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?

Hide & seek by this wandering star - the Venus!

In my childhood I wondered and was also attracted towards many things. One such thing is today's topic. Before sun rise, I found often a brighter and bigger star shining on the clear dark sky. It enchanted me much. On some other days I found it missing. I wondered again where it had gone. On inquiring elders, I was informed about its name - Morning Star ('Vidi velli' in Tamil). But I could not get its whereabouts.

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!”

Venus - Our Sister Planet!

First, I wish you all and the kids a Happy Halloween Day! And wish the kids have nice ‘Treats by Tricking’ in this day!

Planets in the Solar system including our Earth rotate themselves in the direction from the East to the West. But with one exception – one of our planets rotates in the reverse direction! It is the planet Venus! On the land of Venus, our Sun rises in the West and sets in the East!

As this planet is close to the Sun as Mercury, it is seen near the Sun always – as ‘Morning Star’ just before sunrise or as ‘Evening Star’ just after sunset!

As it is closely similar in size and composition to that of our Earth, it is called Earth’s sister planet.

It has been named after the Roman Goddess of Love. It is known as ‘Sukra’ in Indian Astrology. It is stated in astrology that Sukra provides one with wealth!

Puzzling scientists still, the Venus is a wonder planet indeed!