Lunistices Though the sky is filled with immeasurable objects – galaxies, stars, asteroids, Uranus – two of them dominate our perspectives: the Sun and the Moon. Most celestial bodies feature tangible but often imperceptible cycles, thanks to Earth’s rotation, but our star and our satellite grace us with significant patterns. Our definitions of time and […]
The Anatomy of a Lunar Eclipse One of the English language’s most sublime words is syzygy. A syzygy occurs when at least three celestial bodies align in a plane. Note: the following images are not to scale! When we think of syzygies, we often think of the Earth, Sun, and Moon, but any three bodies could
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Karamazov Walk “From the house of my childhood I have brought nothing but precious memories, for there are no memories more precious than those of early childhood in one’s first home. And that is almost always so if there is any love and harmony in the family at all. Indeed, precious memories may remain even
Puppy Mountain “The puppy’s posture is like it’s drinking water, or it’s looking at some fish. It also looks like it’s quietly protecting the Yangtze River” –Guo Qingshan China’s Yangtze River is the third longest on the planet. Fittingly, the name in Mandarin means “Long River.” In the middle portion of the waterway lies a
Helmcken Falls In British Columbia’s Cariboo Mountains, a glacier feeds the Murtle River, which meanders just 11 miles before it empties into its namesake lake and then becomes the Clearwater River. In less than a dozen miles, the Murlte carved six waterfalls over the eons, perhaps none more spectacular than Helmcken Falls. This picturesque location is
Candle Ice Thanks to its molecular makeup, water forms a hexagonal, crystalline structure when it becomes ice. Since ice is less dense than water, it floats. Not only is this great for drinks, but it also keeps large bodies from freezing from the bottom up. This attribute allows for a rather obvious but perhaps unpondered
Ice Spikes If You love dessert, specifically ice cream You want to control your caloric or macro-nutrient intake You like saving money in the long-run You want to revolutionize your life do yourself a favor and consider purchasing a Ninja Creami. This device can turn nearly any ingredient into ice cream, frozen yogurt, slushies, Italian ice,
Danish Protest Pigs It’s no revelation that the history of Europe is complex. The countries we see today are just the latest configuration of a jigsaw puzzle that has altered shapes and piece totals over thousands of years. If anything, today’s map is relatively uncomplicated compared to centuries past, before nation-states existed and tiny kingdoms,
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The Red Beach of Hormuz Perhaps the most recognizable macro features of a map of the Middle East are the arms of water surrounding the Arabian Peninsula. Toward Africa, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden are separated by the Bab al-Mandab Strait. On the eastern side are the Persian Gulf and the Gulf
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Taranaki Maunga, the Mountain Person New Zealand is a nation of two main islands, north and south. Though the South Island contains the country’s 18 tallest peaks, the North Island packs a few skyscrapers. Top in the north is Ruapehu, which rises 9,177 feet (2,797 meters) above sea level. The second-highest peak on the North
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