02/07 What Happen Yesterday?

The crossing of the planet Pluto occurred in the orbit of the planet Neptune

February 7, 1979

Ever since American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered the planet Pluto in 1930, many have thought it was the farthest planet from the Sun. But for 20 years, this planet did not have such a narrative, when it passed the orbit of the gas giant Neptune, causing it to overtake Neptune. This first "cross-over" was recorded today in 1979.

From our earth astronomers and some Solar system experts have observed this strange phenomenon, and over the years Neptune has briefly become the farthest planet from the Sun. The orbit and the way Pluto revolved around the Sun were also discovered to be unique. Its orbit is tilted 17 degrees and its orbit is very wide. With Pluto's "crossover" on Neptune it also barely approached the Sun, so the Hubble Space Telescope also observed a change in the geography of this tiny, icy planet. Pluto's orbit over Neptune's orbit ended in 1999, and this phenomenon is expected to be observed again in 2112.

It will take 248 years for the planet Pluto to complete its orbit around the Sun.

The controversial results of the 1986 snap elections

February 7, 1986

Snap! After President Ferdinand Marcos announced that the Philippine elections would be held early to find out if the support of the Filipino people was still on his side, the instant election or the Snap Elections took place in 1986. In this election he became a mortal rival in power the two big last names in politics; Marcos and Aquino. The wife of the assassinated Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr., his partner Salvador Laurel, ran for the presidency of the Philippines against President Marcos and his partner Arturo Tolentino.

Colorful, noisy, but depressing, violent and bloody this election, which is even called the dirtiest election in history. There were several incidents of open vote buying, voter intimidation, ballot theft, counting manipulation and even harassment of election officers and the killing of some candidates at the time. One of them is the running for governor of Antique and opposing the Marcos regime, Evelio Javier, when on February 11 he was shot by pro-government goons.

Marcos and Aquino's fight in the Snap Elections was close, and the results released by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and the National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) were evenly divided. On the COMELEC side, Marcos won, with a total of 10,807,197 votes compared to Corazon Aquino with only 9,291,716. According to NAMFREL, Cory Aquino won, with a total of 7,158,679 votes compared to Marcos who had only 6,532,362. As a result, rumors circulated that the election results were manipulated. The 30 vote-counting officers also witnessed the walk out of the Batasang Pambansa hall because they said they could not disregard the order to manipulate the votes in favor of Marcos.

When President Marcos declared the Snap Elections, he seemed to have signed his death sentence, as it also led to his eventual resignation as President of the Philippines.

The controversial results of the 1986 snap elections have completely changed the course of our history. The current president, Ferdinand Marcos, and the widow of the slain Senator Ninoy Aquino Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino are vying for the presidency.

According to the Commission on Elections or COMELEC, Marcos won with a total of 10,807,197 votes while Aquino got only 9,291,716 votes. But on the side of the National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections or NAMFREL, Corazon Aquino was the real winner where he got 7,158,679 compared to Marcos who only got 6,532,362 votes. As a result, rumors circulated that the administration manipulated the outcome of the said election.

That event paved the way for the peaceful protest action and the historic People Power Revolution in EDSA that finally ended the more than two decades of dictatorship and restored democracy in our country.

The Birth of Thomas Adrew

February 7, 1873

The British ship RMS Titanic - the largest, most powerful and most prestigious ship of its time, was the conceptual genius and son of a British-Irish shipbuilder and businessman Thomas Andrews, now on his 148th birthday.

Born in northern Ireland, he was the son of the former prime minister of northern Ireland and nephew of the owner of the famous Harland and Wolff shipyard, which produces giant and luxurious ships for the White Star Liner. Worked as an apprentice with his uncle, and rose in his job rank due to his diligence and dedication. Seeing his design skills in shipbuilding, he was made chief of the design department, and later became managing director of Harland and Wolff.

Andrews was commissioned by the White Star Liner to design the three Olympic-class ships, the most prestigious and largest ship to be assigned to the Cunard Liner competing ships. He designed the blueprint of the Olympic ships, Gigantic (which became Britannic) and Titanic. He included in Andrews' final plan the 16 watertight compartments that would divide the entire ship, and by this means even four of the 16 floods would remain afloat. The Olympic and Titanic were launched in 1911, and he personally observed them to see what was needed to revise the design of the ship. Andrews' works impressed not only the White Star Liner but also the public, who said it would not sink. Contrary to popular belief, Andrews did not say that God could not sink the Titanic, but rather that it was from the magnificent newspapers on these ships.

Andrews was also among those aboard the Titanic on its first voyage on April 10, 1912. When the Titanic collided with an iceberg in the Atlantic, he immediately inspected the damage caused by the iceberg, and found five compartments in the front. the ship was flooded, so its design did not work and it was said to sink for an hour or two. He assisted in preparing and boarding passengers on lifeboats, and asked crews to increase the number of rescued passengers as much as possible. He was last seen in the ship's 1st-class smoking room, and he was among the more than 1,500 people killed in the sinking of the Titanic on April 15, 1912, and his body has not been recovered.

Even though Andrews died with his work, his design undoubtedly became immortal in the following generations, continuing to sail the memory of many.

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