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A Hubble image of the scattered light from the young planetary nebula known as the Boomerang Nebula. The nebula is about 5,000 light-years away from Earth.

Today August 5. On this date in 1802 mathematician Niels Henrik Abel was born. Made pioneering contributions in a variety of fields.Gave 1st complete proof demonstrating the impossibility of solving the general quintic equation in radicals.See book "The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved."

NGC 4027, also known as Arp 22, stretches its single extended spiral arm in this face-on ESO image. It is located about 75 million light-years away. The extended arm is thought to be the result of a collision with another galaxy — most likely a small galaxy known as NGC 4027A.

Today is August 4. On this date in 1805 mathematician William Rowan Hamilton was born. He contributed to the development of optics, dynamics, and algebra—in particular, discovering the algebra of quaternions. His work proved significant for the development of quantum mechanics.

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has taken a striking high resolution image of the curious planetary nebula NGC 6210, located about 6,500 light-years away.

Today is August 3. On this date in 1851 physicist George FitzGerald was born. Known for hypothesising length contraction in the direction of motion, which became an integral part of Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity.

A Hubble image of NGC 1706, a spiral galaxy about 230 million light-years away.

Today is August 2. On this date in 1754 architect Pierre-Charles L'Enfant was born. He designed the plan for Washington, D.C. He first came to America in 1777 to fight in the Revolutionary War, during which he served as a military engineer.

An ESO near-infrared composite image of a sky field in the south-western part of the galactic star-forming region Messier 17.

Today is August 1. On this date in 1744 biologist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck was born. An early proponent of the idea that biological evolution occurred and proceeded in accordance with natural laws, though the mechanism he suggested has been refuted at large.

This Hubble image shows the galaxy NGC 6872. Its unusual shape is caused by its interactions with the smaller galaxy that can be seen just above NGC 6872, called IC 4970. They both lie roughly 300 million light-years away from Earth.

Today is July 31. On this date in 1919 chemist and author Primo Levi was born. Noted for his restrained and moving autobiographical account of and reflections on survival in the Nazi concentration camps.

A Hubble image of the Lagoon Nebula. The whole nebula, about 4,000 light-years away, is about 55 light-years wide and 20 light-years tall.

Today is July 30. On this date in 1818 novelist and poet Emily Brontë was born. She produced but one novel, Wuthering Heights (1847), a highly imaginative work of passion and hate set on the Yorkshire moors. Emily was perhaps the greatest of the three Brontë sisters.

An ESO wide-field view of the "Meathook Galaxy" (NGC 2442).

Today is July 29. On this date in 1898 physicist Isidor Rabi was born. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1944 "for his resonance method for recording the magnetic properties of atomic nuclei."

An ESO image of part of a stellar remnant RCW 86 whose explosion was recorded in 185 CE.

Today July 28. On this date in 1902 philosopher Karl Popper was born. One of 20th century's most influential philosophers of science.Known for rejection of classical inductivist views on the scientific method in favor of empirical falsification made possible by falsifiability criterion.

A Hubble image of the spiral galaxy NGC 3717, which is located about 60 million light-years away.

Today July 27. On this date in 1848 physicist Loránd Eötvös was born. His study of the Earth’s gravitational field—which led to his development of the Eötvös torsion balance, long unsurpassed in precision—resulted in proof that inertial mass and gravitational mass are equivalent.