Archive for category Astronomy
Moon Calendar: Lunar Phases
One of the most widely used moon calendar is the Islamic calendar or also known as the Hijri calendar. The calendar consists of 12 months, based on the typical system of the lunar year. The Islamic calendar structure has one schematic theory that is the calendar is not connected to the seasons thus separating every solar year of about 11 to 12 days. Upon the drift, the calendar will return to its position it once held during the solar year specifically every 33 recorded years of the Islamic time. This Hijri calendar was predominantly used during the ancient years for religious reasons. Due to the vast modernization and great influence of other religious calendars, it is now only a reference for Islamic followers.
Apart from the Hijri calendar, the moon calendar of other types is categorized as the lunisolar calendars. Lunisolar implies that the months are arranged systematically on a lunar rotation but the intercalary months are included into the cycle to bring them lunar arrangement into harmonization with the solar year. As there are roughly 12 synodic months or also referred to as lunations within one solar year, the interval of 354.37 days is often labeled as the lunatic year. Examples of the lunisolar calendars are the Hebrew, Chinese, Hindu and other relic ones used during the ancient times. These calendars have uneven number of months within a year considering a year cannot be perfectly divisible by an exact figure hence the seasons would eventually drift year by year.
There are also moon calendar that are regulated by the yearly natural occurrences. The events are affected by the lunar rotations and the solar cycle. One obvious example is the Banks Islands calendar that includes three months during the course when palolo worms mass on the beaches. Due to the fact that the palolos’ reproductive cycles are synchronized with the moon, these events often take place during the final period of the lunar month. In respect to every different type of calendars, they do differ in the first day of the month. For instance, the Chinese calendar fixes the day when the astronomical new moon appears to be the first day of the month. The length of the month also varies, to the extent that some religions conduct observations to fix the date.
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Cornell
A Children’s Telescope Allows Your Child To Explore The Skies
As parents we wish to inspire our children to reach their full potential and many toys or leisure time articles for children do not address this parental aspiration. What could be more inspiring than seeing the craters of the moon in close up or catching a glimpse of the galaxy Andromeda? Spending time with our children these days is usually confined to a brief moment in front of the television set and perhaps an impromptu football match in our back gardens.
Children’s telescopes come in two varieties, just as their adult versions. There are refracting telescope for children, that operate via a lens and there are telescopes for kids which use a mirror. You will find larger telescope for kids, usually designed for an older age group, are typically equipped with a mirror.
Buying for kids can benefit the whole family. There is the scope for inspiration that comes with it: the inspiration to explore the world around us, to have an interest in the natural world as well as science, to be comfortable with being outdoors and to look for new horizons, whatever they may be. As parents we only want the best for our children. Once we have bought a children’s telescope, the whole family can participate in this leisure activity. Going out to set up the kid’s telescope on a vantage point such as a hilltop for example can involve a family picnic or a barbeque. For older children their first kid’s telescope might lead to an interest in photography, catching the beauty of the moons circling Jupiter or the amazing rings around Saturn.
Once your child has learned how to set up, operate and correctly store the children’s telescope you can take it out with you on holiday – perhaps you are travelling to foreign places where it is possible to see different constellations to the ones your child can observe from your garden at home? With each view through the children’s telescope your child increases its understanding of the universe and our role in it.
Choosing the right telescope for your child is very important. Kids’ telescopes come in different sizes and weights. Depending on your child’s age, you should follow the manufacturers’ guidelines when purchasing a children’s telescope. The kid’s telescope should be light enough for ease of use. Read the rest of this entry »