8th February 2016
Venus is the second planet from the sun in our solar system. It is the brightest object observed in the sky. Astronomers discovered that Venus moves clockwise as opposed to the counter-clockwise rotation of the earth. Therefore, it is said that in Venus the sun rises in the west and sets in the east.
8th February 2016
The red blood cells carry oxygen from the lungs to the different parts of the body. One trip takes the cell from the heart through the various blood vessels to the different parts of the body and back to the heart in 20 seconds. A red blood cell is estimated to live in the body for four months. They originate in the bone marrow and during their lifetime, they make 250,000 trips circumnavigating the body before returning to the bone marrow where they eventually die.
8th February 2016
A dragonfly is a double winged insect with its forewings larger than the hind wings. When the dragonfly is at rest, the wings are held perpendicular to its body. These insects eat other small insects. Robert John Tillyard, while studying the genus Austrophlebia, found that the dragonfly could fly nearly at the rate of fifty miles (80 km) to sixty miles (96 km) an hour.
8th February 2016
The three wise monkeys were popularized in Japan and are believed to be part of the Chinese philosopher Confucius’ teachings on the human code of conduct. These three monkeys depict the three principles of see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil. Mizaru is depicted covering his eyes with his hands that symbolizes see no evil, Kikazaru is depicted covering his ears that symbolizes hear no evil and Iwazaru is depicted covering his mouth that symbolizes speak no evil. It is noteworthy that Mahatma Gandhi possessed a statue of these three monkeys. A larger statue of these monkeys is displayed at the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
8th February 2016
Infinity means something which does not have a limit. The infinity sign ∞ is called a lemniscate. The sign was devised by an English mathematician John Wallis in 1955 and was named lemniscus, meaning a ‘pendant ribbon’, by mathematician Jacob Bernoulli in 1694. The symbol is designed in two dimensions as a device known as the Möbius Strip (named after a 19th century mathematician August Ferdinand Möbius). A Möbius Strip is a strip of paper which is twisted and attached at the ends, forming an ‘endless’ two dimensional surface.
8th February 2016
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth blocks all direct sunlight from reaching the Moon. There could be partial lunar eclipses occurring in a year too. The number of lunar eclipses in a single year can range from 0 to 3. On June 16, 2011, a total lunar eclipse occurred, which was visible for over 100 minutes in different parts of Asia, Europe and Africa. The partial eclipse lasted for 3 hours and 40 minutes, making it the longest total lunar eclipse in this decade.
