The Asterisk

The Number represents the asterisk character (*) in the ASCII character code.

ASCII stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. Computers can only understand numbers, so an ASCII code is the numerical representation of a character such as 'a' or '@' or an action of some sort.

United Nations - Endangered Species - First Day of Issue Cover

First Day Cover of the United Nations Postal Administration issued on April 16, 2009 at the United Nations in New York, New York.

United Nations - Climate Change - First Day of Issue Cover

On 23 October 2008, the United Nations Postal Administration issued six commemorative stamps on the theme “Climate Change”, in the denominations of US$ 0.42, US$ 0.94, CHF 1,20, CHF 1,80, € 0,65 and € 1,15. Shown here is, of course, the US$ 0.42.

The horizontal mini-sheets of 4 stamps have two marginal inscriptions, one in the left margin and one in the right margin. The marginal inscription consists of the United Nations emblem with the text “United Nations” above and the year 2008 below the emblem. In the top margin is the text “Climate Change”. The UNPA logo appears in the upper right and lower left tabs. The words “Photograph by Gary Braasch” appear in the lower right margin. One copyright symbol appears in the lower left margin.

United Nations - We Can End Poverty - First Day of Issue Cover

On 18 September 2008, the United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) issued six commemorative stamps and a souvenir card on the theme “We Can End Poverty”.

As part of the activities to celebrate the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and the end of the First Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006), the Department of Economic and Social Affairs invited children from all over the world to participate in an art competition in 2007 on the theme “We Can End Poverty”. Six of the winning entries were selected as stamp designs for the United Nations 2008 “We Can End Poverty” stamp issue.

Shown here is the winner for the stamp that displays The Number.

Flags of Our Nation (Arkansas) - 42 cent stamp - First Day of Issue Cover

Flags of Our Nation (Arkansas) - 42 cent stamp - First Day of Issue Cover - June 14, 2008 - Washington, DC

Flags of Our Nation (California) - 42 cent stamp - First Day of Issue Cover

Flags of Our Nation (California) - 42 cent stamp - First Day of Issue Cover - June 14, 2008 - Washington, DC

Flags of Our Nation (Colorado) - 42 cent stamp - First Day of Issue Cover

Flags of Our Nation (Colorado) - 42 cent stamp - First Day of Issue Cover - June 14, 2008 - Washington, DC

Flags of Our Nation (Connecticut) - 42 cent stamp - First Day of Issue Cover

Flags of Our Nation (Connecticut) - 42 cent stamp - First Day of Issue Cover - June 14, 2008 - Washington, DC

Flags of Our Nation (Delaware) - 42 cent stamp - First Day of Issue Cover

Flags of Our Nation (Delaware) - 42 cent stamp - First Day of Issue Cover - June 14, 2008 - Washington, DC

Flags of Our Nation (Washington, DC) - 42 cent stamp - First Day of Issue Cover

Flags of Our Nation (Washington, DC) - 42 cent stamp - First Day of Issue Cover - September 2, 2008 - Washington, DC

Flags of Our Nation (Georgia) - 42 cent stamp - First Day of Issue Cover

Flags of Our Nation (Georgia) - 42 cent stamp - First Day of Issue Cover - September 2, 2008 -Washington, DC

Flags of Our Nation (Florida) - 42 cent stamp - First Day of Issue Cover

Flags of Our Nation (Florida) - 42 cent stamp - First Day of Issue Cover - September 2, 2008 -Washington, DC

Flags of Our Nation (Guam) - 42 cent stamp - First Day of Issue Cover

Flags of Our Nation (Guam) - 42 cent stamp - First Day of Issue Cover - September 2, 2008 -Washington, DC

Mariano Rivera - P - New York Yankees

Mariano Rivera, of the New York Yankees, is the last major leaguer who sports The Number on a daily basis. When MLB retired The Number across the league in 1997 players who were at the time wearing The Number were allowed to continue wearing The Number. Rivera is the last left.

Here is he shown warming up before the 2006 MLB All-Star game at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Orion Nebula (M42 emission nebula)

M42, the great Orion Nebula (M42, NGC 1976) , is about 1,500 light years from Earth and about 30 light years in diameter - it is roughly spherical in shape, composed of gas and dust. The colors seen in long exposure photographic images comes from hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen ionized by the intense energy emitted by the young, bright stars within the cloud. It is also a big object in the sky, extending to over 1 degree in diameter, thus covering more than four times the area of the Full Moon.

M42 and the other emission nebula in the universe are stellar nurseries, where gas and dust are condensing into new stars. M42 was cataloged by French astronomer Charles Messier in 1769. It was the 42nd object cataloged by Messier, thus the designation "M42".

Visually, M42 can be observed with the naked eye in areas with dark skies - it is seen as a fuzzy, gray blob in the middle of the "sword" hanging below the prominent triple star "belt" in the constellation Orion. It can be seen with binoculars even in moderately light-polluted skies, and small amateur telescopes make it out easily from most earthly locations. But the human eye lacks sensitivity to low levels of color, so even with the largest telescopes under the darkest skies the nebula appears to be grey.