- The Olympia area was well established by 1853 thanks to the Hudson’s Bay Company’s nearby Fort Nisqually and Puget Sound Agriculture Company, the early U.S. settlement at Tumwater, and Catholic missionary activity. The discovery of coal and a good harbor boosted the pioneer economy and Olympia served as the terminus of the Cowlitz Trail, the northern extension of the Oregon Trail, where settlers could transfer from foot and wagons to canoes and ships and spread outward along the shores of Puget Sound. The town grew with its own economy as Washington grew as a state, in addition to serving as the seat of government from 1853 to the present time.
- Messier 53 (Wikipedia)
Messier 53 (also known as M53 or NGC 5024) is a globular cluster in the Coma Berenices constellation. It was discovered by Johann Elert Bode in 1775. M53 is one of the more outlying globular clusters, being about 60,000 light-years (18.4 kpc) light-years away from the Galactic Center, and almost the same distance (about 58,000 light-years (17.9 kpc)) from the Solar System. The cluster has a core radius (rc) of 2.18 pc, a half-light radius (rh) of 5.84 pc, and a tidal radius (rtr) of 239.9 pc.