December offers long, dark nights which are ideal to watch the stars and planets. Take a look at what the skies have to offer during the last month of the year.
On December 7, look out for the New Moon. This is also the best time to observe faint objects like galaxies and star clusters.
Fantastic sights
Just before sunset, catch a glimpse of the ringed planet, Saturn. You can see Uranus and Neptune with a telescope or binoculars. Uranus can be seen in the constellation of Aries and Neptune in Aquarius. Venus is at its best before sunrise. It will be the brightest in the sky barring the sun and the moon.
You may know the most populated cities, the happiest cities, and even the richest. But, do you know the greenest cities? See which city has got the top spot.
Cities have been sorted into all sorts of lists – largest, most populated, richest, happiest, etc. Here’s a list that really matters – greenest.
Dutch agency TravelBird released a list of 10 greenest cities in the world. They compiled the Green City Index by analysing the maps of 50 city-members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. They looked at the amount of green space in these cities and divided it into three categories: natural, man-made, and food production. These green spaces were then reported in terms of the number of square metres available per inhabitant of each city.
According to this index, the greenest city is Reykjavik where there is 410.84 metres-squared of green space available for every resident.
Here are the top six greenest cities:
How knowledgeable are you? Be a whiz kid; get cracking on this interactive quiz and see how many questions you can get right.
Play this interactive video quiz and test your general knowledge.
Every day is Children’s Day with these magical GIF books that move! Coin a spell and win goodies.
The bombing of Pearl Harbour paved the way for the U.S. to enter the war. It also put December 7 on the calendar as a date that would live in infamy.
December 7 is commemorated as Pearl Harbour Day. It remembers the men and women who died in the surprise attack on Pearl Harbour by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service. The attack is also known as the Battle of Pearl Harbour, and it led to the U.S. entry into World War II.
In the mood for a snack? Whip up your own easy-to-make popcorn. Simply follow the instructions.
Weekends are a perfect time to unwind, have fun and catch up on some fun movies. Throw in some yummy popcorn and enjoy yourself. And, you can make your own too.
Here’s what you need:
It might seem a bit tricky, but it is not. Read the clues and figure it out. The words are hidden in the clue itself. Find out how quickly you can solve it.
Many products we use to stay clean and healthy are actually harming the environment, animal life and us too. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Here are five unlikely products that harm our environment. Try your hand at this memory game and at the same time get to know more about how you can take care of the world around you.
The animals in the Arctic have their own unique way of dealing with the freezing cold. Learn about them, while you have fun solving the puzzles.
There’s only ice and snow as far as the eyes can see and the temperature can drop as low as −40 °C. You wonder if any life can survive in such a place. Well, lots of them do!
The Arctic region is located on the northernmost part of our planet. It is home to people and several animals like the polar bear, reindeer, walrus, harp seal, and narwhal that have adapted to the region and its harsh conditions.
Let’s take a look at some animals that belong to the Arctic region and their unique adaptation mechanisms. Solve each grid to see their full image.
Arctic fox
The Arctic fox’s thick fur is what helps shield it from the dipping temperatures and terrible winds. Its summer coat is thinner and the colour varies from dark grey to brown. In winter, it turns into a luxurious white winter coat camouflaging it against the snow. The animal also uses the thick fur on its tail to wrap around itself for extra insulation.
Beluga whale
Beluga whales are warm-blooded mammals. They have an internal metabolic process that helps to stabilise their body temperature in the cold waters of the Arctic. They also have a thick layer of blubber (oil) that surrounds their body and insulates them. Another adaptation is that rather than a dorsal fin – a fin located on the back of most marine vertebrates – a beluga has a dorsal ridge. This is because a dorsal fin would be prone to injury from ice and heat loss.
Arctic tern
These birds migrate the farthest than any other birds, flying an average of 90,000 km a year from Northern Arctic areas to the Antarctic in the South, where they spend the winter. To help adapt to the cold, the Arctic terns have a high metabolic rate, which means they consume and burn high energy food like fish and oily krill to generate heat from within.
Take a look at the books, their authors and illustrators who have been shortlisted this year.
The 2019 awards recognise children’s books published in India. Three books have been shortlisted in four categories. The winners will be announced at The Hindu Lit for Life in Chennai in January 2019. Here’s a look at the nominees:
Best Picture Book: Illustration
Best Picture Book: Story
Best Book: Fiction
Best Book: Non-Fiction
