| Every animal species has a natural habitat that suits the conditions it was specialized to live in. Some particular species are so specialized that their habitats are limited to only one place in the world, making them extremely rare and a precious hyper-endemic species. If you spot one of these species, you must definitely consider yourself lucky, especially since some of them boast the most bizarre characteristics you’ve ever seen or heard of. | |||||||
| 1. Thorny Devil Lizard – Australia
The thorny devil lizard, Moloch horridus, looks dangerous due to the fearsome spikes on its skin, however in reality it is generally harmless. This species has one odd specialization that enables it to drink water through its skin, not by absorption but rather through capillary action. Therefore, if this animal puts its foot in a water puddle, a network of channels in the scales act as tiny straws and carry the water to its mouth. Source: Steve Shattuck 2. Wilson’s bird-of-paradise – Indonesia
Wilson’s bird of paradise, Cicinnurus respublica, is found on only two tiny islands, Waigeo and Batanta, in the remote collection of islands called Raja Ampat, off West Papua, an Indonesian province of New Guinea. Although it’s hard to find, it’s easy to recognize with its plumage being so vibrant: A turquoise crown, emerald green breast and tail feathers curled round like Captain Hook’s moustache. This animal has a particular way of preparing for a mating display – it creates an arena by obsessively clearing away loose leaves and twigs. Source: Serhanoksay, Wikimedia Commons 3. Brookesia micra – Madagascar
Brookesia micra is the smallest chameleon in the world, measuring only up to 1.2 inches long when fully grown. They are only found on a tiny rock islet called Nosy, off the northern tip of Madagascar, which was only recently discovered. Here, they live in the cracks of the island’s rocky terrain. They have a limited range of movement, which is said to be explained by their extreme dwarfism.
4. Texas blind salamander – Texas
As the name suggests, Texas blind salamander, Eurycea rathbuni, lacks vision because of an unusual absence of eyes. It also hasn’t got any skin pigment, and it’s got frond-like external gills coming out of its neck. Most of the time, you’ll find it roaming in the water-filled caves connected to the Edwards Aquifer in Hays County, Texas, where it lives in absolute darkness. Despite its limited vision, this species makes a very skilled predator of snails and shrimp, which it catches by sensing pressure waves in the water. Source: Brian Gratwicke, Flickr 5. Papuan jellyfish – Palau
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space
Believe it or Not…No Casualties in these Air crashes….
When one thinks of airplane disasters, one relates them to tragedy, loss and devastation.
However, German photographer Dietmar Eckell finds ‘miracles in aviation history’ at the abandoned sites of wrecks that have resulted in no casualties.
‘Happy End’ is a photo-project of 15 airplanes that had forced landings but all on board survived and were rescued from the remote locations. The planes remain abandoned in nowhere for the last 10-70 years.
He writes, “It’s part of my long term project ‘restwert’ (German for residual value) to document abandoned objects with fascinating backgrounds like cold war relicts, Olympic sites, flooded churches, railroad tracks, never finished nuclear reactors, overgrown adventure parks etc.”
Douglas Skytrain C-47, Yukon, Canada
In February 1950, a Douglas Skytrain C-47 plane accidentally crashed into the ridge and 10 passengers on board miraculously survived in the cold weather. Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
The pilot made it down to a nearby highway to get help rescuing the other nine survivors.Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
The photographer spent two hours at the crash site taking various shots of the wreckage. Speaking of his experience, Eckell says, “I still cannot imagine how they survived in February 1950 with temperatures in the -40s up there.” Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
Carvair, Alaska
In June 1997, Carvair took off from Venetie, United States of America. The aircraft was climbing when the engine on the left wing began to run rough. Soon, a fire broke out, causing the engine to fall off the wing. The captain was forced to carry out an emergency landing on a sand and gravel bar in the ChandalarRiver. Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
Fairchild C-82, Alaska
A twin-engine Fairchild C-82, carrying cargo, experienced troubled and had to crash-land in January 1965 in the Tundra forest, cutting down many trees. The three crewmembers survived by building a huge fire from the surrounding pines, which proved their salvation when a spotter plane saw its glow 3 days later. Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
Cessna T-50, Alaska
This Cessna T-50, also known as the “Bamboo Bomber,” crash-landed in Alaska after it ran out of fuel in the 1960s. Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
Cessna 310, Australia
A Cessna 310 in repose in Western Australia after it crashed in 1993. Eckell captured this image after a 1,500 kilometre drive. Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
B-24 Liberator, Papua New Guinea
This massive B-24 bomber crash-landed in Papua New Guinea swamp in October 1943 after running low on fuel after a bombing mission. The crew successfully parachuted to the ground, and the two pilots were unhurt in the crash landing.
Douglas C-53, Australia
The Douglas Skytrooper was forced to land in February 1942 after the pilot missed the airport and ran out of fuel. This cluttered transport wreck is the last shoot — to date — of the Happy End project. Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
Grumman hu-16 Albatross, Mexico
This Grumman Albatross crashed on a beach about 70 km south of Puerto Escondido, Mexico. The locals told Eckell that the plane was used by drug traffickers. Eckell discovered the wreck in 2010, six years after the crash. The imminent storm gave him precisely the backdrop he wanted. Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
Avro Shackleton, Western Sahara
Two engines of this plane suddenly failed, sending it down to the desert sand in 1994. Surviving this crash in such an inhospitable environment was an astonishing feat for the 19 passengers and crew. He remembers his attempt to reach the plane as dangerous. “After a 30-hour car ride from Morocco to Mauritania and a 26-hour ride on an ore train, I got to a mining town and there had to convince the local Polisario leader to take me over the border to the Western Sahara. I had the plane’s GPS location and we drove cross country to avoid getting caught by the Mauritanian military. Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
Curtiss C-46 Commando, Manitoba, Canada
This Curtiss Commando made a heroic emergency landing in the hills of Manitoba, Canada. All 3 people aboard survived. The Commando was often used as transport aircraft in World War II; command crews nicknamed the C-46 the ‘flying coffin’. Eckell explains that although this wreck is relatively easy to hike to, it involves an extra threat: It’s in polar bear country. Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
Douglas C-47 R4D-8, Iceland
In November 1973, this US Navy transport plane crashed after encountering severe weather conditions and icing near Vik, Iceland. All 7 passengers and crew members made it to safety.Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
Vought F4U Corsair, Hawaii
A Vought F4U Corsair ended up in Hawaii waters a few years after World War II. cal diving school operators helped Eckell to find the small fighter plane and told him the pilot escaped.Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
Bristol 170, Canada
This Bristol Type 170 broke through the frozen lake on landing, fracturing the wing, and has been there ever since 1956. Eckell tracked it down with the GPS coordinates and persuaded a local Cessna pilot to fly him out to it. Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
Check out Dietmar Eckell’s Facebook page
Source….www.rediff.com
Natarajan
Isro to put US satellite in space for the first time….
Many may find it a crowning glory, but Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) scientists think it’s just an acknowledgement long due. The US, which imposed sanctions on India, will take India’s help to launch one of its satellites soon.
Isro has a track record of launching satellites for 19 countries including space-faring nations, but this is the first time the US would be using an Indian vehicle, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, to put one of its satellite in orbit.
“US will be the 20th country to sign up for a commercial launch by India,” said Isro chairman A S Kiran Kumar, on the sidelines of the 5th convocation of AMET University. “It’s the cost-effective technology we have.”
India has so far launched 45 satellites for 19 nations. Kiran Kumar said another 28 foreign satellites will be launched in the next two years. “The need of the hour is to increase our capacity,” he said.
ISRO, at present, is gearing up for the launch of GSLV-Mark-II, probably around August 27. “The 2.1-tonne capacity GSLV-Mark-II will be carrying a communication satellite,” he said. “By March 2016, we will launch seven satellites.”
Isro, meanwhile, has put to long-duration test its indigenously developed cryogenic engine for GSLV-Mark-III, which can carry satellites weighing up to four tonnes. “We will launch it by December 2016,” Kumar said. India’s big missions including the proposed manned mission rests on the shoulders of GSLV-MIII.
Having successfully launched a Mars mission, India is planning a mission to Venus. Isro is also on the lookout for a launch pad outside Sriharikota, in Kulasekharapattinam in southern Tamil Nadu.
Source….www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Natarajan
A Pilot”s Story…Flying High , @ Home and @ Work…
Credit: Justin Jinn/Panos)
Priti Kohal’s love of flying began when she was a 16-year-old living in Mumbai. But her passion for planes started sitting in the driving seat on the open road, not wide-open skies.
As a teenager, Kohal, now age 45, would take her parents’ car, unbeknownst to them, for joy rides around town. She loved being in control of the vehicle and the freedom that came with it.
“I just loved the thought of getting away,” she said.
When Kohal turned 18 and officially received her driver’s license, her passion for driving intensified. “It was great to be able to do things on my own without having anyone ferry me around,” she said. “After the car I moved on to faster modes of transportation.”
Kohal earned her pilot’s license in 1994 and since 1996 has been a pilot with India’s Jet Airways — she’s one of 600 female pilots in India — and she’s been a captain since 2009.
There are only 4,000 female pilots worldwide, versus 130,000 male pilots, according to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots. Kohal’s doctor mother and engineer father taught her and her sister that they weren’t any different from men and could do anything they wanted as long as they had fun doing it.
This family support has helped her excel, but many women entering traditionally male-dominated professions in India encounter more obstacles. Kohal says she hasn’t run into sexism, but other females in the airline industry have and continue to face hurdles simply because of their gender. In 2009, Air India fired ten female flight attendants for being overweight. GoAir, a budget airline in India, said in 2013 that it only wanted to hire small, young females to be flight attendants in order to save money on fuel by keeping the weight of the plane down. And there are stories in the media and social media of notes being left on flights, or complaints being made, by passengers upset that they’ve flown with a female pilot.
However, Kohal never thought twice about being in the airline business. “I never considered being a pilot different from being an engineer or a teacher,” she said. “There were no limits for what we could do.”
Short flights, long days
When her children were younger, Kohal only flew one- or two-hour flights. She woke at 03:30, fed her baby, put him back to sleep and then headed off to the airport by 04:00. She’d work her flight and usually be home by 10:30, having the remainder of the day to spend with her children. By sticking with this system and meticulous planning, Kohal said she has never missed an important milestone or a school meeting for her children, now ages 14 and 11.
When her children were young, Kohal flew early in the morning and was home by 10:30. (Credit: Courtesy of Priti Kohal)
Contrary to how it might appear, being a pilot is a “very good career” for managing home and work life, Kohal believes, but it takes strategic planning. She decided to choose her flights so that she could spend time at home with her children. As long as someone doesn’t mind getting up in the wee hours of the morning, they can be home for long stretches of the day, she said.
As Kohal’s children have gotten older, her schedule has changed a bit, too. She’ll now captain long-haul flights, but tries to be away from home no more than four nights each month. The sacrifice: Kohal doesn’t get to see her husband, who is also a pilot and captains Boeing 777 planes for Air India, as often as she used to. He’s typically away for four days at a time, and then he’s off for six days. When he’s home, she spends her evenings with him — “all six nights are booked for my husband,” she said — but when he’s away, she can do as she pleases.
“It’s freedom for me,” when he’s in the air, she said, with a laugh. “I can do what I want for those 16 hours and he can’t reach me.”
When both are away, Kohal’s parents, who are retired, look after the children. Indian families tend to have strong support systems, she said. When grandkids are young, grandparents are happy to help, but when they are older there’s an expectation that children, in turn, will help their ageing parents.
Having that (wider family) support is important because it eases up an entire part of your life that you would have to constantly monitor,” she said.
Priti Kohal balances her flight schedule with that of her husband, who is also a pilot. He travels more than she does. (Credit: Courtesy of Priti Kohal)
A disciplined approach
These days, Kohal’s typical routine goes something like this: She wakes up at 05:30 and gets ready for work, arriving at 09:00 where she receives her flying assignment. She typically flies for a few hours a day — unless she’s taking an overnight flight. That means she can be home by 14:30. After an hour nap, Kohal is wide-awake to greet her kids when they get home from school.
The family has dinner by 20:30 and bedtime for the children is at 21:30, without exception.
“One aspect of being a pilot is that rules can’t be broken,” Kohal said. “You can’t mess up when you have to be stabilised at 1,000 feet. So I have some hard rules at home. They have it tougher than I did when I was younger.”
She’s usually in bed by midnight, but when her husband is away and she doesn’t have to fly the next day, Kohal will stay up reading until 02:30. “That’s my time,” she said.
Hard work pays off
Kohal attributes her success to one thing: hard work. For instance, only 0.1% of people pass the pilot’s entrance exam — and it’s given only twice a year. She was the only one to pass in her class.
Kohal has accomplished nearly everything she’s set out to do, but looking at her situation, she doesn’t think that she’s done anything extraordinary. Many educated women in India have successful careers, she added.
“Anything you set your mind to do, you just do it,” she said. “Tomorrow it will be something else.”
Source….Bryan Borzykowski in www. bbc.com
Natarajan
” அசையாத சிவனும் அசைவது அம்பாளால் …
அசையாத சிவனும் அம்பாளால்தான் அசைந்து காரியத்தில் ஈடுபடுகிறார் என்று வருவதை சயன்ஸ்படி கொஞ்சம் விளக்கிப் பார்த்தால், ‘மாட்டர்’ என்று பதார்த்தத்தைச் சொல்கிறார்கள். அதன் சுபாவம் ‘இனர்ஷியா’ என்கிறார்கள் அதாவது சலனமில்லாமல் போட்டது போட்டபடிக் கிடப்பதுதான் என்கிறார்கள். அதனால் ‘இனர்ட் மாட்டர்’ என்றே சேர்த்துச் சொல்வதாக இருக்கிறது.
ஆனாலும் அப்படிப்பட்ட `இனர்ட் மாட்டர்` பல தினுசில் சலனப்பட்டு, பல தினுசில் ஒன்று சேர்ந்துதான் பிரபஞ்சம் உண்டாயிருக்கிறதென்று நன்றாகத் தெரிகிறது. அப்படியானால் ஏதோ ஒரு பவர், சக்திதானே சலனமில்லாத `மாட்டரை` சலனிக்கும்படியாகப் பண்ணியிருப்பதாக ஆகிறது? அந்தச் சலனமில்லாத `மாட்டரை` தான் சிவன் என்றும் அதைச் சலனிக்க வைக்கும் சக்தியைப் பாரசக்தி, அம்பாள் என்றும் சொல்லியிருக்கிறது.
நிச்சலனமான சிவனும், கிரக நட்சத்திரங்களில் ஆரம்பித்து அணுவுக்குள் உள்ள பரமாணுவரை எல்லாம் சதா சலனித்துக்கொண்டே இருப்பதற்குக் காரணமான சக்தியும் பிரிக்க முடியாமல் ஒன்று சேர்ந்திருக்கிறார்கள் என்பதை அவர் ‘மாட்டர்’, அவள் ‘எனெர்ஜி’ என்று சயன்ஸ் அடிப்படையில் விளக்கிச் சொல்லலாம். இணைபிரியாத இரண்டு பேர் என்றாலும் அவர்கள் அடிப்படையில் இரண்டுகூட இல்லை, ஒன்றேதான் என்பதையும் அடாமிக் சயன்சில் ‘மாட்ட’ரே ‘எனர்ஜி’யாவதாகச் சொல்லியிருப்பதைக் காட்டி உறுதிப்படுத்தலாம்.
ஆனால் ஒரு வித்தியாசம், பெரிய வித்தியாசம். என்னவென்றால், அங்கே ஒரு மாட்டரை எனர்ஜி ரூபமாக்கிய அப்புறம் மாட்டர் இல்லாமல் போய்விடும். இங்கேயோ சிவனும் சக்தியும் எப்போதுமே சாச்வத சத்யமாக இருக்கிறார்கள். சக்தியோக எனெர்ஜி வெளிப்பட்டுக்கொண்டே இருக்கும்போதும் சிவ `மாட்டர்` அழியாமலே இருந்துகொண்டிருக்கிறது.
ஆனால் ஒரு வித்தியாசம், பெரிய வித்தியாசம். என்னவென்றால், அங்கே ஒரு மாட்டரை எனர்ஜி ரூபமாக்கிய அப்புறம் மாட்டர் இல்லாமல் போய்விடும். இங்கேயோ சிவனும் சக்தியும் எப்போதுமே சாச்வத சத்யமாக இருக்கிறார்கள். சக்தியோக எனெர்ஜி வெளிப்பட்டுக்கொண்டே இருக்கும்போதும் சிவ `மாட்டர்` அழியாமலே இருந்துகொண்டிருக்கிறது.
ஏனென்றால் இங்கே ‘மாட்டர்’ என்பதே ஜடமாக இல்லாமல் உயிரான ‘ஸ்பிரிட்’டாக இருக்கிறது. அழியாத, அழிக்க முடியாத ஆத்ம தத்துவமாக இருக்கிறது. சைதன்ய பூர்ணமாக இருக்கிறது. ஜடத்திலேயே ஆரம்பித்து ஜடத்திலேயே முடிந்துவிடும் சயன்ஸ்படியான மாட்டருங்கூட இந்த சைதன்யத்திலிருந்து வந்ததுதான். இப்போது மெள்ள மெள்ள ஐன்ஸ்டீன், சர் ஆலிவர் லாட்ஜ், எடிங்டன் போன்ற பெரிய சயன்ஸ் மேதைகள் அந்த சைதன்ய ஆதாரத்தின் பக்கமாக சயன்சைத் திருப்பி விட்டிருக்கிறார்கள்.
ஆனாலும் அதை லாபரடரியில் எக்ஸ்பெரிமென்ட் பண்ணி நிரூபிக்கவோ, அநுபவிக்கவோ முடியாது. மதாநுஷ்டானத்தினால்தான் அதன் நிரூபணமும், ப்ரத்யக்ஷ அநுபவமும் கிடைக்கும். சயன்சுக்கும் மதத்துக்கும் மாறுபாடுகள் இருந்தாலும் ஒப்புவமை காட்டும்படியும் அநேகம் இருக்கின்றன. ஐன்ஸ்டீனின் ரிலேடிவிடி தியரியிலிருந்து நடந்துள்ள அணு ஆராய்ச்சிக் கண்டுபிடிப்புகள் மத சாஸ்திரங்கள், குறிப்பாக அத்வைத வேதாந்தமும் சாக்த நூல்களும் சொல்வதற்குக் கிட்ட வந்துகொண்டிருக்கின்றன.
லோகத்தில் ‘டைம்’, ‘ஸ்பேஸ்’ என்பவை உள்பட எதுவுமே தன்னுடைய ஆதாரத்திலேயே சத்தியமாக இருப்பதல்ல, ‘ரிலேடிவா’க இன்னொன்றைச் சார்ந்தே எல்லாமும் ஒரு ஓட்டத்தில் ஓடுகிறபோது அந்த ஓட்டத்தின் தொடர்ச்சியாலேயே அததுவும் சத்தியம் மாதிரி நடைமுறைக்கு இருக்கிறது என்பதுதான் நான் புரிந்துகொண்ட மட்டும் ‘ரிலேடிவிடி தியரி’.
பிரம்மம்தான் ஒன்றேயான ஆதார சத்தியம். அதைச் சார்ந்திருப்பதாலேயே சத்தியம் மாதிரித் தோற்றம் அளிக்கும்படியாக மாயை கல்பித்துக் காட்டுகிறதுதான் இந்த லோகம் பூராவும் என்று அத்வைதம் சொல்கிறது. அந்த மாயையாகவே அம்பாளை சாக்த சாஸ்திரங்களும் குறிப்பிடுவதாகச் சொன்னேன். மாயா தத்துவம்தான் ‘ரிலேடிவிடி’ என்று கொள்வதற்கு நிறைய இடமிருக்கிறதல்லவா? இந்த ரிலேடிவிடிக்கு ஆதாரமான ‘அப்சொல்யூட்’ என்னவென்று சயன்ஸ் கண்டுபிடிக்கவில்லை.
மத நூல்களும் தத்துவ சாஸ்திரங்களும் அதைத்தான் பிரம்மம், சிவன் என்கின்றன. மதம் ‘ரிலிஜன்’, தத்துவ சாஸ்திரம் ‘ஃபிலாஸஃபி’ என்று ஒரு பாகுபாடு சொல்லப்பட்டாலும் நம்முடைய மதத்தில் இந்த இரண்டும் பிரிக்க முடியாமல் சிவ-சக்திகள் மாதிரி ஒன்று சேர்ந்துதான் இருக்கின்றன. புத்தகத்தில் சொன்னது மட்டுமில்லை, அந்த அப்சொல்யூட்டை மகான்கள் ஆத்ம ஸ்வரூபமாக அநுபவித்தும் இருக்கிறார்கள். அதுதான் உயிருக்கெல்லாம் உயிராக இருக்கும் ஒரே உண்மையான உயிர்.
அதாவது ஒன்று மத்தியிலிருப்பது, மற்றது சுற்றியிருப்பது என்பதற்குப் பதில் இரண்டும் பேர் பாதி என்று சொல்லியிருக்கிறது. அதுதான் அர்த்தநாரீச்வர ஸ்வரூபம் – வலது பக்கம் பாசிடிவ் ஸ்வாமி, இடது பக்கம் நெகடிவ் அம்பாள். இப்படிச் சொல்வதிலும் புஷ்டியான காரணம் தெரிகிறது. என்னவென்றால், இடது பக்கம்தானே இருதயம் இருக்கிறது?
தேகம் பூராவுக்குமே அதுதான் சக்தி தருகிறது. ஒரு தேகத்தில் இடது பக்கத்தை விடவும் வலது பக்கம்தான் ஜாஸ்தி பலத்தோடு, ‘பவ’ரோடு காரியத்துக்கு உதவுவதாக இருக்கிறது. வாகாக வேலை செய்ய வலது பக்கம்தான் உகந்ததாக இருக்கிறது. வலது கையால் செய்ய முடிகிற மாதிரி இடதால் முடியாது.
வலது பக்க வியாபாரத்தை மூளையின் இடது பக்கம் கன்ட்ரோல் பண்ணுகிறது என்றும், இடது பக்க வியாபாரத்தை மூளையின் வலது பக்கம் கன்ட்ரோல் பண்ணுகிறது என்றும் தெரிகிறது. அதாவது ஜாஸ்தி சக்திகரமாகக் காரியம் பண்ணும் நம்முடைய சரீரத்தின் சிவ சைடுக்கு அப்படி சக்தி கொடுத்து கன்ட்ரோல் பண்ணுவது மூளையின் சக்தி சைடே என்றாகிறது.
Source…www.tamil.thehindu.com
Natarajan
Image of the Day…. Blue Moon….
Blue Moon coming! As seen in the photo above by Patrick Casaert – whose community on Facebook is called La Lune The Moon – the moon has been waxing to full this week. Patrick used a blue filter to create his moon photo, and if you see the moon in tonight’s sky, you’ll see it’s nearly full … but not at all blue in color. Yet, as the second full moon for the month of July, many will call it a Blue Moon.
Calendars will say that this month’s second full moon falls tomorrow – on July 31, 2015. However, for much of North America, the moon will turn precisely full before sunrise on July 31.
Thus many will call tomorrow’s full moon – and probably tonight’s nearly full moon as well – a Blue Moon.
Will either of these moons be blue in color? Nope. The name Blue Moon has nothing to do with the color blue. It’s just a name for the second full moon in a calendar month.
If the moon won’t be blue in color tonight or tomorrow night, what will it look like? It’ll look like any ordinary full moon.
Source….www.earhskynews.org
natarajan
Image of the Day….Solar Halo Over Sweden…
Solar halo over Sweden
Halos are a sign of high thin cirrus clouds drifting high above our heads. The clouds contain millions of tiny ice crystals, which both refract (split) and also reflect sunlight.
Göran Strand in Sweden posted this photo of a wonderful solar halo to EarthSky Facebook this week (July 26, 2015). He wrote:
Yesterday while I was documenting the ongoing Storsjöyran [a music festival], I saw a faint solar halo that was slowly growing in strength. This statue placed in Badhusparken, Östersund, and is called the Father and Son.
source…..www.earthskynews.org
Natarajan
” How to Overcome Your Fear of Flying ….” ?
A full 40% of Americans don’t like to fly.
It makes sense if you think about it: hurtling across time zones in a metal tube at the height of Everest isn’t something our ancestors evolved to face. We get by on white knuckles, a Xanax, or a pre-flight pit stop at the terminal bar.
But about 3% of us are grounded, refusing to fly at all, even if it means being left out of family vacations, spending multiple days on interstate freeways, or never seeing Paris in the springtime.
Fear of flying can grow from many different roots—particularly harrowing turbulence, knowing someone who was in a plane crash, learning to be afraid as a child from a fearful parent, or media images of crashes, hijackings, or terrorist attacks.
So what to do to keep fear at bay? Here are 5 tips to deliver you safely and sanely from jetway to jetway:
Learn About the Physics of Flight
Learning accurate information is the quickest way to calm your fears. There are a number of extensively detailed and very reassuring websites available explaining how airplanes work, so I won’t reinvent the wheel—an online search will land you on an explanation that works for you. But here’s a quick primer on some common fears:
- Falling out of the sky, The plane cannot fall out of the sky any more than you could fall out of a swimming pool of water. Air has mass, just like water. It is also continuous and secure, just like water. Indeed, you’ve never walked down the street into an “air pocket” where you suddenly couldn’t breathe. Such it is at higher altitudes as well. Therefore, picture the airplane “swimming” through supportive, continuous air, much as you would swim through water.
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- Engines failing, First of all, planes are well-maintained and checked regularly—much more often than you would ever think of checking your car engine. Second, there are multiple engines, and even if one goes out, pilots can often re-start it, just as you might restart a car engine. Third, in a worst-case scenario, even a commercial jetliner can glide—inelegantly, but glide nonetheless—to an emergency landing.
- Turbulence, Turbulence isn’t a problem for planes any more than bumps in the road are a problem for cars. Think of the last time you drifted onto the rumble strip on the highway—those bumps are no more than tiny striations in the concrete, but they cause a major vibration that says “wake up!” Likewise, little ups and downs in the air can have a deceptively big effect. Turbulence is so routine that the plane can often handle it on autopilot, much like cruise control is sufficient for normal bumps in a road. It feels scary, but the biggest danger with routine turbulence is getting coffee on your laptop.
- Some crazy guy trying to open the door during flight. Even if the doors weren’t locked (which they are), opening the door during flight is physically impossible due to the difference in air pressure inside versus outside the plane. So let the crazy guy go to town on that door. At least he’s not telling you about his conspiracy theories while you’re trying to sleep.
Tip #2: Keep the Movie Rolling
You may have a preconceived flight tragedy movie in your mind that plays over and over when you have to get on a plane. I’d be willing to bet it ends at the most terrifying moment.
For example, let’s say you’re frightened of the plane crashing into the ocean. You picture it happening and freeze frame at the most horrifying image. Instead, keep the movie going until you’re safe. Picture the flight attendants deploying those yellow slides, then sliding into a raft. Then picture a helicopter or rescue boat arriving, heading to land or a military carrier, and getting checked out at a hospital, if necessary. And then? And then you’d go home.
Keep your imaginary movie rolling until you picture yourself safe. You’ll feel better knowing that even in the unlikely event your fear comes true, it doesn’t end with the scariest moment.
Tip #3: Don’t Confuse Possibility with Probability
Images of US Air 1549 floating in the Hudson River, the Asiana crash at SFO, and of course, September 11, are rightfully seared into our collective memory. However, the detailed media coverage of these tragedies makes us perceive that crashes, hijackings, or terrorist attacks are common and likely to happen.
This is called overestimation of threat, a common misstep of the mind. We misjudge the potential for catastrophic consequences based on highly visible, but extremely rare, outliers. We confuse possibility with probability—a crash is possible, but it’s definitely not probable. Crashes make the news precisely because they are rare.
Specifically, in 2012, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the trade association for the airline industry, recorded just 1 accident per 5 million flights on western-built jets. Even if you’re on that one-in-5-million flight, of all passengers involved in U.S. plane crashes from 1983-2000, a full 96% survived.
Tip #4: Tune into What’s Going on Around You
Take a page from the mindfulness book to root yourself in the safe, present moment. Keep yourself from spiraling into imaginary worst-case scenarios by looking around you and describing what you see. Look at each person who files past you down the aisle, describing them without judgment. Describe the interior of the plane. Look internally as well—scan sensations but don’t interpret them.
“My heart is beating quickly” is fine but stop short of “and that means I’m going to have a heart attack.” Absorb yourself in what is, and you’ll have less room for hypothetical what ifs.
Tip #5: Use Good Old-Fashioned Distraction
Virgin America today announces its new summer menu and partnership with Dean & DeLuca.
To get your mind off a racing heart or catastrophic imaginary thoughts, tune outward, not inward. Soothing music works for some, but for others it reminds you that you’re trying not to be nervous. So rather than trying to soothe yourself, which can feel too “therapeutic,” engage yourself with a riveting movie, captivating book, or addictive app.
Plan ahead and bring something you’ve really been wanting to read or watch so you’re not limited to in-flight entertainment or whatever’s in the airport bookshop. And although the research says distraction doesn’t help you get used to flying; I say do whatever gets you through to baggage claim. Remember, zero judgment.
Test out these 5 tips, and after a while, you might even like to fly. As for liking airline food or baggage fees, well, we’ll leave that to the crazy guy trying to jimmy the door.
Read the original article on Quick and Dirty Tips. Copyright 2015. Follow Quick and Dirty Tips on Twitter.
Source… ELLEN HENDRIKSEN, QUICK AND DIRTY TIPS in www.businessinsider.com
Natarajan
Image of the Day… First Ever Look at Pluto’s Night Side…
First-ever look at Pluto’s night side
New image just released! A stunning snapshot of Pluto’s night side. The halo is from sunlight shining through the dwarf planet’s hazy atmosphere.
As New Horizons sped away from Pluto, it looked back toward Pluto and the sun and captured this image of the dwarf planet and its hazy atmosphere. Image taken by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft around midnight EDT on July 15, when the craft was about 1.25 million miles (2 million kilometers) past Pluto. Via NASA / JHU-APL / SWRI. New Horizons spacecraft.
Here’s something no one on Earth has ever seen before. NASA released this new image today (July 24, 2015). It’s the night side of Pluto with the hazy atmosphere scattering light from a distant sun.
This is the first view of Pluto, a Kuiper Belt Object and a dwarf planet seen from the night side.
The diagram inset below shows what was revealed. A layer of hydrocarbon haze stretches up to 80 miles ( into the atmosphere and is believed to be responsible for the planet’s reddish color.
Image via NASA / JHU-APL / SWRI. New Horizons spacecraft
Bottom line: New image just released! A stunning snapshot of Pluto’s night side. The halo is from sunlight shining through the dwarf planet’s hazy atmosphere.
Source…..www.earthsky.org
Natarajan
These deformed Daisies from Fukushima are blowing up the Internet….
A small patch of deformed daisies near the 2011 Fukushima disaster site have attracted global intrigue, after Japanese Twitter user @san_kaido posted a photo of the plant mutation in May
The discovery of the freaky-looking flowers comes four years after the Fukushima Daichii Nuclear Power Plant meltdown in 2011. The plant went into a meltdown after a magnitude-9 earthquake shook northeastern Japan, unleashing a savage tsunami.
The daisies aren’t the first thing in Japan which people think may have been affected by the nuclear power plant’s failure. Mutant rabbits and twisted vegetables have all had their moment in the social media spotlight.
What has been confirmed, in July 2013, was that about 300 tons of radioactive water continues to leak from the plant every day into the Pacific Ocean. Read more about the serious biological effects on the ecosystem here.
Read the original article on Business Insider Australia. Copyright 2015.
Source::::www.businessinsider.com
Natarajan
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