Brand New Bat

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/02/120223-new-bat-species-vietnam-animals-science/

Christine Dell'Amore

National Geographic News

Published February 24, 2012

Brand New Bat

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/02/120223-new-bat-species-vietnam-animals-science/

Christine Dell'Amore

National Geographic News

Published February 24, 2012

 Believe  it or not this is an actually species of bats. It is called the New Leaf-Nose Bat. This unusual bat was found in Vietnam. When this bat was found it was mistaken for the leaf-nosed bat. However the leaf-nosed bat is more gentle then this new species is a bit more hostile. The scientists who discovered the new leaf-nosed bat did some tests on it, but they do not have a lot of information on it. However the bat calls at a different frequency than other bats.

I think that this article was interesting even though they did not have too much information. I chose this article because I was scrolling down my screen for an interesting article and I was just looking at the pictures. Then the same picture of the bat popped up and I knew I had to use it.

A moonth of a phase

In my science class we did a project to learn how moonth of a phase of or a phase of the moon happens. My hypothesis was just that the full moon and the new moon were switched, and that the phases were caused by the suns light too. Here are some of the things that I learned.

1.)    In my model my Earth was a big foam ball, the moon was a little foam ball, and the sun was a small light.

2.)    When the moon is in front of you and you are facing the lamp you don’t see anything because the moon is blocking it.

3.)    Top= last quarter

Right= full moon

Left= new moon

Bottom=first quarter

4.)    With two of the phases of the moon you can see half of the moon one time you can see the left side and the other you can see the right. On another phase you can see the whole moon , but on another you can’t see anything.

5.)    The light is always shining on the moon; however we might not be able to see it because it could be on the other side. Also the new moon is not caused by and eclipse because an eclipse is when the sun and the moon are perfectly inline and you can just see the perimeter of the sun. A new moon is just when you can’t see the sun at all.

6.)    I think making the model helped my understanding of how the phases of the moon work because I did not really understand. However it was a bit difficult because it was a challenge to get the perspective from Earth. Another way to do the project could have been to hang the moon and moved the light around it.

The Reasons for the Seasons

In my science class we did an experiment to find out what causes the seasons. My hypothesis was "I think the cause for the seasons is the amount of light they get from the sun". My hypothesis was correct but I was able to get an answer in a bit more depth. The amount of light that a certain hemisphere gets is caused by the tilt of the Earth's axis because one hemisphere gets a lot of light and the other doesn't get much. That is why here in Serbia it is winter and in Australia it is summer. The southern hemisphere is pointing the sun while we are pointed away. Where we are the shadows are shorter because we don't have as much sunlight because the southern hemisphere is blocking it. When it is summer in the northern hemisphere the shadows are longer because the sun is not being blocked by anything. The weather in the equator is always practically the same.

This is a picture of the seasons

 

1.)    When it is winter in the Northern hemisphere the equator and the southern hemisphere get the most light. When it is summer in the northern hemisphere the northern hemisphere and the equator get the most light.

2.)    When it is winter in the northern hemisphere they don’t get a lot of light but the equator does. When it is summer the northpole and the equator get a lot of light.

3.)    If the grid lines are bigger on the globe that means that it is far away from the sun and it is cold.

4.)    I believe the part of the globe that always stays cooler is both of the poles because they are always a bit further away from the sun than the equator. The part that stayed the warmest is the equator because it stays a constant distance away from the sun, and it gets the same amount of sunlight.

5.)    In summer the shadow of the tooth pick is longer because the light is up higher and pointing at it. In the winter it is shorter because the suns light come from a low angle.

6.)    The squares on the globe were saying how much heat a certain gets because on the equator the boxes were square saying that it got direct sun light on the northern and southern hemisphere they were rectangles which means it gets indirect sun light.

7.)    Seasons are caused by Earth’s axis. In other words how the Earth is pointing at the sun. The tilt of the Earth creates the seasons because, the hemisphere that is pointing at the sun will be summer and the part that is tilted away it would be winter. When it is spring or fall the tilt is in between the tilt for winter and summer. The part that is pointed at the sun gets more light then the one that is tilted away.

Geomagnetic Storm

Reuters

Sun hurls strong geomagnetic storm toward Earth

By Deborah Zabarenko

1/24/12

A geomagnetic storm was predicted to hit Earth’s magnetic field on Tuesday. This was the strongest geomagnetic storm from the past six years. This may interfere with the power grids, satellites, and the airline routes. A geomagnetic storm is when a piece of the suns atmosphere is ripped apart and fly's through space. The one that just happened was a really big piece of the atmosphere. It was being hurtled through space at around 5 million mph. Onsager said, "When it hits us, it's like a big battering ram that pushes into Earth’s magnetic field, that energy causes Earth's magnetic field to fluctuate."    

     This energy can also interrupt the radio that airlines use when they are up north by the north pole. A lot of the flight planes have to be changed. This storm will either be moderate or very strong.

I thought this was quite interesting. I never really knew what a geomagnetic storm  was, but now I understand it. I wonder how bad this is so far. I know that this storm is going to be going on for a while, I want to know how long this will go on for. I know that they say it is a big piece of the suns atmosphere, but I want to know about how big.

Bombadir Beetles

Bombadir beetles are a very unique bug. They are bugs with a strange defense mechanism. They are prey, so they need a way to defend themselves.The way they defend themselves is spitting out boiling acid from their bottoms. The acid kills the prey. One of the things that I find strange about this is how the beetle dose not burn themselves.

This is what they look like.

Here is a video talking about their defensive habit.
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/81184611/