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.
- Triband (flag) (Wikipedia)
A triband is a vexillological style which consists of three stripes arranged to form a flag. These stripes may be two or three colours, and may be charged with an emblem in the middle stripe. All tricolour flags are tribands, but not all tribands are tricolour flags, which requires three unique colours.
