Archive: July 2012

A hotel on the Moon?

A hotel on the Moon – that sounds quite utopian if not absurd.  Fact is, there are people thinking about colonising and inhabiting space or other celestial bodies, since man has been busy flying into space. And if we believe the statements of different companies that are planning hotels beyond the Earth, there has to be a great demand. This would actually be also necessary to make this project lucrative. Or is it merely the prestige and publicity, which are reaped by such an undertaking and hence would justify it? [read more]

Column: Worth reading, Worth seeing, Worth smiling | 6 comments
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The career of William Turner

Photography had not yet been invented when the British painter J. M. William Turner (1775–1851) created his painting »Fishermen at Sea« in 1796, where he depicts a nightly scenery at a tempestuous sea, which is lit by the full moon midst heavy clouds. This painting was the first exhibited oil painting by the then 21 year-old Turner and marked the beginning of a great career. [read more]

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The Kinks and their song »full moon«

In 1977 the English music group The Kinks, released their album »Sleepwalker«, with which they returned to the more rocky sounds of the 60s after a more conceptual and overtexted phase, and thus were at least able to resume their previous success.

The Kinks are considered to be one of the most important British rock bands of this time, next to The Beatles, Rolling Stones and The Who. [read more]

Column: Worth hearing, Worth reading, Worth seeing | no comments
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The libration of the Moon

Who believes to see a staggering Moon at night, has probably had a drop too much, although a staggering movement of the Moon actually exists in astronomy. This is called »libration«,  but happens very slowly and is therefore only visible by the naked eye in time-lapse photography.

The Moon orbits around the Earth in a so called synchronous rotation. This means that it always faces one hemisphere towards the Earth, while the reverse side of the Moon is not visible from Earth. Due to certain physical conditions (relating to orbits, angular velocity, centres of mass, among others), what happens is that the visible surface of the Moon varies slightly during the course of the moon cycle, and there is a gentle change of inclination of the Moon’s axis or it appears to turn a little. [read more]

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Guru Purnima at the full moon

In June or July of each year, students commemorate their spiritual teachers (Gurus) with a big festival in India, but also in many parts of Asia. This festival is always celebrated at a full moon (Purnima):

3rd July 2012 [*]
22nd July 2013
12th July 2014
31st July 2015

In Hinduism, this day is also dedicated to the wise Vyasa who is connected to vital Indian writings, like the Vedas, a significant collection of religious scripts.


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Column: Worth reading | 2 comments
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