Today, on May 7, people who love space and are fascinated by the mysterious world of celestial bodies can join the International Day of Planetariums, UNN writes.
The date of the celebration was chosen in honor of the fact that on May 7, 1924, the first planetarium in the modern sense of the word in Munich started its work on a permanent basis.
The first known planetarium in history is considered to be the invention of Archimedes. In the second century BC, he created a mechanical model of the Sun, Moon and five planets. Archimedes' planetarium was powered by compressed air.
In 1704, the British watchmaker George Graham became the author of the first mechanical model of the planets' motion based on the heliocentric principle.
In 1903, the German scientist Oskar von Miller began planning the creation of the German Technical Museum, which would have included a planetarium.
To find a technology that would allow him to reproduce the structure and dynamics of the starry sky, von Miller turned to the optical company Zeiss. The company's engineers suggested installing a fixed dome as a screen on which images of celestial objects would be projected. It took years to develop all the details, and during the First World War, the work was suspended altogether. Finally, in 1924, the first planetarium in the modern sense was opened in Munich.
Over the years, planetariums as a means of leisure and raising awareness of space have begun to lose their popularity.
Although, according to unofficial statistics, about 150 million people visit planetariums around the world every year.
Today is also the Day of the Cake, initiated by social media users.
It is believed that the first cakes appeared two thousand years ago.
The world's heaviest cake, which weighed 50 tons, was made in the United States. The longest cake was 246 meters long.
In some countries around the world, events are held to mark Asthma Day.
According to statistics, there are about 250 million people on the planet who suffer from this disease.
It is also fashionable today to join the Bladder Cancer Awareness Day.
Every year, about 500,000 cases of bladder cancer and up to 200,000 deaths from this type of cancer are registered worldwide.
At the initiative of a number of public organizations, events are now being held to support AIDS orphans, most of whom live in Africa.
According to unofficial estimates, about three million children on the African continent have lost their parents to the disease and need constant attention from government agencies.
According to the church calendar, today is the Day of Remembrance of the Martyr Akakiy Sotnyk.
Acacius was a Christian and served in the Roman army. During the intensification of the persecution of Christians under Emperor Maximilian, Acacius was thrown into prison and tortured for a long time. But he bravely withstood all the torture and did not deny his faith in the Lord. For this he was executed.
Anton, Semyon, Mikhail, and Lyudmila celebrate their name days today.