Education

Image of the Day….Astronauts at work on International Space Station…

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Astronauts working on the International Space Station.

This week, the six-member Expedition 43 crew worked a variety of onboard maintenance tasks, ensuring crew safety and the upkeep of the International Space Station’s hardware. In this image, NASA astronauts Scott Kelly (left) and Terry Virts (right) work on a Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) inside the station’s Japanese Experiment Module. The CDRA system works to remove carbon dioxide from the cabin air, allowing for an environmentally safe crew cabin.

The crew also is packing the SpaceX Dragon space freighter readying the vehicle for its return home and splashdown May 21.

Tags:  Expedition 43, Image of the Day, International Space Station, One-Year Crew

Source……www.nasa.gov

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Image of the Day…Milky Way …

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Milky Way against a bright moon

Even in bright moonlight, astrophotographer Justin Ng captures amazing shots of the Milky Way. Here’s one from May 6, during the peak of a meteor shower.

View larger. | Milky Way against a bright Moon at Mount Bromo during the peak of Eta Aquarid meteor shower, by Justin Ng of Singapore.

Justin Ng wrote to EarthSky, with this photo attached. He captured it on May 6, 2015 at 5:30 a.m. local time in East Java, Indonesia. He wrote:

Just led my first full moon astrophotography expedition to Mount Bromo, one of the active volcanoes in Indonesia. It would have been easier to unveil the Milky Way against the bright moon on our first night there, but the sky was cloudy and we could only do this on our last night, which was more challenging as the bright moon was located nearer to the Milky Way’s galactic center.

The moon and Saturn made a close approach on May 6, passing just within 2° of each other, at around 35° above horizon at 5.30am (GMT +7). It was a cold night, and alsowhen the Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaked. The large and bright waning gibbous moon, with its illumination at 97%, managed to obscure both the Eta Aquarid meteor shower and the spectacular Milky Way. Although I was able to see a few faint Eta Aquarid meteors on that night, I was unable to see the Milky Way with my unaided eye because the bright moon was so close!

Nonetheless, using the method that I have shared in this tutorial, I managed to unveil the Milky Way that’s obscured by the moon.

So it’s still possible to unveil the Milky Way against a large and bright moon! Give it a try.

Justin pointed out that the circular feature in the photo – on the lower left side – was not a real object in the sky over Mount Bromo. It’s an internal reflection from his camera, known as a lens flare, often seen (although usually not so beautifully!) in photos of bright objects like the sun and moon.

Thank you, Justin!

Bottom line: Milky Way in bright moonlight, by Justin Ng of Singapore.

Source…..www.earthsky.org

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Image of the Day…” Sea Fog …” !!!

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Sea haar and clouds meet

Here’s a sea fog, called a haar in Scotland. They occur on the east coast of England or Scotland in spring and summer, when warm air passes over the North Sea.

View larger. |

Will Keogh wrote:

Sea haar and clouds meet in perfect harmony. Pic taken from Lyle Hill, Greenock towards Gourock in Scotland. The haar occurs when warm air condenses over the cold river creating a fog.

The ‘haar’ is also known as a ‘sea fret.’ It typically lies at a uniform height above the waterline but it is a moving entity, i.e. by the wind.

However, when the haar collides with, for example, a hillside, the haar is displaced from the horizontal.

Thank you, Will Keogh!

BBC meteorologist Gail Pirie agrees that a fret, haar and sea fog are all the same thing. She says these fogs typically occur between April and September, when warm air passes over the North Sea:

The variation in name simply arises from the locale in which you happen to find yourself when the fog rolls in off the sea. On the east coast of Scotland sea fog is known locally as haar or North Sea Haar, and it is often said to plague local residents during the summer. Likewise, it’s English counterpart – Fret or Sea Fret can make summer days on the East coast of England miserable.

Bottom line: These sorts of sea fogs are called haars on the east coast of Scotland and frets on the east coast of England. They’re usually flat, but this photo by Will Keogh shows a haar that’s been pushed horizontally after colliding with a hillside, so that it rises up toward clouds above.

Source…..www.earthsky.org

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” அகரத்தில் ஒரு ராமாயணம் …” !!!

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ஒரே எழுத்தில் ஆரம்பிக்கும் வார்த்தைகளைக் கொண்டு கதை எழுத முடியுமா? அகரத்தில் ஓர் இராமாயணம் இராமாயண கதை முழுதும் ‘அ’ என்று ஆரம்பிக்கும் வார்த்தைகளால் வடிவமைக்கப் பட்டுள்ளது. ” இதுவே தமிழின் சிறப்பு..” ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ அனந்தனே அசுரர்களை அழித்து, அன்பர்களுக்கு அருளஅயோத்தி அரசனாக அவதரித்தான். அப்போது அரிக்கு அரணாக அரசனின் அம்சமாக அனுமனும் அவதரித்ததாக அறிகிறோம். அன்று அஞ்சனை அவனிக்கு அளித்த அன்பளிப்பு அல்லவா அனுமன்? அவனே அறிவழகன், அன்பழகன், அன்பர்களை அரவணைத்து அருளும் அருட்செல்வன்! அயோத்தி அடலேறு, அம்மிதிலை அரசவையில் அரசனின் அரியவில்லை அடக்கி, அன்பும் அடக்கமும் அங்கங்களாக அமைந்த அழகியை அடைந்தான் . அரியணையில் அமரும் அருகதை அண்ணனாகிய அனந்தராமனுக்கே! அப்படியிருக்க அந்தோ ! அக்கைகேயி அசூயையால் அயோத்தி அரசனுக்கும் அடங்காமல் அநியாயமாக அவனை அரண்யத்துக்கு அனுப்பினாள். அங்கேயும் அபாயம்! அரக்கர்களின் அரசன் , அன்னையின் அழகால் அறிவிழந்து அபலையை அபகரித்தான் .அந்த அடியார்களில் அருகதையுள்ள அன்பனை அரசனாக அரியணையில் அமர்த்தினர். அடுத்து அன்னைக்காக அவ்வானரர் அனைவரும் அவனியில் அங்குமிங்கும் அலைந்தனர், அலசினர். அனுமன், அலைகடலை அலட்சியமாக அடியெடுத்து அளந்து அக்கரையை அடைந்தான். அசோகமரத்தின் அடியில் , அரக்கிகள் அயர்ந்திருக்க அன்னையை அடிபணிந்து அண்ணலின் அடையாளமாகிய அக்கணையாழியை அவளிடம் அளித்தான் அன்னைஅனுபவித்த அளவற்ற அவதிகள் அநேகமாக அணைந்தன. அன்னையின் அன்பையும் அருளாசியையும் அக்கணமே அடைந்தான் அனுமன். அடுத்து, அரக்கர்களை அலறடித்து , அவர்களின் அரண்களை , அகந்தைகளை அடியோடு அக்கினியால் அழித்த அனுமனின் அட்டகாசம் , அசாத்தியமான அதிசாகசம்அனந்தராமன் அலைகடலின் அதிபதியை அடக்கி , அதிசயமான அணையை அமைத்து, அக்கரையை அடைந்தான். அரக்கன் அத்தசமுகனை அமரில் அயனின் அஸ்திரத்தால் அழித்தான். அக்கினியில் அயராமல் அர்பணித்த அன்னை அவள் அதி அற்புதமாய் அண்ணலை அடைந்தாள். அன்னையுடன்அயோத்தியை அடைந்து அரியணையில் அமர்ந்து அருளினான் அண்ணல் . அனந்தராமனின் அவதார அருங்கதை அகரத்திலேய அடுக்கடுக்காக அமைந்ததும் அனுமனின் அருளாலே. Source…..input from a friend of mine Natarajan

Image of the Day…” Sunset on Mars…” !!!

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You are there! Sunset on Mars

A beautiful new timelapse showing sunset on Mars in mid-April, 2015, from the Mars Curiosity rover.

View larger. | Mars sunset in Gale Crater, Sol 956, Wednesday, April 15, 2015. Image via 34mm MastCam on Mars Curiosity rover. Image via NASA / JPL / Malin Space Science Systems.

This new timelapse lets you experience a sunset on our neighboring planet, Mars. NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover captured the images to make this animated gif from the Gale Crater on Mars during Sol 956 – the 956th day of the rover’s activity on the Martian surface. By earthly calendars, it was Wednesday, April 15, 2015.

At the time, the planet Mercury was transiting the sun as seen from Mars. These observations were an attempt to observe Mercury passing in front of the sun, as well as to obtain a Martian sunset with Curiosity’s Mast Cameras.

NASA wrote:

The four images shown in sequence here were taken over a span of 6 minutes, 51 seconds.

This was the first sunset observed in color by Curiosity. The images come from the left-eye camera of the rover’s Mast Camera (Mastcam). The color has been calibrated and white-balanced to remove camera artifacts. Mastcam sees color very similarly to what human eyes see, although it is actually a little less sensitive to blue than people are.

Bottom line: Animated gif of a Martian sunset, April 15, 2015, acquired by the Mars Curiosity rover’s Mast Camera.

Via NASA.

Source….www.earthskynews.org

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” பணப் பறவைகளோடு வேறு இனப் பறவைகள் …”

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இடி இறங்கும் காலம்!

பணம் சேரச்சேர
அது தன்னை
தானே தின்றுவிடுமா?

என்ன வந்தாலும்
நிரம்ப மறுக்கிறது
எப்போதும்
இதய கஜானா!

பணம் நிறைவைப் பிரசவிப்பதில்லை…
அது, ஆசை முட்டையிட்டு
அடைகாக்கிறது!

அன்பை ஆகுதியாக்கி
பெற்ற பிள்ளைகள்
பட்டம் பெற்ற கையோடு
பறந்து விடுகின்றனர்
தூர தேசங்களுக்கு

கடல் தாண்டி
அவர்கள் சிறகடிப்பது
கவுரவம் சம்பாதிக்க!

விமானங்களில் பயணிக்கையிலேயே
பண்பையும், பாசத்தையும்
உச்சியிலிருந்து உதிர்த்து
இதயத்தை மயானமாக்கி
கண் மறைகின்றனர்!

மேல்நாடுகளின்
மேகம் தொடும்
அபார்ட்மென்டுகளில்
அல்லும் பகலும்
கணினிகளோடு கரைந்து
புதையல் வேட்டையில்
புகுந்து விடுகின்றன
இளந்தளிர்கள்!

கண்டம் விட்டு
கண்டம் கடந்துவந்த
பெயர்தெரியாப் பறவைகள்
குளிர்காலத்தின்
கூதல் முடிந்தவுடன்
தாய்நாடு திரும்புகின்றன
‘தங்கள் துணையோடு!’

இந்த
பணப்பறவைகளோ
வேறு இனப்பறவைகளோடு
ஜோடி சேர்ந்து
வந்து இறங்குகின்றன
பெற்றோர்களின் எதிர்பார்ப்பில்
இடியைப் பொழிந்தபடி!
— சுவாதி, நெல்லை. 

source…..www.dinamalar.com

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Power of One Rupee…

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Students get the accumulated amount at the end of the year. Photo: Special Arrangement

Students get the accumulated amount at the end of the year. Photo: Special Arrangement

Lions Club of Central Chennai has been giving Re. 1 to every student at Brinda Primary School to reduce the dropout rate and absenteeism, reports K. Sarumathi.

What is the value of a rupee? A lot, if you ask Hari Narayanan, project coordinator of the Lions Club of Central Chennai.

When he read an article on how the Municipal Corporation of Thane checked the dropout rate in municipal schools in the region by distributing Re. 1 to every student every day, Narayanan was immediately attracted to the idea. He thought of replicating the method in Chennai Schools.

“The Thane Municipality was my inspiration and when I put forth the idea to other members of Lions Club of Central Chennai, they were more than happy to start the project,” he says. However, getting the go-ahead from the Corporation, they knew, would be almost impossible. Therefore, they selected a primary school run by the Gopalapuram Educational Society for poor children. At the Brinda Primary School, this initiative has been going on for seven years now.

“Most of these children are sons and daughters of maids, daily wage earners and others engaged in menial jobs. Through this small incentive, it has been ensured that these children attend school regularly,” says Malarvalli, the school principal, who is is going to retire this year, after 32 years in service. To start with, the programme was aimed at only girl students. “Though these children were given free uniforms and book and nourishing meals, they were hardly interested in coming to school. Also girls were held back for taking care of chores at home on most days. When we announced the project, parents ensured they sent their daughters to school every day. We have a fall in the dropout rate as well as absenteeism,” says Narayanan.

Though intake of students has been quite low in this school in Class 1, the management is happy that it is able to carry on with minimum dropouts.

“We want the school to survive for those who can’t afford English education and we want students to continue finishing their primary schooling here. That is the idea behind the initiative,” he says.

Regular attendance has also meant improvement in studies for these children. “Under the ABL method, they are assessed every day. Since they take fewer days off they are able to score better and learn more. Our teachers are totally dedicated as well. They have gone from door to door asking parents to send their wards to this school and benefit from the initiative,” says Malarvalli.

Seeing the popularity of the initiative, parents of boys also approached the Lions Club asking them to give their sons a similar incentive. “For four years now, even boys in the school are getting the amount for attendance,” says Narayanan.

Depending on the number of days they come to school, the accumulated amount is presented to the students at the end of the year in a grand function where parents are also invited. The club has also invested in some infrastructural development of the school such as laying new pavements, creating toilets and installing an RO plant for safe drinking water.

Source….K.Sarumathi in http://www.the hindu.com

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This Tiny Australian Village Spawned a New Language….!!!

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Lajamanu

In 2002, University of Michigan linguistics professor Carmel O’Shannessy was visiting Lajamanu, a remote aboriginal community in Australia’s Northern Territory, when she discovered the village’s younger people were speaking a different language from the older generation.

The community, composed of about 700 people, lies hundreds of miles away from commercial centers and cities. It’s one of the several Australian villages that speaks the endangered Warlpiri language.

However, O’Shannessy was surprised to find an even more unique language, one that had never been observed, spoken by the generation who were younger than 35 at the time.

This different language wasn’t a new dialect of Warlpiri, or a combination of Warlpiri with English and Creole, two languages the villagers also spoke. Though many of the words were drawn from the three foundational languages, the new one had a unique grammatical structure

The stark linguistically differences, including the addition of a new tense in the younger generation’s speech, told O’Shannessy that she had stumbled upon a treasure: a new language. She soon dubbed it Light Warlpiri.

So, how did a new language evolve in Lajamanu? According to The New York Times,

The development of the language, Dr. O’Shannessy says, was a two-step process. It began with parents using baby talk with their children in a combination of the three languages. But then the children took that language as their native tongue by adding radical innovations to the syntax, especially in the use of verb structures, that are not present in any of the source languages.

Though O’Shannessey has studied Warlpiri and Light Warlpiri for over a decade, she still remains puzzled as to why the language developed in the first place. After all, the people could already easily communicate. The development is something she continues to research, though she now believes it popped up around the 1970s and ’80s. She and other linguists continue to marvel at the language’s growth, as no one has been able to document or observe the development of a young, new language.

h/t The New York Times)

Read the original article on Modern Notion. Copyright 2015. Follow Modern Notion on Twitter.

Source….

http://www.businessinsider.com

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Message For the Day…” What is Ultimate…” ?

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In Taittiriya Upanishad, Varuna directed his son Bhrigu to enter upon spiritual exercises that would ultimately reveal the Truth. Brighu, with full faith in his father’s words, immersed himself in concentrated spiritual practices. When he returned and declared what he had come to know, that food was Brahman, his father told him that his answer was not right. So Brighu continued the spiritual practices and came back with deeper answers, that Prana or vital air is Brahman, then the Mind, and later that the Intellect (Vijnana) is. But each time he was sent back by his father to search deeper. After undergoing a fifth course of spiritual practices, he became aware that spiritual bliss (ananda) was Brahman. Brighu stayed in the bliss of that awareness and never needed to consult his father again. The father then, himself sought Bhrigu, and congratulated him and said, “Son! You have merged in that vision.” Every being must march on to the goal, from food to bliss.

Sathya Sai Baba