The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, the largest of the islands, they are considered the remnants of the Duchy of Normandy and, although they are not part of the United Kingdom, the UK is responsible for the defence and international relations of the islands. The Crown dependencies are not members of the Commonwealth of Nations nor of the European Union, they have a total population of about 170,499, the bailiwicks' capitals, Saint Helier and Saint Peter Port, have populations of 33,500 and 18,207, respectively. "Channel Islands" is a geographical term, not a political unit. The two bailiwicks have been administered separately since the late 13th century; each has its own independent laws and representative bodies. Any institution common to both is the exception rather than the rule; the Bailiwick of Guernsey is divided into three jurisdictions – Guernsey and Sark – each with its own legislature.

Although there are a few pan-island institutions, these tend to be established structurally as equal projects between Guernsey and Jersey. Otherwise, entities proclaiming membership of both Guernsey and Jersey might in fact be from one bailiwick only, for instance the Channel Islands Securities Exchange is in Saint Peter Port; the term "Channel Islands" began to be used around 1830 first by the Royal Navy as a collective name for the islands. The term refers only the archipelago to the west of the Cotentin Peninsula; the Isle of Wight, for example, is despite being located in the Channel. The two major islands are Guernsey, they make up 92 % of the area. The permanently inhabited islands of the Channel Islands and their population and area are: Jersey 100,080 Guernsey 63,026 Alderney 2,000 Sark 600 Herm 60 Jethou 3 Brecqhou There are several uninhabited islets. Four are part of the Bailiwick of Jersey: The Minquiers Écréhous Les Dirouilles Les Pierres de Lecq These lie off Alderney: Burhou Casquets Ortac RenonquetThese lie off Guernsey: Caquorobert Crevichon Grande Amfroque Les Houmets Lihou The names of the larger islands in the archipelago in general have the -ey suffix, whilst those of the smaller ones have the -hou suffix.

These are believed to be from holmr. The Chausey Islands south of Jersey are not included in the geographical definition of the Channel Islands but are described in English as'French Channel Islands' in view of their French jurisdiction, they were linked to the Duchy of Normandy, but they are part of the French territory along with continental Normandy, not part of the British Isles or of the Channel Islands in a political sense. They are an incorporated part of the commune of Granville. While they are popular with visitors from France, Channel Islanders visit them as there are no direct transport links from the other islands. In official Jersey French, the islands are called'Îles de la Manche', while in France, the term'Îles Anglo-normandes' is used to refer to the British'Channel Islands' in contrast to other islands in the Channel. Chausey is referred to as an'Île normande'.'Îles Normandes' and'Archipel Normand' have historically, been used in Channel Island French to refer to the islands as a whole.

The large tidal variation provides an environmentally rich inter-tidal zone around the islands, some islands such as Burhou, the Écréhous, the Minquiers have been designated Ramsar sites. The waters around the islands include the following: The Swinge The Little Swinge La Déroute Le Raz Blanchard, or Race of Alderney The Great Russel The Little Russel Souachehouais Le Gouliot La Percée The highest point in the islands is Les Platons in Jersey at 143 metres above sea level; the lowest point is the English Channel. The earliest evidence of human occupation of the Channel Islands has been dated to 250,000 years ago when they were attached to the landmass of continental Europe; the islands became detached by rising sea levels in the Neolithic period. The numerous dolmens and other archaeological sites extant and recorded in history demonstrate the existence of a population large enough and organised enough to undertake constructions of considerable size and sophistication, such as the burial mound at La Hougue Bie in Jersey or the statue menhirs of Guernsey.

Hoards of Armorican coins have been excavated, providing evidence of trade and contact in the Iron Age period. Evidence for Roman settlement is sparse, although evidently the islands were visited by Roman officials and traders; the Roman name for the Channel Islands was I. Lenuri and is included in the Peutinger Table The traditional Latin names used for the islands derive (possibly mistaken

The Very Best of Jean-Luc Ponty is a compilation album by French jazz fusion artist Jean-Luc Ponty, released in 2000. It focuses on his work while on the Atlantic label. All songs by Jean-Luc Ponty. "Bowing-Bowing" – 4:53 "Aurora, Pt. 2" – 6:15 "Renaissance" – 5:48 "New Country" – 3:10 "Enigmatic Ocean, Pt. 3" – 3:37 "Mirage" – 4:54 "Egocentric Molecules" – 5:49 "Cosmic Messenger" – 4:41 "I Only Feel Good With You" – 3:18 "No Strings Attached" – 6:02 "A Taste for Passion" – 5:25 "Forms of Life" – 4:50 "Rhythms of Hope" – 4:03 "Final Truth, Pt. 1" – 4:54 "Individual Choice" – 4:56 "Infinite Pursuit" – 5:59 Jean-Luc Ponty – violin, keyboards, electronic percussion, violectra Chris Rhyne – synthesizer, synthesizer bass Patrice Rushen – organ, piano, clavinet Allan Zavod – keyboards, clavinet Jamie Glaser – guitar Scott Henderson – guitar Allan Holdsworth – guitar Joaquin Lievano – guitar, guitar synth Peter Maunu – guitar, guitar synth Dan Sawyer – guitar Daryl Stuermer – guitar Ralphe Armstrong – bass Baron Browne – bass Tom Fowler – bass Randy Jackson – bass Leon "Ndugu" Chancler – drums, percussion Mark Craney – drums, percussion Rayford Griffin – drums, percussion Norman Fearrington – drums, percussion Casey Scheuerell – drums, percussion Steve Smith – drums, percussion Paulinho Da Costa – percussion

William Frederick Denning was a British amateur astronomer who achieved considerable success without formal scientific training. He is known for his catalogues of meteor radiants, observations of Jupiter's red spot, for the discovery of five comets. Denning devoted a great deal of time to searching for comets, discovered five of them, including the periodic comet 72P/Denning–Fujikawa and the lost comet D/1894 F1; the latter was the last comet discovered on British soil until the discoveries of George Alcock. Denning studied meteors and novae, discovering Nova Cygni 1920, he won the Prix Valz of the French Academy of Sciences for 1895. He directed the British Astronomical Association’s Comet and Meteor Sections. From 1869 Denning held the combined post of secretary and treasurer of the short-lived Observing Astronomical Society. During his life, Denning published 1179 articles in prominent scientific journals including Nature, The Observatory, Astronomische Nachrichten, Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Journal des Observateurs, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

In 1898, Denning won the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society. He won the Donohoe Comet Medal for his July 23, 1890 discovery of a comet. Crater Denning on the Moon as well as the Martian crater Denning were named after him in 1970 and 1973, respectively. Asteroid 71885 Denning, discovered by the Spacewatch program in 2000, was named in his memory; the official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 4 October 2009. Works written by or about William Frederick Denning at Wikisource Telescopic work for starlight evenings Cornell University Library Historical Monographs Collection. W. F. Denning – The Doyen of Amateur Astronomers Short biography by Martin Beech, Campion College, The University of Regina, Canada