- Kaliningrad Oblast (Russian: Калининградская область, romanized: Kaliningradskaya oblastʹ) is the westernmost federal subject of the Russian Federation. It is a semi-exclave situated on the Baltic Sea. The oblast is surrounded by two European Union and NATO members: Poland to the south and Lithuania to the north and east. Its coastline faces the Baltic Sea to the northwest and a maritime border with Sweden to the west. The largest city and administrative centre of the province (oblast) is the city of Kaliningrad, formerly known as Königsberg. The port city of Baltiysk is Russia’s only port on the Baltic Sea that remains ice-free in winter. Kaliningrad Oblast had a population of roughly 1 million in the Russian Census of 2021.
- Epsilon Crucis (stars.astro.illinois.edu)
EPS CRU (Epsilon Crucis). Here is one of the most viewed of all stars, while at the same time being one of the most obscure. How can that be? At fourth magnitude (3.59, just fainter than third), Epsilon Crucis has a prominent place as the “fifth star” of one of the most famed of all constellations, Crux, the Southern Cross, lying almost on a line between brighter Delta Crucis (the Cross’s most northerly star) and first magnitude Acrux (Alpha Crucis).
