Calendars – Why They Can Be A Bit Out

Thousands of years ago, ancient Greek astronomers calculated that the track of the Earth’s axis is constantly, even if in a very slow way, shifting in a uniform pattern. The change is very similar to the manner a spinning top slowly leans one way and then another as it slows down. It is a wobble that occurs as its axis changes direction.

This odd movement of the planet is due to several factors, the most important of which is something called ‘precession’. Precession stems from the fact that the Earth is not a perfect sphere. It is in fact about twenty-seven miles longer around the Equator that it is around the Poles. The Earth then is oblate, or fat around the middle like middle-aged spread, but it is due to the spinning not to its age.

If you imagine the Earth with its Poles off centre. Then rotate that image and you will find that any point, except the exact centre of the axis, will move in a circle. But very, very gradually. So slowly that it takes 26,000 years to travel full circle and get back to where it started from.

This point then, any point you choose, is very gradually shifting its location in relation to the stars because the axis is rotating too. The result of this is that, what we call the North Star (officially known as Polaris, which is actually one degree off true North) will not be above our North Pole one day. In fact, by about 15,000 AD, Vega will be almost above the North Pole, although it will be about four degrees off true North. But even this will not last, and by 28,000 AD, Polaris will be back above where it is nowadays.

One of the effects of the precession is that seasons change. They modify the dates that they take place, so that Summer could come earlier or later. The amazing thing about our calendar is that it is corrected for that (with the leap year). If it were not, the vernal or Spring equinox would move over 13,000 years from March 21st to September 21st., which is the date of the autumnal equinox, precisely half a year later.

It is for this reason that the precession of the Earth is generally referred to as the “Precession of the Equinoxes”. Although the precession of the equinoxes is very slow, it can be readily observed. The correct year of 325.25 days is the length of time from one vernal equinox to the next vernal equinox, however, it takes 20 minutes and 24 seconds longer for the Sun to appear in precisely the same place with relation to the stars behind it over the same period. This is why accurate star maps have to be stamped with the exact time and date to which they refer.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching Franklin planner pages. If you have an interest in calendars, organizers or promotional calendars, please go over to our website now at Promotional Desk Calendars

Calendars And How To Understand Them

The calendar is such a commonplace, ordinary thing, but how much do you actually know about the working of it. Why is it like that?

A DAY: The Earth rotates at a reasonably fixed pace about the imaginary line running between the North and South Poles named the Earth’s Axis. The time it takes to spin once is called a ‘rotation’ and this takes just under twenty-four hours. Nevertheless, because the Earth is constantly traveling around the Sun, the exact time from noon one day to noon the next is 3 minutes 56 seconds longer and this makes a day almost exactly twenty-four hours in length.

The actual time from noon to noon differs depending where the Earth is on its celestial course around the Sun, but if you average the days in a year out, it comes to precisely twenty-four hours.

A YEAR: All nine planets in our solar system move around the Sun in almost perfectly circular paths called orbits. Each journey around the Sun is called a revolution and all the planets revolve around the Sun in the same direction. The direction the Earth takes can be verified by noting its location against the background stars.

In view of the fact that you cannot see the Sun and the stars at the same time, it is necessary to note the position of the Sun in the morning and the see which stars come out there in the night. You will see that the Sun seems to pass through the twelve constellations of the zodiac during a year.

Earth’s trip around the Sun, which seems like the Sun traveling through the zodiac takes about 365.25 days. This varies from year to year, so astronomers add or delete a second in some years to keep their time accurate with the Earth’s motion.

THE SEASONS: The seasons indicate the variation in the pattern of daylight over the course of a year. Because the Earth is tilted off centre, different parts of it receive different amounts of sunlight on different stages of its path around the Sun, a path that we call a year. So, between approximately the 21st September and late March, the Earth’s Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun, which produces Autumn and Winter, giving less than twelve hours of daylight per day.

From April to the 20th September, the Northern Hemisphere receives more than twelve hours of daylight a day, creating Spring and Summer. The exact opposite happens in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Equinoxes take place at the points in the year when there is exactly twelve hours of sunlight and darkness in the day. So, the vernal or Spring equinox is on or around the 21st March and the autumnal equinox is on or around the 21st September. Summer officially commences on the day with the greatest amount of daylight, the 21st June or summer solstice.

The winter solstice occurs on the shortest day, the 21st December. ‘Solstice’ is a combination of two words meaning ’sun standing still’ and the days are so called because they are the days when the apparent movement of the Sun reaches its extremes and reverses direction again.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching Franklin planner pages. If you have an interest in calendars, organizers or promotional calendars, please go over to our website now at Promotional Desk Calendars

How To Buy A Good Telescope

Although it is possible to have many hours of pleasure observing the night sky using the naked eye or binoculars, at some point in every amateur astronomer’s career the decision is made to buy a telescope.

With the huge number of telescopes (and types of telescope) available, deciding which is the right one to buy can be a tough decision. So it pays to do a little research to find a telescope that suits your individual needs.

Some things to think about when you’re buying a telescope:

Portability

Smaller telescopes are easier to carry and move around and are better suited to being set up quickly, taken to sites away from home or better suited to people who have back problems (the last thing you want to do is put your back out, lugging heavy equipment in the dark!)

Aperture

How well a telescope performs is determined by its aperture – the diameter of the telescope’s main mirror or lens. The more light a telescope can gather, the fainter the objects you can see with it. A bigger telescope will also have greater resolution, which allows you to see finer details on planets and deep-sky objects and enables you to split double stars better.

Your Local Conditions

Neon-glow skies are part of the modern world, drowning out all but the brightest stars and planets. Telescopes see deeper into the night sky than the naked eye but they, too, are subject to the effects of light pollution. Filters are one of the most frequently purchased telescope accessories and when used with a telescope can cut the effects of light pollution, but to get the best views of the night sky, you need to travel to a dark sky site. Large telescopes can be difficult to move in such cases, so a portable telescope is the best option when traveling. Big telescopes are more suited to a backyard observatory and a permanent or semi-permanent setup.

Telescope Prices

It’s fair to say that a decent telescope will cost of the order of a few hundred dollars, minimum, for something like a 6-inch Dobsonian reflector.

No telescope is perfect. Low-end refractors can suffer from chromatic abberation (color fringes around bright objects like the Moon). Reflectors may need to be collimated frequently (especially Newtonian telescopes) – collimation means getting the primary and secondary mirrors parallel so the entire field of view is in focus. But if you can live with such minor issues or they just don’t bother you, then you will get many years of enjoyment from your telescope.

Telescope Accessories

In previous years, Digital Setting Circles where sold as extras for telescopes. These allowed a telescope to be very accurately pointed at particular co-ordinates in the sky. These have now been surpassed by GoTo mounts. Such mounts include a computer which contains a database of all the objects in the sky and can point the telescope to any of those objects at the click of a couple of buttons. Getting your telescope aligned beforehand is crucial to how accurate a GoTo mount is in pointing. GoTo mounts also contain information on each object, will track the sky automatically (so the object of interest won’t drift out of the field of view) and most also contain tours that will take you on a journey to the more interesting objects in the sky.

Conclusion

Your lifestyle will dictate the best type of telescope for you. There’s no use buying an 8-inch reflector if you live in an apartment and have to haul it up to the roof to use it. A small refractor would be a better choice.

Buying from a dedicated telescope store is the best course of action. They’ll be able to advise you on your individual needs.

The more money you spend, the better the telescope you can buy so spend as much as you can without overspending. Check the resale value of the used telescope you’re interested in (on eBay for example) in case you want to sell it at a later date (and buy a better telescope).

Don’t buy a 60mm refractor or a 4 inch reflector – they’re too small and restrict what you can see in the night sky. Go for a 6-inch reflector (a Dobsonian) or an 80mm refractor instead.

Remember, above all, you’re buying a telescope to appreciate the wonders of the night sky, not to give you back trouble or frustration because it’s too awkward to move! Buy a telescope that you will actually use, not one you think would be great but that will never actually get used in practice.

Buy a meteorite at our used telescope store. They make great gifts!

Amazing Professional Astronomy Equipment

Do you feel nostalgic when you see small children fighting over owning a star in the sky before they go to bed? Are you one of those who as a child gazed the night sky to find the brightest star? Then, you should have one of the finest telescopes at your home to bring back those childhood memories. Telescope is a fabulous invention of mankind. You can explore the endless sky with the help of telescope without much effort.

A small reflector telescope would do, if you are buying it for home use. It is a tricky proposition to buy a telescope in any case. You should know the type of telescope that you need before going ahead with the purchase. If you do not know, ask an expert. Once you buy the telescope find a flat surface in your home from which maximum sky could be explored. If you have kids at home, they will enjoy looking through the eye pieces of the telescope. The enormous highly resolved moon is a fascinating experience for the kids.

So, I think, I have inspired you enough to go and buy a telescope right now. Before you rush to the shop for a buy, you should do some research and find the type of telescope that you want for your home. If you want to become a professional astronomer, then, you have to do a bit more research and talk to different experts in astronomy explaining them your needs and your future plans to become a professional. The experts might suggest you to buy a variety of eye pieces and filters that could provide greater magnification and protection to your eyes respectively. It is of utmost importance to take good care of your eyes along with enjoying the experience of seeing the deep sky objects much closer.

International astronomy day is celebrated on May 10th of every year and on this day you must visit one of the planetariums in your city to see what the current treads in the astronomy are and enjoy all the fabulous events on offer. If you know that there is an eclipse that is going to happen, then, you must visit a planetarium during that time to see the eclipse much closer.

Don’t wait too long to get your telescope though. You might miss some great sights!

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Backyard Astronomy: A Few Facts

Backyard astronomy is a hobby that is appropriate for all age levels from a preschooler to golden years. Children can enjoy learning about the major constellations and some of the mythology that has grown up about them over the years. Youngsters can recognize many of the larger objects in the night sky.

As the person becomes more engrossed in the subject of astronomy, there can be additional equipment such as telescopes, computer astronomy software and digital cameras. Some communities have local astronomy clubs to share information and resources. Sometimes clubs go together in order to purchase more sophisticated telescopes.

With the power of the Internet, the hobby astronomer doesn’t have to be alone in keeping up with news and equipment. You can post and read information about products, findings and other topics related to astronomy. Amateur astronomers can share information about special celestial events such as comets and meteor showers that happen only periodically.

On user forums and websites dedicated to astronomy, you can find informational books and videos. Software to help your learn more about the subject or astronomy is popular. You can get help choosing a new telescope or binoculars by reading product reviews submitted by other astronomers. You can hear about related equipment such as tripods and other products to help stabilize your telescope.

Astronomy software is constantly expanding. You can feed in coordinates of your location and a date and see a computer representation of what the sky looks like in any direction. The best software helps you to zero in on any object in the sky and learn information about the astronomical object. The same software can be used indoors to consider how the night sky might have looked at the time of Christ. You can also set the date and time for two weeks or twenty years in the future.

Amateur astronomers may decide to do some of their viewing more comfortably so they can stay warm and dry. They may add a small observatory to their back yard to that the equipment is protected from the elements. Adding photographic equipment or tracking equipment is another way to make the hobby more enjoyable.

As a backyard astronomer, the Internet provides a wealth of information about the subject. You will be able to form personal connections with other hobbyists. Technical and informational materials are widely available on websites on the subject.

Stargazing can be an great hobby. For more information on telescopes and planet-hunting, as well as other hobbies at seekandlearn.com.

Millennium Prophesies

A lot of people prophesied that the start of the new Millennium, the year 2000 would be the date of the end of the world. However, as it worked out, they were very wide of the mark.

What is it that compels people to attempt to predict disasters? Is it because they are trying to warn people or because they want to frighten people? Scare people, I think and thereby gain advantage over the gullible.

These apocalyptic prophesies go back thousands of years and even happen in the Bible. Their only raison d’etre is to frighten people and so gain money, power and influence over them.

Even the millennium bug turned out not to be a problem with computers working perfectly well after midnight in spite of claims by ‘computer experts’ that there would be a worldwide crash of astounding significance. The computer industry made a fortune out of frightening businesses and individuals with their lies. That was the scam of the Nineties to end all swindles!

So why all the hype? Was it just the dawn of a new millennium, which caused so many to make prophesies on this date rather than stick to their normal common sense? Yes, I think. People saw the opportunity of a lifetime to rip others off and they jumped at it.

Needless to say there were thousands of prophesies made ranging from the arrival of aliens and the Second Coming of Christ to plane crashes. None of which came true. Here are a couple of those less than accurate prophesies:

May 5th was the day upon which all the planets lined up. The prediction was that the gravitational force of all these heavenly bodies in alignment would cause massive earthquakes, huge tides and volcanic eruptions.

A lot of people also predicted that the shifting of the poles would take place during 2000 and that this would cause catastrophic events such as high tides, widespread electrical failure and computer failures, which would mean economic disaster for the larger countries and insurance firms.

I do not know what you think, but perhaps instead of worrying about the demise of the world (most doom-mongers have settled on the year 2012 for the destruction of the world) we should work together to make the best of the time we have left on this planet, as well as ensuring that we pass the planet on to the next generation in the same condition as we received it.

If we act in this way, we may hold off the day of reckoning for a long while yet. We are far more likely to undergo apocalypse through nuclear war, global warming and events which are avoidable and within our control, than cosmic events which we have little control over such as asteroids or the Sun’s developing into a red dwarf and ultimately exploding.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with custom wall calendars If you have an interest in calendars, organizers or promotional calendars, please go over to our website now at Promotional Desk Calendars

Creating A Promotional Strategy

Even if you were to invent something earth-shattering, you would not earn any money from of it if you left the invention on your desk. The only way you can profit from it is by selling it and in order to achieve this, you have to inform people that it exists, that it is for sale and where they may get it from. In other words, you have to advertise it.

The US Patents Office has issued thousands patents for items that never made it and many of those did not make it, not because they were not excellent ideas, but because their inventors did not know what to do with them. A business is more or less the same as a new invention. It has to be advertised, unless it is located in the middle of the only street in town.

Having already launched your business, it is to be expected that, you have already worked out your target market and evaluated the demand for your goods or services. Now you have to convert those potential customers into contented customers and this is where your promotional strategy comes in.

A promotional strategy is nothing more than a for reaching your intended market, which is of course the people most likely to need your services or products. At its simplest, your promotional strategy might consist of just hanging a sign over your door and relying on word of mouth from satisfied customers to circulate, thereby doing your advertising for you.

In some cases, this is indeed all the advertising a business needs, but the circumstances are not that common really. It works, if you are operating in a very small town or if your product or service is unique or very specialized or if you enjoy a long-standing good reputation. However, normally, customers require more details to go on before they will be drawn to your business.

Therefore, the objective of your promotional strategy should be to get in touch with the greatest quantity of potential customers by the most economical use of your means, which may include money, personnel and facilities. This means that you have to divine the channels of communication most used by your potential customers and try to get a message to them through those. This is normally constrained by a budget.

Advertising involves the purchasing of time or space in the media you have chosen in order to market your business to your intended market. You then have to decide which form of advertising you are going to use: institutional or product advertising. Institutional advertising markets the firm’s name as in: ‘Larry’s Boot Shop – The Best In Town’, whereas product advertising is more specific and might read: ‘Nike Walking Boots – 30% off at Larry’s. Offer Finishes Soon!’

Both forms of advertising can be successful and lend themselves better to some media than to others. Institutional advertising is better carried out on shop signs, sign-written vans or windows or promotional calendars, that is, static, long-term, business name advertising and product advertising is better done by newspaper, magazine, radio and TV, where one-off special offers can be promoted.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with researching promotional wall calendars. If you have an interest in calendars, organizers or promotional calendars, please go over to our website now at Promotional Desk Calendars

Christianity’s Holy Days

Christmas – is the celebration of Jesus’ birthday. Although the precise date of his birth is unknown, December 25th was probably selected because it coincided with a pagan mid-winter festival. The ‘Twelve Days Of Christmas” mark the days between Christmas and Epiphany (January 6th), which was the day of the wise men’s visit.

Easter – is the most important day in the Christian calendar, because it celebrates Christ’s Resurrection, which gave / gives Christians the hope of salvation and eternal life. Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal (Spring) equinox, which is on 21st March.

Shrove Tuesday – (Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday) was initially a day of penance, but is now marked by merrymaking. It is the day before the commencement of Lent.

Ash Wednesday – is derived from the marking of a cross on the forehead of believers with the ashes from the burnt palms used on Palm Sunday.

Lent – 40 days of penance and fasting

Palm Sunday – the Sunday before Easter, celebrates the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem, where palms were strewn on the road before him.

Maundy (Holy) Thursday – the day of the Last supper.

Good Friday – is the day of Christ’s crucifixion.

Holy Saturday – is the day before the Resurrection.

The Annunciation – March 25th is celebrated by Catholics as the day that Archangel Gabriel told Mary about her impending pregnancy.

Trinity Sunday – is celebrated by some denominations in honour of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. It was confirmed part of the holy calendar in 1334 by Pope John XII.

Corpus Christi – Catholics celebrates the presence of the body of Christ on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday.

All Saints Day – this mainly Catholic remembrance is on November 1 and honours all Christian saints.

Advent – a religious season that starts on the Sunday nearest to November 30 and lasts until Christmas Day. It celebrates the birth of Jesus and anticipates his Second Coming. It was once a period of fasting, but now no longer.

Holy Days Of Obligation – are feast days in the Catholic calendar marked by attendance at mass and the avoidance of unnecessary work. There are six in the USA: Solemnity of Mary – January 1: Christ’s circumcision, ie his first shedding of blood Ascension – 40 days after Easter Assumption – August 15: Mary is accepted into Heaven All Saints’ Day – November 1 Mary’s Immaculate Conception – December 8 Christmas Day – December 25.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with Franklin Covey planner refillss If you have an interest in calendars, organizers or promotional calendars, please go over to our website now at Promotional Desk Calendars

Gifts – 5 Top Tips

It is a global custom to give gifts for such occasions as birthdays and wedding days, but after that is where the countries start to differ. Britons and people tracing their roots back there give gifts on Christmas Day too.

However, many other Europeans give presents at Christmas on Saint Nicholas’ Day or December 6th. Non-Christian countries usually give presents at New Year.

Whatever you do in your country, giving a gift takes thought. The stores are frequently full of rubbish at these gift-giving times of the year, but there is also a lot of excellent stuff about, at a price. The alternatives are twofold basically.

You can either make something which will be unique, I suppose that this includes personalizing a shop-bought gift or you can think outside of the box, which many people find quite hard. Personally, I find it difficult, but it does get easier the more often you try it and the better you know the person you are going to give the present to.

Here then are a few ideas which you may resolve to take on board ‘as is’, or they may inspire you on to better ideas. As I write, Christmas is coming up and then it is Saint Valentine’s day before you know it. We definitely get plenty of opportunity to practice buying presents in the West!

A Plot Of Your Own: I come from Wales in the UK (is there any other?) and up the way from me a local plot of green-belt land was in trouble. Experts said that it ought to be planted with trees, but the authorities did not have the funds, so they advertised six feet square plots of land for sale with a sapling of your preference on it.

You also got a title deed, directions and a photo. In addition, the tree would be maintained for five years until it was established. I am aware that this is not the only place that did this and it was probably not the first either, but it makes a good gift for a teenager who is wondering what he or she can do to help the environment.

The Key To Success: some children and their parents will be grateful for this one. Search the second-hand shops for an older or even an unusual money box. Fill the money box up to a certain level with various coins that bring that level up to the value that you want to give, but leave plenty of room for the child to put money in too. Who do you give the key to? That depends on how well you know the child.

Starting A Collection: this is a brave, but good one. If you know the child well or are prepared to take on a commitment (such as a godparent should), you could select a set of collectables, like plates, glasses or coins and buy two or three pieces to start the collection off. You can add to it every year. Others will be thankful to you too because they will jump on the band wagon.

In The Bag: if your friend is an invalid or just is temporarily in hospital, it is beneficial to give a wicker basket or a nice bag full of practical items. Select the items to suit your friend, but everyone might like a writing pad, a pen, a comb or brush, wet wipes or tissues, a small book of verse, a miniature radio with ear plugs, a mirror, straws, a bottle opener, only you know, but you get the idea, I’m sure.

Stamp It: you can buy a large packet of literally thousands of foreign stamps for very little. Buy a stamp album and hinges and you could start a lasting obsession. It also gives you gift ideas for years to come too.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching Fanklin planner pages. If you have an interest in calendars, organizers or promotional calendars, please go over to our website now at Promotional Desk Calendars

50mw Green Laser Pointer – A Laser Pointer With Clout

If you are going to obtain a pointer with 50mW output I genuinely hope you are going to handle it carefully.

I would definitely advise that you have on safety glasses whilst making use of it because it has been discovered that protracted exposure to 50mW of green laser beam could harm your sight.

Because these laser pointers are so commonly available at present and the minor outputs could be as cheap as $5, more and more folks are buying them though I do think that anything over 5mW is illegal in the US.

This may also mean that all different sorts of individuals are buying them. A quantity of are more serious and will make use of their 50mW green laser pointer with carefulness and even so have fun with it, nevertheless others appear dead set to be as stupid as they could and produce as much destruction believing that is fun – it is never amusing for different people about them.

I constantly think it is a great shame when people misuse any object because it always reflects unfavorably on all different users. I truly observed on one advertisement that someone showed a video demonstrating how straightforward it was to turn off streetlights! Is that rational? I do not think so.

I consider that lasers are remarkable whenever used for anything like surgery, sight modification, astronomy and of course armed forces aspects. They can be used for so much which is beneficial however it always would appear to be the case that with each and every first-rate use there is a wicked one.

I wonder if it might be a helpful thing to always keep with you whenever you go hiking into the rough country wherever that may be. If you were off course and it signified others needed to search for you how visible you could be if you had a green laser pointer to guide their attention to your position. It should save hours or exploration time.

It has to be stressed that these must never be left in the hands of children because they would in no way believe that it might be unsafe. They might consider Luke Skywalker is the bees knees and they desire to be just like him, nevertheless, I will never be keen to be in the path of kids handling a 50mW green laser pointer!

I recognize that it is possible to procure a 50mW 2 in 1 green laser star pointer projector, this has a pattern cap that I understand will pitch stars on to your walls and/or ceiling. I definitely would enjoy to see that.

You are going to probably find that when you push the ‘on’ push button that it doesn’t remain on. To be continually ON is not believed ’safe’.

Enjoy and be safe.

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