from the heat. As Earth plows through the vast number of particles it leaves behind, meteors streak through the atmosphere.

Colorful streaks

NASA classifies the Leonid meteors as bright, colorful, and “some of the fastest meteors out there.” A typical speed for a fragment is about 44 miles (71 kilometers) per second. The meteors take place through much of November, but come to their best at about the middle of the month.

The meteor shower can also produce fireballs, a bright meteor that can leave a streak of color that lingers for several seconds. The fireballs originate from much bigger chunks of cometary stuff, which produces the extra fireworks in the sky. Skywatchers can also spot earthgrazer meteors, or meteors that streak close to the horizon.

“The Leonids are white or bluish white, many are faint, though can appear outstandingly bright, leaving glowing trains in their wake,” wrote Space.com skywatching columnist Joe Rao in 2012. “A Leonid meteor that is roughly as bright as the brightest stars, results from a meteoroid that is only a few milligrams in mass.”

The Leonids are best visible after midnight, and it’s possible for an annual peak to come to a meteor a minute — as long as the observer is in a dark location. City lights, or even the moon, can wash out visibility and substantially lower the count of meteors. No fancy equipment is needed to observe the meteors — just your eyes and if it’s cold outside, something to shelter your body from the weather.

Astrophotographer Jeff Berkes captured this shot of Leonid meteors over a house in New Jersey in 2012. The 2015 Leonids will peak overnight Nov. 17-18. — Astrophotography Jeff Berkes captured this shot of Leonid meteors over a house in New Jersey in 2012. (Image credit: Jeff Berkes)

Storm streaks

About every 33 years, the Leonids can produce a storm of meteors visible at certain locations on Earth. NASA defines one of these storms as a situation in which meteors fall at a rate of at least 1,000 an hour, or about 16 or 17 every minute. The last one of these storms occurred in 2002, but a jaw-dropping one happened in 1966.

“Thousands of meteors per minute fell through Earth’s atmosphere during a 15-minute period,” NASA officials wrote. “There were so many meteors seen that they appeared to fall like rain.”

One observer, James Young, recalled 50 meteors falling per second from his vantage point at the JPL Table Mountain Facility in California.

“We all felt like we needed to put on hard hats,” he recounted. “The sky was absolutely full of meteors … a sight never imagined … and never seen since! To further understand the sheer intensity of this event, we blinked our eyes open for the same time we normally blink them closed, and saw the entire sky full of streaks … everywhere!”

For those hoping for a repeat, however, Jupiter will put a damper in the show, Rao said. The giant planet is expected to alter the comet’s path and make it “all but impossible” to see a similar storm in most of our lifetimes.

Comet Tempel-Tuttle

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The peak in Leonids follows a similar pattern as Comet Tempel-Tuttle’s path around the sun, which also takes place every 33 years. Two astronomers, Ernst Tempel and Horace Tuttle, found it independently in 1865 and 1866.

According to “Comets, A Descriptive Catalog,” the comet then vanished from view for about a hundred years. Astronomers weren’t able to find it in searches in 1899 and in 1932. Finally in 1965, just before the large meteor storm, it was spotted again as a 16th magnitude object.

Although it leaves behind a powerful punch of debris, the comet itself is quite small, with a nucleus of only 2.24 miles (3.6 km) in diameter.

On its last pass through the solar system, Karen Meech, Olivier Hainaut and James Bauer at the University of Hawaii spotted the comet on March 4, 1997, when it was still only a 22.5 magnitude object. It peaked at about eighth or ninth magnitude in January 1998, making it visible with a pair of binoculars.

After its closest approach just inside Earth’s orbit, the comet then made its way out of Earth’s neighborhood, trailing a tail behind it. It’s next expected to return in 2031, but in the meantime, the Leonids will serve as an annual reminder of that return date.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

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Nov 16th “NATIONAL BUTTON DAY”

National Button Day on November 16th celebrates the function of buttons and the hobby of button collection. Step aside zippers, laces, and snaps. Honor the button.

Founded in 1938, the National Button Society recognized button collecting as an organized hobby. Both novice and advanced button collectors celebrate the enjoyment of collecting on this day.

Do you remember your grandmother or your mother snipping the buttons off shirts headed for the rag basket? Those buttons are often collected in jars or tins. Maybe you even played games or strung them for ornaments and crafts. The buttons were fun to stack into piles, sort by color or size, or scatter and slide across the floor or table making up different games each time.

Crafters across the country utilize buttons in creative ways, too. They are some of the best at finding new uses for old items. There are thousands of button collectors in the United States.

Humans have made buttons from a variety of materials. Ancient humans formed buttons from natural and readily available substances such as stone, shell, bone, clay, or wood. In more modern times, metals, plastics, resins, and acrylics have been used. While buttons were usually functional to fasten two pieces of cloth together, they also served as decoration.

While buttons today can be simple disks with two or four holes allowing a needle and thread to pass through, button makers create more elaborate designs. If you can imagine it, there’s probably a button like it. From animals and food to iconic buildings and famous people, button makers make them. They’re colorful and fun. While the fun ones may be less practical, they still function.

HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalButtonDay

Do you have a fun button collection? Share it on social media. You can also:

Start a button collection.
Wear a button necklace.
Design a craft using buttons.
Make an ornament using buttons.
Play a game with buttons.

Use #NationalButtonDay to post on social media.

NATIONAL BUTTON DAY HISTORY

National Day Calendar® continues researching the origins of this collector holiday.

Button FAQ

Q. How big is the largest button collection?
A. In 2001, Guinness World Records certified Dalton Stevens’ collection in South Carolina as the world’s largest button collection in the world. His collection of 439,900 buttons contains no duplicates. He was also known as The Button King. His collection is housed in a museum in Bishopville, South Carolina. Another button collection can be found at the Waterbury Button Museum in Waterbury, CT.

Q. Do vintage buttons have any value?
A. Surprisingly, some antique buttons demand a hefty price tag before being shuffled off to the rag bin. Rare and significantly aged (more than 100 years) buttons have a market. If your grandmother left you her button jar, look for buttons made from just about anything but plastic to get started. Correction, we should say modern plastic. Early plastics like celluloid or Bakelite are both highly collectible. Other materials to look for include:

Bone, stone, or wood
Glass or metal
Mother of pearl, shell, tortoiseshell

Q. What games can I play with buttons?
A. Buttons allow us to play simple games. Try these:

Tic Tac Toe
Checkers
Matching games
Replace lost pieces for board games

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Nov 16th ” The Beaver Moon lunar eclipse on Nov. 19″

SKYWATCHING

The Beaver Moon lunar eclipse on Nov. 19 will be the longest of the century. Here are its stages explained.

(NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio)

The next eclipse of the moon will greet early risers before dawn on Friday morning (Nov. 19) across North America. It will be the second lunar eclipse of 2021 and, in some ways, will be similar to the last one on May 26. Most North Americans will again need to get up early and look low in the west toward daybreak. And again, the farther west you are the better, as the moon will appear much higher from the western part of the continent as opposed to locations farther to the east. It will also be the longest lunar eclipse in 580 years, lasting about 3 hours, 28 minutes and 23 seconds, and also the longest this century.

Full Story: Space (11/15)