Quite wonderful this second world - our Moon!

 

 Our Earth's Moon is ever enchanting both to humans and other living things, the animals and plants present on this Earth. Though this natural satellite of our planet is revolving around, it is said to be formed out of Earth either due to some forcible impact by asteroids or by parting away due to Earth's centrifugal force when it was rotating. It is still a wonder how the moon keeps it's same side towards the Earth in all it's rotation about itself during its revolving around the Earth in it's orbit!

The hero of the night's sky - the Moon!

Mothers introduce our Moon to their children in their infancy itself: as they feed them each day with the dinner food, they point out at the serene moon. In the night's sky the moon is the sole attracting object than anything else. Each night it presents a new shape of its phases, that too at different times! It plays such for the kids, attracting them towards it :)

Moon's play - Waxing and Waning!

In the past adamant children were fed by mothers at dinnertime showing the mesmerizing moon on the sky; children too stopped their crying and chewed in the food seeing the charm of the moon. Children seem to be indulging in these thoughts: why this moon is not stable and goes on changing day by day - waxing sometimes and waning sometimes! OK. Now, why there are these waxing and waning in Moon?

Day and night cycles on Earth

We live on Earth depending mostly on daylight. After sunset we stop our main activities, take rest and go to sleep at night. This refreshes, repairs or rejuvenates us for the next day activities. These daily activities prolong our life on Earth. How these day and night are formed in a day's time?

Merry-go-round, Earth and train are interrelated!

Science teacher at school explained why trees grown along the sides of railway track seem to 'run' back as one travels in a train. But I did not expect at that time that that explanation and my realisation will help me later in life to understand easily a mega event that happens daily! What is it?

Playing bright and dark on the sky!

Before 1960s, it was then a routine for the family members of the house to sit on the veranda or steps of the house at dusk and engage in gossips. Elders go on narrating about deeds and stories to the kids. In the midst of it they don't miss to point out at the bright stars shining on the sky. (My mom was then a guide to me apprising me about the 'Belt Stars' of the sky!). Messages about these wonders on the sky were passed on by mouths in such a way. At present also such wonders are shown to the public through daily news papers.

Wonders on Earth and the Sky!

From the sky, looking down on our Earth will be always a surprise for all of us! Winding rivers that merge with the bluish sea at their ends reflecting the images of Sun or the clouds on their surface, brownish mountains with their wavy ranges, greenish forests, cumulus clouds floating just below our level like a sea of clouds that conceal earth’s surface, dazzling large water bodies such as reservoirs, trains moving like caterpillars in the cities – all these passing slowly backwards are wonders provoking excitement in us as we watch them with awe on traveling in a Jet plane over the skies here in India!

From the Earth, looking up on the sky also brings wonder in our eyes! On 5^th December 2008, there was a wonder on the evening sky: conjunction of the crescent Moon with the bright Venus and the Jupiter planets that resembled the present day Smiley, a smiling face having these planets as eyes and the crescent moon as its mouth! On 31^st December 2008, again there was a conjunction of the crescent Moon with Venus that had moved out of the previous place of conjunction leaving the Jupiter far behind it!

As we have seen many wonders to move behind us one by one in the Golden Year, 2008, let us all see up to the sky and pray to the Almighty to make this year, 2009 also full of many such wonders!

“Wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year!”