September 5, 2017

Image of the Day Archives

For older Image of the Day pictures, please visit the Image of the Day archives. Pictured: NGC 2467.

Jupiter's Great Red 'Monet'

Friday, September 1, 2017: This colorful work of art is a picture of Jupiter's Great Red Spot taken by NASA's Juno spacecraft and edited by citizen scientist David Englund, who recreated the image to look like a painting by Claude Monet. The original image was taken on July 10 as Juno performed its seventh close flyby of Jupiter. — Hanneke Weitering

Touchdown!

Tuesday, September 5, 2017:Three crewmembers returned to Earth from the International Space Station on Saturday (Sept. 2) with a smooth landing on the steppes of Kazakhstan. What looks like an explosion on impact was the Soyuz spacecraft's six soft-landing engines burning to slow down the fall. Aboard the Soyuz was NASA's record-breaking astronaut Peggy Whitson, who set a new spaceflight duration record for U.S. astronauts with 665 days spent in space. — Hanneke Weitering

Cassini's View of Enceladus

Wednesday, September 6, 2017: NASA's Cassini spacecraft, which has been orbiting Saturn for the last decade, also keeps an eye on Saturn's moons. On Aug. 1, when Cassini was about 112,000 miles (181,000 kilometers) from Saturn's moon Enceladus, the spacecraft took a series of images, which project scientists stitched together to create this animation of a unique "spacecraft's-eye" view of the flyby. — Hanneke Weitering

Irma at Night

Thursday, September 7, 2017: As Hurricane Irma closed in on the northern Leeward Islands in the early morning hours on Tuesday (Sept. 5), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Suomi NPP satellite captured this incredible nighttime view of the islands' city lights before widespread power outages caused blackouts across the Caribbean. — Hanneke Weitering

Falcon 9 Returns to Earth

Friday, September 8, 2017: After a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the U.S. Air Force's secretive X-37B space plane from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday (Sept. 7), the rocket's first stage returned to Earth to stick a landing at Cape Canaveral. — Hanneke Weitering

9/11 Seen from Space

Monday, September 11, 2017: After the World Trade Center was destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001, astronauts aboard the International Space Station captured this view of the smoke plume rising out of Manhattan from 250 miles (400 km) above the Earth. — Hanneke Weitering

The Eye of the Storm

Tuesday, September 12, 2017: As the International Space Station passed about 250 miles (400 km) over Hurricane Jose on Monday (Sept. 11), NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik captured this view of the eye of the storm. A little blue spot of ocean is visible through the opening in the cloud tops. — Hanneke Weitering

Expedition 53 Blasts Off

Wednesday, September 13, 2017: A Soyuz rocket carrying three Expedition 53/54 crewmembers to the International Space Station blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan yesterday (Sept. 12). NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin arrived at the space station almost six hours later. — Hanneke Weitering

One Last Look

Thursday, September 14, 2017: Before NASA's Cassini spacecraft began the "grand finale" phase of its mission at Saturn, it took one last photo of the giant planet and its ring system from afar. The spacecraft has been orbiting Saturn for the last 13 years and will dive into the gas giant tomorrow (Sept. 15). — Hanneke Weitering

Cassini's Last Photo

Friday, September 15, 2017: This is the last image taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft before it dove into Saturn's atmosphere this morning. Cassini took the photo on Thursday (Sept. 14) at 12:59 p.m. PDT (3:59 p.m. EDT; 19:59 GMT), roughly 12 hours before it disintegrated in Saturn's atmosphere, becoming one with the planet it had studied for nearly two decades. — Hanneke Weitering

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Smackdown Live

The September 5, 2017 Edition of Smackdown Live is a Professional wrestling television show of the WWE's Smackdown brand, which took place on September 5, 2017 at Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Summary

SmackDown LIVE was slated to begin with a contest between former friends, Natalya and Carmella. However, Kevin Owens quickly interrupted James Ellsworth's introduction of Ms. Money in the Bank, announcing his intentions to interject himself into the match as the special guest referee. Just as he did during the Sami Zayn vs. Aiden English match last week, KO demanded that the referee give him the striped shirt, which prompted the arrival of SmackDown LIVE Commissioner Shane McMahon, who has been at odds with the former United States Champion for months.

Shane-O-Mac made it clear that Owens’ unruly behavior the last several weeks would no longer be tolerated, resulting in a heated argument that brought each man closer to his boiling point. Finally, Owens went deeply personal, suggesting that the McMahon family would have been better off if Shane hadn't survived his helicopter crash, causing the Commissioner to attack Owens.

Shane tackled Owens over the announce desk and continued to hammer away until SmackDown LIVE General Manager Daniel Bryan arrived with referees and security to pull Shane off Owens.

Owens, who was still irate in the backstage area after the brawl, announced his intention to pursue legal action, sue SmackDown LIVE, WWE at large and every member of the McMahon family, letting it be known that he's determined to bring WWE down completely.

With the ring now cleared of the Shane McMahon/Kevin Owens chaos, Natalya and Carmella's match could finally take place. Carmella, looking to gain the mental edge over the SmackDown Women's Champion with her Money in the Bank contract still looming large, of course had James Ellsworth in her corner.

The two Superstars went toe-to-toe in this non-title contest, but when Carmella gained enough momentum for Ellsworth to believe she had the win in hand during a two-count, he hopped onto the apron with the contract and accidently dropped the briefcase in the ring. The official seemed to believe Carmella was perhaps attempting to cash in, a matter that The Princess of Staten Island had to clear up in a hurry. The distraction cost Carmella to lose concentration and then lose the match when Natalya rolled her up for three while she was busy yelling at Ellsworth.

After the contest, Ellsworth begged Carmella for forgiveness, but The Princess of Staten Island would have none of it. Carmella verbally degraded him, then told James that they are through, bringing their unusual relationship to a bitter end.

After promising an unbelievable spectacle for the past two weeks, Dolph Ziggler indeed put on quite the show in his return to Team Blue. The Showoff first mimicked John Cena's iconic entrance, then brought out a woman assistant to adorn him in a robe while WWE Hall of Famer “Macho Man” Randy Savage's theme blared throughout the arena. Next, the lights dimmed and Ziggler glowed in the dark, and The Showoff performed a dance, all of it looking very akin to Naomi's popular entrance.

After his display, the two-time World Heavyweight Champion addressed the WWE Universe, asking them if this is what they really wanted. Ziggler made the point that anyone can do what he just did, but no one can do what he does in the ring. Disgusted, Ziggler stormed off the stage, never actually competing.

After Kevin Owens’ controversial actions last week resulted in their match being ruled a no-contest, Aiden English and Sami Zayn ran it back tonight on SmackDown LIVE. English, determined to sing after being interrupted during his solo last week, was once again denied the opportunity to belt it out this week when Zayn hit the scene to get right into the action.

However, Zayn was left singing the blues after English caught him with a surprise rollup, allowing him to get the major win.

After the match, English again attempted to serenade the WWE Universe with song, but this time, Zayn chased him off.

After Shane McMahon instigated a brawl with Kevin Owens earlier in the night, KO threatened to file criminal charges against Shane-O-Mac. With so much in motion, SmackDown LIVE General Manager Daniel Bryan called Shane down to the ring.

In a rough spot because of Shane's actions, Bryan tried to convey to the Commissioner the mess SmackDown LIVE and WWE were in due to him attacking Owens. Clearly contrite and aware of his mistake, Shane indicated he would take the necessary steps to resolve the issue, but Bryan told him that it was too late for that.

The “Yes!” Man revealed that he received a call from Mr. McMahon declaring that, effective immediately, Shane was indefinitely suspended as Team Blue's Commissioner.

After brawling for the right to partake in AJ Styles’ United States Open Challenge last week, Baron Corbin and Tye Dillinger squared off on SmackDown LIVE, each with a vendetta to unleash on the other Superstar.

With United States Champion AJ Styles watching closely on commentary, both Corbin and Dillinger looked to impress, knowing that a victory here could get them right back in the thick of the U.S. Title hunt. The Perfect 10 brought his all against The Lone Wolf, but Corbin landed a questionable strike behind the official's back and following it up with a devastating End of Days for the win.

After the hard-hitting bout, The Phenomenal One approached Dillinger in the backstage area and told him he was opening the U.S. Open Challenge exclusively to him next week in Las Vegas on Sin City SmackDown LIVE due to The Perfect 10's amazing effort against Styles last week and Corbin tonight. Dillinger accepted, saying it sounded “phenomenal” and shaking Styles’ hand.

After Carmella treated him so harshly in the ring earlier in the night, James Ellsworth tracked down Ms. Money in the Bank to again plead for forgiveness. Ellsworth promised to do anything to keep The Princess of Staten Island in his life. With none of his words appearing to change her mood, Carmella glared at a stunned Ellsworth and declared they would be doing things “her way” from now on. Carmella suddenly grabbed Ellsworth by the back of the head and kissed him with intensity. After the kiss, James flashed a slight smile, but was then cracked by a vicious slap from Princess Mella, leaving Ellsworth excited, yet confused.

In one of the biggest main events in SmackDown LIVE history, Shinsuke Nakamura faced off with Randy Orton with the winner getting the opportunity to face WWE Champion Jinder Mahal for the title at WWE Hell in a Cell.

With so much on the line, neither Superstar hesitated to bust out the heavy artillery early and often in hopes of making their way to WWE Hell in a Cell to challenge The Modern Day Maharaja. The two jockeyed back and forth with Orton backbody dropping Nakamura onto the announce table, The King of Strong Style retorting with some vicious kicks, and The Viper coming right back with a scintillating superplex.

However, Nakamura found his second wind to overcome Orton's best offense, countering the RKO not once, but twice, to connect with a head-ringing Kinshasa for the win, ensuring that he would see Mahal again at WWE Hell in a Cell.

Results

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.

(c) refers to the champion(s) heading into the match.

Other on-screen talent

Image Gallery

Kevin Owens & Shane McMahon come to blows

Natalya vs. Carmella

Dolph Ziggler re-debuts

You’re reading Significant Digits, a daily digest of the numbers tucked inside the news.

6 months

President Trump is considering ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that protects 800,000 people who were children when they came to the United States as undocumented immigrants. One plan under consideration gives Congress six months to replace DACA before ending legal protections for the group. [The New York Times]

28 deals

The New York Daily News has been purchased by Tronc Inc., the company with the third-dumbest name in the industry. Tronc owns the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Baltimore Sun. Last year 50 newspapers changed ownership across 28 deals. [Bloomberg]

50 percent

Hurricane Irma, a category 4 storm in the Atlantic, has already led to warnings in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Island and an emergency declaration in Florida. Meteorologists say it has a higher than 50 percent chance of impacting Florida. [Buzzfeed]

3,000

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party was allegedly hit with 3,000 cyberattacks Sunday, some of which could be traced back to Russian IP addresses. Gosh, it would seem now would be a great time for any Western democracy who has endured Russian meddling in its election to stand up and give a clear reckoning of what happened. [The New York Daily News]

59 million

Number of people in the U.S. and Canada who play fantasy sports, according to a trade group. I am one of them, and given that I have two different drafts tonight, you can expect tomorrow’s Significant Digits to include overzealous cheerleading of Kareem Hunt’s limited statline in an attempt to overcompensate for my taking him early in the second round like the chump I truly am! [Quartz]

$1.2 billion

With steel prices at a high, U.S. Steel is embarking on a $1.2 billion upgrade to a number of its factories with the goal of reducing energy costs and improving reliability. [Bloomberg]

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