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On This Day...

: 1604

On this day in 1604 the gunpowder plotters first met to plan the assassination of King James I of England (James VI of Scotland).

When in 1532 Henry VIII of England attempted an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon he sought permission from the Pope (head of the Catholic Church). His request was denied and Henry began to cut all ties between the Church in England and the Roman Catholic Church. Over the Next seven years Parliament passes many acts taking control of the Church away from Rome and placing it in the hands of the King. The Pope proclaimed Henry a heretic leading to many Catholic countries, especially Spain, despising the act of the King. All over Europe Christians who questioned the Catholic churches traditional teachings and Rome’s control over their church also became Protestants.

When King Edward VI became King in 1547 he continued the dissolution of the Catholic Church in England. After his death six years later his sister Queen Mary I attempted to reconcile with Rome and made England a Roman Catholic country once more. Mary also had a short reign and when her sister (and daughter of Henry and Anne Boleyn) ascended to the throne in 1558 she returned the Country to Protestantism. Many plots to overthrow her and make the country Catholic once more took place unsuccessfully including plots by her cousin Mary Queen of Scots and Philip II of Spain’s attempt to conquer England with the Spanish Armada. Upon her death, on the 24^th of March 1603, without a male heir, the crown passed to James VI of Scotland (the son of Mary Queen of Scots) who became James the first of England and Ireland, uniting the realms and creating the United Kingdom.

James I was a Protestant, unlike his mother, and continued to rule his Kingdom as such, much to the anger of Catholics throughout the realm. Especially when in an attempt to unite his people under one religion King James passed a law which taxed people that didn’t attend Protestant services.

On this night at the Duck and Drake pub in London, Robert Catesby, Thomas Winter, John Wright, Thomas Percy and Guy Fawkes met. Catesby proposed a plan to assassinate the new king by blowing up the House of Lords when King James opened Parliament.; 1990

On this day in 1990 the Hubble Telescope sent back its first images after being launched on the 24^th of April 1990.

The Image was of the Star cluster NGC 3532 which lies 1,321 light-years (or 405 parsecs) away in the constellation Carina. Hubble is the most powerful telescope ever created and is able to see to the edge of space which is up to 13.7 billion light years away and with enough accuracy to see an object the width of a single human hair from a mile away. As you look further into space you are essentially looking back in time. For example, as the Hubble observed the star cluster at 1,321 light-years away it was observing the light that started its journey from the star cluster 1,321 years ago (because that it how long it took the light to reach the telescope), so by being able to look at objects 13.7 billion light-years away you are actually witnessing events that occurred just after the big bang event (that occurred 13.7 billion years ago). Between 2003 and 2004 the Hubble telescope was set to view into deep space in a single area and was able to show the first stars beginning to shine.

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