D-Day June 6, 1944 was very carefully timed to coincide with the moment of June’s Full Moon. It was reaching the highest point in the sky at 1:19 a.m. and just as the American airborne operations began. There was a Full Moon shining all night long in Normandy.
Why D-Day required a Full Moon.
As well as moonlight throughout the night, the tides were crucial, and that’s where a Full Moon really comes in. The Allies were able to use a low tide at 5:23 a.m. on D-Day to destroy the Germans’ underwater defenses at Omaha Beach.
But they also wanted rising water so that they could beach a craft and not get stranded.
If you want to have an insight into the conditions of the Normandy landings, 76 years ago, you could visit the invasion beaches of Normandy, France on June 5 and 6, when June’s Full Moon will shine all night long.
For those not able to be at the Normandy Beaches, you could experience an eerie feeling tonight, June 6, 2020 on our own beaches, when JUNE’s FULL MOON will SHINE ALL NIGHT LONG…….. REMEMBER D-DAY.
This striking, high-resolution image of the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris, was captured by Planet SkySat – a fleet of satellites that have just joined ESA’s Third Party Mission Programme in April 2022. The Arc de Triomphe, or in full Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile, is an iconic symbol of France and one of the world’s best-known commemorative monuments. The triumphal arch was commissioned by Napoleon I in 1806 to celebrate the military achievements of the French armies. Construction of the arch began the following year, on 15 August (Napoleon’s birthday).
The arch stands at the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, the meeting point of 12 grand avenues which form a star (or étoile), which is why it is also referred to as the Arch of Triumph of the Star. The arch is 50 m high and 45 m wide.
The names of all French victories and generals are inscribed on the arch’s inner and outer surfaces, while the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I lies beneath its vault. The tomb’s flame is rekindled every evening as a symbol of the enduring nature of the commemoration and respect shown to those who have fallen in the name of France.
The Arc de Triomphe’s location at the Place Charles de Gaulle places it at the heart of the capital and the western terminus of the Avenue des Champs-Élysées (visible in the bottom-right of the image). Often referred to as the ‘most beautiful avenue in the world’, the Champs-Élysées is known for its theatres, cafés and luxury shops, as the finish of the Tour de France cycling race, as well as for its annual Bastille Day military parade.
This image, captured on 9 April 2022, was provided by Planet SkySat – a fleet of 21 very high-resolution satellites capable of collecting images multiple times during the day. SkySat’s satellite imagery, with 50 cm spatial resolution, is high enough to focus on areas of great interest, identifying objects such as vehicles and shipping containers.
SkySat data, along with PlanetScope (both owned and operated by Planet Labs), serve numerous commercial and governmental applications. These data are now available through ESA’s Third Party Mission programme – enabling researchers, scientists and companies from around the world the ability to access Planet’s high-frequency, high-resolution satellite data for non-commercial use.
Within this programme, Planet joins more than 50 other missions to add near-daily PlanetScope imagery, 50 cm SkySat imagery, and RapidEye archive data to this global network.
Peggy Fischer, Mission Manager for ESA’s Third Party Missions, commented, “We are very pleased to welcome PlanetScope and SkySat to ESA’s Third Party Missions portfolio and to begin the distribution of the Planet data through the ESA Earthnet Programme.
“The high-resolution and high-frequency imagery from these satellite constellations will provide an invaluable resource for the European R&D and applications community, greatly benefiting research and business opportunities across a wide range of sectors.”
To find out more on how to apply to the Earthnet Programme and get started with Planet data, click here.
The Arc de Triomphe shines during the Christmas season on the Champs-Elysées in Paris, France. EDWARD BERTHELOT/GETTY IMAGES
As far as iconic Paris landmarks go, it's a toss-up between the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. If the Eiffel Tower boasts more T-shirts and wall art bearing its image, the Arc de Triomphe has given us some great film scenes with cars circling (and circling) it. That's because it's located within a circular plaza where 12 avenues, including the Champs-Elysées, meet.
Originally called Place de l'Étoile (Square of the Star) because of its starlike formation, the plaza was renamed Place de Charles de Gaulle in 1970 after the 20th century French president. But it was a different leader we have to thank for the Arc de Triomphe, and he is just as much a symbol of France as the structure he commissioned.
The triumphal arch was commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte to commemorate his victory at the Battle of Austerlitz and to "glorify the Grand Army" in general, according to Napoleon.org. Construction started in 1806, with the first stone laid on Aug. 15.
The arch, which Napoleon planned to ride through at the head of his victorious army, was inspired by the Arch of Titus in Rome. But the French version would be much more impressive at 164 feet (50 meters) high and 148 feet (45 meters) wide compared to that of Titus, which is just 50 feet (15 meters) high and 44 feet (13 meters) wide.
"Napoleon was known for never doing things on the cheap and thinking big," says W. Jude LeBlanc, associate professor at the school of architecture at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.
The emperor called on architect Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin, who had spent some years in Rome and had previously worked on a project for Versailles and churches like Saint-Philippe-du-Roule and the Church of Saint-Sulpice.
This is a lantern slide of the Champs-Elysées in 1856 with the Arc de Triomphe on the horizon.
THE ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY COLLECTION/V & A MUSEUM, LONDON/GETTY IMAGES
How Long It Took to Build the Arc de Triomphe
Perhaps Napoleon and Chalgrin were too ambitious in their proportions because the Neoclassical arch took 30 years to complete, although work was not continuous. In fact, it took more than two years just to lay the foundation.
It wasn't finished when Napoleon married his second wife, Marie-Louise de Habsburg-Lorraine, in 1810. As a substitute, he had a full-size replica crafted from wood, so he and his 19-year-old bride could pass under it.
Ironically, neither Napoleon nor Chalgrin saw the structure reach completion. Chalgrin died in 1811, and his former pupil Louis-Robert Goust took over the project. But in 1814, Napoleon abdicated, and work on the structure slowed to a crawl if it took place at all.
The monarchy was reinstated, and King Louis XVIII resumed work on the Arc de Triomphe in 1823, with the project finally being inaugurated in 1836 by King Louis-Philippe.
Although Napoleon didn't get see his completed triumphal arch, he did pass through it. When his body was returned to France in 1840 (he died on the island of Saint Helena in 1821), it was brought to les Invalides and passed under the Arc de Triomphe on the way there.
The Arc's Parisian Placement
The Arc de Triomphe and Place de Charles de Gaulle sit along the Axe Historique (Historical Axis) of Paris, which extends from the Louvre Museum to La Défense. The triumphal arch isn't the only one along the axis. At one end, the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, which was modeled on the Roman arches of Septimius and Constantine, sits between the Louvre and the Tuileries Garden. That one is about a third of the size and was also commissioned by Napoleon.
At the far end of the axis, La Grand Arche was built "as a strong unifying symbol for the bicentenary of the French Revolution" in 1989 and was a project French President François Mitterand. It was designed by Johan Otto V. Spreckelsen and is more than double the size of the Arc de Triomphe.
An aerial view of the Arc de Triomphe, which stands in the center of the Place de Charles de Gaulle, where 12 avenues, including the Champs-Elysées, meet.
ROGER VIOLLET GETTY IMAGES
With all these arches in Paris and around the world, what makes the Arc de Triomphe special?
"I don't know that it was structurally novel," says LeBlanc. Arches were well known at the time it was made, although Napoleon's was particularly massive. "What was unique was that it didn't have pilasters and columns."
The Arc includes many notable sculptures, with work by artists François Rude, Jean-Pierre Cortot and Antoine Etex on the pillars. Other surfaces include additional reliefs and the names of generals and battles.
Beneath the Arc de Triomphe are the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, added in 1921, and the eternal flame, which is rekindled each evening. Due to its scale, the Arc de Triomphe is known for offering one of the best views of the city from the observation deck at the top.
"[T]his makes it rather clear that Janet Jackson, via exposing her right breast and her juxtaposition with Beyonce (representing the American spirit), was 'designed' to embody Lady Justice/Liberty - signifying or prompting the rebirth of the spirit of 'Columbia'. The prevalent 'blackness' additionally alludes to the pertinence of another related figure Mary Magdalene, recently made popular by the huge success of the book The Da Vinci Code, as this biblical/esoteric 'wife' of Jesus - embodying the feminine and sexuality - was sometimes portrayed as the 'Black Madonna'."
The amount of days in a solar year plus the proportions for the Equatorial circumference of the Earth and the proportions of the Great Pyramid of Giza according to Golden Pi = 4/√φ = 3.144605511029693144:
La casualidad ha querido que Tiphaine y Laurence Auzière, hijas de Brigitte Macron y André-Louis Auzière, decidiesen adentrarse en el mundo de la cultura al mismo tiempo y conscientes de que sus apellidos les van a procurar un extra de atención y también de críticas. Nada tienen que ver sus carreras y tampoco el rumbo que han tomado, aunque una mayor visibilidad acompaña a ambas. Tiphaine es abogada y acaba de publicar su primera novela, mientras que Laurence es cardióloga y, junto a su compañero Matthieu Graffenstadden, pinta en óleo "retratos celulares". Las dos ya cuentan entre sus admiradores, no solo con su madre, Brigitte, sino también con su padrastro, Emmanuel Macron.
"Ha sido un apoyo desde el primer momento (...) Es muy sensible a las artes plásticas", ha dicho Laurence en una entrevista conjunta que han hecho las hermanas en la revista Gala. Como amante de la literatura que es Tiphaine aprecia especialmente la opinión del presidente francés sobre su novela Asisse, ya que, asegura, es muy exigente. Afortunadamente, el veredico ha sido más que positivo ya que no solo le ha gustado sino que le ha felicitado por su escritura. "Eso me ha conmovido", ha contado la escritora que, igual que su hermana, mantienen una excelente relación con su padrastro, a pesar de que no siempre fue fácil.
Precisamente sobre esas dificultades que atravesaron como familia en los inicios del romance entre Brigitte y Emmanuel habló hace unos meses Tiphaine en una sincera entrevista en Paris Match. No fue en absoluto fácil convivir con los rumores y las calumnias que acababan rodeando una historia de pisaba tantos tabúes. Recordemos que el ahora presidente galo tenía 17 años cuando se enamoró de Brigitte, su profesora en el instituto, 24 años mayor. Era, además, compañero de clase de Laurence, por lo que en un principio era a ella a la que miraban cuando Emmanuel iba frecuentemente con flores a su casa. Sin embargo, las atenciones eran para Brigitte que pronto tuvo que afrontar la nueva realidad que transformaría la vida de su familia.
Después, el paso del tiempo demostró que la llegada a sus vidas de Emmanuel Macron les regaló un padrastro al que adoran y con el que siempre han podido contar. A Tiphaine no solo la ha animado en su nueva faceta como escritora, también la ayudó en su carrera como abogada cuando el presentó al que acabó siendo su socio en el bufete que fundó. Actualmente, la hija pequeña de Brigitte vive en el campo, cerca de Calais y lleva 13 años casada con Antoine Choteau, un cirujano gastroenterólogo, con el que tiene dos hijos Elise y Auréle. Laurence, sin embargo, dice que nunca podría vivir alejada de la ciudad ya que no le gusta la soledad. La cardióloga y artista está separada Guillaume Jourdan, con el que tiene tres hijos, Alice, Emma y Thomas, que a sus 15 años le encanta conversar sobre geopolítica con el marido de su abuela. Ambas tienen un hermano mayor, Sebastién, que es ingeniero.
Thème précédent
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The Arc de Triomphe shines during the Christmas season on the Champs-Elysées in Paris, France. EDWARD BERTHELOT/GETTY IMAGES
This is a lantern slide of the Champs-Elysées in 1856 with the Arc de Triomphe on the horizon.
An aerial view of the Arc de Triomphe, which stands in the center of the Place de Charles de Gaulle, where 12 avenues, including the Champs-Elysées, meet.
