India - A land of cultures

Hey ya! , today's topic is on India. Get to know India by going through this article .....

India - geography

India is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh largest country by geographical area. The second most populous country and the most populous democracy in the world.

It is bounded by The Indian ocean in the south , Bay of Bengal in the east and The Arabian sea in the west . It's neighbouring countries include Pakistan,Nepal , Tibet, Peoples Republic of China(PRC) etc .....

India lies to the north of the equator between 6°44' and 35°30' north latitude and 68°7' and 97°25' east longitude .

CLIMATE

The climate varies throughout the Indian subcontinent . The climate of India is broadly divided into four parts :

• North of India ( includes states like Delhi, Uttaranchal , Jammu and Kashmir etc ) - These places experience extremes of climates because they are not surrounded by any water masses,. Winters are very cold , and summers very hot and humid . Temperatures range from 40 degrees in the summer to 8 degrees in the south. The whole of India bathes in rain between the months of July - September . South of India receives more rainfall than the North.

• Central India ( includes states like Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh etc- Since they are surrounded by water masses from all thye three sides they experience moderate temperature throughout the year. Receives adequate rainfall.

• East India - ( includes Meghalaya, Orissa etc) -The region experiences hot summers from March to June, mild winters from November to February. The interior states have a drier climate and slightly more extreme climate, especially during the winters and summers, but the whole region receives heavy, sustained rainfall during the monsoon months

• West India -(comprises of Maharashtra, Gujarat etc) - They experience humid and hot temperatures in the summer and slightly cold winters . Receives adequate rainfall.

• South India - ( comprises of Kerala, Tamil Nadu , Karnataka etc ) - They experience hot and humid summers and moderate winters throught the year . Receives heavy rainfall.

Now let us see the flora and fauna that prevails in the country.... to be continued in next post.....

Yay!! we found out the missing link!

It was on the 20 of May 2009,that the world got to know about ,Ida, our ancestorial cousin Read through , to know more about Ida .....

Who is Ida ?

Ida is a 47 million year old perfectly preserved primate recovered from the Messel pit ion Germany.

What is special about Ida ?

Ida is the most complete early primate fossil ever found, and scientists believe she could be one of our earliest ancestors. She is a remarkable link between the first primates and modern humans despite having lived 47 million years ago, her features shows striking similarities to our own.

How was Ida's world like?

Ida was open to the world of 47 million years ago, the world was completely different from today.There were no polar ice caps, deep sea ocean currents were not flowing, continents were drifting , all were factors that produced a much warmer climate than today. The earth was a subject to the greatest increase in average temperature ever known , resulting in a jungle world lush ,green and wet.Rain forest covered most of the globe.

What has Ida in common with the modern primates?

Ida shares many characteristics with modern primates. Her body was small and agile , her body was perfectly adapted for the life in the jungle.She would have looked like the Lima's and many of the primated monkeys of today.She even shows similarities to humans.

Why does Messel have such extra ordinary fossils?

Today, Messel is known as the world's richest treasure trove of Eocene fossils, and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The secret to the remarkable preservation of Messel's fossils lies in its formation. 47 million years ago, Lake Messel was created when magma beneath the earth's surface came into contact with groundwater, causing a series of volcanic explosions.
The resulting crater quickly filled with groundwater and rain but with no rivers or major streams to drain it, the water in the lake was not only very deep but also very still. While the top sixty-five feet contained some oxygen and could have been rich in life, below that, the still water contained very little oxygen, and very few bacteria.
The rainforest surrounding the lake teemed with life, and whenever an unfortunate animal in the vicinity died, their corpse would be washed into the lake. There, the corpse would slowly sink into the ooze where it would lie undisturbed, decaying very slowly, and compressed by the weight of the water for millions of years.

SOME INTERESTING FACTS ON IDA

Ida she was less than a year old and still had baby teeth, you could see the outline of her fur, and the contents of her last meal.

Ida's real name is Darwinius Masillae( to celebrate Messel, her place of origin and the 200 th anniversary of the birth of the great scientist who brought about the theory of evolution Sir Charles Darwin ( 1809 - 1882).

Scientists hope it is the missing link between primates and prehistoric animal.

Aren't cats cute!

When I play with my cat, how do I know that she is not passing time with me rather than I with her?

I have two cats, or lets say I am owned by two cats.If you too are owned by two cats, you would know what i meant:). So if you are a cat lover, here is some info on cats.

Domestic Cats

• Which family does the cat belong to and what is its binomial name?

The domestic cat belongs to the family feldae which includes other animals such as tiger, cheetah,jaguar etc. It's binomial name is Felis catus.

How do cats communicate?

Scent - Cats have a keen sense of smell and have a special structure(the vomeronasal organ ) which helps them detect smell . Scent is used to detect territorial boundaries and to find more about other cats in the area.

Sound - Cats are very sensitive to high frequency sounds of about 60 hertz. This enables them to detect the ultra sonic squeaks of rodents. They are good at judging the height of the sound's origin.In addition to their precise hearing cats have vibration detectors beneath their feet which makes for them to detect frequencies as low as 200- 400 hertz.

Vision - Cats have an excellent night vision which is due to the Tapetum cellulosum which reflects light back into the retina.Cats respond to colours purple, blue and yellow Red,orange and brown seems to fall outside the cats color range and are most likely seen as dark to mid shades of grey.

What all are the breeds found in cats ?

Abyssinian

American curl

Angora

Balinese

Bengal

Birman

British short hair

Burmese (American)

Burmese(European)

Cornish rex

Devon rex

Domestic shorthair

Havana brown

Maine coon

Manx

Norwegian forest cat

Oriental long hair

Persian longhair

Russian

Siamese

Turkish Van

DID YOU KNOW!!!!- that many thousands of years ago a cat cult was well established in Egypt. There were feline godess, Mafdet, a snake killer and a protector of the pharoah

in a royal palace.

A male cat is called a Tom and a female cat, a Queen.

Tsunami - Our Mother Earth's fury towards pollution

The above pic is on - Tsunami hits Sumatra!

You guys must have heard about the recent Tsunami which took place in the year 2004 ,26th December. The Tsunami had left behind great losses. Who knows, this might had been the fury of Nature towards the increasing level of pollution! 

 What is a Tsunami?

 Tsunami is  a large ocean wave that is caused by movement of oceanic plates, volcanic eruptions 

 and landslides. The Tsunami builds up in height as it nears the shore and as it crashes onto the  coast, it causes a great amount of destruction.

 How s a Tsunami caused by an earth quake?

 Tsunami is caused when an Earth quake makes the sea floor to  rise or fall. When two tectonic plates collide with each other, the denser plate will subduct below causing a rise or fall in sea floor  The movement of the of the sea floor causes a displacement in the level of water , and a wave would form. As the wave moves towards the shore it builds up in height and is known as a  Tsunami  .The  shock waves produced during an Earthquake radiates out and causes waves too. 

What all safety measures  should be made incase of a Tsunami?

These are some of the safety measures to protect against the Tsunami:

a. Improved existing walls and flood gates to block the waves.

b.  Tsunami warning systems which contains sensing equipments that nots danger, which also operates the processes for spreading warnings  to threatened areas. 

DID YOU KNOW! - that the word Tsunami in Japanese means harbor ( tsu)  wave ( nami) 

 

 

Black holes - Gravity gone wild

Hey guys!, here is a bit of info on Blackholes .

Blackholes

What are they?

Black holes are massive objects with an intense gravitational force that nothing can escape from it . It is invisible because it even traps light.They are found wandering amongst galaxies. 

How are they formed?

A massive star is based on two processes

1. Nuclear fusion - It takes place in the core and tends to blow the hydrogen outward.

2. Gravity -  this force brings back all the Hydrogen in the direction in which it had come .

    When the star runs out of Hydrogen or nuclear fuel it no longer can support itself and gravity      takes over. Thus the star collapses. Once the star collapses , it does not stop and finally it will cave inward upon itself resulting in the formation of a black hole.

What are the effects of black holes?

 No one has yet discovered a black hole for certain. But scientists have found two such effects only which a black hole can produce. THese are bending of light rays and slowing of time.

The basic descriptions of black holes are based on equations i the theory of general relativity put forth by the reknowned scientist Albert Einstein.the theory was published in 1916.