Morning Dew

Have you ever woken up bright and early in the morning, your legs step on the wet grass as the wetness seeps in through the sole of your feet? Morning dew, that’s what it’s called. Now I know you all know what morning dew is, but have you ever wondered why it only appears in the morning? Well, we only see dew in the morning because for dew to form, air must be cooled to its condensation point; there must be little movement to the air. These conditions usually occur overnight when the wind dies down and the air becomes still.(I’m not that smart; Wikipedia came through with that definition, but let’s just stick to the part where you’re impressed by my smartness shall we?)

This year has been one of those years that have just been morbid for me. I’ve joined more Rest in Peace pages on Facebook than I have gotten friend requests. Death is one of those enemies that comes and steals something so precious to you. That’s where morning dew comes in, I’ve come to realize life is like morning dew, just like morning dew comes in the morning and gone during the day, that’s just how short and precious life is. We never know when our morning dew will fade, and this got me thinking, as corny as it sounds; life is short. Sometimes we tend to live our lives as if we are immortal, the all lets live for today for we don’t know what tomorrow brings kind of life. But with all the friends I’ve lost this year, one thing I’ve come to realize what it really means to live life to the full. It’s not about partying, drinking to the max like there’s no tomorrow. It’s making the best of the time we have now, because like morning dew, we never know when we’ll fade away. Making an impact in your life. A wise woman once told me, if you want to know just how much impact one made in their lives or those around them, everyone always wants to chip in on their eulogy at funerals. And no I’m not talking about MPigs who use funerals as their platform to beg for votes and for some silly attention seeking airtime. I’m talking about the close family, friends and those who mattered to the deceased.

Morning Dew

Lately it’s been heart-wrenching watching news. I’m one of those people who are very empathetic. I would cry just by hearing a friend of a friend lost their loved one. It’s because when you lose someone close, a family member or a loved one you know the pain one goes through and you kind of feel their pain. The ferry tragedy in Zanzibar that took so many lives, those are people who had plans; they were looking forward to seeing another day not for it to end so abruptly. The Sinai Fire tragedy this week, it pained me when some friends of mine were talking so coldly about it. Not all who perished in the fire were out there siphoning fuel. Some were kids going to school, some were still at home waiting for the rain to die down but due to bad timing they were caught up in it. For a fellow human being to say I hope they learned their lesson, is just sadistic. There’s a Ghanaian Proverb that came to mind when I heard all the idiotic conversations about this all: It is a fool who rejoices when his neighbor is in trouble. Think about the child who will grow up without a father or mother because the dad was trying to make a quick buck maybe to provide for the family. Them being rained on, homeless, everything lost because they were caught up in man-made disasters. Now we can go on and on about who to blame and what not, but enough about that.

Sometimes I always wonder if I had a flash forward of my life knowing when it will end, would I do things differently. Would I be a better person as it were? But the beauty about life, it’s a mystery. We never know when our morning dew will fade away that’s why we need to live life without regrets, make amends, forgive and let go and try to make everyday count. As I write this post, I can’t help but shed a tear or two, I just lost another friend, we might not have been close this past few years but what pains me is the newborn baby she left. The child that will live without her mummy, the child that will not suckle on its mama’s breast but feed on formulas and powdered milk. The child that will not feel its mothers touch, her warmth and her protective arms, and it just makes me cry and pray for that child and the family. Life is short beautiful ones, just like morning dew it comes and fades away.

Now this is one poem I wrote when I lost my dad, and thought I’d share it with anyone who’s lost a parent, a friend or anyone who mattered to them. Promise not to be so morbid and sad on the next blog post, but writing it out has helped me much. Take care of you.

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Mountain

A mountain is a large landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area usually in the form of a peak. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill. The adjective montane is used to describe mountainous areas and things associated with them. The study of mountains is called Orography. Exogeology deals with planetary mountains, which in that branch of science are usually called montes (singular—mons). The highest mountain on Earth based from sea level is Mount Everest (8,848 m (29,029 ft)) in the Himalayas of Asia. The highest known mountain in the Solar System is Olympus Mons on the planet Mars at 21,171 m (69,459 ft). Mountains and mountain ranges on Earth are typically formed by the movement and/or interaction of lithospheric plates.

Definition
There is no universally accepted definition of a mountain. Elevation, volume, relief, steepness, spacing and continuity have been used as criteria for defining a mountain. In the Oxford English Dictionary a mountain is defined as "a natural elevation of the earth surface rising more or less abruptly from the surrounding level and attaining an altitude which, relatively to the adjacent elevation, is impressive or notable."
Whether a landform is called a mountain may depend on usage among the local people. The highest point in San Francisco, California, is called Mount Davidson, notwithstanding its height of 300 m (980 ft), which makes it ten feet short of the minimum for a mountain by American designations.[citation needed]Similarly, Mount Scott outside Lawton, Oklahoma is only 251 m (823 ft) from its base to its highest point.

# Definitions of "mountain" include:
# Height over base of at least 2,500 m (8,202 ft);
# Height over base of 1,500 m (4,921 ft).–2,500 m (8,202 ft). with a slope greater than 2 degrees
# Height over base of 1,000 m (3,281 ft).–1,500 m (4,921 ft). with a slope greater than 5 degrees
# Local (radius 7,000 m (22,966 ft). elevation greater than 300 m (984 ft)., or 300 m (984 ft)–1,000 m (3,281 ft). if local (radius 7,000 m (22,966 ft). elevation is greater than 300 m (984 ft).

By this definition,[which?] mountains cover 64% of Asia, 25% of Europe, 22% of South America, 17% of Australia, and 3% of Africa. As a whole, 24% of the Earth's land mass is mountainous and 10% of people live in mountainous regions.Most of the world's rivers are fed from mountain sources, and more than half of humanity depends on mountains for water.  

Characteristics
Tall mountains reach into the colder layers of the atmosphere. They are consequently subject to glaciation, and erosion through frost action. Such processes produce the peak shape. Some mountains have glacial lakes, created by melting glaciers; for example, there are an estimated 3,000 glacial lakes in Bhutan. Mountains can be eroded and weathered, altering their characteristics over time.
Tall mountains have different climatic conditions at the top than at the base, and will thus have altitudinal zonation of ecosystems. At the highest elevations, trees cannot grow, and whatever life may be present will be of the alpine type, resembling tundra. Just below the tree line, one may find subalpine forests ofneedleleaf trees, which can withstand cold, dry conditions. In regions with dry climates, the tendency of mountains to have higher precipitation as well as lower temperatures also provides for varying conditions, which in turn leads to differing flora and fauna. Some plants and animals found in these zones tend to become isolated since the conditions above and below a particular zone will be inhospitable and thus constrain their movements or dispersal. On the other hand, birds, being capable of flight, may take advantage of montane habitats and migrate into a region that would otherwise not provide appropriate habitat. These isolated ecological systems, or microclimates, are known as sky islands.

Mountains are generally colder than their surrounding lowlands due to the way that the sun heats the surface of the Earth. Practically all the heat at the surface of the Earth comes from the sun, in the form of solar energy. The sun's radiation is absorbed by land and sea, whence the heat is transferred into the air. Static air is a poor conductor of heat, so conduction of heat from the ground to the atmosphere is negligible. Heat is mainly transferred into the atmosphere through convection and radiation. The air immediately adjacent to the warmed surface will rise due to its buoyancy, leading to convective circulation, in the form of thermals, within the lowest layer of the atmosphere, the troposphere. When heat radiates from the surface of the earth, it is released as long-wave radiation, which can move freely through gases composed of diatomic molecules (such as the atmosphere's oxygen and nitrogen), but is readily absorbed by triatomic molecules, such as carbon dioxide and water vapor. Since most of the atmosphere's quantity of such triatomic gases is contained within the troposphere, this portion of the atmosphere is readily heated by the earth's radiation. The tropopause forms a blanket of air keeping the surface warm. This is the Greenhouse Effect. The higher the altitude, the less of this blanket there is to keep in the heat. Thus, higher elevations, such as mountains, are colder than surrounding lowlands.

Air temperature in the lowest layer of the atmosphere, the troposphere, decreases with gains in altitude. The rate at which the temperature drops with elevation, called the environmental lapse rate, is not constant (it can fluctuate throughout the day or seasonally and also regionally), but a normal lapse rate is 5.5°C per 1,000 m (3.57°F per 1,000 ft). The temperature continues to drop with increasing altitude, until thetropopause (11,000m or 36,089 ft in the U.S. Standard Atmosphere, where it does not decrease further. However, this is higher than the highest mountaintop.

Mountains are generally less preferable for human habitation than lowlands; the weather is often harsher, and there is little level ground suitable for agriculture. The decreasing atmospheric pressure means that less oxygen is available for breathing, and there is less protection against solar radiation (UV). Acute mountain sickness (caused by hypoxia—a lack of oxygen in the blood) affects over half of lowlanders who spend more than a few hours above 3,500 metres (11,480 ft). Many mountains and mountain ranges throughout the world have been left in their natural state, and are today primarily used for recreation, while others are used for logging, mining, grazing, or see little use.

Some mountains offer spectacular views from their summits, while others are densely wooded. Summit accessibility is affected by height, steepness, latitude, terrain, weather. Roads, ski lifts, or aerial tramways allow access. Hiking, backpacking,mountaineering, rock climbing, ice climbing, downhill skiing, and snowboarding are recreational activities enjoyed on mountains. Mountains that support heavy recreational use (especially downhill skiing) are often the locations of mountain resorts.
Mountains are made up of earth and rock materials. The outermost layer of the Earth or the Earth's crust is composed of seven primary plates. When two plates move or collide each other, vast land areas are uplifted, forming mountains.

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Definition Of Water

Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected bycovalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state (water vaporor steam). Water also exists in a liquid crystal state near hydrophilic surfaces. Under nomenclature used to name chemical compounds,Dihydrogen monoxide is the scientific name for water, though it is almost never used.

Water covers 70.9% of the Earth's surface, and is vital for all known forms of life.On Earth, 96.5% of the planet's water is found mostly in oceans; 1.7% in groundwater; 1.7% in glaciers and the ice caps of Antarctica and Greenland; a small fraction in other large water bodies, and 0.001% in the air as vapor, clouds (formed of solid and liquid water particles suspended in air), and precipitation. Only 2.5% of the Earth's water is freshwater, and 98.8% of that water is in ice and groundwater. Less than 0.3% of all freshwater is in rivers, lakes, and the atmosphere, and an even smaller amount of the Earth's freshwater (0.003%) is contained within biological bodies and manufactured products. Water on Earth moves continually through the hydrological cycle of evaporation and transpiration (evapotranspiration), condensation,precipitation, and runoff, usually reaching the sea. Evaporation and transpiration contribute to the precipitation over land.

Safe drinking water is essential to humans and other lifeforms. Access to safe drinking water has improved over the last decades in almost every part of the world, but approximately one billion people still lack access to safe water and over 2.5 billion lack access to adequate sanitation. There is a clear correlation between access to safe water and GDP per capita. However, some observers have estimated that by 2025 more than half of the world population will be facing water-based vulnerability. A recent report (November 2009) suggests that by 2030, in some developing regions of the world, water demand will exceed supply by 50%. Water plays an important role in the world economy, as it functions as a solvent for a wide variety of chemical substances and facilitates industrial cooling and transportation. Approximately 70% of the fresh water used by.

Chemical and physical properties

Definition Of Water

Water is the chemical substance with chemical formula H2O: one molecule of water has two hydrogen atomscovalently bonded to a single oxygen atom. Water appears in nature in all three common states of matter and may take many different forms on Earth: water vapor and clouds in the sky; seawater and icebergs in the polar oceans; glaciers and rivers in the mountains; and the liquid in aquifers in the ground. At high temperatures and pressures, such as in the interior of giant planets, it is argued that water exists as ionic water in which the molecules break down into a soup of hydrogen and oxygen ions, and at even higher pressures as superionic water in which the oxygen crystallises but the hydrogen ions float around freely within the oxygen lattice.

The major chemical and physical properties of water are:

Water is a liquid at standard temperature and pressure. It is tasteless and odorless. The intrinsic colour of waterand ice is a very slight blue hue, although both appear colorless in small quantities. Water vapour is essentially invisible as a gas. Water is transparent in the visible electromagnetic spectrum. Thus aquatic plants can live in water becausesunlight can reach them. Infrared light is strongly absorbed by the hydrogen-oxygen or OH bonds.

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Garden Design

A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has traditionally been a more general one. Zoos, which display wild animals in simulated natural habitats, were formerly called zoological gardens.[1][2] Western gardens are almost universally based on plants, with garden often signifying a shortened form of botanical garden. The etymology of the word refers to enclosure: it is from Middle English gardin, from Anglo-French gardin, jardin, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German gard, gart, an enclosure or compound, as in Stuttgart. See Grad (Slavic settlement) for more complete etymology.[3] The words yard, court, and Latin hortus (meaning "garden," hence horticulture and orchard), are cognates—all referring to an enclosed space.

The term "garden" in British English refers to an enclosed area of land, usually adjoining a building.[5] This would be referred to as a yard in American English.
Some traditional types of eastern gardens, such as Zen gardens, use plants such as parsley. Xeriscape gardens use local native plants that do not require irrigation or extensive use of other resources while still providing the benefits of a garden environment. Gardens may exhibit structural enhancements, sometimes called follies, including water features such as fountains, ponds (with or without fish), waterfalls or creeks, dry creek beds, statuary, arbors, trellises and more.

Some gardens are for ornamental purposes only, while some gardens also produce food crops, sometimes in separate areas, or sometimes intermixed with the ornamental plants. Food-producing gardens are distinguished from farms by their smaller scale, more labor-intensive methods, and their purpose (enjoyment of a hobby rather than produce for sale). Flower gardens combine plants of different heights, colors, textures, and fragrances to create interest and delight the senses.
Gardening is the activity of growing and maintaining the garden. This work is done by an amateur or professional gardener. A gardener might also work in a non-garden setting, such as a park, a roadside embankment, or other public space. Landscape architecture is a related professional activity with landscape architects tending to specialise in design for public and corporate clients.

Garden design

Garden Design

 Main article: Garden design Garden design is the creation of plans for the layout and planting of gardens and landscapes. Gardens may be designed by garden owners themselves, or by professionals. Most professional garden designers are trained in principles of design and in horticulture, and have an expert knowledge and experience of using plants. Some professional garden designers are also landscape architects, a more formal level of training that usually requires an advanced degree and often a state license. Tropical garden in the Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore in Singapore

Flower garden, Elements of garden design include the layout of hard landscape, such as paths, rockeries, walls, water features, sitting areas and decking, as well as the plants themselves, with consideration for their horticultural requirements, their season-to-season appearance, lifespan, growth habit, size, speed of growth, and combinations with other plants and landscape features. Consideration is also given to the maintenance needs of the garden, including the time or funds available for regular maintenance, which can affect the choices of plants regarding speed of growth, spreading or self-seeding of the plants, whether annual or perennial, and bloom-time, and many other characteristics. Garden design can be roughly divided into two groups, formal and naturalistic gardens.

The most important consideration in any garden design is, how the garden will be used, followed closely by the desired stylistic genres, and the way the garden space will connect to the home or other structures in the surrounding areas. All of these considerations are subject to the limitations of the budget. Budget limitations can be addressed by a simpler garden style with fewer plants and less costly hardscape materials, seeds rather than sod for lawns, and plants that grow quickly; alternatively, garden owners may choose to create their garden over time, area by area.

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Sky

The sky is the part of the atmosphere or outer space visible from the surface of any astronomical object. It is difficult to define precisely for several reasons. During daylight, the sky of Earth has the appearance of a pale blue surface because the air scatters the sunlight. The sky is sometimes defined as the denser gaseous zone of a planet's atmosphere. At night the sky has the appearance of a black surface or region scattered with stars. During the day the Sun can be seen in the sky, unless obscured by clouds. In the night sky (and to some extent during the day) the moon,planets and stars are visible in the sky. Some of the natural phenomena seen in the sky are clouds, rainbows, and aurorae. Lightning andprecipitation can also be seen in the sky during storms. On Earth, birds, insects, aircraft, and kites are often considered to fly in the sky. As a result of human activities, smog during the day and light radiance during the night are often seen above large cities (see also light pollution).

In the field of astronomy, the sky is also called the celestial sphere. This is an imaginary dome where the sun, stars, planets, and the moon are seen to be traveling. The celestial sphere is divided into regions called constellations. See extraterrestrial skies for descriptions of the skies of various planets and moons in the solar system. Sky luminance and colors Light from the sky is a result of the scattering of sunlight, which results in a blue color perceived by the human eye. On a sunny day Rayleigh scattering gives the sky a blue gradient — dark in the zenith, light near the horizon. Light that comes in from overhead encounters 1/38th of the air mass that light coming along a horizon path encounters. So, fewer particles scatter the zenith sunbeam, and therefore the light remains a darker blue. The blueness is at the horizon because the blue light coming from great distances is also preferentially scattered. This results in a red shift of the far lightsources that is compensated by the blue hue of the scattered light in the line of sight. In other words, the red light scatters also; if it does so at a point a great distance from the observer it has a much higher chance of reaching the observer than blue light. At distances nearing infinity the scattered light is therefore white.

 Far away clouds or snowy mountaintops will seem yellow for that reason; that effect is not obvious on clear days, but very pronounced when clouds are covering the line of sight reducing the blue hue from scattered sunlight. This can be observed at the bottom part of the picture on top of the article. Another thing worth mentioning is that the scattering due to very small particles (molecule sized) is almost random. The scattering in a 90 degree angle is still half of the scattering that reflects or goes forward. This causes the blue sky to be almost evenly colored and thin clouds to form a white area around the sun, because the big particles the clouds are made of are scattering preferentially only at low angles. The color of the clouds is also due to scattering and a cloud at a small distance has the white color because all the light from these clouds is scattered multiple times in the mass of particles and no wavelength effects will be observed. The sky can turn a multitude of colors such as red, orange, purple and yellow (especially near sunset or sunrise) and black at night. Scattering effects also partially polarize light from the sky, most pronounced at an angle 90° from the sun. Sky luminance distribution models have been recommended by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) for the design of daylighting schemes. Recent developments relate to “all sky models” for modelling sky luminance under weather conditions ranging from clear sky to overcast.

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The Astrology

Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between visible astronomical phenomena and events in the human world. In the West, astrology most often consists of a system of horoscopes that claim to predict aspects of an individual's personality or life history based on the positions of the sun, moon, and planetary objects at the time of their birth. Many other cultures have attached importance to astronomical events, and the Indian, Chinese, and Mayan cultures developed elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations. Astrology’s origins in Indo-European cultures trace to the third millennium BCE, with roots in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications. Through most of its history it was considered a scholarly tradition. 

It was accepted in political and academic contexts, and its concepts were built into other studies, such as astronomy, alchemy, meteorology, andmedicine. At the end of the 17th century, new scientific concepts in astronomy (such as heliocentrism) began to damage the credibility of astrology, which subsequently lost its academic and theoretical standing. Astrology saw a popular revival in the 19th and 20th centuries as part of a general revival of spiritualism and later New Age philosophy, and through the influence of mass media such as newspaper horoscopes.While astrology may bear a superficial resemblance to science, it is a pseudoscience because it makes little attempt to develop solutions to its problems, shows no concern for the evaluation of competing theories, and is selective in considering confirmations and dis-confirmations.

Etymology

The word astrology comes from the Latin astrologia, deriving from the Greek noun, which  astro, star celestial body with  logia, study of theory discourse (about)'. Historically the word star has had a loose definition, by which it can refer to planets or any luminous celestial object. The notion of it signifying all heavenly bodies is evident in early Babylonian astrology where cuneiform depictions for the determinative MUL (star) present a symbol of stars alongside planetary and other stellar references to indicate deified objects which reside in the heavens. The word planet (based on the Greek verb planaō 'to wander/stray'), was introduced by the Greeks as a reference to how seven notable stars were seen to 'wander' through others which remained static in their relationship to each other.

with the distinction noted by the terms asteres aplaneis fixed stars, and asteres planetai, wandering stars. Initially, texts such asPtolemy's Tetrabiblos referred to the planets as 'the star of Saturn', 'the star of Jupiter, etc. rather than simply 'Saturn' or 'Jupiter', but the names became simplified as the word planet assumed astronomical formality over time. The seven Classical planets therefore comprise the Sun and Moon along with the solar-system planets that are visible to the naked eye: Mercury Venus Mars ,Jupiter, and Saturn. This remained the standard definition of the word 'planet' until the discovery of Uranus in 1781 created a need for revision. Although the modernIAU definition of planet does not include the Sun and the Moon, astrology retains historical convention in its description of those astronomical bodies, and also generally maintains reference to Pluto as being an astrological planet.

   

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The Astronaut

An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft. While generally reserved for professional space travelers, the terms are sometimes applied to anyone who travels into space, including scientists, politicians, journalists, and tourists. Until 2002, astronauts were sponsored and trained exclusively by governments, either by the military, or by civilian space agencies. With the sub-orbital flight of the privately-funded SpaceShipOne in 2004, a new category of astronaut was created: the commercial astronaut.

Definition

The criteria for what constitutes human spaceflight vary. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) Sporting Code for astronautics recognizes only flights that exceed an altitude of 100 kilometers (62 mi). In the United States, professional, military, and commercial astronauts who travel above an altitude of 50 miles (80 km) are awarded astronaut wings. As of June 20, 2011, a total of 523 people from 38 countries have reached 100 km (62 mi) or more in altitude, of which 520 reachedLow Earth orbit or beyond. Of these, 24 people have traveled beyond Low Earth orbit, to either lunar or trans-lunar orbit or to the surface of the moon; three of the 24 did so twice: Jim Lovell, John Young and Eugene Cernan. Under the U. S. definition, as of June 20, 2011, 529 people qualify as having reached space, above 50 miles (80 km) altitude. Of eightX-15 pilots who exceeded 50 miles (80 km) in altitude, only one exceeded 100 kilometers (about 62 miles). Space travelers have spent over 30,400 man-days (83 man-years) in space, including over 100 astronaut-days of spacewalks. As of 2008, the man with the longest cumulative time in space is Sergei K. Krikalev, who has spent 803 days, 9 hours and 39 minutes, or 2.2 years, in space. Peggy A. Whitson holds the record for the most time in space by a woman, 377 days.

The Astronaut

Terminology

English

In the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and many other English-speaking nations, a professional space traveler is called an astronaut The term derives from the Greek words ástron(ἄστρον), meaning "star", and nautes (ναύτης), meaning "sailor". The first known use of the term "astronaut" in the modern sense was by Neil R. Jones in his short story "The Death's Head Meteor" in 1930. The word itself had been known earlier. For example, in Percy Greg's 1880 book Across the Zodiac, "astronaut" referred to a spacecraft. In Les Navigateurs de l'Infini (1925) of J.-H. Rosny aîné, the word astronautique (astronautic) was used. The word may have been inspired by "aeronaut", an older term for an air traveler first applied (in 1784) to balloonists. An early use in a non-fiction publication is Eric Frank Russell's poem "The Astronaut" in the November 1934 Bulletin of the British Interplanetary Society.

The first known formal use of the term astronautics in the scientific community was the establishment of the annual International Astronautical Congress in 1950 and the subsequent founding of theInternational Astronautical Federation the following year. NASA applies the term astronaut to any crew member aboard NASA spacecraft bound for Earth orbit or beyond. NASA also uses the term as a title for those selected to join its Astronaut Corps. The European Space Agency similarly uses the term astronaut for members of its Astronaut Corps.

Russian

By convention, an astronaut employed by the Russian Federal Space Agency (or its Soviet predecessor) is called a cosmonaut in English texts. The word is an anglicisation of the Russian wordkosmonavt (Russian: космонавт Russian pronunciation:, one who works in space outside the Earth′s atmosphere, a space traveller, which derives from the Greek words kosmos (κόσμος), meaning "universe", and nautes (ναύτης), meaning "sailor". The Soviet Air Force pilot Yuri Gagarin was the first cosmonaut. A Russian factory worker Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman cosmonaut, as well as arguably the first civilian cosmonaut (seebelow for a further discussion of civilians in space). On March 14, 1995, Norman Thagard became the first American to ride to space on board a Russian launch vehicle, arguably becoming the first "American cosmonaut".

Chinese

Official English-language texts issued by the government of the People's Republic of China use astronaut while texts in Russian use космонавт (kosmonavt).In China, the terms "yǔhángyuán" (宇航員, "sailing personnel in universe") or "hángtiānyuán" (航天員, "sailing personnel in sky") have long been used for astronauts. The phrase "tàikōng rén" (太空人, "spaceman") is often used inTaiwan and 

Hong Kong

The term taikonaut is used by some English-language news media organizations for professional space travelers from China. The word has featured in the Longman and Oxford English dictionaries, the latter of which describes it as "a hybrid of the Chinese term taikong (space) and the Greek naut (sailor)"; the term became more common in 2003 when China sent its first astronaut Yang Liwei into space aboard the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft. This is the term used by Xinhua in the English version of the Chinese People's Daily since the advent of the Chinese space program. The origin of the term is unclear; as early as May 1998, Chiew Lee Yih (趙裡昱) from Malaysia, used it in newsgroups.Other terms. With the rise of space tourism, NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency agreed to use the term "spaceflight participant" to distinguish those space travelers from professional astronauts on missions coordinated by those two agencies.

While no nation other than Russia (formerly the Soviet Union), the United States, and China has launched a manned spacecraft, several other nations have sent people into space in cooperation with one of these countries. Inspired partly by these missions, other synonyms for astronaut have entered occasional English usage. For example, the term spationaut (French spelling: spationaute) is sometimes used to describe French space travelers, from the Latin word spatium or "space", and the Malay term angkasawan was used to describe participants in the Angkasawan program. In Hungary the word describing astronauts is űrhajós from űr meaning "space" and hajós meaning "sailor".

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Astronomy " part 2 "

     

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects (such as stars, planets, comets, nebulae, star clusters and galaxies) andphenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth (such as the cosmic background radiation). It is concerned with the evolution, physics,chemistry, meteorology, and motion of celestial objects, as well as the formation and development of the universe. Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences. Prehistoric cultures left behind astronomical artifacts such as the Egyptian monuments, Nubian monumentsand Stonehenge, and early civilizations such as the Babylonians, Greeks, Chinese, Indians, Iranians and Maya performed methodical observations of thenight sky. 

However, the invention of the telescope was required before astronomy was able to develop into a modern science. Historically, astronomy has included disciplines as diverse as astrometry, celestial navigation, observational astronomy, the making of calendars, and astrology, but professional astronomy is nowadays often considered to be synonymous with astrophysics. During the 20th century, the field of professional astronomy split into observational and theoretical branches. Observational astronomy is focused on acquiring data from observations of celestial objects, which is then analyzed using basic principles of physics. Theoretical astronomy is oriented towards the development of computer or analytical models to describe astronomical objects and phenomena. The two fields complement each other, with theoretical astronomy seeking to explain the observational results, and observations being used to confirm theoretical results.

Amateur astronomers have contributed to many important astronomical discoveries, and astronomy is one of the few sciences where amateurs can still play an active role, especially in the discovery and observation of transient phenomena. Astronomy is not to be confused with astrology, the belief system which claims that human affairs are correlated with the positions of celestial objects. Although the two fields share a common origin they are now entirely distinct.

Lexicology

The word astronomy (from the Greek words astron (ἄστρον), "star" and -nomy from nomos (νόμος), "law" or "culture") literally means "law of the stars" (or "culture of the stars" depending on the translation).

Use of terms "astronomy" and "astrophysics"

Generally, either the term "astronomy" or "astrophysics" may be used to refer to this subject. Based on strict dictionary definitions, "astronomy" refers to "the study of objects and matter outside the Earth's atmosphere and of their physical and chemical properties" and "astrophysics" refers to the branch of astronomy dealing with "the behavior, physical properties, and dynamic processes of celestial objects and phenomena". In some cases, as in the introduction of the introductory textbook The Physical Universe by Frank Shu, "astronomy" may be used to describe the qualitative study of the subject, whereas "astrophysics" is used to describe the physics-oriented version of the subject. However, since most modern astronomical research deals with subjects related to physics, modern astronomy could actually be called astrophysics. Few fields, such as astrometry, are purely astronomy rather than also astrophysics. Various departments in which scientists carry out research on this subject may use "astronomy" and "astrophysics," partly depending on whether the department is historically affiliated with a physics department, and many professional astronomers have physics rather than astronomy degrees. One of the leading scientific journals in the field is the European journal named Astronomy and Astrophysics. The leading American journals are The Astrophysical Journal and The Astronomical Journal.

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Assassin's Creed Brotherhood

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is a historical third person, stealth action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November 2010, Microsoft Windows in March 2011 and Mac OS X in May 2011. It is the third major installment in the Assassin's Creed series and the second chapter in the 'Ezio Trilogy'. The game is a direct sequel to Assassin's Creed II, with Ezio Auditore da Firenze and Desmond Miles returning as the main protagonists, and it takes place right after the conclusion of the previous game's story. It is the first game in the main series to feature a multiplayer mode. Assassin's Creed: Revelations is a sequel to the game, concluding Ezio's story as he travels to Constantinople. The critically acclaimed single-player experience of Assassin's Creed is back and better than ever as Ezio returns in an epic struggle against the powerful Templar Order.

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood

Now a legendary Master Assassin, Ezio must journey into Italy's greatest city, Rome, center of power, greed and corruption to strike at the heart of the enemy. Defeating the corrupt tyrants entrenched there will require not only strength, but leadership, as Ezio commands an entire Brotherhood that will rally to his side. Only by working together can the Assassins defeat their mortal enemies.

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood offers a never-before-seen multiplayer layer. Players can help the Templars by using Abstergo to train in the art of Assassination to eliminate the Assassins once and for all. Players can choose from a wide range of unique characters, each with their own signature weapons and assassination techniques, and match their skills against other players from all over the world in different game modes.

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Warcraft

Warcraft is a franchise of video games, novels, and other media originally created by Blizzard Entertainment. The series is made up of Four core games: Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, and World of Warcraft. The first three of these core games are in the real-time strategy genre, where opposing players command virtual armies in battle against each other or a computer-controlled enemy. The last and best selling title of the franchise is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). Expansion sets were also released for multiple games in the series, each adding more content to each game as an effort to expand the product lifespan of each. Warcraft: Orcs & Humans had no expansions, Warcraft II had Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, and Warcraft III had Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. World of Warcraft has had multiple expansions, namely World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, and World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria.

Warcraft

All games in the series have been set in and around the world of Azeroth, a high fantasy setting. Initially, the start of the series focused on the human nations which make up the Eastern Kingdoms, and the Orcish Horde which arrived in Azeroth via a dark portal, beginning the great wars. The Orcs arrived from another world, referred to as Draenor or Outland, a world which has been shattered into pieces by demonic magics. Later on in the series the world of Azeroth was expanded, revealing the new continents of Kalimdor and Northrend, allowing the introduction of the Night Elves, Tauren and other major races into the universe. The world of Azeroth also contains the traditional fantasy setting races of elves, dwarves, gnomes and trolls.

The series also resulted in the publishing of several books relevant to the Warcraft universe setting, covering a wide range of the timelines of the universe. A collectable card game was also published, which offered those who bought booster packs a chance to gain access codes to limited in-game content in World of Warcraft. An upcoming film adaptation is also being produced. A number of comics have also been released alongside the books, further covering parts of the universe's storyline. An online-subscription only magazine was also available but later ceased publication after just 5 issues.

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Game Crysis

Crysis is a science fiction first-person shooter video game developed by Crytek (Frankfurt, Germany), published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, and released in November 2007. It is the first game of a trilogy. A separate game entitled Crysis Warhead was released on September 12, 2008, and follows similar events as Crysis but from a different narrative perspective. Crysis, Crysis Warhead and a multiplayer expansion called Crysis Wars were re-released as a compilation pack titled Crysis Maximum Edition on 5 May 2009. At the time Crysis was released, and years thereafter, it has been praised for its milestones in graphical design (commensurate with high hardware requirements).

The game is based in a future where a massive ancient Alien structure has been discovered buried inside a mountain on an island in the fictional Lingshan Islands, near the coast of the East Philippines. The single-player campaign has the player assume the role of United States Delta Force operator Jake Dunn, referred to in-game by his call sign, Nomad. Nomad is armed with various futuristic weapons and equipment, most notably a "Nano Suit" which was inspired by a real-life military concept. In Crysis, the player fights both North Korean and extraterrestrial enemies in various environments on and around the island.

Game Crysis

         

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Defense Of  The Ancients

Defense of the Ancients (commonly known as DotA) is a custom scenario for the real-time strategy game Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, based on the "Aeon of Strife" map for StarCraft. The objective of the scenario is for each team to destroy the opponents' Ancients, heavily guarded structures at opposing corners of the map. Players use powerful units known as heroes, and are assisted by allied heroes and AI-controlled fighters called "creeps". As in role-playing games, players level up their heroes and use gold to buy equipment during the mission.

The scenario was developed with the "World Editor" of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, and was updated upon the release of its expansion, The Frozen Throne. There have been many variations of the original concept; the most popular being DotA Allstars, which eventually was simplified to DotA with the release of version 6.68. This specific scenario has been maintained by several authors during development, with the current publicly anonymous developer known as "IceFrog" developing the game since 2005.

Defense Of  The Ancients

Since its original release, DotA has become a feature at several worldwide tournaments, including Blizzard Entertainment's BlizzCon and the Asian World Cyber Games, as well as the Cyberathlete Amateur and CyberEvolution leagues; Gamasutra declared that DotA was perhaps the most popular "free, non-supported game mod in the world". Valve Corporation is currently developing a sequel, Dota 2.

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Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat, commonly abbreviated MK, is a science fantasy series of fighting games created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The first four renditions and their updates were developed by Midway Games and initially released on arcade machines. The arcade titles were later picked up by Acclaim Entertainment for the home console conversions. Beginning with Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, Midway Games exclusively created home versions of Mortal Kombat up until Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. Following Midway's bankruptcy, the franchise was picked up by Warner Bros. in July 2009 and became a part of the Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Branch.

The series began originally as a game based on the popular actor martial artist Jean-Claude Van Damme. The idea fell through and Mortal Kombat was born instead. As a result of its success, Mortal Kombat has spawned many sequels and has been spun off into several adventure games, films (animated and live-action with its own sequel), and television series (animated and live-action). Other spin-offs include various comic book series, a card game and a live-action tour.

Mortal Kombat

The original three games and their updates, Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II, Mortal Kombat 3, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat Trilogy, were styled in a 2-D fighting fashion with gameplay consisting of five buttons that were high punch, low punch, high kick, low kick, and block. Reviewers have stated that because of this the characters are only differentiated by their special moves. In fact, some reviewers have criticized that the "bewildering array" of special moves in comparison to other fighting games has resulted in too little focus on regular moves.

The series is especially noted for its realistic digitized sprites (which differentiated it from its contemporaries' hand-drawn sprites), and its high levels of bloody graphic violence, including, most notably, its Fatalities—finishing moves, requiring a sequence of buttons to perform, which, in part, led to the creation of the ESRB. The series name itself is also known for using the letter "K" in place of "C" for the hard C sound, thus intentionally misspelling the word "combat," as well as other words with the hard C sound within later games in the series. Early games in the series were infamous for the prominent use of palette swapping to create new character sprites.

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Gears Of War

Gears of War is a military science fiction third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was initially released as an exclusive title for the Xbox 360 in November 2006 in North America, Australia, and most of Europe and included a "Limited Collector's Edition" with added content and an art book titled Destroyed Beauty that detailed much of the game's back-story. Despite the initial statements of Xbox 360 exclusivity, a Microsoft Windows version of the game was developed in conjunction with People Can Fly and released a year later, featuring new content including additional campaign levels, a new multiplayer game mode, and Games for Windows LIVE functionality. Gears of War sold over 5 million copies and currently stands as the 5th best selling XBOX 360 game of all time.

The game focuses on the troops of Delta Squad as they fight a desperate, last ditch attempt to save the remaining human inhabitants of the fictional planet Sera from a relentless and virtually unstoppable subterranean enemy known as the Locust Horde. The player assumes the role of Marcus Fenix, a former prisoner and war-hardened soldier. The game is based on the use of cover and strategic fire for the player to advance through the scenarios; a second player can play cooperatively through the main campaign to assist. The game also features several online multiplayer game modes for up to eight players.

Gears Of War

Gears of War sold over three million copies in just ten weeks and was the fastest-selling video game of 2006, as well as the second-most played game over Xbox Live during 2007. The game has since sold over five million copies by September 2008. The game was well-received by critics, who praised its gameplay and detailed visuals, and it won several "Game of the Year" awards in 2006. The success of the game has led to the development of the Gears of War franchise, including the 2008 sequel Gears of War 2 and the next sequel Gears of War 3 which was released on September 20, 2011, after having initially been set to have been released on April 5, 2011[2], the date upon which Epic Games' Cliff Bleszinski was a guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Adaptations to books, comics, as well as a feature film are to be expected.

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