Light from Merak on May 11, 2024
- According to Wikipedia, Merak is 79.7 ± 0.3 ly away, or approximately 953 to 960 light months away. On May 11, 2024, this means the light left Merak as late as December 1944 (953 months ago) or as early as May 1944 (960 months ago). During this period the world was at war. The USS Merak, a cargo ship acquired by the U.S. Navy, was making Caribbean and transatlantic voyages. In June, D-Day was launched. In August, Paris was liberated, and in December, Germany launched the Battle of the Bulge. Also of note was the Holocaust throughout this period. The war would not be ended for another year.
- Vladimir Putin (Wikipedia)
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has been President of Russia since 2012. Putin has held continuous positions as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime minister from 1999 to 2000 and from 2008 to 2012, and as president from 2000 to 2008. He is the longest-serving Russian or Soviet leader since Joseph Stalin.
