New twist to history of solar system

WASHINGTON: The early days of our solar system might look quite different than previously thought, claim physicists. In its research, a team at the US department of energy's argonne national laboratoryused sensitive instruments to find a different half-life for samarium, one of the isotopes used to chart the evolution of the solar system.

"It shrinks the chronology of early events in the solar system, like the formation of planets, into a shorter time span," said team leader Michael Paul in the 'Science' journal. "It also means some of the oldest rocks on Earth would have formed even earlier - as early as 120 million years after the solar system formed, in one case of greenland rocks," he added.

According to the research, everything in our solar system formed from star dust several billion years ago. Some of this dust was formed in giant supernovae explosions which supplied most of our heavy elements. One of these is samarium-146. Samarium-146 is unstable and occasionally emits a particle, which changes the atom into a different element.

MOON AND MARS CAME CLOSER ON 9-2-12

Late on the night of Feb. 9, 2012, skywatchers who cast a glance toward the waning gibbous moon in the eastern sky will also notice the presence of a very bright, yellow-orange "star" shining with a steady glow hovering a bit above and to the moon's right.
That's no star, though. It's the plan
et Mars.

The apparent distance between
the moon and Mars will be rather large, amounting to about 9 degrees. That's roughly equal to the width of your fist held at arm's length. The sky map of Mars and the moon for this story shows how they will appear Thursday night to skywatchers with clear skies.

But even though the gap is quite large, the brightness of Mars at this time makes it stand out despite the much greater brilliance of the nearby moon. On this night, Mars will be 69 million miles (111 million kilometers) from Earth.

Mars is unmistakable once it rises in the east around 7:45 p.m. Its fiery-colored luster shines nearly twice as bright as the lighter-hued Arcturus star far to its lower left (Arcturus rises in the east-northeast a couple of hours after Mars). Mars currently shines at magnitude -0.8; excluding the moon, it is outshone in our current evening sky by only
venus, Jupiter and Sirius.

Mars will reach aphelion — its farthest point from the sun — on Feb. 15, a distance of 1.666 astronomical units, which corresponds to a distance of 154.9 million miles (249.2 million km). That doesn't bode well for getting good views of Mars at its upcoming opposition on March 3. In fact, the red planet will appear little more than half as large as it did at its close approach to Earth in August 2003.

Telescopes
show Mars' disk growing by about 13 percent during this month, though it will still appear relatively small; when it comes to opposition in just over three weeks, observers will need an eyepiece magnifying 133-power to make it appear as large as the full moon does with the naked eye.

Nonetheless, skywatchers should take this opportunity for some serious observing because Mars' apparent size is going to begin to slowly diminish by mid-March.

It is currently late spring in
Mars' northern hemisphere, equivalent to early June here on earth. In good telescopes, you might get a view of the shrinking polar cap appearing as a bright spot on the planet's disk. Wait until Mars is high in the southeast around 10:30 p.m. and start scrutinizing this most famous planet. It will reach its highest point in the sky in the south as it crosses the meridian soon after 2 a.m. local time.

Late at night, as Mars rises high, note its exact position beneath the right-triangle pattern of stars that represents the lion’s hind quarters.

The planet cato a standstill again before reversing direction and heading back toward the
me to a standstill against the background stars on Jan. 23. Since that date, it has been in retrograde motion (moving westward) and is approaching the bright bluish star Regulus. Right now, the two are separated by 21 degrees, but they'll be less than 5 degrees apart on April 15, when Mars' retrograde motion comes to an end and it comes east.

OLDEST LIVING THING DISCOVERED ON EARTH

Australian scientists sequenced the DNA of samples of the giant seagrass, Posidonia oceanic, from 40 underwater meadows in an area spanning more than 2,000 miles, from Spain to Cyprus.

The analysis, published in the journal PLos ONE, found the seagrass was between 12,000 and 200,000 years old and was most likely to be at least 100,000 years old. This is far older than the current known oldest species, a Tasmanian plant that is believed to be 43,000 years old.

They are coming from far and wide – from Singapore, Dubai and even Canada – to fulfil a promise made years ago. As over 35 students of the 1993 batch of mechanical engineering course of the Punjab Engineering College (PEC) get together here Friday, it will be a unique reunion.

The students will get together on the 11th day of the 11th month of the 11th year (of this century). Their reunion will be on 11.11.11. That is not all.

They will be meeting in Chandigarh’s Sector 11 near house number 11. The time of the reunion will be 11.11 a.m. The entire sequence of their reunion will read – 11.11.11.11.11.11.11.

‘Five or six years back the batch decided to have a reunion and planned it on this unique date. Some are coming from Singapore, Dubai and even Canada. Some students of that batch are in Chandigarh itself while others are settled in various parts of India. They are all coming,’ Anurag Aggarwal, president of the PEC old students association, told IANS.

The authorities at PEC, now re-christened as the PEC University of Technology, are gearing up to host the batch of students coming for the unique reunion. PEC is the alma mater of late NASA astronaut Kalpana Chawla.

‘The students of the 1993 batch had made a promise while passing out that they will meet after some years. We are happy they are keeping their promise of the reunion after so many years. About 35 students are actually coming,’ said K.K. Garg, PEC’s chairman of alumni relations.

In a recent e-mail communication to PEC authorities, Singapore-based Sanjeev Sharma wrote: ‘I think our story can be encouraging to others. And who knows, we might set a trend of alumni returning in such huge groups and contributing to the overall development of PEC community.’

After the batch gets together in Sector 11, they will go around their alma mater and attend some functions here. They will then be headed for the Kasauli-Solan hills

DISADVANTAGES OF PLASTER OF PARIS GANESHA

One should prepare the Ganesh idol from china clay or mud. Nowadays, idols are made from plaster of Paris so that they become light weight and more attractive. There is a difference between idols made from mud and plaster of Paris. There are references in the Purâns that Ganapati was created from grime. Hence it is appropriate to use a Ganesh idol made of mud for ritualistic worship. The pure spiritual particles (pavitraks) of Ganapati get attracted to a greater extent towards an idol made of mud than to that made of plaster of Paris.

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

Causes and Effects of Land Pollution

Know about land pollution

Pollution is a global problem. It has affected the lives of millions of people and caused several deaths and health problems. Land pollution is one of the types of pollution. Land pollution is pollution of our planet’s land surface

Domestic waste. Every single day, tons and tons of domestic waste is dumped ranging from huge pieces of rubbish such as unused refrigerator to fish bones. If all these wastes are not disposed of properly, the damage they can do to the environment and humankind can be devastating. While waste collected from homes, offices and industries may be recycled or burnt in incinerators, a large amount of rubbish is neither burnt nor recycled but is left in certain areas marked as dumping grounds. We throw away more things today and there is an increase in the quantity of solid waste. This has given rise to problems as new dumping grounds have to be found.

Industrial activities. Industrial activities also are a contributing factor to land pollution. For example, in open cast mining, huge holes are dug in the ground and these form dangerously deep mining pools. Heaps of mining waste are left behind and these waste often contain several poisonous substances that will contaminate the soil

A great many spiders do not bother with webs at all, preferring to be always on the move for the next meal. This species can be identified by scarlet red hairs covering their fangs. Their defensive posture of standing on their back legs, putting their front legs up and swaying from side to side is also a good identifier. This spider is not afraid of humans and will aggressively attack any that it feels are a threat, making it very dangerous to approach.

Two of the eight species of Brazilian wandering spider are responsible for most bites, and are found in highly populated areas of South-Eastern Brazil and the Amazon. Most bites occur because the spider wanders at night, then hides during the day in or under anything available, whether that be leaves, plants or logs on the forest floor, or shoes, clothing and boxes in people's homes. A great many spiders do not bother with webs at all, preferring to be always on the move for the next meal. This species can be identified by scarlet red hairs covering their fangs. Their defensive posture of standing on their back legs, putting their front legs up and swaying from side to side is also a good identifier. This spider is not afraid of humans and will aggressively attack any that iA great many spiders do not bother with webs at all, preferring to be always on the move for the next meal. This species can be identified by scarlet red hairs covering their fangs. Their defensive posture of standing on their back legs, putting their front legs up and swaying from side to side is also a good identifier. This spider is not afraid of humans and will aggressively attack any that it feels are a threat, making it very dangerous to approach.

Two of the eight species of Brazilian wandering spider are responsible for most bites, and are found in highly populated areas of South-Eastern Brazil and the Amazon. Most bites occur because the spider wanders at night, then hides during the day in or under anything available, whether that be leaves, plants or logs on the forest floor, or shoes, clothing and boxes in people's homest feels are a threat, making it very dangerous to approach.

Two of the eight species of Brazilian wandering spider are responsible for most bites, and are found in highly populated areas of South-Eastern Brazil and the Amazon. Most bites occur because the spider wanders at night, then hides during the day in or under anything available, whether that be leaves, plants or logs on the forest floor, or shoes, clothing and boxes in people's homes

LITTLE STAR

Twinkle twinkle little star,

How i wonder what you are?

Up about the world so high,

Like a Diamond in the sky.

Dimple shinning little Moon,

Have you got the own shine?

No no children not my own,

I have brought it from the sun!

when the sun is getting down,

we all come to your town!

Twinkle twinkle all the night,

Dimple shinning all so bright.

Child labour

Child labour refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labour. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries. Child labour was employed to varying extents through most of history, but entered public dispute with the advent of universal schooling, with changes in working conditions during the industrial revolution, and with the emergence of the concepts of workers' and children's rights.

In many developed countries, it is considered inappropriate or exploitative if a child below a certain age works. An employer is usually not permitted to hire a child below a certain minimum age. This minimum age depends on the country and the type of work involved. States ratifying the Minimum Age Convention adopted by the International Labor Organization in 1973, have adopted minimum ages varying from 14 to 16. Child labor laws in the United States set the minimum age to work in an establishment without restrictions and without parents' consent at age 16