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- January 2010
Hagåtña (Chamorro pronunciation: [həˈɡɑtɲə], formerly English Agana /əˈɡɑːnjə/ and in Spanish Agaña, is the capital of the American island territory of Guam. It is the island's second smallest village in both area and population. From the 18th through mid 20th century, it was Guam's population center. Today, it remains one of the island's major commercial districts in addition to being the seat of government.
Hagåtña is located at the mouth of the Hagåtña river on Guam's west coast. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1 square mile (2.6 km²) and a population in 2000 of 1,100 people (less than 1% of Guam's total).
The village is bounded by the sandy beaches of Agana Bay to the north, the Agana River and associated wetlands to the east, and a cliff (above which is the village of Agana Heights) to the South. Several high-rise office buildings are in the center of the village, while the western portion of the city known as Anigua is more residential. Unlike many villages, central Hagåtña is divided into city blocks with shops and small restaurants throughout the center of the village. Highly populated residential areas in the villages of Mongmong-Toto-Maite, Sinajana, and Agana Heights surround Hagåtña.
- February 2010
A proa or prau (also seen as prahu) is a type of multihull sailing vessel. While the word proa just means boat in its native language, the term proa in Western languages has come to describe a vessel consisting of two (usually) unequal length parallel hulls. It is sailed so that one hull is kept to windward, and the other to leeward, so that it needs to reverse direction when tacking.
The proa is found in various forms primarily in the Malay Archipelago and the South Pacific, with the most well known examples from the Mariana Islands. Traditional proas superficially resemble outrigger canoes, with a buoyant lee hull and a denser, ballasted hull to windward for stability.
The defining feature of a proa is that the vessel switches directions when it changes tacks (stern becomes the bow and vice versa), always keeping the same hull to windward for ballast. This operation is referred to as "shunting". The main hull, or vaka, is usually longer than the windward hull, or ama. Crossbeams called akas connect the vaka to the ama. Traditional proa hulls are markedly asymmetrical along their length, and often curved in such a way as to produce lift to counteract the lateral forces of the wind. Modern proa hulls are often symmetrical, and use leeboards for lateral resistance.
- March 2010
The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is a U.S. National Monument encompassing 140,000 square miles (360,000 km2) of ocean waters and ten islands and atolls of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, making it one of the largest Marine Protected Areas in the world.
Although it is not a sanctuary, the ocean area is part of a system of 13 National Marine Sanctuaries administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge (254,418.10 acres or 1,029.59 km) in the monument is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).
The monument supports 7,000 species, one quarter of which are endemic. Prominent species include the threatened Green Sea Turtle and the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, the Laysan and Nihoa Finches, the Nihoa Millerbird, Laysan Duck, seabirds such as the Laysan Albatross, numerous species of plants including Pritchardia palms, and many species of arthropods. According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, populations of lobster have not recovered from extensive harvesting in the 1980s and 1990s, which is now banned; the remaining fisheries are overfished.
- April 2010
Typhoon Paka (international designation: 9728, JTWC designation: 05C, PAGASA designation: Rubing, also known as Super Typhoon Paka) was the last tropical cyclone in the 1997 Pacific hurricane and typhoon season, and was among the strongest Pacific typhoons in the month of December. Paka, which is the Hawaiian name for Pat, developed on November 28 from a trough well to the southwest of Hawaii.
The storm tracked generally westward for much of its duration. On December 10 the cyclone attained typhoon status as it crossed the Marshall Islands. On December 16, Paka struck Guam and Rota with winds of 230 km/h (145 mph), and it strengthened further to reach peak winds on December 18 over open waters. Subsequently, it underwent a steady weakening trend, and on December 23 Paka dissipated.
Typhoon Paka first impacted the Marshall Islands, where it dropped heavy rainfall and left $80 million in damage (1997 USD). Later, it passed just north of Guam, where strong winds destroyed about 1,500 buildings and damaged 10,000 more, leaving 5,000 people homeless and causing a complete power outage. Damage on the island totaled $500 million (1997 USD). Paka also caused light damage in the Northern Mariana Islands. The typhoon caused no reported fatalities.
- May 2010
Mount Wilhelm (German: Wilhelmsberg) is the highest mountain in Papua New Guinea at 4,509 metres (14,793 ft). It is part of the Bismarck Range and the peak is the point where three provinces intersect, Simbu, Western Highlands and Madang. The peak is also known as Enduwa Kombuglu in the local Kuman language, a Papuan language.
The mountain is on the island of New Guinea, which incorporates Papua New Guinea and the Indonesian province of Papua. It is surpassed by Puncak Jaya in Indonesian Papua at 4,884 metres (16,024 ft).
Mount Wilhelm received its name in 1888 when a German newspaper correspondent, Hugo Zöller, climbed the Finisterre Range, south-east of Madang, and named the Bismarck Range after the German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, and the four highest peaks of the range after him and his children: Ottoberg, Herbertsberg, Mariaberg and Wilhelmsberg. It was not until August 1938 when Leigh Vial, a government patrol officer, and two Papuan New Guineans made the first recorded ascent. It was noted by Vial that even though the mountain was close to the equator, snow existed on top of the mountain at the time of ascent.
- June 2010
Indonesia occupied East Timor from December 1975 to October 1999. After centuries of Portuguese colonial rule in East Timor, a 1974 coup in Portugal led to decolonization among its former colonies, creating instability in East Timor and leaving its future uncertain. After a small-scale civil war, the pro-independence FRETILIN declared an independent East Timor on 28 November 1975. Claiming its assistance had been requested by East Timorese leaders, Indonesian military forces invaded on 7 December.
Following a controversial "Popular Assembly", Indonesia declared the territory a province of Indonesia. For twenty-five years East Timor was subjected to extrajudicial executions, torture, and starvation. The 1991 Santa Cruz Massacre caused outrage around the world, and reports of other such killings were numerous. Resistance to Indonesian rule remained strong; in 1996 the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to two men from East Timor, Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and José Ramos-Horta, for their ongoing efforts to peacefully end the occupation.
A 1999 vote to determine East Timor's future resulted in an overwhelming majority in favor of independence, and in 2002 East Timor became an independent nation. The occupation is estimated to have claimed between 100,000 and 300,000 East Timorese lives, out of a population of less than a million.
- July 2010
The Yuan-Tseh Lee Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy, also known as the Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy (AMiBA), is a radio telescope located on Mauna Loa in Hawaii, at 3,396 m above sea level.
AMiBA was initially configured as a 7-element interferometer atop a hexapod mount. Observations at a wavelength of 3 mm (86–102 GHz) started in October 2006, and the detections of six clusters by the Sunyaev–Zel'dovich effect were announced in 2008. The telescope is expandable up to 19 elements. AMiBA is the result of a collaboration between the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, the National Taiwan University and the Australia Telescope National Facility, and also involves researchers from other universities.
The primary goal of AMiBA is to observe both the temperature and polarization anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background at multipoles between 800 and 8,000 (corresponding to between 2 and 20 arcminutes on the sky), as well as observing the thermal Sunyaev–Zel'dovich effect in clusters of galaxies, which has a maximum decrement around 100 GHz. The telescope only observes at night during good weather, using planets for calibration.
- August 2010
Rarotonga is the most populous island the Cook Islands, with a population of 14,153 (census 2006). Cook Islands' Parliament buildings, as well as the international airport, are located on Rarotonga. Because it is the most populous island, Cook Islanders may be referred to as Rarotongan, but they may in fact come from one of the other 14 islands in the group, such as Aitutaki or Mangaia. Rarotonga is also a very popular tourist destination with many resorts, hotels and motels.
The chief town, Avarua, on the north coast, is also the capital of the Cook Islands.
The island of Rarotonga stands over 14,750 feet (4,500 meters) above the ocean floor. The island is 20 miles (32 km) in circumference and has an area of 26 square miles (67.19 km²). At a depth of 13,000 ft (4,000 m), the volcano is nearly 31 miles (50 km) in diameter. Te Manga, at 2,140 ft (658 m) above sea level, is the highest peak on the island. The island is surrounded by a lagoon, which often extends more than a hundred yards (meters) to the reef, then sloping steeply to deep water.
- September 2010
The Golden White-eye (Cleptornis marchei) is a species of bird in the white-eye family Zosteropidae. It is the only species within the genus Cleptornis. The Golden White-eye was once considered to be a honeyeater in the family Meliphagidae and although it is now known to be a white-eye, its position within that family is still uncertain. The species is restricted to the islands of Saipan and Aguijan in the Northern Mariana Islands, where it is sympatric (shares its range) and competes with the related Bridled White-eye. The Golden White-eye has golden plumage and a pale eye-ring. It feeds on insects, fruit, and nectar and forages in pairs or small family groups. The bird is monogamous and lays two eggs in a small cup nest.
Fossil evidence shows the Golden White-eye once also occurred on Tinian and Rota but was extirpated in those locations through the impact of human activities. Despite its current abundance on Saipan and Aguijan, and the fact that it has among the highest recorded densities for any bird, it is nevertheless considered to be critically endangered. It is threatened by the invasive Brown Tree Snake, which has recently become established on Saipan, and this predator is expected to cause a rapid decline in the population if not controlled. Efforts are under way to control the snakes and breed the white-eye in zoos.
- October 2010
The Guadalcanal Campaign was fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II. It was part of the Allied strategic plan to protect convoy routes between the US, Australia and New Zealand. It was the second major offensive by Allied forces against the Empire of Japan and marked the transition by the Allies from defensive operations to the strategic offensive in the Pacific.
On August 7, 1942, Allied forces landed on the islands of Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida in the southern Solomon Islands with the objective of denying their use by the Japanese as bases to threaten supply routes between the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand. The Allies overwhelmed the outnumbered Japanese defenders and captured Tulagi and Florida, as well as an airfield that was under construction on Guadalcanal.
The Japanese made several attempts between August and November 1942 to retake Henderson Field from the U.S. Marines. U.S. Army troops joined the defence in October. Three major land battles, five large naval battles, and continual, almost daily aerial battles culminated in the decisive Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in early November 1942. In December 1942, the Japanese abandoned further efforts to retake Guadalcanal and evacuated their remaining forces by February 7, 1943.
- November 2010
Port Moresby /ˌpɔːrt ˈmɔːrzbi/, or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea (PNG). It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea. In 2009 it had a population of 307,643, with an annual growth rate of 2.1% per annum over a nine year period. Although Port Moresby is surrounded by Central Province, of which it is also the capital, it is not part of that province, but forms the National Capital District.
According to a survey of world cities by the Intelligence Unit of The Economist, Port Moresby is one of the world's least livable cities (ranked 137 of 140 cities rated) and the worst capital city in the world to live in. High levels of rape, robbery and murder and large areas of the city controlled by gangs of thugs, known locally as "rascals" (raskol in Tok Pisin), were cited.
Port Moresby has a tropical wet and dry climate with relatively constant temperatures throughout the year. The wet season starts in December and ends in May; the dry season covers the remaining six months. Port Moresby's average yearly rainfall is just over 1000 mm. Average daily high temperatures range from 28°C to 32°C depending on time of year, while the average low temperature shows very little seasonal variation, hovering around the 24°C mark. It tends to be slightly cooler in the city during the dry season.
- December 2010
Typhoon Isa (international designation: 9701, JTWC designation: 02W) was the first of eleven super-typhoons to occur during the 1997 Pacific typhoon season. The second tropical cyclone of the season, Isa developed from a disturbance in the monsoon trough near the Caroline Islands on April 12. It moved erratically at first, though after attaining tropical storm status it curved westward due to the subtropical ridge to its north. Isa very gradually intensified, and on April 20 the typhoon reached peak 1-min winds of 270 km/h (165 mph), as reported by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center; Japan Meteorological Agency reported maximum 10-min winds of 155 km/h (100 mph). After turning northward, it accelerated to the northeast, and merged with a larger extratropical cyclone on April 24.
Early in its duration, Isa caused light rainfall and moderate winds on Pohnpei. Later, a stationary rainband from the typhoon dropped heavy precipitation on Guam during its dry season. Still later it dropped light rainfall on the island of Rota.
The rainband also produced wind gusts that resulted in sporadic power outages across Guam. The typhoon caused some light damage to buildings, particularly on the south side of the island. The combination of winds and sea salt caused damage to the island's tomato, okra, cucumber, and soy bean crops.Damage in the Guam National Weather Service area of responsibility totaled $1 million (1997 USD, $1.3 million 2006 USD), the majority of it from crop damage. No deaths were reported.