The Academy Awards, more popularly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in the film industry. Given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the awards are an international recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements as assessed by the Academy's voting membership; the various category winners are awarded a copy of a golden statuette called the "Academy Award of Merit", although more referred to by its nickname, the "Oscar". The statuette depicts a knight rendered in the Art Deco style; the award was sculpted by George Stanley from a design sketch by Cedric Gibbons. AMPAS first presented it in 1929 at a private dinner hosted by Douglas Fairbanks in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in what would become known as the 1st Academy Awards; the Academy Awards ceremony was first broadcast by radio in 1930 and was televised for the first time in 1953. It is now televised live worldwide, it is the oldest of the four major annual American entertainment awards.

The 91st Academy Awards ceremony, honoring the best films of 2018, was held on February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre, in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was broadcast on ABC. A total of 3,096 Oscar statuettes have been awarded from the inception of the award through the 91st ceremony, it was the first ceremony since 1989 not to have a host. The 92nd Academy Awards ceremony, honoring the best films of 2019, was held on February 9, 2020; the ceremony was again broadcast on ABC. It took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, for the 18th consecutive year; the first Academy Awards presentation was held on May 16, 1929, at a private dinner function at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel with an audience of about 270 people. The post-awards party was held at the Mayfair Hotel; the cost of guest tickets for that night's ceremony was $5. Fifteen statuettes were awarded, honoring artists and other participants in the film-making industry of the time, for their works during the 1927–28 period; the ceremony ran for 15 minutes.

Winners were announced to media three months earlier. That was changed for the second ceremony in 1930. Since for the rest of the first decade, the results were given to newspapers for publication at 11:00 pm on the night of the awards; this method was used until 1940, when the Los Angeles Times announced the winners before the ceremony began. The first Best Actor awarded was Emil Jannings, for his performances in The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh, he had to return to Europe before the ceremony, so the Academy agreed to give him the prize earlier. At that time, winners were recognized for the entirety of their work done in a certain category during the qualifying period. With the fourth ceremony, the system changed, professionals were honored for a specific performance in a single film. For the first six ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned two calendar years. At the 29th ceremony, held in 1957, the Best Foreign Language Film category was introduced; until foreign-language films had been honored with the Special Achievement Award.

The most seen streaker in history was 34-year-old Robert Opel, who streaked across the stage of The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles flashing a peace sign on national US television at the 46th Academy Awards in 1974. Bemused host David Niven quipped, "Isn't it fascinating to think that the only laugh that man will get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?" Evidence arose suggesting that Opel's appearance was facilitated as a publicity stunt by the show's producer Jack Haley Jr.. Robert Metzler, the show's business manager, believed that the incident had been planned in some way; the 74th Academy Awards, held in 2002, presented the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Since 1973, all Academy Awards ceremonies have ended with the Academy Award for Best Picture. Traditionally, the previous year's winner for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor present the awards for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, while the previous year's winner for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress present the awards for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor.

Parasite became the first foreign-language film to win Best Picture at the February 9, 2020 award ceremony. Tom Hanks announced at the 2020 Oscar Ceremony, the opening of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on December 14, 2020; the museum development is now led by Bill Kramer. The industry curated exhibits will be geared toward the history of motion picture, the art & science of film making, exhibiting trailblazing directors, film makers, sound editors and more, will house famous artifacts from acclaimed movies like Dorothy's Ruby Red Slippers. See § Awards of Merit categoriesThe best known award is the Academy Award of Merit, more popularly known as the Oscar statuette. Made of gold-plated bronze on a black metal base, it is 13.5 in tall, weighs 8.5 lb, depicts a knight rendered in Art Deco style holding a crusader's sword stan

Practical Astronomy with your Calculator is a book written by Peter Duffett-Smith, a University Lecturer and a Fellow of Downing College. It has been in publication for over 30 years; the book teaches. The book covers topics such as time, coordinate systems, the Sun, planetary systems, binary stars, the Moon and eclipses; the third edition features new sections on generalised coordinate transformations, nutation and selenographic coordinates. The book has been used by those studying introductory astronomy, it was written because of a suggestion by Dr. Anthony Winter; the mathematical operations used in the book are subtraction, multiplication and trigonometric functions. Angles are illustrated in degrees and not radians; the calculations are carried out on a calculator. The book "explains in simpler terms the equations used to calculate almanac data." The Cambridge Guide to Astronomical Discovery states that Practical Astronomy with your Calculator is a "must"-have book if one has no personal computer for astronomical calculations.

New Scientist magazine gave a favourable review of the book, although stating that there were small errors in some calculations. Archaeoastronomy states "the book is recommended as easy to use and reliable."

Tom Gegax is an American entrepreneur, best-selling author, angel investor, philanthropist. In 1976, Gegax co-founded a retail tire business, with Don Gullett. Gegax served as Chairman and CEO of the company and grew the business to 150 stores and $200 million in sales. In 2000, as the company’s majority shareholder, Gegax facilitated the sale of Tires Plus to Bridgestone/Firestone and serves as Chairman Emeritus. Gegax is a best-selling author with books published by Random House. In 2001, Gegax founded Gegax Advisors to provide consulting and coaching to business owners and high-level executives. Gegax serves as Chairman of The Gramercy Fund, LLP, an angel investment portfolio of early stage companies, as well as his philanthropic venture, Gegax Family Foundation. Tom Gegax was born in 1946 in Indiana to Elizabeth Gegax and Bill Gegax. Tom’s mother, graduated from the University of Houston and became a social worker, his father, served in World War II as a First Lieutenant in Patton's Army 4th Armored Division, Engineering Corp.

Following the war, Bill owned a service station, a construction company, was a top salesman for Gibraltar Mausoleum Co. The couple had three other children: Gary, a daughter, who died of a brain tumor in 1956 at the age of two. Gegax attended Indiana’s North Vernon High School where he lettered in golf and baseball, was an All State basketball player. After graduating high school in 1964, he received a Congressional appointment to West Point as a First Alternate; when the primary appointee failed his physical, Gegax passed his own physical and was preparing for admission to the military academy when he was informed that the primary appointee’s failed physical had been waived. No longer headed for West Point, Gegax enrolled at Indiana University where he graduated in 1968 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management. In 1966, at the age of nineteen, Tom Gegax married Jan Pierson. Together they had two sons: Chris. Trent Gegax was a long-time correspondent for Newsweek magazine and serves as CEO of The Gramercy Fund.

Chris Gegax is a video producer. Tom and Jan Gegax divorced in 1991, they share homes in San Diego. Gegax was hired directly out of college by Shell Oil Company in Chicago, IL and worked from 1968 to 1973 in Employee Relations and as a Territory Manager servicing service station dealers with territories in the inner city of Chicago’s southside, he transferred with Shell Oil to Minneapolis, MN in 1973 where he worked as a Sales Manager until 1976. In 1976, Gegax co-founded a retail tire business, with Don Gullett. Tires Plus began as a small startup, emerging from an idea Tom sketched onto a restaurant napkin, mushroomed under Tom’s leadership into a market leader with 150 upscale stores in ten states and $200 million in revenue. Gegax served as Chairman and CEO and was able to bypass outside investors over the years by managing his company. In 2000, as the company’s majority shareholder, Gegax sold Tires Plus to Bridgestone/Firestone and serves as Chairman Emeritus. Following the sale of Tires Plus, Gegax founded three companies: Gegax Advisors, The Gramercy Fund, Gegax Family Foundation.

Through Gegax Advisors, Tom provides consulting and coaching to business owners and high-level executives. As Chairman of The Gramercy Fund, LLP, an angel investment portfolio of early stage companies, along with his son, serves as an investor and advisor to a variety of businesses; as an author, Tom’s Big Book of Small Business: You Don’t Have to Run Your Business by The Seat of Your Pants, has gained endorsements by America’s leading business minds, including Ken Blanchard, Harvey Mackay, author of the foreword, Richard Schulze and Chairman of Best Buy. The first incarnation of the book, entitled By the Seat of Your Pants, was a best seller, with Sam's Club selling 60,000 copies to its small business clients, his co-author on these books was Phil Bolsta. Tom's first book, Winning in the Game of Life: Self-Coaching Secrets for Success, is a blueprint for creating a productive, well-balanced life, it received critical acclaim from publishing industry bellwethers Publishers Weekly and Booklist, from self-help and spiritual guru, Deepak Chopra, from national business and political leaders, including Curt Carlson, Founder/Chairman, of Carlson, as well as former Vice President of the United States, Walter Mondale.

Tom first developed an interest in healthy food in 1977, at age 31, after experiencing low energy, high anxiety, a fifty-pound weight gain. In 1989, at the age of 43, a bout with cancer caused him to refine his diet further to focus on organic, whole, plant-based food and occasional fish. Gegax’s long-time interest in healthy living motivated his implementation of wellness programs at Tires Plus and inspired his interest and involvement in environmental advocacy. Tom’s extensive Board of Directors’ service includes several health and environmental organizations such as the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, Deepak Chopra Enterprises, John Robbins’ EarthSave, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’