Sci Facts to Know!

1. There are 62,000 miles of blood vessels in the human body – laid end to end they would circle the earth 2.5 times.

2. At over 2000 kilometers long, The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on Earth.

3. The risk of being struck by a falling meteorite for a human is one occurrence every 9,300 years.

4. A thimbleful of a neutron star would weigh over 100 million tons.

5. A typical hurricane produces the energy equivalent of 8,000 one megaton bombs.

6. Blood sucking hookworms inhabit 700 million people worldwide.

7. The highest speed ever achieved on a bicycle is 166.94 mph, by Fred Rompelberg.

8. We can produce laser light a million times brighter than sunshine.

9. 65% of those with autism are left handed.

10. The combined length of the roots of a Finnish pine tree is over 30 miles.

Distant Dwarf Planet Secrets Revealed

A chance passage in front of a distant star gives scientists a glimpse at this hidden world. Orbiting at the frozen edges of our solar system, the mysterious dwarf planet. Makemake is finally coming out of the shadows as astronomers get their best view yet of Pluto's little sibling.

Discovered in 2005, named after a Polynesian creation god—is one of five Pluto-like objects that prompted a redefining of the term "planet" and the creation of a new group of dwarf planets in 2006. 

Just like the slightly larger Pluto, this icy world circles our sun beyond Neptune. Researchers expected Makemake to also have a global atmosphere—but new evidence reveals that isn't the case.

An international team of astronomers was able for the first time to probe Makemake's physical characteristics using the European Southern Observatory's three most powerful telescopes in Chile. The researchers observed the change in light given off by a distant star as the dwarf planet passed in front of it. "These events are extremely difficult to predict and observe, but they are the only means of obtaining accurate knowledge of important properties of dwarf planets," said Jose Luis Ortiz, lead author of this new study and an astronomer at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, in Spain.

It's like trying to study a coin from a distance of 30 miles (48 kilometers) or more, Ortiz added.

Ortiz and his team knew Makemake didn't have an atmosphere when light from the background star abruptly dimmed and brightened as the chilly world drifted across its face.

"The light went off very abruptly from all the sites we observed the event so this means this world cannot have a substantial and global atmosphere like that of its sibling Pluto," Ortiz said.

If Makemake had an atmosphere, light from the star would gradually decrease and increase as the dwarf planet passed in front.

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The team's new observations add much more detail to our view of Makemake—not only limiting the possibility of an atmosphere but also determining the planet's size and surface more accurately.

"We think Makemake is a sphere flattened slightly at both poles and mostly covered with very white ices—mainly of methane," said Ortiz.

"But there are also indications for some organic material at least at some places; this material is usually very red and we think in a small percentage of the surface, the terrain is quite dark," he added.

Why Makemake lacks a global atmosphere remains a big mystery, but Ortiz does have a theory. Pluto is covered in nitrogen ice. When the sun heats this volatile material, it turns straight into a gas, creating Pluto's atmosphere.

Makemake lacks nitrogen ice on its surface, so there is nothing for the sun to heat into a gas to provide an atmosphere.

The dwarf planet has less mass, and a weaker gravitational field, than Pluto, said Ortiz. This means that over eons of time, Makemake may not have been able to hang on to its nitrogen.

Methane ice will also transform into a gas when heated. But since the dwarf planet is nearly at its furthest distance from the sun, Ortiz believes that Makemake's surface methane is still frozen. 

And even if the methane were to transform into a gas, any resulting atmosphere would cover, at most, only ten percent of the planet, said Ortiz.

Environmental Laws

There are many laws that have been created by countries worldwide and some of them are as follows:

•        Solid waste disposal act seeks measures that helps in the  improvements in the standard of living of our population by demolishing old buildings and other unwanted matter that surround the locality.

•        Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 reminds the industries about the significant opportunities to reduce or prevent pollution at the source through cost-effective changes in production, operation, and raw materials use.

•       Noise Control Act of 1972 declares that it is the policy of the United States to promote an environment free from noise that jeopardizes their health or welfare. To that end, it is the purpose of this Act to provide information to the public respecting the noise emission and noise reduction characteristics of certain items or products. 

•       Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 reminds the industries about the significant opportunities to reduce or prevent pollution at the source through cost-effective changes in production, operation, and raw materials use.

•       The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution that was passed in 1972 established the goals of eliminating releases of high amounts of toxic substances into water.

•       The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is another the principal federal law in the United States intended to ensure safe drinking water for the public by setting standards for drinking water quality. 

•        The Clean Air Act of 1970 tries to hold the growth in the amount and complexity of air pollution brought about by urbanization and other means of methods which has resulted in mounting dangers to the public health and welfare.

•       The Toxic Substances Control Act (1976), regulation of chemical substances and the safety testing of new chemicals.

Albert Einstein quoted Nature...

“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” 

― Albert Einstein

Halloween Night

Believed to be the night

   When the dead takes a flight.

Stars seem to flow
   With a fiery red glow.

Wind gives a breath
   Of both gloom and death.

Nobody dares to move,
   In this night of new moon.

Yes, is this that very night
   When fears see no light.

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I know that I should have posted this on Halloween itself, but didn't get time and I truly apologize for that. Hope you all like this poem written by me.

Global Warming Helps Diatom?

Northernmost Lake Resurrected Due to Warming. 

The world's northernmost lake, situated near the coast of Greenland, is coming back to life.

Populations of microscopic algae, called diatoms, have been absent from the lake Kaffeklubben Sø for over 2,000 years. But a new study has found that the diatoms are returning, thanks to global warming. Diatoms were once abundant in Kaffeklubben Sø, which was formed about 3,500 years ago after glacial retreats created numerous small lakes on the coastal plain. As surrounding temperatures cooled, diatom populations decreased until they vanished some 2,400 years ago.

Ice completely covered its surface, cutting off any sunlight that had previously penetrated into the water. This lack of light, along with dropping temperatures, killed off the organisms beneath the surface.

Scientists began seeing a growth in the number of diatoms in the lake between 1960 and 1970 as summer temperatures began gradually increasing—varying by less than a degree throughout the years. By 1980, the diatom population had exploded.

A layer of ice three-to-six feet thick (one-to-two meters thick) covers the lake year-round, though the rising summer temperatures—now averaging around 34 degrees Fahrenheit (1.6 degrees Celsius)—cause some of the ice to melt, especially around the shore.

Temperature wise, several degrees Celsius in northern Greenland makes a critical difference. The warmer summer temperatures and ice melt age allow enough light into the lake so that life can grow.

A large portion of the study sought to determine if the surge in diatom population was caused in part by nitrogen pollution, which can cause algae to bloom. But no evidence of pollution—nitrogen or otherwise—was found in Kaffeklubben Sø, suggesting that the current rise in diatom population is due to climate change alone. 

The current diatom population in Kaffeklubben Sø is the highest in recent memory, according to the study authors.

The Threat of Natural Disasters

Natural disasters are more frequent, and their effects more 
destructive, than at any time in recorded history. The number of people vulnerable to them has risen by 50,000 to 60,000 per decade since the early 1970s. At least half of their casualties are children.

Natural and man-made disasters connect with each other. One of the countries most affected by the catastrophic tsunami of December 26th 2004 was Sri Lanka. When the great wave swept all before it on the eastern shore of the island one of the places it struck hardest was Batticaloa, the waterside headquarters of a brigade of Sri Lankan army. To defend themselves against the Tamil Tigers, the Sri Lankan soldiers had laid a belt of landmines around the garrison. The landmines were swept away by the tsunami. There were maps of the old minefield, but not of the new one.

Again it was the children who were chiefly vulnerable. A high proportion of landmine and anti-personnel mine casualties in all conflicts are the boys whose energy and curiosity lead them into danger. Cluster munitions especially are child killers.

Well, this is a cut short version of a report on a website. But, still it is the same which I wanted to tell. Nature takes its revenge through disasters. It provides and it takes, for it does not need to ask since it has already got the power to do that. Saving the Earth, is not at all a mighty task, if you are willing to do it wholeheartedly.