Kosovo the Republic of Kosovo, is a partially-recognized state in Southeast Europe, subject to a territorial dispute with the Republic of Serbia. Defined in an area of 10,887 square kilometres, Kosovo is landlocked in the center of the Balkans and bordered by the uncontested territory of Serbia to the north and east, North Macedonia to the southeast, Albania to the southwest and Montenegro to the west, it possesses varied and diverse landscapes for its size by climate along with hydrology. Most of central Kosovo is dominated by the vast fields of Metohija and Kosovo; the Albanian Alps and Šar Mountains rise in the southwest and southeast respectively. The earliest known human settlements in what is now Kosovo were the Paleolithic Vinča and Starčevo cultures. During the Classical period, it was inhabited by Celtic people. In 168 BC, the area was annexed by the Romans. In the Middle Ages, it was conquered by the Byzantine and Serbian Empires; the Battle of Kosovo of 1389 is considered to be one of the defining moments in Serbian medieval history.

The region was the core of the Serbian medieval state, the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church from the 14th century, when its status was upgraded to a patriarchate. Kosovo was part of the Ottoman Empire from the 15th to the early 20th century. In the late 19th century, it became the centre of the Albanian National Awakening. Following their defeat in the Balkan Wars, the Ottomans ceded Kosovo to Montenegro. Both countries joined Yugoslavia after World War I, following a period of Yugoslav unitarianism in the Kingdom, the post-World War II Yugoslav constitution established the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within the Yugoslav constituent republic of Serbia. Tensions between Kosovo's Albanian and Serb communities simmered through the 20th century and erupted into major violence, culminating in the Kosovo War of 1998 and 1999, which resulted in the withdrawal of the Yugoslav army and the establishment of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo. On 17 February 2008, Kosovo unilaterally declared its independence from Serbia.

It has since gained diplomatic recognition as a sovereign state by 112 United Nations member states, 14 of which have since been withdrawn. Serbia does not recognize Kosovo as a sovereign state, although with the Brussels Agreement of 2013, it has accepted its institutions. While Serbia recognizes administration of the territory by Kosovo's elected government, it continues to claim it as the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. Kosovo has a lower-middle-income economy and has experienced solid economic growth over the last decade by international financial institutions, has experienced growth every year since the onset of the financial crisis of 2007–2008. Kosovo is a member of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Regional Cooperation Council, has applied for membership of Interpol and for observer status in the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation; the entire region that today corresponds to the territory is referred to in English as Kosovo and in Albanian as Kosova or Kosovë or Kosovë.

In Serbia, a formal distinction is made between the western areas. Kosovo is the Serbian neuter possessive adjective of kos "blackbird", an ellipsis for Kosovo Polje,'blackbird field', the name of a plain situated in the eastern half of today's Kosovo and the site of the 1389 Battle of Kosovo Field; the name of the plain was applied to the Kosovo Province created in 1864. Albanians refer to Kosovo as Dardania, the name of an ancient kingdom and Roman province, which covered the territory of modern-day Kosovo; the name is derived from the ancient tribe of the Dardani related to a Proto-Albanian word dardā, which means "pear". The former Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova had been an enthusiastic backer of a "Dardanian" identity and the Kosovan flag and presidential seal refer to this national identity. However, the name "Kosova" remains more used among the Albanian population; the current borders of Kosovo were drawn while part of Yugoslavia in 1945, when the Autonomous Region of Kosovo and Metohija was created as an administrative division of the new People's Republic of Serbia.

In 1963, it was raised from the level of an autonomous region to the level of an autonomous province as the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. In 1968, the dual name "Kosovo and Metohija" was reduced to a simple "Kosovo" in the name of the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo. In 1990, the province was renamed the Autonomous Province of Metohija; the official conventional long name of the state is Republic of Kosovo, as defined by the Constitution of Kosovo, is used to represent Kosovo internationally. Additionally, as a result of an arrangement agreed between Pristina and Belgrade in talks mediated by the European Union, Kosovo has participated in some international forums and organisations under the title "Kosovo*" with a footnote stating "This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, is in line with UNSC 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence"; this arrangement, du

The 1882 transit of Venus, which took place on 6 December 1882, was the second and last transit of Venus of the 19th century, the first having taken place eight years earlier in 1874. Many an expedition was sent by European powers to describe both episodes, eight of them alone were approved and financed in 1882 by the United States Congress. Edward James Stone organized. Stephen Joseph Perry and Commander Pelham Aldrich, as captain of HMS Fawn, observed the transit from an improvised tent observatory in Madagascar. Jean-Charles Houzeau invented in 1871 a heliometer with unequal focal lengths. For the observation of the transit he organized two expeditions: one to San Antonio and another to Santiago de Chile; the two expeditions each had an identical copy of Houzeau's heliometer. The French Academy of Sciences organized ten expeditions to various locations, including Florida, Haiti and Cape Horn. For observations of the transit by French expeditions, for the year 1883 the French Academy of Sciences awarded nine Lalande Prizes to scientists, including Jean Jacques Anatole Bouquet de La Grye, Octave de Bernardières, the naval officer Georges-Ernest Fleuriais.

1882 December 6, Venustransit, by Steven van Roode

Robert Milacki, is a former professional baseball player who pitched in Major League Baseball between 1988 and 1996 with the Baltimore Orioles. Milacki began his career with the Baltimore Orioles, pitching for them from 1988 to 1992, he started three games as a September call-up in 1988, allowing only 2 runs and 9 hits in 25 innings. In his rookie season of 1989, Milacki led the American League with 36 games started, posting a 14–12 record with a career-best 3.74 ERA. On April 23, 1989, Milacki pitched a rare complete game shutout against the Minnesota Twins in which he faced the minimum 27 batters. On July 13, 1991, the Orioles defeated the Oakland A's 2-0 on a combined no-hitter. Milacki pitched the first six innings of the game, with no runs on no hits, three walks and three strikeouts, he was pulled from the game after a line drive struck him on the arm, despite the batter being retired when the ball bounced towards first base. Mike Flanagan, Mark Williamson, Gregg Olson each followed up with a no-hit scoreless inning to complete the no-hitter.

After posting a 6–8 record for the Orioles in 1992, Milacki became a free agent. He pitched a combined 22 games with the Indians and Mariners through the 1996 season. In 1997, he pitched in six games for the Kintetsu Buffaloes in Japan. Since 2001, Milacki has been a minor league pitching coach in several organizations: 2001: Hickory Crawdads, Low-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers 2002: Altoona Curve, AA affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates 2003-2004: Hickory Crawdads, Low-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers 2005-2008: Lynchburg Hillcats, High-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates 2009: Lakewood BlueClaws, Low-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies 2010-2012: Reading Phillies, AA affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies 2013-2014: Clearwater Threshers, High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies 2015-2017: Syracuse Chiefs, AAA affiliate of the Washington Nationals 2018: Carolina Mudcats, High-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers 2019: Biloxi Shuckers, AA affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers Milacki was born in Trenton, New Jersey and grew up in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

He attended Yavapai Community College. Milacki and his wife Kim have two daughters and Ashlee, a son, Robert. Ashlee played college basketball for Glendale Community College. Robert was drafted as a pitcher in the 38th round by the Washington Nationals in the 2018 baseball season. Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball-Reference, or Retrosheet Bob Milacki at SABR