title: Physiognomy

text: Many European novelists used physiognomy in the descriptions of their characters, notably Balzac, Chaucer and portrait artists, such as Joseph Ducreux. A host of 19th-century English authors were influenced by the idea, notably evident in the detailed physiognomic descriptions of characters in the novels of Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, and Charlotte Brontë.


title: Physiognomy

text: In addition to Thomas Browne, other literary authors associated with Norwich who made physiognomical observations in their writings include the romantic novelist Amelia Opie, and the travelogue author George Borrow.


title: Physiognomy

text: Physiognomy is a central, implicit assumption underlying the plot of Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray". In 19th-century American literature, physiognomy figures prominently in the short stories of Edgar Allan Poe.


title: Physiognomy

text: Phrenology, also considered a form of physiognomy, was created around 1800 by German physician Franz Joseph Gall and Johann Spurzheim, and was widely popular in the 19th century in Europe and the United States. In the U.S., physician James W. Redfield published his "Comparative Physiognomy" in 1852, illustrating with 330 engravings the "Resemblances between Men and Animals". He finds these in appearance and (often metaphorically) character, e.g. Germans to Lions, Negroes to Elephants and Fishes, Chinamen to Hogs, Yankees to Bears, Jews to Goats.


title: Physiognomy

text: In the late 19th century, it became associated with phrenology and consequently discredited and rejected. Nevertheless, the German physiognomist Carl Huter (1861–1912) became popular in Germany with his concept of physiognomy, called "psycho-physiognomy".


title: Physiognomy

text: During the late 19th century, English psychometrician Sir Francis Galton attempted to define physiognomic characteristics of health, disease, beauty, and criminality, via a method of composite photography. Galton's process involved the photographic superimposition of two or more faces by multiple exposures. After averaging together photographs of violent criminals, he found that the composite appeared "more respectable" than any of the faces comprising it; this was likely due to the irregularities of the skin across the constituent images being averaged out in the final blend. With the advent of computer technology during the early 1990s, Galton's composite technique has been adopted and greatly improved using computer graphics software.


title: Physiognomy

text: Physiognomy also became of use in the field of Criminology through efforts made by Italian army doctor and scientist, Cesare Lombroso. Lombroso, during the mid 19th century, championed the notion that "criminality was inherited and that criminals could be identified by physical attributes such as hawk-like noses and bloodshot eyes". Lombroso took inspiration from the recently released ideologies and studies of Darwin and carried many of the misunderstandings that he had regarding evolution into the propagation of the use of physiognomy in criminology. His logic stemmed from the idea that "criminals were 'throwbacks' in the phylogenetic tree to early phases of evolution". Bearing this in mind, it is reasonable to conclude that "according to Lombroso, a regressive characteristic united the genius, the madman and the delinquent; they differed in the intensity of this characteristic and, naturally in the degree of development of the positive qualities". He believed that one could determine whether one was of savage nature just by their physical characteristics. Based on his findings, "Lombroso proposed that the "born criminal" could be distinguished by physical atavistic "stigmata", such as:


title: Physiognomy

text: This interest in the relationship between criminology and physiognomy began upon Lombroso's first interaction with "a notorious Calabrian thief and arsonist" named Giuseppe Villella. Lombroso was particularly taken by many striking personality characteristics that Villella possessed; agility and cynicism being some of them. Villella’s alleged crimes are disputed and Lombroso’s research is seen by many as northern Italian racism toward southern Italians. Upon Villella's death, Lombroso "conducted a post-mortem and discovered that his subject had an indentation at the back of his skull, which resembled that found in apes". He later referred to this anomaly as the "median occipital depression". Lombroso used the term "atavism" to describe these primitive, ape-like behaviors that he found in many of those whom he deemed prone to criminality. As he continued analyzing the data he gathered from said autopsy and comparing and contrasting these results with previous cases, he inferred that certain physical characteristics allowed for some individuals to have a greater "propensity to offend and were also savage throwbacks to early man".


title: Physiognomy

text: These sorts of examinations yielded far-reaching consequences for various scientific and medical communities at the time; "the "natural genesis" of crime implied that the criminal personality should be regarded as a particular form of psychiatric disease". Furthermore, these ideals promoted the idea that when a crime is committed, it is no longer seen as "free will" but instead a result of one's genetic pre-disposition to savagery. He had numerous case studies to corroborate many of his findings due to the fact that he was the head of an insane asylum at Pesaro. He was easily able to study people from various walks of life and was thus able to further define criminal types. Because his theories primarily focused on anatomy and anthropological information, the idea of degeneracy being a source of atavism was not explored till later on in his criminological endeavors. These "new and improved" theories led to the notion "that the born criminal had pathological symptoms in common with the moral imbecile and the epileptic, and this led him to expand his typology to include the insane criminal and the epileptic criminal". In addition, "the insane criminal type [was said to] include the alcoholic, the mattoid, and the hysterical criminal".


title: Physiognomy

text: Lombroso's ideologies are now recognized as flawed, and regarded as pseudo-science. Many have remarked on the overt sexist and racist overtones of his research, and denounce it for those reasons alone. In spite of many of his theories being discredited, he is still hailed as the father of "scientific criminology". Modern criminology finds many of his teachings incorrect, but he had a great influence over criminology and physiognomy at the time.


title: Physiognomy

text: In France, the concept developed in the 20th century under the name morphopsychology, developed by Louis Corman (1901–1995), a French psychiatrist who argued that the workings of vital forces within the human body resulted in different facial shapes and forms. For example, full and round body shapes are considered the expression of the instinct of expansion while the hollow or flat shapes are an expression of self-preservation. The term "morphopsychology" is a translation of the French word "morphopsychologie", which Louis Corman coined in 1937 when he wrote his first book on the subject, "Quinze leçons de morphopsychologie" (Fifteen Lessons of Morphopsychology). Corman was influenced by the French doctor Claude Sigaud (1862–1921), incorporating his idea of "dilation and retraction" into morphopsychology.


title: Physiognomy

text: Research in the 1990s indicated that three elements of personality in particular – power, warmth and honesty – can be reliably inferred.


title: Physiognomy

text: Some evidence indicated that the pattern of whorls in the scalp had some correlation to male homosexuality, though subsequent research has largely refuted the findings on hair whorl patterns.


title: Physiognomy

text: A February 2009 article in "New Scientist" magazine reported that physiognomy is living a small revival, with research papers trying to find links between personality traits and facial traits. A study of 90 ice hockey players found a statistically significant correlation between a wider face—a greater than average cheekbone-to-cheekbone distance relative to the distance between brow and upper lip—and the number of penalty minutes a player received for violent acts like slashing, elbowing, checking from behind, and fighting.


title: Physiognomy

text: This revival has been confirmed in the 2010s with the rise of machine learning for facial recognition. For instance, researchers have claimed that it is possible to predict upper body strength and some personality traits (propensity to aggression) only by looking at the width of the face. Political orientation can also be reliably predicted.


title: Physiognomy

text: In 2017, a controversial study claimed that an algorithm could detect sexual orientation 'more accurately than humans' (in 81% of the tested cases for men and 71% for women). A director of research of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) accused the study of being "junk science" to the BBC. The director, an 'equity and inclusion strategist' with no scientific background, was criticized by the researchers for "premature judgement". The researchers criticized GLAAD and HRC's press release for falsely stating the paper was not peer reviewed. In early 2018, researchers, among them two specialists of AI working at Google (one of the two on face recognition), issued a reportedly contradicting study based on a survey of 8,000 Americans using Amazon's Mechanical Turk crowd-sourcing platform. The survey yielded many traits helping to discriminate between gay and straight respondents with a series of yes/no questions. These traits had actually less to do with morphology than with grooming, presentation, and lifestyle (makeup, facial hair, glasses, angle of pictures taken of self, etc.). For more information of this sexual orientation issue in general, see gaydar.


title: Physiognomy

text: In 2020, a study on the use of consumer facial images for marketing research purposes concluded that deep learning on facial images can extract a variety of personal information relevant to marketers and so users' facial images could become a basis for ad targeting on Tinder and Facebook. According to the study, while most of facial images' predictive power is attributable to basic demographics (age, gender, race) extracted from the face, image artifacts, observable facial characteristics, and other image features extracted by deep learning all contribute to prediction quality beyond demographics.


title: Physiognomy

text: Critics of physiognomy say that the human mind tends to extrapolate emotions from facial expressions (e.g., blushing) and physiognomy, with its assumption of permanent characteristics, is only an over-generalization of this skill. Also, if one classifies a person as untrustworthy due to facial features, "and treats them as such", that person may eventually behave in an untrustworthy way toward the person holding this belief (see self-fulfilling prophecy).


title: Physiognomy

text: In 2011, the South Korean news agency Yonhap published a physiognomical analysis of the current leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-Un.


title: Death Star

text: The Death Star is a fictional space station and superweapon featured in the "Star Wars" space-opera franchise. Constructed by the autocratic Galactic Empire, the Death Star is capable of annihilating entire planets into rubble, and serves to enforce the Empire's reign of terror. Appearing in the original 1977 film "Star Wars", the Death Star serves as a central plot point and setting for the movie, and is destroyed in an assault by the Rebel Alliance in the climax of the film. A larger Second Death Star is constructed in the events of the film "Return of the Jedi" featuring substantially improved capabilities compared to its predecessor, however it too is destroyed by the Rebel Alliance while under construction.


title: Death Star

text: Since its first appearance, the Death Star has become a cultural icon and a widely recognized element of the "Star Wars" franchise. It inspired numerous similar superweapons in fiction, as well as in other "Star Wars" works. The 2015 film "" introduces Starkiller Base, a planet converted by the First Order into a Death Star-like weapon. While more powerful and technologically advanced than both Death Stars, it is also destroyed by the Resistance.


title: Death Star

text: According to franchise creator George Lucas, his initial outline for the "Star Wars" saga did not feature the Death Star in the portion that would be adapted as the first film. When he set to creating the first act of this outline as a feature, he borrowed the Death Star concept from the third act.


title: Death Star

text: Although details, such as the superlaser's location, shifted between different concept models during the production of "Star Wars" (1977), the notion of the Death Star being a large, spherical space station over 100 kilometers in diameter was consistent in all of them. George Lucas gave the original task of designing a "Death Star" to concept artist and spaceship modeler Colin Cantwell, who had collaborated with Stanley Kubrick on the 1968 film "". In "Empire of Dreams", a documentary about the filming and production of "Star Wars," Cantwell revealed that the "Death Star" was originally supposed to be a perfect sphere. However, the model was constructed in two separate pieces and wasn't fitting together as planned. It was then decided that there could be a trench going around the equator of the space station. Lucas liked the idea, and the Death Star model was created by John Stears. The buzzing sound counting down to the Death Star firing its superlaser comes from the "Flash Gordon" serials. Portraying an incomplete yet powerful space station posed a problem for Industrial Light & Magic's modelmakers for "Return of the Jedi". Only the front side of the 137-centimeter model was completed, and the image was flipped horizontally for the final film. Both Death Stars were depicted by a combination of complete and sectional models and matte paintings.


title: Death Star

text: The grid plan animations shown during the Rebel briefing for the attack on the Death Star late in "A New Hope" were an actual computer-graphics simulation from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory made by Larry Cuba and Gary Imhoff as part of a CalArts project, and had been included during filming.


title: Death Star

text: After filming was complete, the original model, as well as one of the surface setpieces, were to be thrown out; however, they were salvaged.


title: Death Star

text: The Death Star explosions featured in the Special Edition of "A New Hope" and in "Return of the Jedi" are rendered with a Praxis Effect, wherein a flat ring of matter erupts from the explosion.


title: Death Star

text: The original Death Star was introduced in the original "Star Wars" film, which later had elements of its backstory explored in the prequel films "Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith", the animated series "" and "Rebels", and the 2016 anthology film "Rogue One". The second Death Star appears in "Return of the Jedi" and "The Rise of Skywalker", and a similar superweapon, Starkiller Base, appears in "The Force Awakens". Both the original and second Death Star were moon-sized and designed for massive power-projection capabilities, capable of destroying an entire planet with a 6.2x10 J/s power output blast from their superlasers.


title: Death Star

text: The original Death Star's completed form appears in the original "Star Wars" film, known as the "DS-1" Orbital Battle Station, or Project Stardust in "Rogue One"; before learning the true name of the weapon, the Rebel Alliance referred to it as the "Planet Killer". Commanded by Governor Tarkin, it is the Galactic Empire's "ultimate weapon", a huge spherical battle station 160 kilometers in diameter capable of destroying a planet with one shot of its superlaser.


title: Death Star

text: The film opens with Princess Leia transporting the station's schematics to the Rebel Alliance to aid them in destroying the Death Star. To mark the Death Star being fully operational, Tarkin orders the Death Star to destroy Leia's home world of Alderaan in an attempt to press her into giving him the location of the secret Rebel headquarters; she gives them the location of Dantooine which housed a now-deserted Rebel base, but Tarkin has Alderaan destroyed anyway as a demonstration of the Empire's resolve. Later, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Obi-Wan Kenobi, C-3PO, and R2-D2 are pulled aboard the station by a tractor beam, where they discover and manage to rescue Princess Leia. As they make their escape, Obi-Wan sacrifices himself whilst dueling Darth Vader, enabling the others to flee the station. Later, Luke returns as part of a fighter force to attack its only weak point: a ray-shielded particle exhaust vent leading straight from the surface directly into its reactor core, discovered previously from the stolen schematics. Luke is able to successfully launch his X-wing fighter's torpedoes into the vent, impacting the core and triggering a catastrophic explosion, which destroys the station before it can annihilate the Rebel base on Yavin 4.


title: Death Star

text: The Death Star's schematics are visible in the scenes on Geonosis in , evidently designed by Geonosians led by Archduke Poggle the Lesser, a member of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and is shown early in construction at the end of "Episode III – Revenge of the Sith". "The Clone Wars" Legacy story reel from the unfinished "Crystal Crisis on Utapau" episodes reveals that General Grievous went to Utapau prior to "Revenge of the Sith" in order to acquire an enormous kyber crystal to power the Death Star's superlaser.


title: Death Star

text: As depicted in "Rogue One" and "" (2016), the Death Star was worked on by a team of scientists sequestered on the rainswept world of Eadu, overseen by Orson Krennic, the Director of Advanced Weapons Research for the Imperial Military. Under Krennic's supervision, the project was beset by constant delays, and he forcibly recruited weapons designer Galen Erso (the father of Jyn Erso, the film's protagonist) to complete the design. The Death Star scientists sought to fuse kyber crystal shards into larger structures and used those crystals to amplify energy into a stable beam powerful enough to destroy an entire planet. In the Disney+ series, Andor, set after the novel but before the film, prisoners of the Imperial Prison Complex in Narkina 5, including Cassian Andor, who got sent to the prison during his time as Keef Girgo, worked on Imperial equipment during their shifts, which was revealed in the post-credits scene of the series' final episode, "Rix Road", to be parts built for the superlaser.


title: Death Star

text: The 2014 book "" details the life of Grand Moff Tarkin, and prominently featured the Death Star. "Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel" tells the story of the development of the Death Star's superweapon by Galen Erso and Krennic's deception of him. It also reveals how Poggle worked with Krennic on the project but then turned on him. In the animated series "Star Wars Rebels", the two-part episode "Ghosts of Geonosis" hints that the Geonosians were nearly wiped out to extinction out of the Empire's need for secrecy. Saw Gerrera, having been sent to Geonosis to investigate, deduces that the Empire possesses a superweapon and resolves to discover the Death Star as depicted in the two-part episode "In the Name of the Rebellion". Though it is a dead end, Saw learns that the weapon is powered by kyber crystals taken from the Jedha system.


title: Death Star

text: "Rogue One" focuses on a band of Rebels stealing the Death Star plans just prior to the events of "A New Hope". The Death Star is first used to destroy Jedha City, both as a response to a violent insurgency on the planet and as a display of the Death Star's operational status. Tarkin assumes control over the Death Star while Krennic investigates security breaches in the design project. It is subsequently revealed that Galen discreetly sabotaged the design by building a vulnerability into the reactor. After the Death Star plans are stolen from the Scarif vault, Tarkin fires the Death Star's superlaser on the base, killing Krennic, as well as Jyn Erso and her small band of rebels. "Rogue One" also reveals that the Death Star's superlaser is powered by multiple reactors, allowing it to vary its destructive power depending on the target; both the attack on Jedha City and the Scarif base used a single reactor.


title: Death Star

text: According to "Star Wars" reference books, the population of the Death Star was 1.7 million military personnel, 400,000 maintenance droids, and 250,000 civilians, associated contractors and catering staff.


title: Death Star

text: The Death Star was defended by thousands of turbolasers, ion cannons and laser cannons, plus a complement of seven to nine thousand TIE fighters, along with tens of thousands of support craft. It also had several massive docking bays, including dry docks capable of accommodating Star Destroyers.


title: Death Star

text: A hologram of the original Death Star is briefly visible in a scene at the Resistance base in "The Force Awakens" and used as a means of comparison with one from the First Order's own superweapon, Starkiller Base.


title: Death Star

text: The 1983 film "Return of the Jedi" features the DS-2 Orbital Battle Station under construction as it orbits the forest moon Endor, which houses a shield generator protecting the station. The second Death Star is substantially larger and more capable than its predecessor, and the critical weakness found in the first Death Star has been removed—the Rebel Alliance's only hope is to destroy it prior to its completion. The Emperor and Darth Vader send the Rebels false information that the station's weapons systems are not yet complete in order to lure the Alliance fleet into a trap, resulting in the decisive Battle of Endor. In fact, the station's superlaser is fully operational, and it begins firing on and destroying Rebel capital ships during the battle.


title: Death Star

text: A ground assault team led by Han Solo with the help of the Endor-native Ewoks successfully manages to disable the shield generator, allowing Rebel pilots Wedge Antilles and Lando Calrissian to fly into the station (using Han's Millennium Falcon) and fire on its reactor, destroying the station in another catastrophic explosion.


title: Death Star

text: An early draft of "Return of the Jedi" features two Death Stars at various stages of completion. According to the "Star Wars Encyclopedia", the second Death Star had at its "north pole ... a heavily armored 100-story tower topped by the Emperor's private observation chamber."


title: Death Star

text: The second Death Star is featured on the cover of the book "" (2015), which also features many flashbacks to the destruction of the second Death Star, as well as the events directly after its destruction. One of the main characters in the story personally escaped the explosion of the Death Star. The destruction of the second Death Star was also shown in holograms in the book. The 2015 comic book "" also explores the days following the destruction of the second Death Star from the perspective of Poe Dameron's parents, who were pilots during the event. The video game "" also takes place during the aftermath of the second Death Star's destruction, and features a hologram of its description on multiple occasions in and out of cutscenes.


title: Death Star

text: Part of the wreckage of the second Death Star appears in "The Rise of Skywalker" (2019), on the ocean moon Kef Bir. Rey visits the wreckage to obtain the Emperor's wayfinder, a device that points the way to his hidden lair on Exegol.


title: Death Star

text: The 2019 comic "Star Wars" #68 reveals that the Rebels considered creating their own version of a Death Star by luring Star Destroyers to a tectonically unstable planet and setting it off with proton detonators.


title: Death Star

text: "" features Starkiller Base, a Death Star-like superweapon built by the First Order, an autocratic regime considered to be the successor of the Empire. Significantly larger than both previous Death Stars, the superweapon was constructed out of an existing planet instead of being assembled in deep space. The base draws its raw firepower by harnessing energy directly from a nearby star. Unlike its predecessors, Starkiller Base is capable of firing on and destroying multiple planets at once from extreme range—in the film, the First Order obliterates the five planets in the Hosnian Prime system, at that time the capital of the New Republic.


title: Death Star

text: The Starkiller is protected by a defensive shield that blocks all objects traveling at slower-than-light speeds; Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Finn exploits a vulnerability by bypassing the shield at faster-than-light speeds, successfully infiltrating the base and sabotaging its shields. Subsequently, an X-wing assault led by Poe Dameron and Nien Nunb destroys the superweapon; as Resistance forces flee, the Starkiller implodes and forms a star.


title: Death Star

text: The name Starkiller Base pays homage to the early drafts of the original "Star Wars" film, referring to Luke Skywalker's original surname. Coincidentally, the name "Starkiller" is an alias given to Galen Marek by Darth Vader in the 2008 game, "". During early concept development, artist Doug Chiang envisioned the superweapon's gun as set inside a volcano, which X-wings would have to enter in a maneuver similar to the trench run on the Death Star in the original film.


title: Death Star

text: In "The Rise of Skywalker", the ninth installment in the series, the resurrected Darth Sidious is revealed to have constructed the Sith Eternal's fleet of "Xyston"-class Star Destroyers, the Final Order, over the Sith planet Exegol. Each warship is armed with an axial superlaser capable of destroying planets; Sidious uses one of the warships to destroy the planet Kijimi as a show of force. At the end of the film, the Resistance launches an offensive against the Sith Eternal forces, including the Sith fleet. Aided by reinforcements from across the galaxy, the Resistance defeats the remaining Sith forces by destroying the "Resurgent-"class Star Destroyer "Steadfast" and the navigation signal.


title: Death Star

text: Both Death Stars and similar superweapons appear throughout the non-canonical "Star Wars" Legends continuity.


title: Death Star

text: National Public Radio's "Star Wars" adaptation (1981) portrays Leia (Ann Sachs) and Bail Organa's (Stephen Elliott) discovery of the Death Star's existence and how Leia obtained its schematics. The 1983 "Star Wars" arcade game and numerous LucasArts titles recreate the movies' attacks on the Death Stars.


title: Death Star

text: Kevin J. Anderson's "Jedi Academy" trilogy (1994) introduces the Maw Cluster of black holes that protect a laboratory where the Death Star prototype was built (consisting of the superstructure, power core, and superlaser). The first level of LucasArts' "Dark Forces" (1995) gives mercenary Kyle Katarn the role of stealing the plans which are subsequently given to Leia. Steve Perry's novel "Shadows of the Empire" (1996) describes a mission that leads to the Rebels learning of the second Death Star's existence, and that mission is playable in LucasArts' "X-Wing Alliance" space flight simulator (1999). The Death Star itself is a controllable weapon for the Empire in the "" (1998) and "Empire at War" (2006) strategy game. In "" (2005), the player participates in a mission to secure crystals used in the Death Star's superlaser. Another mission in the game tasks the player with acting as a stormtrooper or Darth Vader in an attempt to recover the plans and capture Leia. The first Death Star under construction acts as the final stage in the video game "The Force Unleashed" (2008).


title: Death Star

text: The first Death Star's construction is the subject of Michael Reaves and Steve Perry's novel "Death Star" (2007), which depicts the many politics and hidden agendas behind the massive project, from its construction up until its final destruction.


title: Death Star

text: The first Death Star is depicted in various sources of having 1,206,293 crews and troops, 2 officers, as well as 40,000 gunners, 25,984 stormtroopers and 180,216 TIE fighter pilots and support crew. Its hangars contain assault shuttles, blastboats, Strike cruisers, land vehicles, support ships, and 7,293 TIE fighters. It is also protected by 10,000 turbolaser batteries, 2,600 ion cannons, and at least 768 tractor beam projectors. Various sources state that the first Death Star has a diameter of between 140 and 160 kilometers. There is a broader range of figures for the second Death Star's diameter, ranging from 160 to 900 kilometers.


title: Death Star

text: In the "Legends" works "Death Star" (2007), "Dark Empire II", "Jedi Search" and "Champions of the Force", an experimental Death Star prototype, DS-X (a durasteel frame surrounding a reactor core, superlaser, engines and a control room) was conceived by Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin as a test bed for the first Death Star. It was constructed by Bevel Lemelisk and his engineers at the Empire's secret Maw Installation. The prototype measured 120 kilometers in diameter. Its superlaser was only powerful enough to destroy a planet's core, rendering it an uninhabitable "dead planet". The targeting system on the prototype was never calibrated and the superlaser was inefficient, leaving the weapon's batteries drained. The prototype had no interior except a slave-linked control room, hyperdrive engines and other components; the station operated with skeleton-crew of 75 personnel.


title: Death Star

text: In the Disney attraction "Star Tours – The Adventures Continue", guests can travel inside an incomplete Death Star during one of the randomized ride sequences. In the original Star Tours, a Death Star III is seen and destroyed during the ride sequence by the New Republic. Leland Chee originally created the third Death Star to explain why a Death Star is present on the "Star Tours" ride when both of the stations in the movies were destroyed. The station being built near the Forest Moon of Endor like the second Death Star before. It is similar to an original concept for "Return of the Jedi", where two Death Stars would have been built near Had Abbadon (then the Imperial capital world). The "Habitation" spheres, based on the Imperials' suspicious claims that they were designed strictly for peaceful purposes, were suggested by some fans to have been the origin for the Death Star III. This was later revealed to be the case in Part 2 of the StarWars.com Blog series "The Imperial Warlords: Despoilers of an Empire". In the "Legends" game "", a random HoloNet entry states that one of the residents of the Death Star is simply staying there until he can afford to stay at the third Death Star.


title: Death Star

text: A prototype version of the Death Star can be found in Kevin J. Anderson's novel "Jedi Search" (1994). It was kept at the Maw Installation, an Imperial research institute in a cluster of black holes, and later deployed by Tol Sivron after the Maw Installation was invaded by the New Republic. The prototype was ineffective, missing its target and instead destroying an Imperial garrison moon the sole time it was fired in combat. After this, the prototype was later destroyed when it was led into the black holes of the cluster.


title: Death Star

text: In the original Marvel "Star Wars" comic series (1977–1986), a superweapon called "The Tarkin" is built. It is described as being similar to the Death Star but with more energy. Darth Vader commands it and Luke, Leia, Chewbacca, , and R2-D2 sabotage it with Lando's help. It is finally destroyed by an Imperial officer attempting to use an ionic weapon to both attack the escaping Rebels and assassinate Vader. Later in the series, a nihilistic group attempts to use a weapon to dislodge a planet from its orbit and cause others to do the same in a chain reaction, thereby destroying the entire universe.


title: Death Star

text: In the "Dark Empire" comic series (1991–95), the reborn Emperor Palpatine's flagships "Eclipse" and "Eclipse II" Super Star Destroyers (Star Dreadnoughts) have a miniaturized version of the Death Star superlaser. The first "Eclipse" was under construction at the time of the Emperor's death at Endor; shortly thereafter, it was briefly captured by pirates, who quickly abandoned it as an obvious target for the Rebels. The vessel was retrieved by remnants of the Empire and completed, and later served as the flagship of the resurrected Palpatine. It was destroyed by a Force storm enhanced by Luke and Leia, who had been brought aboard by the Emperor in hopes that they could be converted to the dark side. The "Eclipse II" was mostly identical to its predecessor save for a handful of visual changes, and fulfilled the same purpose. It was later destroyed when an errant projectile from the destroyed Galaxy Gun, another superweapon developed under the returned Palpatine, fell onto the ship and caused a massive explosion that destroyed not only the ship and its accompanying fleet, but also the nearby Imperial citadel of Byss.


title: Death Star

text: In Kevin J. Anderson's novel "Darksaber" (1995), Death Star designer Bevel Lemelisk is recruited by the Hutts to build a superlaser weapon. Due to their refusal to sufficiently fund and supply the project, the resultant 'superweapon' is quickly destroyed by a combination of the tumultuous Hoth asteroid field in which it was built and the efforts of the New Republic. Lemelisk is captured and incarcerated by the Republic, and is later executed for his hand in the design and construction of Imperial superweapons.


title: Death Star

text: The novel "Children of the Jedi" (1995) involves the return of "Eye of Palpatine", a "colossal, asteroid-shaped" super dreadnaught constructed at the behest of Emperor Palpatine during the second year of the Galactic Civil War. The Imperials lose control of the "Eye" when a Jedi uses the Force to hijack the main computer with their spirits.


title: Death Star

text: In 1981, following the "Voyager" spacecraft's flight past Saturn, scientists noticed a resemblance between one of the planet's moons, Mimas, and the Death Star. Additionally, a few astronomers sometimes use the term "Death Star" to describe Nemesis, a hypothetical star postulated in 1984 to be responsible for gravitationally forcing comets and asteroids from the Oort cloud toward Earth.


title: Death Star

text: Kenner and AMT created a playset and a model, respectively, of the first Death Star. In 2005 and 2008, Lego released models of and , respectively.


title: Death Star

text: In 1979, Palitoy created a heavy card version of the Death Star as a playset for the vintage range of action figures in the UK, Australia and Canada. Both Death Stars are part of different Micro Machines three-packs. The Death Stars and locations in them are cards in Decipher, Inc.'s and Wizards of the Coast's "Star Wars Customizable Card Game" and "Star Wars Trading Card Game", respectively. Hasbro released a Death Star model that transforms into a Darth Vader mech. Estes Industries released a flying model rocket version.


title: Death Star

text: A Death Star trinket box was also released by Royal Selangor in 2015, in conjunction with the December screening of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" that year, and in 2016, Plox released the official levitating Death Star Speaker in anticipation of that year's screening of "Rogue One".


title: Death Star

text: In 2012–13, a proposal on the White House's website urging the United States government to build a real Death Star as an economic stimulus and job creation measure gained more than 30,000 signatures, enough to qualify for an official response. The official (tongue-in-cheek) response was released in January 2013: the cost of building a real Death Star has been estimated in 2012 by a Centives economics blog of Lehigh University to $850 quadrillion, or about 13,000 times the gross domestic product on Earth, as well as at current rates of steel production, the Death Star would not be ready for more than 833,000 years. The White House response also stated that "the Administration does not support blowing up planets," and questioned funding a weapon "with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship" as reasons for denying the petition.


title: Death Star

text: The Luxembourgish magician Christian Lavey (born as Christian Kies) submitted a petition for the construction of a Death Star to the Luxemburgish parliament. However, in an interview with a local radio station Lavey admitted that this petition was just a joke and some kind of protest against the space plans of the government.


title: Tyreke Evans

text: Tyreke Jamir Evans (born September 19, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Wisconsin Herd of the NBA G League. After playing college basketball for the Memphis Tigers, he was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings. Evans went on to win the 2010 NBA Rookie of the Year Award. He was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in 2013 before being traded back to the Kings in 2017. After successive stints with the Memphis Grizzlies and Indiana Pacers, Evans, who would have become a free agent at the end of the 2019 season, was dismissed and disqualified from the NBA in May for violating the terms of the league's anti-drug program, but was reinstated in February 2022.


title: Tyreke Evans

text: Tyreke Evans was born in Chester, Pennsylvania, where he was chiefly raised by his three older brothers. For high school, Evans attended American Christian Academy in Ledgewood, NJ. There, he quickly proved an impressive talent on the basketball court, and by his sophomore season, began drawing comparisons to no less than Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady. In his senior campaign, he put up averages of 32.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 4.3 steals per game. He was selected as the MVP of the McDonald's High School All-American Game and, together with Brandon Jennings, was named co-MVP of the Jordan Brand Classic. He was also named to the first-team "Parade" All-American. He was featured in the documentary "Gunning for That #1 Spot" directed by Adam "MCA" Yauch of the Beastie Boys when he was only sixteen years of age. Evans was chosen to be the keeper of the "Slam" High School Diary for the 2008 season.


title: Tyreke Evans

text: Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Evans was listed as the No. 3 point guard and the No. 6 player in the nation in 2008.


title: Tyreke Evans

text: In April 2008, after also considering Villanova University and the University of Texas, Evans announced his commitment to the Memphis Tigers.


title: Tyreke Evans

text: After playing small forward throughout high school, Evans initially struggled with his transition to shooting guard at Memphis. But as soon as coach John Calipari had him start at the point guard position for the eleventh game of the season, Evans flourished in a 60–45 win over Cincinnati; he played 33 minutes and tallied 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists, the latter two being season highs. With Evans at the helm, Memphis would not lose another game until the NCAA tournament, falling to the Missouri Tigers.


title: Tyreke Evans

text: Evans won Conference USA Rookie of the Week as many as eight times. He was also the only freshman among the United States Basketball Writers Association's 2009 finalists for the National Player of the Year award that is named in honor of Oscar Robertson.


title: Tyreke Evans

text: On March 31, 2009, Evans declared himself eligible for the 2009 NBA draft, opting to forgo his remaining three seasons of collegiate eligibility. He was selected on June 25, 2009, by the Sacramento Kings with the fourth overall pick.


title: Tyreke Evans

text: On December 1, 2009, Evans was named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for games played from the beginning of the season through November. Over that period, he put up averages of 18.8 points, 5 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.3 steals in 36.1 minutes per game. Also notably, on December 21, he led the Kings back from a 35-point deficit to defeat the Chicago Bulls 102–98; by scoring 9 of the Kings' last 11 points, he single-handedly outscored the Bulls in the fourth quarter, with his 11 points besting the Bulls' 10 points scored.


title: Tyreke Evans

text: On January 4, 2010, Evans was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for the second month straight. On February 12, Evans won the 2010 Rookie and Sophomore Game MVP award after recording 26 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals on 11-of-15 shooting. In an act of sportsmanship, Evans opted to share the award with DeJuan Blair, who had put up 22 points and pulled down 23 rebounds. In a victory over the Toronto Raptors on March 11, Evans recorded his first career triple-double with his 19 points to go along with 10 assists and as many rebounds. Evans became just the fourth rookie in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists after Oscar Robertson (1960–61), Michael Jordan (1984–85), and LeBron James (2003–04). On April 27, 2010, Evans was recognized for his accomplishments by being awarded the 2009–10 NBA Rookie of the Year Award.


title: Tyreke Evans

text: On December 29, 2010, O. J. Mayo hit an off-balance shot to put the Memphis Grizzlies up by one point with only seconds remaining in the game; with no timeouts left, DeMarcus Cousins inbounded the ball to Evans, who dribbled to half court and nailed a three-pointer to secure a two-point win for Sacramento. Though it came in a loss to the Golden State Warriors, Evans tallied a then career-high 35 points to go along with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals on January 21, 2011. He later missed 19 season games on account of plantar fasciitis in his left foot and thus did not play in that year's NBA Rookie Challenge.


title: Tyreke Evans

text: On November 24, 2011, Evans agreed to a deal to play for Virtus Roma in Italy during the NBA lockout; the deal had an NBA out-clause allowing him to return to the Sacramento Kings when the lockout ceased. In December, he returned to the Kings after the 2011 NBA lockout had ended. On January 28, 2012, he scored a season-high 31 points in a 96–93 loss to the Utah Jazz.


title: Tyreke Evans

text: In 2012–13, Evans missed 16 out of 20 games between November 30 and January 5 due to a left knee injury. He finished the season with averages of 15.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.


title: Tyreke Evans

text: Evans was acquired by the New Orleans Pelicans on July 10, 2013, in a sign-and-trade deal involving three teams; the deal sent Robin Lopez to the Portland Trail Blazers and Greivis Vásquez to the Kings. On December 30 that year, Evans hit the game-clinching shot with 1.2 seconds remaining in a victory over the Trail Blazers. On April 14, 2014, he scored a career-high 41 points during a 101–89 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.


title: Tyreke Evans

text: In a 101–95 win over his former team, the Sacramento Kings, Evans tallied a near triple-double with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists.


title: Tyreke Evans

text: On December 1, 2015, he played his first game of the 2015–16 season after having missed the Pelicans' first 17 games while recovering from right knee surgery. In 31 minutes as a starter, Evans recorded 20 points and 10 assists in the loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. On the 11th of that same month, he scored 27 points and hit a career-high 5 three-pointers in a 105–103 win versus the Washington Wizards. On February 11, 2016, he underwent another round of surgery to his right knee and was ruled out for the rest of the season.


title: Tyreke Evans

text: On December 15, 2016, being his first game since January 25, Evans played 11 minutes and posted 7 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists during a 102–95 victory over the Indiana Pacers. On January 12, 2017, Evans scored a season-high 29 points in a 104–95 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.


title: Tyreke Evans

text: On February 20, 2017, Evans was traded along with Buddy Hield, Langston Galloway, and 2017 first and second round draft picks to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for DeMarcus Cousins and Omri Casspi. Three days later, in his first game for the Kings since 2013, Evans scored 15 points off the bench in a 116–100 win over the Denver Nuggets. On March 8, 2017, he scored a season-high 26 points in a 114–104 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.


title: Tyreke Evans

text: Evans signed with the Memphis Grizzlies on July 10, 2017. On November 1 of that year, he led the team with 32 points in a 101–99 loss to the Orlando Magic; it was his first 30-point performance since December 2014. Midway through the season, Evans filled in for the injured Mike Conley to become the team's starting point guard. On December 27, he accumulated 32 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists in a 109–99 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. After being put on the trade block leading up to the trade deadline, Evans missed time in late January and early February. In his first game back for the Grizzlies on February 11, Evans recorded 12 points and 5 rebounds in a 110–92 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. On February 23, he put up 15 points and 10 assists in a 112–89 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. In the contest, Evans went 3 for 7 from outside the arc to make his 28th straight game with at least one 3-pointer, breaking the franchise record of 27 previously held by Mike Miller. On March 15 against the Chicago Bulls, Evans returned to the lineup following a 10-game absence because of a rib injury.


title: Tyreke Evans

text: On July 6, 2018, Evans signed with the Indiana Pacers. In the season-opener on October 17, he posted 14 points and 5 assists to debut for his new franchise and help defeat his former team, the Memphis Grizzlies, 111–83. On November 16, he hit five 3-pointers and scored a season-high 23 points off the bench in a 99–91 win over the Miami Heat. In game four of the Pacers' first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics, he scored a playoff career-high 21 points in a 110–106 series-ending loss.


title: Tyreke Evans

text: On May 17, 2019, Evans was banned from the NBA for violating the terms of its Anti-Drug Program that prohibits drug abuse. He became eligible to apply for reinstatement in 2021, and was officially reinstated on February 14, 2022.


title: Tyreke Evans

text: On March 16, 2022, Evans signed with the Wisconsin Herd of the NBA G League. On March 23, he was waived.


title: Jimmy Webb

text: Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He has written numerous platinum-selling songs, including "Up, Up and Away", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "MacArthur Park", "Wichita Lineman", "Worst That Could Happen", "Galveston" and "All I Know". He had successful collaborations with Glen Campbell, Michael Feinstein, Linda Ronstadt, the 5th Dimension, the Supremes, Art Garfunkel and Richard Harris.


title: Jimmy Webb

text: Webb was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1990. He received the National Academy of Songwriters Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993, the Songwriters Hall of Fame Johnny Mercer Award in 2003, the ASCAP "Voice of Music" Award in 2006 and the Ivor Novello Special International Award in 2012. According to BMI, his song "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" was the third most performed song in the 50 years between 1940 and 1990. Webb is the only artist ever to receive Grammy Awards for music, lyrics and orchestration.


title: Jimmy Webb

text: Webb was born on August 15, 1946, in Elk City, Oklahoma and raised in Laverne, Oklahoma. He grew up in a religiously conservative family; His father, Robert Lee Webb, was a Baptist minister and veteran of the United States Marine Corps who presided over rural churches in southwestern Oklahoma and west Texas. With his mother's encouragement, Webb learned piano and organ and by the age of 12 was playing in the choir of his father's churches, accompanied by his father on guitar and his mother on accordion. His father restricted radio listening to country music and white gospel.


title: Jimmy Webb

text: During the late 1950s, Webb began applying his creativity to the music he was playing at his father's church, frequently improvising and rearranging the hymns. He began to write religious songs at this time, but his musical direction was soon influenced by the new music being played on the radio, including the music of Elvis Presley. In 1961, at the age of 14, he bought his first record, "Turn Around, Look at Me" by Glen Campbell. Webb was drawn to the singer's distinctive voice.


title: Jimmy Webb

text: In 1964, Webb and his family moved to Southern California, where he attended San Bernardino Valley College, studying music. Following the death of his mother in 1965, his father made plans to return to Oklahoma. Webb decided to stay in California to continue his music studies and to pursue a career as a songwriter in Los Angeles. Webb would later recall his father warning him about his musical aspirations, saying, "This songwriting thing is going to break your heart." Seeing that his son was determined, however, he gave him $40, saying, "It's not much, but it's all I have."


title: Jimmy Webb

text: After transcribing other people's music for a small music publisher in Hollywood, Webb was signed to a songwriting contract with Jobete Music, the publishing arm of Motown Records. The first commercial recording of a Jimmy Webb song was "My Christmas Tree" by The Supremes, which appeared on their 1965 "Merry Christmas" album. The following year, Webb met singer and producer Johnny Rivers, who signed him to a publishing deal and recorded his song "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" on his 1966 album "Changes".


title: Jimmy Webb

text: In 1967, Rivers released "Rewind", an album featuring seven Jimmy Webb songs, including "Do What You Gotta Do" and "Tunesmith", a song also recorded that year by Vikki Carr for her album "It Must Be Him". That same year, Rivers turned to Webb for material for a new group Rivers was producing called the 5th Dimension. Webb contributed five songs to their debut album, "Up, Up and Away", including the title track, which was released as a single in May 1967 and reached the Top Ten. The group's follow-up album, "The Magic Garden", was also released in 1967 and featured eleven additional Webb songs, including "Worst That Could Happen".


title: Jimmy Webb

text: In November 1967, Glen Campbell released his version of "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", which reached number 26. At the 1968 Grammy Awards, held in February 1968, "Up, Up and Away" was named Record of the Year (1967) and Song of the Year (1967). "Up, Up and Away" and "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" received eight Grammy Awards between them.


title: Jimmy Webb

text: In 1968, "Time" acknowledged Webb's range, proficiency, and "gift for strong, varied rhythms, inventive structures, and rich, sometimes surprising harmonies". That year, the string of successful Webb songs continued with the 5th Dimension's "Paper Cup" and "Carpet Man" reaching the Top 40, Glen Campbell's "Wichita Lineman" selling over a million copies, and Johnny Maestro & the Brooklyn Bridge scoring a gold record with "Worst That Could Happen", a song originally recorded by the 5th Dimension. Webb formed his own production and publishing company that year, Canopy, and scored a hit with its first project, an unlikely album with Irish actor Richard Harris singing an album of all Webb songs. One of the songs, "MacArthur Park", was a long, complex piece with multiple movements that was originally rejected by the group The Association. Despite the song's seven minute, twenty-one second length, Harris's version reached #2 on the Hot 100 on June 22, 1968, and #4 on the UK Singles Chart on July 24. The album, "A Tramp Shining," stayed on the charts for almost a year. Webb and Harris produced a follow-up album, "The Yard Went On Forever", which was also successful. Further raising Webb's stature as a songwriter, "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" was performed by Frank Sinatra on the latter's 1968 album "Cycles". Sinatra would go on to praise "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" as "the greatest torch song ever written."


title: Jimmy Webb

text: At the 1969 Grammy Awards, Webb accepted awards for "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", and "MacArthur Park". In 2019 "Wichita Lineman" was added to the National Recording Registry.


title: Jimmy Webb

text: In 1969, Glen Campbell continued the streak of Webb hits with the gold record "Galveston" and "Where's the Playground Susie". Webb and Campbell had first met during the production of a General Motors commercial. Webb arrived at the recording session with his Beatle-length hair and approached the conservative singer, who looked up from his guitar and said, "Get a haircut." That same year, two Webb songs became hits for the second time with Isaac Hayes' soulful version of "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" and Waylon Jennings' Grammy-winning country version of "MacArthur Park". On Frank Sinatra's acclaimed 1969 album "My Way", the singer dove deeper into Webb's songbook with a version of "Didn't We?" — a number that was originally done by Richard Harris in 1968 and released as the B-side of "MacArthur Park." Webb finished up the year by writing, arranging, and producing Thelma Houston's first album, "Sunshower".


title: Jimmy Webb

text: As the decade came to a close, so too did Webb's string of hit singles. He began to withdraw from the formulaic process in which he worked and began to experiment with his music. He started work on a semi-autobiographical Broadway musical called "His Own Dark City", which reflected the emotional displacement he felt at the time. He also wrote music for the films "How Sweet It Is!" and "Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here".


title: Jimmy Webb

text: Webb's career as a singer-songwriter got off to a rough start with the "counterfeit" album "Jim Webb Sings Jim Webb", released by Epic Records in 1968. According to Webb, the album was produced "by a bunch of ruffians from some old demos of mine and tarted up to sound like 'MacArthur Park'". Beginning in 1970, Webb released six original albums of his own songs: "Words and Music" (1970), "" (1971), "Letters" (1972), "Land's End" (1974), "El Mirage" (1977), and "Angel Heart" (1982). Despite the critical reception that followed each of these projects, Webb has never been as successful as a performer as he has been as a songwriter and arranger. Each album was noted for its inventive music and memorable lyrics.


title: Jimmy Webb

text: Webb's debut album as a performer, "Words and Music", was released on Reprise Records in late 1970 to critical acclaim. "Rolling Stone" writer Jon Landau called one of the album's cuts, "P.F. Sloan", a "masterpiece [that] could not be improved upon". The album also features the ambitious song trilogy "Music for an Unmade Movie". Webb's 1971 follow-up album, "", proved equally appealing to critics. "Rolling Stone" declared the album "another impressive step in the conspiracy to recover his identity from the housewives of America and rightfully install him at the forefront of contemporary composers/performers." The album features the songs "Met Her on a Plane", "All My Love's Laughter", and "Marionette". Also in 1971, the Three Degrees are featured in the movie "The French Connection" giving a rendition of Webb's song "Everybody Gets To Go To The Moon", originally recorded in 1969 by Thelma Houston.


title: Jimmy Webb

text: Webb's 1972 album "Letters", which features his own rendition of "Galveston", met with similar praise. Music critic Bruce Eder called "Letters" the "most surprising, diverse, and possibly the most satisfying of all of Jimmy Webb's early solo LPs" and "arguably the best of Webb's solo albums". In his review of the album, Peter Reilly of "Stereo Review" wrote, "Jimmy Webb is the most important pop music figure to emerge since Bob Dylan." The album also features the songs "Campo de Encino", an homage to his park-like residence in Encino, California, during the 1970s, "When Can Brown Begin", and "Piano".


title: Jimmy Webb

text: In 1974, Webb released "Land's End" on Asylum Records. Unlike his previous albums, which tended to be underproduced, Webb was able to achieve a more heavily produced pop/rock sound on "Land's End", which was recorded in England with the help of an all-star session band that included Joni Mitchell, Ringo Starr, and Nigel Olsson. The album contains "a thematic consistency in that most of its songs were tales of romantic discord". While Webb continued to improve as a singer, he "still hadn't found an identity as a solo artist". The album features the songs "Ocean in His Eyes", "Just This One Time", and "Crying in My Sleep".


title: Jimmy Webb

text: In 1977, Webb released "El Mirage" on Atlantic Records. Produced, arranged, and conducted by The Beatles' former producer, George Martin, the album was Webb's "most polished effort yet as a performer". William Ruhlmann observed, "These were lush tracks full of tasty playing and warm string charts on which Webb's thin tenor was buoyed by numerous background vocalists, the whole an excellent example of the style known as 'West Coast pop'." The album contains several strong compositions, including "The Highwayman", which would later become a number one country hit for Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson, who named their super group The Highwaymen after the song. Their version of "The Highwayman" won a Grammy Award for Best Country Song. "El Mirage" also features the songs "If You See Me Getting Smaller I'm Leaving", a newly arranged version of "P.F. Sloan", and "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress", which had already been recorded by Joe Cocker, Glen Campbell, and Judy Collins. Despite the positive critical response to the album, "El Mirage" did not succeed in redefining Webb as a performer as he had hoped.


title: Jimmy Webb

text: Webb's final solo album from this period, "Angel Heart", was released in 1982 on Lorimar Records. Like its predecessor, the album drew upon the talents of top Los Angeles session musicians to produce a classic West Coast pop sound, enhanced by guest vocal harmonies by Gerry Beckley, Michael McDonald, Graham Nash, Kenny Loggins, Daryl Hall, and Stephen Bishop. Unlike his previous solo albums, however, "Angel Heart" lacked the quality material usually associated with the composer. Apart from "Scissors Cut" and "In Cars", which were previously recorded by Art Garfunkel, the album offered few high points, despite its polished production. A decade would pass before Webb released his next solo album.


title: Jimmy Webb

text: Throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s, Webb's songs continued to be recorded by some of the industry's most successful artists. In 1972, Jimmy Webb produced The Supremes' last album featuring Jean Terrell as lead singer, "The Supremes Produced and Arranged by Jimmy Webb". Webb is quoted as saying he had a crush on Mary Wilson when he wrote and produced "I Keep It Hid" featuring her on lead vocals. In 1977, the initial release of Art Garfunkel's "Watermark" album consisted exclusively of songs by Webb. In 1978, Donna Summer's disco version of "MacArthur Park" became a multi-million selling vinyl single that was number one on the American pop music charts for three weeks. In 1980, Thelma Houston recorded "Before There Could Be Me", "Breakwater Cat", "Gone", "Long Lasting Love", and "What Was that Song" on her album "Breakwater Cat". Leah Kunkel recorded "Never Gonna Lose My Dream of Love Again" and "Let's Begin" for her album "I Run with Trouble". The latter was performed live in 1980 by the born-again Bob Dylan. Tanya Tucker recorded "Tennessee Woman" on her album "Dreamlovers". And Frank Sinatra did his own cover of "MacArthur Park" on the 1980 album "".


title: Jimmy Webb

text: In 1981, Art Garfunkel recorded "Scissors Cut", "In Cars", and "That's All I've Got to Say" for his album "Scissors Cut", and Arlo Guthrie recorded "Oklahoma Nights" on his album "Power of Love". In 1982, Linda Ronstadt recorded "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" and "Easy for You to Say" on her album "Get Closer". That same year, Joe Cocker recorded "Just Like Always" on his album "Sheffield Steel", and the Everly Brothers recorded "She Never Smiles Anymore" on their album "Living Legends".


title: Jimmy Webb

text: In 1981 Webb moved to New York state, and said, "One day I wondered what happened to the Seventies and all those grandiose schemes."


title: Jimmy Webb

text: From 1982 to 1992, Webb turned his focus from solo performing to large-scale projects, such as film scores, Broadway musicals, and classical music. In 1982, he produced the soundtrack for the film "The Last Unicorn", an animated children's tale, with the musical group America performing five new Jimmy Webb songs: "The Last Unicorn", "Man's Road", "In the Sea", "Now That I'm a Woman", and "That's All I've Got to Say". The rest of the album contains instrumental music composed, arranged, and conducted by Webb. That same year, he composed the soundtrack to all episodes of the TV series "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers".


title: Jimmy Webb

text: The theme music for the 1984-85 TV sitcom "E/R" was written by Webb. Then in 1985, Glen Campbell recorded Webb's "Cowboy Hall of Fame" and "Shattered" for the album "It's Just a Matter of Time". And heavyweights Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson recorded "Highwayman" on the album "Highwayman". In 1988, Toto recorded "Home of the Brave" on the album "The Seventh One". Kenny Rankin recorded "She Moves, Eyes Follow" for the album "Hiding in Myself". And in 1989, Linda Ronstadt recorded the album "Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind", which featured four Jimmy Webb songs: "Still Within the Sound of My Voice" (with Webb playing piano), "Adios" (with orchestral arrangement by Webb), "I Keep It Hid" (with Webb playing piano), and "Shattered". In 1990, John Denver recorded "Postcard from Paris" on the album "The Flower That Shattered the Stone". In 1991, Kenny Rogers recorded "They Just Don't Make Em Like You Anymore" on the album "Back Home Again".


title: Jimmy Webb

text: In 1986, Webb produced a cantata, "The Animals' Christmas", with Art Garfunkel, Amy Grant, and the London Symphony Orchestra. The cantata tells the Christmas story from the perspective of animals.


title: Jimmy Webb

text: In 1987, Webb produced the soundtrack for the film "The Hanoi Hilton". That same year, he reunited with Campbell for the album "Still Within the Sound of My Voice", for which he wrote the title song. They followed this up in 1988 with an album composed almost entirely of Jimmy Webb songs, "Light Years". The album included the title song, as well as "Lightning in a Bottle", "If These Walls Could Speak" (which was also recorded by Amy Grant that year) and "Our Movie". Two songs from 1982's "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" also appear on the album. The record also included the songs "Other People's Lives", "Wasn't There A Moment", "I Don't Know How To Love You Anymore", and "Is There Love After You". Several of these songs later ended up on Webb solo albums.


title: Jimmy Webb

text: In 1992, Webb completed a musical called "Instant Intimacy", which he developed with the Tennessee Repertory Theatre. The musical contained new songs that he and others would later record, including "What Does a Woman See in a Man", "I Don't Know How to Love You Anymore", and "Is There Love After You". That same year, Webb performed live at the club Cinegrill, performing "What Does a Woman See in a Man" and introducing several additional new songs, including "Sandy Cove" and an old folk hymn, "I Will Arise".


title: Jimmy Webb

text: Since 1993, Jimmy Webb has produced five critically acclaimed solo albums: "Suspending Disbelief" (1993), "Ten Easy Pieces" (1996), "Twilight of the Renegades" (2005), "Just Across the River" (2010), and "Still Within the Sound of My Voice" (2013). He has continued to expand his creative landscape to include musicals, commercial jingles, and film scores.


title: Jimmy Webb

text: In 1994, Webb teamed with Nanci Griffith to contribute the song "If These Old Walls Could Speak" to the AIDS benefit album "Red Hot + Country" produced by the Red Hot Organization.


title: Jimmy Webb

text: In 1997, Webb co-produced Carly Simon's "Film Noir" album and contributed his vocals, orchestration, and piano skills to the project, which was filmed for an AMC documentary (which premiered in September 1997). He also co-wrote the song "Film Noir" with Simon. Webb reprised his role as arranger and co-producer on Simon's 2008 album, "This Kind of Love".


title: Jimmy Webb

text: In 1998, Webb completed his first book, "Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting", which was published by Hyperion Books. It was well received by songwriters and performers and became a best-seller. One book reviewer described it as "a companion every serious songwriter should read, and read again, and keep handy for referral".


title: Jimmy Webb

text: In 2007, he released a live album of his show, "Live and at Large" (2007), which was recorded in the United Kingdom. The album included personal stories and anecdotes about Richard Harris, Waylon Jennings, Harry Nilsson, Glen Campbell, Art Garfunkel, Frank Sinatra, and Rosemary Clooney.


title: Jimmy Webb

text: Webb appears in the 2008 documentary "The Wrecking Crew" providing thoughtful and descriptive insights into the world of California session musicians in the 1960s.


title: Jimmy Webb

text: In June 2010, Webb released "Just Across the River", an album of newly arranged Webb songs that featured guest appearances by Vince Gill, Billy Joel, Willie Nelson, Lucinda Williams, Jackson Browne, Glen Campbell, Michael McDonald, Mark Knopfler, J. D. Souther, and Linda Ronstadt.


title: Jimmy Webb

text: In 2011, Webb was unanimously elected Chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, replacing Hal David who retired after ten years in that position.


title: Jimmy Webb

text: In May 2012, Webb traveled to London to receive the prestigious Ivor Novello Special International Award, which recognizes non-British writers and composers who have made an extraordinary contribution to the global musical landscape. In September 2012, Fantasy Records released "", a collaborative album by Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb. The album and its accompanying DVD were filmed, taped, and recorded in December 1988 in the Hamilton, Ontario studios of CHCH-TV as part of the Canadian concert series "In Session".


title: Jimmy Webb

text: Decades after he sold his first song, Webb's influence on his fellow musicians is ongoing. Famed rock singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen has acknowledged that his 2019 album "Western Stars" was profoundly impacted by Webb's music, and country music star Keith Urban cites Webb as his earliest songwriting inspiration.


title: Jimmy Webb

text: Webb continues to perform throughout the United States and abroad. In 2017 he published an autobiography, "The Cake and the Rain: A Memoir."


title: Jimmy Webb

text: Whilst some of Webb's songs are happy, such as "Up, Up and Away", he has said that "The territory I tend to inhabit is that sort of 'crushed lonely hearts' thing. The first part of a relationship is usually that white-hot centre when all the happy songs come. When that's gone it can be devastating, and that's when the sorrowful songs come."


title: Jimmy Webb

text: Webb was married to Patricia "Patsy" Sullivan, a model and youngest child of screen actor Barry Sullivan and Swedish actress and model Gita Hall. They first met during a cover shoot for "Teen" in 1969; Sullivan was 12 at the time. The parents of six children, they were married in 1974 and divorced in 1996. Two sons, Christiaan and Justin, formed a rock band, the Webb Brothers. Their brother, James, later joined the band. Webb collaborated with his sons on the album "Cottonwood Farm".


title: Jimmy Webb

text: Webb gave up alcohol and marijuana following his divorce and revived his performing career. He had been a heavy user of both substances.


title: Jimmy Webb

text: In 2004, Webb married Laura Savini, a host and producer for PBS. From 1996 to 2011, Savini was vice president of marketing and communications at WLIW, a PBS station in New York City. The couple first met backstage on New Year's Eve 1999 at Billy Joel's at Madison Square Garden. They met again when Savini interviewed Webb for her series on the arts.


title: Alexander Zakharchenko

text: Alexander Vladimirovich Zakharchenko (26 June 1976 – 31 August 2018) was a Ukrainian separatist leader who was the head of state and Prime Minister of the Donetsk People's Republic, a self-proclaimed state and rebel group which declared independence from Ukraine on 11 May 2014. Zakharchenko was appointed Prime Minister in August 2014 after his predecessor Alexander Borodai resigned, and went on to win the early November 2014 election for the position.


title: Alexander Zakharchenko

text: Zakharchenko graduated from technical college. He then worked as a mine electrician before opening a business in the mining industry. He studied with the law institute of the Interior Ministry. He was godfather to :Alexander Timofeyev's () children.


title: Alexander Zakharchenko

text: In 2010, Zakharchenko became head of the Donetsk branch of OPLOT, a pro-Russian militant organization established in Kharkiv by Yevgeny Zhilin.


title: Alexander Zakharchenko

text: On 16 April 2014, 20 members of Oplot (including Zakharchenko), armed with clubs, rifles and some automatic weapons, occupied the offices of Donetsk city council, demanding a referendum on the status of the region.


title: Alexander Zakharchenko

text: By April 2014, he was the commander of a local militia in Donetsk (Oplot). The members of this militia were mainly from civic and martial arts groups. Zakharchenko was appointed the "military commandant of Donetsk" on 16 May 2014. From May 2014, Zakharchenko played a leading role in the insurgency against Ukraine's central government. On 22 July 2014, he was wounded in the arm during a fight against Ukrainian government forces at Kozhevnia. In late August 2014, the DPR Ministry of Defence announced Zakharchenko's promotion to major general.


title: Alexander Zakharchenko

text: Zakharchenko succeeded Alexander Borodai as Prime Minister on 7 August 2014. Borodai then became the DPR Deputy Prime Minister. According to Borodai, Donbas native Zakharchenko succeeded him for a Russian government effort "to try to show the West that the uprising was a grassroots phenomenon". Borodai claims that he personally recommended Zakharchenko as Prime Minister.


title: Alexander Zakharchenko

text: In September 2014, Zakharchenko was the lead negotiator for the DPR at the Minsk Protocol, which agreed to a peace plan for the war in Donbas.


title: Alexander Zakharchenko

text: During the 2014 Donetsk parliamentary elections, Zakharchenko won the prime ministership with 78.93% of the vote. The day after the elections, the head of Oplot organization Evgeniy Zhylin gave an interview to the Russian television channel Dozhd where he told how Zakharchenko was appointed as a head of Donetsk branch of Oplot and how his candidacy as a leader of the DPR was promoted from Moscow.


title: Alexander Zakharchenko

text: In February 2015, Zakharchenko, representing the DPR, agreed to the Minsk II peace treaty, calling it a "major victory for the Lugansk and Donetsk People's Republics". After signing the Minsk agreements, Zakharchenko stated that should the Ukrainian authorities violate the terms of the agreements, fail to withdraw from the border, or fail to release the Donetsk POWs, he would take Kharkiv and destroy the Ukrainian battalions in Debaltseve. Zakharchenko stated that he had no intention on adhering to the ceasefire within the Debaltseve region.


title: Alexander Zakharchenko

text: He was wounded in the leg on 17 February 2015 during the closing stages of the Battle of Debaltseve. In January 2016, he described the battle in July 2014 for the village of Kozhevnia as "a milestone for me", saying that it was "our first offensive. Unfortunately, in the course of fighting we practically destroyed this village. By burning down houses, we saved our lives and the lives of our people."


title: Alexander Zakharchenko

text: During the 2014 Donbas parliamentary elections campaign, Zakharchenko told potential voters that he wanted pensions to be "higher than in Poland." Zakharchenko said this was feasible because Donetsk is very rich, "like the United Arab Emirates [...] [the Donetsk people] have coal, metallurgy, natural gas [. . .] [t]he difference between [them] and the Emirates is they don't have a war [in the Emirates] and [Donetsk does]." Zakharchenko promised to build "a normal state, a good one, a just one. [Donetsk] boys died for this, civilians are still being killed for this".


title: Alexander Zakharchenko

text: Zakharchenko held positions in keeping with conservative sexual ethics. For example, he stated: “…this generation is being raised on democracy, which implies that a family can have two fathers or two mothers. To me, this is categorically unacceptable.”


title: Alexander Zakharchenko

text: In an interview with Zakhar Prilepin on Tsargrad TV in late 2016, he said that Britain must be conquered, which would usher in a "Golden Age for Russia". Prilepin, a Russian writer and political activist of the National Bolshevik Party, stated that Zakharchenko was among the top five most popular politicians in Ukraine and could be elected the President of Ukraine. In 2016, Prilepin published a book in which Alexander Zakharchenko is the protagonist.


title: Alexander Zakharchenko

text: In October 2014, Zakharachenko declared that he can shoot at any Ukrainian city with a clear conscience. In an interview he said: "I don't care at all. If I don't shoot in Avdiivka because my people live there, then I can shoot in any other Ukrainian city, and I won't feel sorry for the civilians or anyone else. This is a different war. You came to kill us, just to destroy us. So you will get what you are doing here".


title: Alexander Zakharchenko

text: During the war in Donbas there were many cases of forced disappearances in the Donetsk People's Republic. Zakharchenko said that his forces detained up to five "Ukrainian subversives" every day. It was estimated that about 632 people were under illegal detention by separatist forces by 11 December 2014.


title: Alexander Zakharchenko

text: Freelance journalist Stanislav Aseyev was abducted on 2 June 2017 under espionage charges. At first, the "de facto" DNR government denied knowing his whereabouts, but on 16 July an agent of the DNR's Ministry of State Security confirmed that Aseyev was in their custody and that he was suspected of espionage. Independent media was not allowed to report from the DNR-controlled territory. Amnesty International demanded that Zakharchenko release Aseyev. He was released in 2019.


title: Alexander Zakharchenko

text: Zakharchenko was killed by a bomb explosion in the café "Separ" (Ukrainian slang for "separatist") on Pushkin Boulevard in Donetsk, on 31 August 2018. Reports say DNR's finance minister Alexander Timofeyev was also wounded in the blast.


title: Alexander Zakharchenko

text: The DNR and the Russian Federation blamed the Ukrainian government authorities. Officials in Kyiv rejected the accusations, stating that Zakharchenko's death was the result of civil strife in the DNR. Initial reports say that Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Trapeznikov was appointed acting head of the Donetsk People's Republic.


title: Alexander Zakharchenko

text: Funeral and memorial services were scheduled for 2 September, in the Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theatre. A three-day mourning period was declared on 1 September, with the start of the new academic year in the territory being postponed until 4 September.


title: Alexander Zakharchenko

text: Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his condolences to Zakharchenko's family, calling his death a "contemptible murder". The Russian Foreign Ministry's official spokesperson Maria Zakharova blamed Ukraine for the death, claiming that it is "driving its country to the verge of an all-out disaster at increasingly faster speeds".


title: Alexander Zakharchenko

text: The acting head of the Luhansk People's Republic, Leonid Pasechnik, paid tribute to Zakharchenko at a memorial service in the Republic, saying that the "banner of struggle, lifted by Alexander Zakharchenko, will never fall". He said that the Donbas region "will not forgive Zakharchenko's murder".


title: Alexander Zakharchenko

text: On 29 September 2022, law enforcement agencies of the Luhansk People's Republic reportedly provided Ria Novosti with the wiretap between the Security Service of Ukraine officer Oleksandr Kiyashchenko and his agent, in which he tells that the murderer received 5 million rubles.


title: Satellite television

text: Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna commonly referred to as a satellite dish and a low-noise block downconverter.


title: Satellite television

text: A satellite receiver then decodes the desired television program for viewing on a television set. Receivers can be external set-top boxes, or a built-in television tuner. Satellite television provides a wide range of channels and services. It is usually the only television available in many remote geographic areas without terrestrial television or cable television service.


title: Satellite television

text: Modern systems signals are relayed from a communications satellite on the X band (8–12 GHz) or K band (12–18 GHz) frequencies requiring only a small dish less than a meter in diameter. The first satellite TV systems were an obsolete type now known as television receive-only. These systems received weaker analog signals transmitted in the C-band (4–8 GHz) from FSS type satellites, requiring the use of large 2–3-meter dishes. Consequently, these systems were nicknamed "big dish" systems, and were more expensive and less popular.


title: Satellite television

text: Early systems used analog signals, but modern ones use digital signals which allow transmission of the modern television standard high-definition television, due to the significantly improved spectral efficiency of digital broadcasting. As of 2022, Star One C2 from Brazil is the only remaining satellite broadcasting in analog signals.


title: Satellite television

text: Different receivers are required for the two types. Some transmissions and channels are unencrypted and therefore free-to-air, while many other channels are transmitted with encryption. Free-to-view channels are encrypted but not charged-for, while pay television requires the viewer to subscribe and pay a monthly fee to receive the programming.


title: Satellite television

text: Satellite TV is being affected by the cord-cutting trend where people are shifting towards internet based streaming television.


title: Satellite television

text: The satellites used for broadcasting television are usually in a geostationary orbit above the earth's equator. The advantage of this orbit is that the satellite's orbital period equals the rotation rate of the Earth, so the satellite appears at a fixed position in the sky. Thus the satellite dish antenna which receives the signal can be aimed permanently at the location of the satellite and does not have to track a moving satellite. A few systems instead use a highly elliptical orbit with inclination of +/−63.4 degrees and an orbital period of about twelve hours, known as a Molniya orbit.


title: Satellite television

text: Satellite television, like other communications relayed by satellite, starts with a transmitting antenna located at an uplink facility. Uplink satellite dishes are very large, as much as 9 to 12 meters (30 to 40 feet) in diameter. The increased diameter results in more accurate aiming and increased signal strength at the satellite. The uplink dish is pointed toward a specific satellite and the uplinked signals are transmitted within a specific frequency range, so as to be received by one of the transponders tuned to that frequency range aboard that satellite. The transponder re-transmits the signals back to Earth at a different frequency (a process known as translation, used to avoid interference with the uplink signal), typically in the 10.7-12.7 GHz band, but some still transmit in the C-band (4–8 GHz), K-band (12–18 GHz), or both. The leg of the signal path from the satellite to the receiving Earth station is called the downlink.


title: Satellite television

text: A typical satellite has up to 32 K-band or 24 C-band transponders, or more for K/C hybrid satellites. Typical transponders each have a bandwidth between 27 and 50 MHz. Each geostationary C-band satellite needs to be spaced 2° longitude from the next satellite to avoid interference; for K the spacing can be 1°. This means that there is an upper limit of 360/2 = 180 geostationary C-band satellites or 360/1 = 360 geostationary K-band satellites. C-band transmission is susceptible to terrestrial interference while K-band transmission is affected by rain (as water is an excellent absorber of microwaves at this particular frequency). The latter is even more adversely affected by ice crystals in thunder clouds. On occasion, sun outage will occur when the sun lines up directly behind the geostationary satellite to which the receiving antenna is pointed.


title: Satellite television

text: The downlink satellite signal, quite weak after traveling the great distance (see path loss), is collected with a parabolic receiving dish, which reflects the weak signal to the dish's focal point. Mounted on brackets at the dish's focal point is a device called a feedhorn or collector. The feedhorn is a section of waveguide with a flared front-end that gathers the signals at or near the focal point and conducts them to a probe or pickup connected to a low-noise block downconverter (LNB). The LNB amplifies the signals and downconverts them to a lower block of intermediate frequencies (IF), usually in the L-band.


title: Satellite television

text: The original C-band satellite television systems used a low-noise amplifier (LNA) connected to the feedhorn at the focal point of the dish. The amplified signal, still at the higher microwave frequencies, had to be fed via very expensive low-loss 50-ohm impedance gas filled hardline coaxial cable with relatively complex N-connectors to an indoor receiver or, in other designs, a downconverter (a mixer and a voltage-tuned oscillator with some filter circuitry) for downconversion to an intermediate frequency. The channel selection was controlled typically by a voltage tuned oscillator with the tuning voltage being fed via a separate cable to the headend, but this design evolved.


title: Satellite television

text: Designs for microstrip-based converters for amateur radio frequencies were adapted for the 4 GHz C-band. Central to these designs was concept of block downconversion of a range of frequencies to a lower, more easily handled IF.


title: Satellite television

text: The advantages of using an LNB are that cheaper cable can be used to connect the indoor receiver to the satellite television dish and LNB, and that the technology for handling the signal at L-band and UHF was far cheaper than that for handling the signal at C-band frequencies. The shift to cheaper technology from the hardline and N-connectors of the early C-band systems to the cheaper and simpler 75-ohm cable and F-connectors allowed the early satellite television receivers to use, what were in reality, modified UHF television tuners which selected the satellite television channel for down conversion to a lower intermediate frequency centered on 70 MHz, where it was demodulated. This shift allowed the satellite television DTH industry to change from being a largely hobbyist one where only small numbers of systems costing thousands of US dollars were built, to a far more commercial one of mass production.


title: Satellite television

text: In the United States, service providers use the intermediate frequency ranges of 950–2150 MHz to carry the signal from the LNBF at the dish down to the receiver. This allows for the transmission of UHF signals along the same span of coaxial wire at the same time. In some applications (DirecTV AU9-S and AT-9), ranges of the lower B-band and 2250–3000 MHz, are used. Newer LNBFs in use by DirecTV, called SWM (Single Wire Multiswitch), are used to implement single cable distribution and use a wider frequency range of 2–2150 MHz.


title: Satellite television

text: The satellite receiver or set-top box demodulates and converts the signals to the desired form (outputs for television, audio, data, etc.). Often, the receiver includes the capability to selectively unscramble or decrypt the received signal to provide premium services to some subscribers; the receiver is then called an integrated receiver/decoder or IRD. Low-loss cable (e.g. RG-6, RG-11, etc.) is used to connect the receiver to the LNBF or LNB. RG-59 is not recommended for this application as it is not technically designed to carry frequencies above 950 MHz, but may work in some circumstances, depending on the quality of the coaxial wire, signal levels, cable length, etc.


title: Satellite television

text: A practical problem relating to home satellite reception is that an LNB can basically only handle a single receiver. This is because the LNB is translating two different circular polarizations (right-hand and left-hand) and, in the case of K-band, two different frequency bands (lower and upper) to the same frequency range on the cable. Depending on which frequency and polarization a transponder is using, the satellite receiver has to switch the LNB into one of four different modes in order to receive a specific "channel". This is handled by the receiver using the DiSEqC protocol to control the LNB mode. If several satellite receivers are to be attached to a single dish, a so-called multiswitch will have to be used in conjunction with a special type of LNB. There are also LNBs available with a multi-switch already integrated. This problem becomes more complicated when several receivers are to use several dishes (or several LNBs mounted in a single dish) pointing to different satellites.


title: Satellite television

text: A common solution for consumers wanting to access multiple satellites is to deploy a single dish with a single LNB and to rotate the dish using an electric motor. The axis of rotation has to be set up in the north–south direction and, depending on the geographical location of the dish, have a specific vertical tilt. Set up properly the motorized dish when turned will sweep across all possible positions for satellites lined up along the geostationary orbit directly above the equator. The dish will then be capable of receiving any geostationary satellite that is visible at the specific location, i.e. that is above the horizon. The DiSEqC protocol has been extended to encompass commands for steering dish rotors.


title: Satellite television

text: There are five major components in a satellite system: the programming source, the broadcast center, the satellite, the satellite dish, and the receiver. "Direct broadcast" satellites used for transmission of satellite television signals are generally in geostationary orbit above the earth's equator. The reason for using this orbit is that the satellite circles the Earth at the same rate as the Earth rotates, so the satellite appears at a fixed point in the sky. Thus satellite dishes can be aimed permanently at that point, and do not need a tracking system to turn to follow a moving satellite. A few satellite TV systems use satellites in a Molniya orbit, a highly elliptical orbit with inclination of +/-63.4 degrees and an orbital period of about twelve hours.


title: Satellite television

text: Satellite television, like other communications relayed by satellite, starts with a transmitting antenna located at an uplink facility. Uplink facilities transmit the signal to the satellite over a narrow beam of microwaves, typically in the C-band frequency range due to its resistance to rain fade. Uplink satellite dishes are very large, often as much as 9 to 12 metres (30 to 40 feet) in diameter to achieve accurate aiming and increased signal strength at the satellite, to improve reliability. The uplink dish is pointed toward a specific satellite and the uplinked signals are transmitted within a specific frequency range, so as to be received by one of the transponders tuned to that frequency range aboard that satellite. The transponder then converts the signals to K band, a process known as "translation," and transmits them back to earth to be received by home satellite stations.


title: Satellite television

text: The downlinked satellite signal, weaker after traveling the great distance (see path loss), is collected by using a rooftop parabolic receiving dish ("satellite dish"), which reflects the weak signal to the dish's focal point. Mounted on brackets at the dish's focal point is a feedhorn which passes the signals through a waveguide to a device called a low-noise block converter (LNB) or low noise converter (LNC) attached to the horn. The LNB amplifies the weak signals, filters the block of frequencies in which the satellite television signals are transmitted, and converts the block of frequencies to a lower frequency range in the L-band range. The signal is then passed through a coaxial cable into the residence to the satellite television receiver, a set-top box next to the television.


title: Satellite television

text: The reason for using the LNB to do the frequency translation at the dish is so that the signal can be carried into the residence using cheap coaxial cable. To transport the signal into the house at its original K band microwave frequency would require an expensive waveguide, a metal pipe to carry the radio waves. The cable connecting the receiver to the LNB are of the low loss type RG-6, quad shield RG-6, or RG-11. RG-59 is not recommended for this application as it is not technically designed to carry frequencies above 950 MHz, but will work in many circumstances, depending on the quality of the coaxial wire. The shift to more affordable technology from the 50ohm impedance cable and N-connectors of the early C-band systems to the cheaper 75ohm technology and F-connectors allowed the early satellite television receivers to use, what were in reality, modified UHF television tuners which selected the satellite television channel for down conversion to another lower intermediate frequency centered on 70 MHz where it was demodulated.


title: Satellite television

text: An LNB can only handle a single receiver. This is due to the fact that the LNB is mapping two different circular polarisations – right hand and left hand – and in the case of the K-band two different reception bands – lower and upper – to one and the same frequency band on the cable, and is a practical problem for home satellite reception. Depending on which frequency a transponder is transmitting at and on what polarisation it is using, the satellite receiver has to switch the LNB into one of four different modes in order to receive a specific desired program on a specific transponder. The receiver uses the DiSEqC protocol to control the LNB mode, which handles this. If several satellite receivers are to be attached to a single dish a so-called multiswitch must be used in conjunction with a special type of LNB. There are also LNBs available with a multi-switch already integrated. This problem becomes more complicated when several receivers use several dishes or several LNBs mounted in a single dish are aimed at different satellites.


title: Satellite television

text: The set-top box selects the channel desired by the user by filtering that channel from the multiple channels received from the satellite, converts the signal to a lower intermediate frequency, decrypts the encrypted signal, demodulates the radio signal and sends the resulting video signal to the television through a cable. To decrypt the signal the receiver box must be "activated" by the satellite company. If the customer fails to pay his monthly bill the box is "deactivated" by a signal from the company, and the system will not work until the company reactivates it. Some receivers are capable of decrypting the received signal itself. These receivers are called integrated receiver/decoders or IRDs.


title: Satellite television

text: Analog television which was distributed via satellite was usually sent scrambled or unscrambled in NTSC, PAL, or SECAM television broadcast standards. The analog signal is frequency modulated and is converted from an FM signal to what is referred to as baseband. This baseband comprises the video signal and the audio subcarrier(s). The audio subcarrier is further demodulated to provide a raw audio signal.


title: Satellite television

text: Later signals were digitized television signals or multiplex of signals, typically QPSK. In general, digital television, including that transmitted via satellites, is based on open standards such as MPEG and DVB-S/DVB-S2 or ISDB-S.


title: Satellite television

text: The conditional access encryption/scrambling methods include NDS, BISS, Conax, Digicipher, Irdeto, Cryptoworks, DG Crypt, Beta digital, SECA Mediaguard, Logiways, Nagravision, PowerVu, Viaccess, Videocipher, and VideoGuard. Many conditional access systems have been compromised.


title: Satellite television

text: An event called sun outage occurs when the sun lines up directly behind the satellite in the field of view of the receiving satellite dish. This happens for about a 10-minute period daily around midday, twice every year for a two-week period in the spring and fall around the equinox. During this period, the sun is within the main lobe of the dish's reception pattern, so the strong microwave noise emitted by the sun on the same frequencies used by the satellite's transponders drowns out reception.


title: Satellite television

text: Direct-to-home (DTH) can either refer to the communications satellites themselves that deliver service or the actual television service. Most satellite television customers in developed television markets get their programming through a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) provider. Signals are transmitted using K band (12 to 18 GHz) and are completely digital which means it has high picture and stereo sound quality.


title: Satellite television

text: Programming for satellite television channels comes from multiple sources and may include live studio feeds. The broadcast center assembles and packages programming into channels for transmission and, where necessary, encrypts the channels. The signal is then sent to the uplink where it is transmitted to the satellite. With some broadcast centers, the studios, administration and up-link are all part of the same campus. The satellite then translates and broadcasts the channels.


title: Satellite television

text: Most systems use the DVB-S standard for transmission. With pay television services, the data stream is encrypted and requires proprietary reception equipment. While the underlying reception technology is similar, the pay television technology is proprietary, often consisting of a conditional-access module and smart card. This measure assures satellite television providers that only authorized, paying subscribers have access to pay television content but at the same time can allow free-to-air channels to be viewed even by the people with standard equipment available in the market.


title: Satellite television

text: Some countries operate satellite television services which can be received for free, without paying a subscription fee. This is called free-to-air satellite television. Germany is likely the leader in free-to-air with approximately 250 digital channels (including 83 HDTV channels and various regional channels) broadcast from the Astra 19.2°E satellite constellation. These are not marketed as a DBS service, but are received in approximately 18 million homes, as well as in any home using the "Sky Deutschland" commercial DBS system. All German analogue satellite broadcasts ceased on 30 April 2012.


title: Satellite television

text: The United Kingdom has approximately 160 digital channels (including the regional variations of BBC channels, ITV channels, Channel 4 and Channel 5) that are broadcast without encryption from the Astra 28.2°E satellite constellation, and receivable on any DVB-S receiver (a DVB-S2 receiver is required for certain high definition television services). Most of these channels are included within the Sky EPG, and an increasing number within the Freesat EPG.


title: Satellite television

text: India's national broadcaster, Doordarshan, promotes a free-to-air DBS package as "DD Free Dish", which is provided as in-fill for the country's terrestrial transmission network. It is broadcast from GSAT-15 at 93.5°E and contains about 80 FTA channels.


title: Satellite television

text: While originally launched as backhaul for their digital terrestrial television service, a large number of French channels are free-to-air on satellites at 5°W, and have recently been announced as being official in-fill for the DTT network.


title: Satellite television

text: In North America (United States, Canada and Mexico) there are over 80 FTA digital channels available on Galaxy 19 (with the majority being ethnic or religious in nature). Other FTA satellites include AMC-4, AMC-6, Galaxy 18, and Satmex 5. A company called GloryStar promotes FTA religious broadcasters on Galaxy 19.