Mira

Mira (/ˈmaɪrə/, also known as Omicron Ceti, ο Ceti, ο Cet) is a red giant star estimated 200–400 light years away in the constellation Cetus. Mira is a binary star, consisting of the red giant Mira A along with Mira B. Mira A is also an oscillating variable star and was the first non-supernova variable star discovered, with the possible exception of Algol. Mira is the brightest periodic variable in the sky that is not visible to the naked eye for part of its cycle. Its distance is uncertain; pre-Hipparcos estimates centered on 220 light-years; while Hipparcos data from the 2007 reduction suggest a distance of 299 light-years, with a margin of error of 11%.

Observation history

Evidence that the variability of Mira was known in ancient China, Babylon or Greece is at best only circumstantial. What is certain is that the variability of Mira was recorded by the astronomer David Fabricius beginning on August 3, 1596. Observing what he thought was the planet Mercury (later identified as Jupiter), he needed a reference star for comparing positions and picked a previously unremarked third-magnitude star nearby. By August 21, however, it had increased in brightness by one magnitude, then by October had faded from view. Fabricius assumed it was a nova, but then saw it again on February 16, 1609.

Mira (film)

Mira is a 1971 Dutch-Belgian drama film directed by Fons Rademakers. It was entered into the 1971 Cannes Film Festival. The film was selected as the Dutch entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 44th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.

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IBM Mira

Mira is a petascale Blue Gene/Q supercomputer. As of June 2013, it is listed on TOP500 as the fifth-fastest supercomputer in the world. It has a performance of 8.59 petaflops (LINPACK) and consumes 3.9 MW. The supercomputer was constructed by IBM for Argonne National Laboratory's Argonne Leadership Computing Facility with the support of the United States Department of Energy, and partially funded by the National Science Foundation. Mira will be used for scientific research, including studies in the fields of material science, climatology, seismology, and computational chemistry. The supercomputer is being utilized initially for sixteen projects, selected by the Department of Energy.

The Argonne Leadership Computing Facility, which commissioned the supercomputer, was established by the America COMPETES Act, signed by President Bush in 2007, and President Obama in 2011. The United States' emphasis on supercomputing has been seen as a response to China's progress in the field. China's Tianhe-1A, located at the Tianjin National Supercomputer Center, was ranked the most powerful supercomputer in the world from October 2010 to June 2011. Mira is, along with IBM Sequoia and Blue Waters, one of three American petascale supercomputers deployed in 2012.

Geldoff

Geldoff is a fictional character in Marvel Comics who first appeared in the Ultimate Marvel Universe's Ultimate Spider-Man #40 (July 2003) written by Brian Michael Bendis with art from Mark Bagley. Geldoff was brought into Earth-616 by Dan Slott and Christos N. Gage in Avengers: The Initiative #8 (February 2008) where he was given the code name Proton.

Fictional character biography

Geldoff was a Latverian orphan who was experimented on in the womb. While drunk at a party, Geldoff blew up random cars with his powers. Aware of Geldoff's rampages, Spider-Man confronted the youth, denouncing his irresponsible behavior. When police arrived, Spider-Man made to leave, and Geldoff clung on to the back of his costume as Spider-man swung away.

Spider-Man again tried to make Geldoff realize how irresponsible he had been. Spider-Man tried to convince him to use his abilities to help people, but Geldoff couldn't see why. When Spider-Man paused to foil a robbery in a shop below, Geldoff blew up a vehicle outside the shop, injuring those inside indiscriminately. Geldoff believed he had performed a good deed, and was shocked when an enraged Spider-Man attacked him. Geldoff angrily threatened to use his powers directly on the hero, but was interrupted by the arrival of the X-Men. Confronted by the mutants, Geldoff fainted.

Proton (automobile)

Proton Holdings Berhad (stylised PROTON) is a Malaysian automobile manufacturer. It is headquartered in Shah Alam, Selangor and operates an additional manufacturing plant in Tanjung Malim, Perak. The company was established in 1983 as the sole national car company until the advent of Perodua in 1993. Proton is a Malay acronym for Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sendirian Berhad (National Automobile Company Private Limited).

Proton was largely a manufacturer of badge engineered vehicles from Mitsubishi Motors between 1985 and the early 2000s. The company has since produced several indigenously designed models and operates in at least 26 countries today, the majority of which are in Asia. Proton was formerly owned by Khazanah Nasional, the investment holding arm of the government of Malaysia. In January 2012, it was taken over by DRB-HICOM, a Malaysian conglomerate in a transaction amounting RM1.2 billion.

Proton, predominantly reliant on its domestic market is currently undergoing structural and internal changes, as evident in the appointment of a new owner, a new partner, and a new chairman, and in the launch of various new and upcoming models in an effort to gain an international presence and increase profitability.

Proton (supermarkets)

Proton is a Greek based retail chain of independent retailers (primarily grocery shops) operating as a brand and buying group (or symbol group). All stores are independently owned. The parent company (ELETA LTD) is communally owned with each retailer owning a share. As of 2006, the Proton retail network consists of around 390 stores throughout Greece. They also sell their own brand of cola, Proton Cola.

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