Category Science

WHY IS URANUS LIKE A BARREL?

        Uranus is the third largest planet in our Solar System. It is unusual because it appears to lie on its side. Uranus is tipped on its side and is the only planet to roll around the sun like a barrel instead of spinning upright. Its 11 faint, black rings and 17 moons spin around it like a ferries wheel. It is thought that this is because an object the size of Earth collided with Uranus billions of years ago. The incredible force of the impact knocked the planet onto its side. This means that each pole has 21 years of continual sunlight, and then is plunged into 21 years of perpetual night.

        Uranus is named after the Greek father of the gods, but many questions whether it deserves such a grand title. This is because Uranus is thought by many to be the blandest planet in the solar system. However, Uranus has many interesting features of its own. It rolls around the sun like a barrel, and its weather, although it can’t be seen by naked eye, is highly active.

        Uranus is often unfairly labelled the most boring planet in the solar system. A thick layer of methane in the upper clouds absorbs red light, giving the planet its uniform aquamarine colour. There is little evidence on Uranus bland face of much activity. Viewed normally, the planet has the complexion of a snooker ball. However, the Voyager space probe’s infrared pictures of the planet showed it to have bands of weather activity just like the planets Jupiter and Saturn.

        Uranus itself may be devoid of surface features, but its moons carry a fascinating portrait of a violent past. The bizarre alien landscapes of many of Uranus moons are thought to have been created by water. Scientists believe that as liquid water rose from the hot interior of the moons, it froze and expanded. This caused the crust to buckle outwards. Miranda has the most chaotic surface of any moon. Some parts of her core are now on her surface, and some parts of her crust have been buried. This is most likely to be because the moon has at one time been pulled apart and has gradually reformed.

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What is the habitat of a snow leopard?

 

It is strikingly beautiful, but extremely elusive and shy, appearing only when night falls. The snow leopard has every reason to hide. Like all animals that have warm, attractive coats, it has been hunted down to supply the fashion industry.

The snow leopard’s coat insulates it from the cold and allows the animal to blend in with its surroundings. The coat is a dappled cream or grey in colour and marked with dark rosettes arranged in distinct rows. The fur is incredibly thick, soft and luxurious.

Its tail is remarkable – it is nearly as long as its body! The leopard wraps its tail around its face like a stole when it is sleeping. It also uses the tail to balance itself when it leaps from great heights, and waves its tip like a lure to attract small animals like marmots and hares. Unlike other leopards, it cannot roar.

Snow leopards live in the Himalayas just below the permanent snow line and are found in 12 countries including India (in Ladakh). Their habitat is so forbidding that any specific research into their behaviour in the wild has been minimal.

 

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What does a Tasmanian devil do?

If you are on the Australian island of Tasmania, chances are that you will run into the Tasmanian devil. It is the largest meat-eating marsupial in the world.

The Tasmanian devil earned its reputation (and nickname) because it emits spine-chilling screeches, growls and screams when defending itself or its young from a predator, when hunting, or when fighting over a meal.

It comes out at night to prey on small animals like birds, snakes, fish, insects, and it also feeds on carrion. Devils will eat everything. They have powerful bone-crushing jaws that can deliver one of the strongest bites known.

The female gives birth to nearly 30 babies at a time – aptly called ‘imps’. They are as small as raisins and must crawl through her hair to climb into the backward facing pouch. There are only four nipples in the pouch, so only that many babies survive.

 

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Which is the largest nocturnal primate in the world?

The aye-aye in the largest nocturnal primate in the world. Aye-ayes are elusive and rare creatures found in only in the tropical rainforests of Madagascar, an island off the coast of Africa.

The aye-aye is rather strange-looking, with huge amber eyes, saucer-shaped ears, sharp rodent-like teeth, a dark brown or black coat, and a bushy tail that a longer than its body. Its strangest physical feature is its middle finger. All its fingers are long and slender, tipped with pointed claws, but the middle finger is extra-long and thin. It also has claws on its toes except on its opposable big toe (similar to the opposable thumb in human beings) that helps it to hang from trees.

The aye-aye lives in trees, sleeping through the day in a ball like nest of leaves and branches. At nightfall, it emerges to hunt for food, it eats mainly insects which it finds by tapping the trunk of the tree patiently with its middle finger, it is the only primate to sue echolocation to find its food. It knocks on the wood and then cocks its head to listen for the sound of beetle larvae moving around inside the bark. It nibbles away till a small hole is formed, and using its middle finger as a hook, it draws out the insects!

Loss of its forest habitat, besides superstition, is one of the reasons for its dwindling population. The people of Madagascar look at the aye-aye with superstitions dread because of its strange looks. They believe that its appearance foretells death and the animals are often killed on sight.

 

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Why don’t we experience lunar eclipse every month?

On Earth, we experience two types of eclipses: A solar eclipse happens when the moon moves between the sun and the earth, blocking out the sun’s rays from reaching the earth and casting its shadow on parts of the Earth.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes directly behind the earth and the earth’s shadow blocks sunlight from reflecting of the moon. During a total lunar eclipse, the earth’s shadow (umbra) completely covers the moon.

The moon takes approximately 28 days to make one orbit around the Earth. At this point, you may wonder why we don’t have a lunar eclipse every month. That’s because, the orbit of the moon (around the earth) lies in a different plane to that of the earth (around the sun). To be precise, the lunar orbit is inclined by 5.14 degrees to the latter.

For a lunar eclipse to happen, the sun, moon and earth must be aligned. This happens rarely given the differences in the orbit plane. On an average, a lunar eclipse happens three to four times in a year. In 2020, we will experience four lunar eclipses.

 

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What is the role of climate change in Australia bushfires?

Over the last few decades, there has been a significant spike in the number of wildfires. Greenhouse gas emissions have led to an increase in global temperature. As warmer temperatures hasten evaporation, the land subsequently turns drier, enhancing the chances of wildfires.

A 2019 Australian government report on wildfires and climate change said human-caused climate change has resulted in more dangerous weather conditions for bushfires in recent decades for many regions of Australia.

 Heatwave and drought

Fire season in Australia is always dangerous. But conditions have been unusually severe this year. Australia is experiencing one of its worst droughts in decades. Meanwhile, a heatwave last December broke the record for highest nationwide average temperature, with some places sweltering under temperatures well above 40 degrees Celsius.

Fire season has changed

With climate change, weather conditions are growing more extreme, and for years, the fires have been starting earlier in the season and spreading with greater intensity in Australia. The fire season is starting earlier and is about two to four months longer, especially in south and east Australia. The normal peak fire season is later in summer, which is January and February. Australia is just entering its summer season, meaning the country could be months away from finding relief.

 

Picture Credit : Google