Sharks

Sharks are the largest type of fish in the sea. They are often thought of as mindless killers but actually mostly only attack when threatened.

The largest shark (and fish) in the sea is the whale shark. It diets on small fish, krill, plankton and small invertebrates.

The fiercest is the great white shark. It diets on large fish such as tuna, rays, other sharks and very, very rarely humans.

The smallest shark is the dwarf lanternshark. Scientists have not studied it close enough to find out about their diet.

Hoba Meteorite

Hoba Meteorite (also known as Hoba West) is an iron meteorite housed on a farm near Grootfontein, Namibia that ways approximately 60 tonnes (the same weight as 6 elephants!) and thought to be the largest whole, fallen meteorite on the Earth's surface.

It is in fact 16% nickel and 84% iron, and thought to be discovered by a farmer while ploughing a field in 1920, but it was thought to of actually fell 80,000 years ago.

It's biological classification is ataxite, a type of iron. Ataxite is consisted of taenite, plessite and troilite. Iron hydroxides are on the back and was named after the farm it was found on, called Hoba West.

Kepler 22b

Kepler 22b  is an extrasolar planet in the constellation Cygnus occurring 600 light years away from Earth. It's mass is 0.11 and radius of 2.4 and discovered by NASA's Kepler Space Telescope in 2010.

It has a temperature of 262 K and is the first transiting planet to orbit within the habitable zone of a Sun-like star. It's discoverers are the Kepler science team when they looked through their space telescope and, according to science, is larger than Earth and it's star (Kepler 22) is thought to be only slightly smaller than the Sun.

The name "B" in it is because the star was discovered before it so it is named B, very much like the naming of the 1987a supernova. It's right ascension is 19h 16m 52.2s.It is the first extrasolar planet confirmed by Kepler to orbit within it's star's habitable zone.

It's radius is roughly 2.4 times that of Earth's radius but it's mass and surface composition remain still unknown.There is a real theory that the planet is "ocean-like" and similar to another planet, Gliese 1214b.

The Inner Core

The Inner Core is one of five sections of the Earth's Core that is the centre part.It was discovered in 1936
by seismologist Inge Lehmann.

It is thought to consist of iron-nickel alloy and may have a temperature similar to that of the Sun's surface, approximately 5430 C (5700 K).  It is surrounded by thick layers of outer core, mantle, upper mantle and crust.

A man named J.A Jacobs was the first person to have a theory of the fact that the inner core was freezing and growing out of liquid outer core due to the gradual cooling of Earth's interior, which is about 100 degrees Celsius per billion years. It's innermost hottest part as detected by seismological studies, is a primarily solid ball approximately 1,220 km in radius or 70% of that of the moon.

The outer core is surrounded by a thick layer of mantle, which in some places under the ocean is actually exposed on the surface of the Earth.

1987a Supernova

1987a Supernova (also known as SN 1987a) is a supernova system on the edge of the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud. It is approximately 5.4 kiloparsecs from Earth (167,885 light years)

As it's name suggests, it was discovered in 1987 by Ian Shelton and Oscar Duhalde in the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. On March 4th 1987 it was observed by the largest ultraviolet space telescope of that time, named Astron.

It is located in the constellation Dorado with a right ascension of 05h 35m 28.03s and it is the closest recorded supernova since the invention of telescopes.It is close enough to be visible to the naked eye but still outrageously far away. It is the closest observed supernova since SN 1604, which actually occurs in the Milky Way.

The "A" in the name comes from the fact that it was the first supernova discovered in 1987. The progenitor type is B3 supergiant,which has surface temperatures of 30,000-50,000 K

Cygnus X-1 Black Hole

The Cygnus X-1 Black Hole is a black hole system that is one of the strongest X-ray sources seen from Earth in the constellation Cygnus discovered in 1964 and was the subject of physicists Stephen Hawking and Kip Thorne.

It's age is approximately 5 million years old with a with a radial velocity of -13km/s and a right ascension of 19h 58m 21.67595s. It's mass is 14-16 and a radius of 20-22.It was discovered during a 1964 rocket flight.

The largest star in the Cygnus OB3 association has a mass 40 times that of the Sun. The Cygnus X-1 system shares a common motion through space with an association of massive stars named Cygnus OB3, located at approximately 2,000 parsecs from the Sun.Like all black holes, it is invisible and it's job in space is to suck in dead stars. In Star Trek, it is used by villains to destroy a planet they don't want.

It's variable type is ellipsoidal variable, also known as variable star.There is two types of variable star:

• Intrinsic variables, whose luminosity changes
• Extinsic variables, whose apparent changes in brightness are due to changes in the amount of their light that can reach Earth.

Neptune

 

Neptune is the furthest planet from the Sun which also makes it the coldest.

There are many large storms on Neptune, one of which is called the Great Dark Spot, which resembled the Great Red Spot on Jupiter. You will see more information about this storm on post Jupiter.

It was named after the Roman god of the sea, Neptune, because it has got so many dark seas and storms.

It was discovered by the astronomers Urbain Le Verrier, Johann Galle and John Couch Adams.

Geysers have been observed on Neptune’s largest moon, Triton, which can also be found on Earth and also signs of carbon dioxide eruptions on the the southern polar cap of Mars

Uranus

 

Uranus spins on its side because it was knocked over by an object billions of years ago.

It was discovered by William Herschel in March 13, 1781.

The speed of the wind on Uranus can reach 250 metres per second (560 mph)

The temperature of Uranus can go up to –371 Fahrenheit or -224 Centigrade.

The sunlight on Uranus is only 1/400th as strong as it is on Earth.

Saturn

 

Saturn is the second largest planet in the solar system.

A huge hexagonal whirlwind spins non-stop around Saturn. Four earths could fit inside it.

The rings of Saturn are the most visible of all the planets. Although if you tried to see them with a naked eye, they would almost appear invisible!

Saturn has the least density of all the planets, it is the only one that would float on water.

Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, is the second largest moon in the solar system after the Galilean moon Ganymede.

HD85512B

 

This is about the newly discovered planet called HD85512B.

Scientists think they have discovered a new planet that is just about suitable to have life on it. It is more often called “Goldilocks Planet” because it is just right. They have recorded it being 50 centigrade, almost hot as the 57 Celsius recorded in El Azizia in Libya. (The hottest temperature recorded on Earth).

If you look carefully at this picture it looks comparable to Earth.

It was discovered on the 17th August 2011 by the European Southern Observatory in La Silla. Chile.

Jupiter

 

Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system.

Because the orbit of Jupiter is outside the Earth's, the phase angle of Jupiter as viewed from the Earth never exceeds 11.5°.

Jupiter has the fastest orbit of all the planets, just 10 Earth hours to complete a whole run.

A huge violent hurricane blows non-stop around Jupiter called the Great Red Spot. Three or four Earths could fit inside it.

The Galilean Moons are the biggest moons on Jupiter, discovered by astronomer Galileo Galilei, which includes Io, Callisto, Europa and Ganymede. Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system, even bigger than the planet Mercury.

Mars

 

Mars has the biggest volcano in the solar system called Olympus Mons, it is about 17 miles high.

A dried up gorge runs across one side of Mars called Valles Marineris. It stretches for more than 4,000km (2,500 miles). It would stretch all the way across Europe.

Mars is named after the Roman god of war because of Mars’ blood red colour.

On Mars, days are quite similar, one Mars day is 25 Earth hours, only one more hour than our day.

Mars’ moons, Phobos and Deimos, are irregularly shaped.

Earth

 

Earth is the largest of the four rocky planets.

Earth is the only planet we know with life on it. With its many oceans, lakes, rivers and ponds, two thirds of Earth are actually just water.

Sputnik 2, first satellite to observe and measure conditions in space, actually had a dog on board.

Wrapped around Earth is a layer of gases and water vapour, called atmosphere. The atmosphere allows us to breathe. It also protects us from dangerous sun rays.

Earth is the only planet that we know that we can breathe on.

Venus

 

Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system. All Venus days long the average temperature is 465 degrees celsius. That is equal to 870 degrees farenheight!

You wouldn’t survive on Venus for one second. You would be crushed by the pressurized atmosphere, poisoned by deadly gases and fried by the ferocious heat.

On Venus, you may find some flat, rounded volcanoes known as “pancake domes”. They formed from thick, slow-moving lava that became solid before it could flow very far.

Venus is known as Earth’s “sister planet” because it has quite a few similarities. For example, it is about the same size.

Venus is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty because Venus is so bright and beautiful.

Mercury

 

Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System.

The biggest temperature differences are on Mercury. At night it is freezing, as low as -185 degrees celsius. However, in the day time it is boiling. At up to 425 degrees celsius.

Mercury takes only 88 Earth days to orbit the Sun, making a year short. However, one day on Mercury would be 176 Earth days!!

On Mercury you would only weigh 12 kilograms.

Mercury is named after the Roman messenger god because the planet moves so quickly across the sky.

The Sun

 

The official definition of a star like The Sun is a "Yellow G2 Dwarf." It is an average, middle-aged star.

Every bit of wood, coal and oil in the world would only keep the Sun burning for a fraction of a second.

The Sun's gravitational pull is so strong that, even a dwarf planet 5,900,000,000 kilometres away from it (Pluto) is still kept in orbit of the Sun. There are more dwarf planets even further away than Pluto which are kept in orbit by the Sun.

If you could take a journey in an normal airliner flying at its normal speed (about 644 km an hour) travelling from Earth to the Sun, it would take 20 years to reach your destination, and that's without stopping.

If the Sun was brighter, it would be hotter and would have burnt off its hydrogen fuel billions of years ago. This means that, if the Sun is any different to how it is now, life on Earth would not exist. It is the perfect size, perfect age, perfect distance, perfect temperature and perfect brightness for life to exist on a planet like Earth.

Different Alphabets

 

English

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z

Greek

Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda, Mu, Nu, Xi, Omicron, Pi, Rho, Sigma, Tau, Upsilon, Phi, Chi, Psi, Omega

Phonetic

Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliet, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whisky, X-Ray, Yankee, Zulu

Location of TIMEGLASS Labs

 

The TIMEGLASS Labs are just on the left of London Bridge.They are going to be somewhere near, or possibly next to, Tower Bridge. You can see lots of buildings from the top window and will become the tallest in London beating the 310m (1,020 ft.) Shard London Bridge at 330m (1,082ft.)

My Mnemonic for Planets

My (Mercury)

Very (Venus)

Early (Earth)

Morning (Mars)

Jousting (Jupiter)

Sitting (Saturn)

Under (Uranus)

Nine (Neptune)

Potatoes (Pluto)

How TimeGlass Labs Compares