- MARFIK (Lambda Ophiuchi). Double stars are among the prettiest sights the sky has to offer. The best ones, like Albireo and many others, display striking color contrasts that are enhanced by visual proximity effects. But even the white “colorless” ones are attractive, especially if the two members are close together. Those of Marfik (the “elbow” of Ophiuchus), or Lambda Ophiuchi, are so close that they are, however, difficult to separate at the telescope, averaging just a second of arc – a 3600th of a degree – apart.
- Mali (Wikipedia)
Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali is the eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over 1,241,238 square kilometres (479,245 sq mi). The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east by Niger, to the northwest by Mauritania, to the south by Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, and to the west by Guinea and Senegal. The population of Mali is 21.9 million, 67% of which was estimated to be under the age of 25 in 2017. Its capital and largest city is Bamako. The country has 13 official languages, of which Bambara is the most commonly spoken.