Up in the air

Masada, an ancient fortification in Israel that overlooks the Dead Sea, is now a popular tourist attraction; a new featured picture

Australian artistic gymnast Lauren Mitchell performs a layout step-out during the 2009 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in London; a new featured picture

Arizona, the second and last member of the Pennsylvania-class battleships

Nine featured articles were promoted this week.

• Lynn Hill (nom) by Wadewitz. Lynn Hill is an American rock climber who was widely regarded as one of the leading competitive sport climbers in the world during the late 1980s and early 1990s. She is famous for making the first ascent without aid of the difficult sheer rock face of The Nose on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley and the first free ascent in 24 hours.
• Prince William, Duke of Gloucester (nom) by DrKiernan. Prince William, Duke of Gloucester (1689–1700) was the son of Princess Anne, the future Queen of Great Britain, and Prince George of Denmark and Norway. He was their only child to survive infancy, and his death precipitated a succession crisis because his mother was the only individual remaining in the Protestant line of succession laid down by Parliament.
• Goblin shark (nom) by Yzx. The goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni) is a rare, poorly known species of deep-sea shark. Sometimes called a "living fossil", it is the only extant representative of the family Mitsukurinidae, a lineage some 125 million years old.
• Long-tailed Ground Roller (nom) by Rufous-crowned Sparrow. The Long-tailed Ground Roller (Uratelornis chimaera) is a species of medium-sized bird in the ground roller family Brachypteraciidae, placed in the monotypic genus Uratelornis. Endemic to arid spiny forests near the coast in southwestern Madagascar, this ground roller occurs at extremely low population densities throughout its habitat.
• Eurasian Blackcap (nom) by Jimfbleak. The Eurasian Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla), usually known as the Blackcap, is a common and widespread typical warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences between the five subspecies are small.
• Pennsylvania-class battleship (nom) by The ed17. The Pennsylvania class consisted of two super-dreadnought battleships built for the United States Navy just before the First World War. The ships were named Pennsylvania and Arizona. The latter was sunk in a massive magazine explosion during the attack on Pearl Harbor, while Pennsylvania was expended as a target for atomic bombs and regular ordnance after the war.
• The Heart of a Woman (nom) by Figureskatingfan. The Heart of a Woman is the fourth of seven autobiographies by African-American writer Maya Angelou. The title is taken from a poem by Harlem Renaissance poet Georgia Douglas Johnson, which connects Angelou with other female African-American writers, and the book recounts events in Angelou's life between 1957 and 1962.
• Mass Effect 2 (nom) by Niwi3. Mass Effect 2 is an action role-playing video game. It is the second installment of the eponymous series, which is set in the Milky Way galaxy during the 22nd century. In Mass Effect 2, humanity is threatened by an insectoid species known as the Collectors, and the player must assume the role of an elite human soldier and construct a diverse team to defeat the enemy. With the use of a completed saved game of its predecessor, the player can impact the story of the game in numerous ways.
• Iven Mackay (nom) by Hawkeye7. Sir Iven Giffard Mackay was a senior Australian soldier who served in both World Wars, including at Gallipoli, the Western Front, the Battle of Greece, and New Guinea. His active service ended with his appointment as High Commissioner to India in November 1943.

Six featured lists were promoted this week.

• 2013 Women's Cricket World Cup squads (nom) by Harrias. The 2013 Women's Cricket World Cup squads consisted of 120 players from 8 national women's cricket teams. Organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the 2013 Women's Cricket World Cup, held in India, was the tenth edition of the competition. Australia won the tournament for the sixth time, defeating the West Indies by 114 runs in the final.
• List of international cricket five-wicket hauls by B. S. Chandrasekhar (nom) by Vensatry. B. S. Chandrasekhar (born 1945) is a former international cricketer who represented the Indian cricket team between 1964 and 1979. In cricket, a five-wicket haul refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single inning. This is regarded as a notable achievement, and 40 bowlers have taken at least 15 five-wicket hauls at the international level as of May 2013. Chandrasekhar played as a leg spin bowler who formed a part of the Indian spin quartet. Described by West Indies cricketer Viv Richards as the "most difficult" bowler, Chandrasekhar took 16 five-wicket hauls during his international career.
• India national cricket team record by opponent (nom) by Vibhijain. The India national cricket team represents India in international cricket and is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International (ODI) status. As of 30 March 2013, India have played 472 Test matches, 817 ODI matches, and 45 T20I matches.
• List of accolades received by Atonement (nom) by JuneGloom07. Atonement is a 2007 British romantic World War II film directed by Joe Wright. Christopher Hampton adapted the screenplay from the eponymous novel by Ian McEwan. The film focuses on fictional lovers Cecilia and Robbie, whose lives are ruined when Cecilia's younger sister, Briony, falsely accuses Robbie of a serious crime. The film was nominated for 130 awards, and won 38 of them.
• Dannii Minogue discography (nom) by Underneath-it-All. The discography of Dannii Minogue (born 1971), an Australian dance-pop singer, consists of five studio albums, seven compilation albums, 27 singles, 24 music videos, and five video albums. Minogue rose to prominence in the early 1980s for her roles in the Australian television talent show Young Talent Time and in the soap opera Home and Away, before commencing her career as a pop singer in the early 1990s.
• List of NFL tied games (nom) by Toa Nidhiki05. The National Football League is an American football league based in the United States. In the NFL, a tied game occurs when a regular season game ends with both teams having an equal score.

Eight featured pictures were promoted this week.

• Aerial View of Makhtesh Ramon in the Negev Desert (nom, related article) created and nominated by Godot13. A makhtesh is a landform with steep rock walls surrounding a deep, enclosed valley. It is typically drained by a single wadi, and is not a meteor impact crater. The landform is unique to the Negev Desert in Israel. Makhtesh Ramon is the largest and best known, and is part of the Ramon Nature Reserve national park.
• Aerial view of Masada (nom, related article) created and nominated by Godot13. Masada is an ancient fortification on top of a plateau in Israel. It was the site of a number of armed confrontations between Jewish and Roman forces, including the Siege of Masada in the year 73.
• Alessandro Scarlatti - Griselda (nom, related article) created by Alessandro Scarlatti, digitised by the British Library, and nominated by Andrew Gray. Scarlatti (1660–1725) was an Italian Baroque composer. Griselda is an opera seria, and the last of Scarlatti's operas that currently exist in complete form. Apostolo Zeno wrote the libretto.
• Sella group (nom, related article) created by dmottl and nominated by Pine. The Sella is a massif in northern Italy in the Dolomites mountain range, with its highest peak at 3,151 meters (10,338 feet). The annual Maratona dles Dolomites (Dolomites Marathon) is a single-day road bicycle race that takes place around the Sella group.
• Grey Heron in Thailand (nom, related article) created by JJ Harrison and nominated by Pine. The Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) is a large wading bird with a range that includes parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe. It has four subspecies. Its wingspan measures 155–195 centimeters (61–77 inches).
• Lauren Mitchell layout (nom, related article) created by Steven Rasmussen and nominated by Keraunoscopia. Australian artistic gymnast Lauren Mitchell (born 1991) was the 2010 World Champion on floor. Mitchell was the first Australian female gymnast to win gold at a World Championship. She participated in the 2012 Olympic Games in London but did not win an individual Olympic medal.
• Field of sunflowers (nom, related article) created by Poco a poco and nominated by Samaksasanian. The sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is native to the Americas, and was brought to Europe in the 16th century. Sunflowers are used as symbols of numerous government organizations and cultural movements throughout the world. Sunflower oil and seeds are common food ingredients.
• Curculio occidentis (nom, related article) created and nominated by Kaldari. Curculio occidentis is commonly known as the Filbert weevil, a type of beetle that infests and damages acorns.

← Previous "Featured content"

Next "Featured content" →

In this issue

20 May 2013 (all comments)

Foundation elections

WikiProject report

News and notes

In the media

Featured content

+ Add a comment

Discuss this story

To follow comments, add the page to your watchlist. If your comment has not appeared here, you can try purging the cache.

No comments yet. Yours could be the first!

+ Add a comment