December solstice
The December solstice, is the solstice that occurs each December – on Dec 21, can vary ± 1 day according to the Gregorian calendar. In the Northern Hemisphere, the December solstice is the winter solstice, whilst in the Southern Hemisphere it is the summer solstice, it is known as the southern solstice. Recent and future dates and times, in Universal Time, of the December solstice are: The December solstice solar year is the solar year based on the December solstice, it is thus the length of time between adjacent December solstices. The length of the December solstice year has been stable between 6000 BC and 2000 at 49:30 to 50:00 in excess of 365 days and 5 hours. After 2000 it is getting shorter. In 4000 the excess time will be 48:52 and in 10000 46:45; the following tables contain information on the length of the day on December 22nd, close to the winter solstice of the Northern Hemisphere and the summer solstice of the Southern Hemisphere. The data was collected from the website of the Finnish Meteorological Institute on 22 December 2015, as well as from certain other websites.
The data is arranged geographically and within the tables from the shortest day to the longest one. The figures in the charts show the differences between the Gregorian calendar and Persian Jalāli calendar in reference to the actual yearly time of the Southern solstice; the error shifts by less than 1/4 day per year. The date of the solstice is not the same as the date of the latest sunrise and both are not the same as the date of earliest sunset; because the Earth is moving along its solar orbital path, for each solar day the Earth has to do more than one full rotation. Because the Earth's orbit is elliptical, the speed at which the Earth moves along its orbit varies. Solar days are not the same length throughout the year. "Mean time" is our way of modifying this, for our convenience, making each day the same length, i.e. 24 hours. The maximum correction is ± 15 minutes to the mean but its value changes quite around the solstices. If solar time were used rather than mean time, the latest sunrise and earliest sunset and therefore the shortest day would all be at the December solstice in the northern hemisphere.
Christmas Dies Natalis Solis Invicti Brumalia Dongzhi Festival
Fertilizer
A fertilizer or fertiliser is any material of natural or synthetic origin, applied to soils or to plant tissues to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. Many sources of fertilizer exist, both natural and industrially produced. Fertilizers enhance the growth of plants; this goal is met in the traditional one being additives that provide nutrients. The second mode by which some fertilizers act is to enhance the effectiveness of the soil by modifying its water retention and aeration; this article, like many on fertilizers, emphasises the nutritional aspect. Fertilizers provide, in varying proportions: three main macronutrients: Nitrogen: leaf growth Phosphorus: Development of roots, seeds, fruit. Of occasional significance are silicon and vanadium; the nutrients required for healthy plant life are classified according to the elements, but the elements are not used as fertilizers. Instead compounds containing these elements are the basis of fertilizers; the macro-nutrients are consumed in larger quantities and are present in plant tissue in quantities from 0.15% to 6.0% on a dry matter basis.
Plants are made up of four main elements: hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. Carbon and oxygen are available as water and carbon dioxide. Although nitrogen makes up most of the atmosphere, it is in a form, unavailable to plants. Nitrogen is the most important fertilizer since nitrogen is present in proteins, DNA and other components. To be nutritious to plants, nitrogen must be made available in a "fixed" form. Only some bacteria and their host plants can fix atmospheric nitrogen by converting it to ammonia. Phosphate is required for the production of DNA and ATP, the main energy carrier in cells, as well as certain lipids. Micronutrients are consumed in smaller quantities and are present in plant tissue on the order of parts-per-million, ranging from 0.15 to 400 ppm DM, or less than 0.04% DM. These elements are present at the active sites of enzymes that carry out the plant's metabolism; because these elements enable catalysts their impact far exceeds their weight percentage. Fertilizers are classified in several ways.
They are classified according to whether they provide a single nutrient, in which case they are classified as "straight fertilizers." "Multinutrient fertilizers" provide two or more nutrients, for example N and P. Fertilizers are sometimes classified as inorganic versus organic. Inorganic fertilizers exclude carbon-containing materials except ureas. Organic fertilizers are plant- or animal-derived matter. Inorganic are sometimes called synthetic fertilizers since various chemical treatments are required for their manufacture; the main nitrogen-based straight fertilizer is its solutions. Ammonium nitrate is widely used. Urea is another popular source of nitrogen, having the advantage that it is solid and non-explosive, unlike ammonia and ammonium nitrate, respectively. A few percent of the nitrogen fertilizer market has been met by calcium ammonium nitrate; the main straight phosphate fertilizers are the superphosphates. "Single superphosphate" consists of 14–18% P2O5, again in the form of Ca2, but phosphogypsum.
Triple superphosphate consists of 44-48% of P2O5 and no gypsum. A mixture of single superphosphate and triple superphosphate is called double superphosphate. More than 90% of a typical superphosphate fertilizer is water-soluble; the main potassium-based straight fertilizer is Muriate of Potash. Muriate of Potash consists of 95-99% KCl, is available as 0-0-60 or 0-0-62 fertilizer; these fertilizers are common. They consist of two or more nutrient components. Major two-component fertilizers provide both phosphorus to the plants; these are called NP fertilizers. The main NP fertilizers are diammonium phosphate; the active ingredient in MAP is NH4H2PO4. The active ingredient in DAP is 2HPO4. About 85% of MAP and DAP fertilizers are soluble in water. NPK fertilizers are three-component fertilizers providing nitrogen and potassium. NPK rating is a rating system describing the amount of nitrogen and potassium in a fertilizer. NPK ratings consist of three numbers separated by dashes describing the chemical content of fertilizers.
The first number represents the percentage of nitrogen in the product. Fertilizers do not contain P2O5 or K2O, but the system is a conventional shorthand for the amount of the phosphorus or potassium in a fertilizer. A 50-pound bag of fertilizer labeled 16-4-8 contains 8 lb of nitrogen, an amount of phosphorus equivalent to that in 2 pounds of P2O5, 4 pounds of K2O. Most fertilizers are labeled according to this N-P-K convention, although Australian convention, following an N-P-K-S system, adds a fourth number for sulfur, uses elemental values for all values including P and K; the main micronutrients are molybdenum, zinc and copper. These elements are provided as water-soluble salts
Maringá
Maringá is a municipality in southern Brazil founded on 10 May 1947 as a planned urban area. It is the third largest city in the state of Paraná, with 385,753 inhabitants in the city proper, 764,906 in the metropolitan area. Located in northwestern Paraná, crossed by the Tropic of Capricorn, it is a regional centre for commerce, agro-industries, universities, including the State University of Maringá. Maringá takes its name from a song by Joubert de Carvalho in honour of his great love, Maria do Ingá shortened to Maringá; as a result, the city is nicknamed "Song City". At the time the settlement was established, the song was popular in the media. In 1925, the Northern Paraná Land Company was established in London and was responsible for the management of more than 500,000 acres in the northern part of the State, which today contains some of the largest cities in Paraná; the region's fertile land encouraged São Paulo colonists to move in and acquire new areas for production of coffee beans, an important product for exportation.
The northern region of Paraná encloses nearly 100 thousand km². It is watered by the Rivers Paraná, Ivaí and Piquiri; the urban project requested by the British Company Improvements North of the Paraná and elaborated by the city planner Jorge Macedo Vieira, defined the outlines of the new city. Maringá was received the category of city on 14 February 1951; the Company, worried about deforestation proceeding from the occupation foreseen in the urbanistics projects, reserved three great ecological areas within the urban limits: the Forest Horto, the Park of the Ingá and Forest II and the city was planned as a "garden city" from the beginning. Maringá is well served by internet, print newspapers, television and mobile phone companies. Maringá has substations and 14 Radio FM stations. Maringá experiences a tropical climate bordering on a humid subtropical climate, it has well distributed rainfall, where the average temperature of the coldest month is around 17.8°C and average annual temperatures around 21.95 °C.
Because of its location, situated in southern Brazil and crossed by the Tropic of Capricorn, the region of Maringá is influenced by several macro-climatic factors caused by migration of air masses from the Atlantic Ocean and from the Tropical zone. In the winter the infiltration of cold air from the polar front is common, frosts can occur; the city, planned from its inception, offers an enviable flora. Maringá is considered one of the greenest cities in the world. Maringá has a high rate of concentration of green area per capita, there are 90 acres of native forest on 17 preserved areas; the city preserves within its limits large areas of native forest in the Horto Florestal, Parque dos Pioneiros and Parque do Inga, this being open to the public. It includes smaller preserved areas as the Parque do Cinquentenário, private areas and so on. Proportionally, Maringá has one of the largest fleets per capita of vehicles of Paraná State; because of it, there are some places of the city with pollution levels above the recommended.
Two regions in the city are the biggest problems, they are Colombo. Industries, noise pollution and household waste contribute significantly to the pollution of the city. In spite of this, Maringá still preserves a reputation of green city. Maringá is highlighted today by the commercial service delivery; the service sector is Maringá's largest, followed by farming. Within industry, the food-processing and textile sectors predominate; the agriculture still is fundamental for Maringá, although its importance has declined in recent years. Farming is diversified, besides coffee, today are produced corn, cotton, beans, rice, sugar cane, soybeans. Among the various segments in the industrial sector of Maringá, there are metal-mechanics, agribusiness and food companies; the industrial sector is not as expressive as agriculture. The city has a growing fleet that handles weaving and agribusiness, but clothing. Big industries such as Cocamar, Coca-Cola, among others, foster job creation in the region, other cities.
Metalworking industries serving the entire country and exports to countries in Latin America a large range of products. Maringá is the fashion hub in the south of Brazil, with the largest wholesale mall in Latin America, the Mercosul. Maringá has been highlighted in the software market, with a consolidated APL. Maringá has five shopping malls: Avenida Center Mall, Cidade Mall, Mandacaru Boulevard Mall, Maringá Park Mall and Catuaí Maringá Mall, this is the second largest shopping mall in the State of Paraná; the commercial vocation of Maringá can be proven by dynamism and variety of items offered by companies from the sectors of food products, clothing, fittings, restaurants, snack bars. And for being a polo wholesaler, commodity prices are competitive; these factors combine to attract consumers from different regions of Paraná, southwest of São Paulo and some cities in Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul. The companies act in at least seven segments of the wholesale market: food, dry goods and offal, glass, wood, auto parts and appliances.
Not to mention the many garment industries, which sell them at wholesale. The city houses the Maringa and Region Convention & Visitors Bureau, an organization of character and i
Amaroo, Queensland
Amaroo is an Outback locality split between the Shire of Boulia and the Shire of Diamantina, both in Central Western Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Amaroo had a population of 22 people. Amaraoo is a large but uninhabited locality in the Channel Country. Rivers like the Georgina River, Burke River, Hamilton River and Sylvester Creek flow through the locality, all them part of the Lake Eyre basin; these rivers only flow intermittently and when they flow, the water evaporates before it reaches Lake Eyre. The land is flat so there is no clear single course for these rivers but rather they flow along a series of channels in the same direction; the waterholes that result from the flooding of these rivers sustain both native fauna and support cattle grazing, the principal land use. The entire locality is within the Marian Downs cattle station, which being 12,870 square kilometres extends into some neighbouring localities; as at 2017, the property is the largest of 14 cattle stations owned by the North Australian Pastoral Company.
The homestead is located at 23.3667°S 139.65°E / -23.3667. The Diamantina Developmental Road passes from north to south through the locality; the Tropic of Capricorn passes from east to west through the locality. The locality takes its name from Lake Amaroo, which in turn derives its name from the Kogai word "Amu" meaning water. NAPCO purchased Marion Downs in 1934. Media related to Amaroo, Queensland at Wikimedia Commons
Transpiration
Transpiration is the process of water movement through a plant and its evaporation from aerial parts, such as leaves and flowers. Water is necessary for plants but only a small amount of water taken up by the roots is used for growth and metabolism; the remaining 97–99.5% is lost by transpiration and guttation. Leaf surfaces are dotted with pores called stomata, in most plants they are more numerous on the undersides of the foliage; the stomata are bordered by guard cells and their stomatal accessory cells that open and close the pore. Transpiration occurs through the stomatal apertures, can be thought of as a necessary "cost" associated with the opening of the stomata to allow the diffusion of carbon dioxide gas from the air for photosynthesis. Transpiration cools plants, changes osmotic pressure of cells, enables mass flow of mineral nutrients and water from roots to shoots. Two major factors influence the rate of water flow from the soil to the roots: the hydraulic conductivity of the soil and the magnitude of the pressure gradient through the soil.
Both of these factors influence the rate of bulk flow of water moving from the roots to the stomatal pores in the leaves via the xylem. Mass flow of liquid water from the roots to the leaves is driven in part by capillary action, but driven by water potential differences. If the water potential in the ambient air is lower than the water potential in the leaf airspace of the stomatal pore, water vapor will travel down the gradient and move from the leaf airspace to the atmosphere; this movement lowers the water potential in the leaf airspace and causes evaporation of liquid water from the mesophyll cell walls. This evaporation increases the tension on the water menisci in the cell walls and decrease their radius and thus the tension, exerted on the water in the cells; because of the cohesive properties of water, the tension travels through the leaf cells to the leaf and stem xylem where a momentary negative pressure is created as water is pulled up the xylem from the roots. In taller plants and trees, the force of gravity can only be overcome by the decrease in hydrostatic pressure in the upper parts of the plants due to the diffusion of water out of stomata into the atmosphere.
Water is absorbed at the roots by osmosis, any dissolved mineral nutrients travel with it through the xylem. The cohesion-tension theory explains. Water molecules stick together, or exhibit cohesion; as a water molecule evaporates from the surface of the leaf, it pulls on the adjacent water molecule, creating a continuous flow of water through the plant. Plants regulate the rate of transpiration by controlling the size of the stomatal apertures; the rate of transpiration is influenced by the evaporative demand of the atmosphere surrounding the leaf such as boundary layer conductance, temperature and incident sunlight. Soil water supply and soil temperature can influence stomatal opening, thus transpiration rate; the amount of water lost by a plant depends on its size and the amount of water absorbed at the roots. Transpiration accounts for most of the water loss by a plant by the leaves and young stems. Transpiration serves to evaporatively cool plants, as the evaporating water carries away heat energy due to its large latent heat of vaporization of 2260 kJ per litre.
During a growing season, a leaf will transpire many times more water than its own weight. An acre of corn gives off about 3,000–4,000 gallons of water each day, a large oak tree can transpire 40,000 gallons per year; the transpiration ratio is the ratio of the mass of water transpired to the mass of dry matter produced. Transpiration rates of plants can be measured by a number of techniques, including potometers, porometers, photosynthesis systems and thermometric sap flow sensors. Isotope measurements indicate. Recent evidence from a global study of water stable isotopes shows that transpired water is isotopically different from groundwater and streams; this suggests that soil water is not as well mixed as assumed. Desert plants have specially adapted structures, such as thick cuticles, reduced leaf areas, sunken stomata and hairs to reduce transpiration and conserve water. Many cacti conduct photosynthesis in succulent stems, rather than leaves, so the surface area of the shoot is low. Many desert plants have a special type of photosynthesis, termed crassulacean acid metabolism or CAM photosynthesis, in which the stomata are closed during the day and open at night when transpiration will be lower.
To maintain the pressure gradient necessary for a plant to remain healthy they must continuously uptake water with their roots. They need to be able to meet the demands of water lost due to transpiration. If a plant is incapable of bringing in enough water to remain in equilibrium with transpiration an event known as cavitation occurs. Cavitation is when the plant cannot supply its xylem with adequate water so instead of being filled with water the xylem begins to be filled with water vapor; these particles of water vapor form blockages within the xylem of the plant. This prevents the plant from being able to transport water throughout its vascular system. There is no apparent pattern of. If not taken care of, cavitation can cause a plant to reach its permanent wilting point, die. Therefore, the plant must have a method by which to remove this cavitation blockage, or it must create
Zambezi
The Zambezi is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. The area of its basin is 1,390,000 square kilometres less than half of the Nile's; the 2,574-kilometre-long river rises in Zambia and flows through eastern Angola, along the north-eastern border of Namibia and the northern border of Botswana along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe to Mozambique, where it crosses the country to empty into the Indian Ocean. The Zambezi's most noted feature is Victoria Falls. Other notable falls include the Chavuma Falls at the border between Zambia and Angola, Ngonye Falls, near Sioma in Western Zambia. There are two main sources of hydroelectric power on the river, the Kariba Dam, which provides power to Zambia and Zimbabwe, the Cahora Bassa Dam in Mozambique, which provides power to Mozambique and South Africa. There are additional two smaller power stations along the Zambezi River in Zambia, one at Victoria Falls and the other one near Kalene Hill in Ikelenge District.
The river rises in a black marshy dambo in dense undulating miombo woodland 50 kilometres north of Mwinilunga and 20 kilometres south of Ikelenge in the Ikelenge District of North-Western Province, Zambia at about 1,524 metres above sea level. The area around the source is forest reserve and Important Bird Area. Eastward of the source, the watershed between the Congo and Zambezi basins is a well-marked belt of high ground, running nearly east-west and falling abruptly to the north and south; this distinctly cuts off the basin of the Lualaba from that of the Zambezi. In the neighborhood of the source the watershed is not as defined, but the two river systems do not connect; the region drained by the Zambezi is a vast broken-edged plateau 900–1200 m high, composed in the remote interior of metamorphic beds and fringed with the igneous rocks of the Victoria Falls. At Shupanga, on the lower Zambezi, thin strata of grey and yellow sandstones, with an occasional band of limestone, crop out on the bed of the river in the dry season, these persist beyond Tete, where they are associated with extensive seams of coal.
Coal is found in the district just below Victoria Falls. Gold-bearing rocks occur in several places; the river flows to the southwest into Angola for about 240 kilometres is joined by sizeable tributaries such as the Luena and the Chifumage flowing from highlands to the north-west. It turns south and develops a floodplain, with extreme width variation between the dry and rainy seasons, it enters dense evergreen Cryptosepalum dry forest, though on its western side, Western Zambezian grasslands occur. Where it re-enters Zambia it is nearly 400 metres wide in the rainy season and flows with rapids ending in the Chavuma Falls, where the river flows through a rocky fissure; the river drops about 400 metres in elevation from its source at 1,500 metres to the Chavuma Falls at 1,100 metres, in a distance of about 400 kilometres. From this point to the Victoria Falls, the level of the basin is uniform, dropping only by another 180 metres in a distance of around 800 kilometres; the first of its large tributaries to enter the Zambezi is the Kabompo River in the northwestern province of Zambia.
A major advantage of the Kabompo River was irrigation. The savanna through which the river has flowed gives way to a wide floodplain, studded with Borassus fan palms. A little farther south is the confluence with the Lungwebungu River; this is the beginning of the Barotse Floodplain, the most notable feature of the upper Zambezi, but this northern part does not flood so much and includes islands of higher land in the middle. Thirty kilometres below the confluence of the Lungwebungu the country becomes flat, the typical Barotse Floodplain landscape unfolds, with the flood reaching a width of 25 km in the rainy season. For more than 200 km downstream the annual flood cycle dominates the natural environment and human life and culture. Eighty kilometres further down, the Luanginga, which with its tributaries drains a large area to the west, joins the Zambezi. A few kilometres higher up on the east the main stream is joined in the rainy season by overflow of the Luampa/Luena system. A short distance downstream of the confluence with the Luanginga is Lealui, one of the capitals of the Lozi people who populate the Zambian region of Barotseland in Western Province.
The chief of the Lozi maintains one of his two compounds at Lealui. The annual move from Lealui to Limulunga is a major event, celebrated as one of Zambia's best known festivals, the Kuomboka. After Lealui, the river turns to south-south-east. From the east it continues to receive numerous small streams, but on the west is without major tributaries for 240 km. Before this, the Ngonye Falls and subsequent rapids interrupt navigation. South of Ngonye Falls, the river borders Namibia's Caprivi Strip; the strip projects from the main body of Namibia, results from the colonial era: it was added to German South-West Africa expressly to give Germany access to the Zambezi. Below the junction of the Cuando River and the Zambezi the river bends due east. Here, the river is broad and shallow, flows but as it flows eastward towards the border of the great central plateau of Africa it reaches a chasm into which the Victoria Falls plunge; the Victoria Falls are considered the boundary between the middle Zambezi.
Below them the river continues to flow due east for about 20
Constellation
A constellation is a group of stars that forms an imaginary outline or pattern on the celestial sphere representing an animal, mythological person or creature, a god, or an inanimate object. The origins of the earliest constellations go back to prehistory. People used them to relate stories of their beliefs, creation, or mythology. Different cultures and countries adopted their own constellations, some of which lasted into the early 20th century before today's constellations were internationally recognized. Adoption of constellations has changed over time. Many have changed in shape; some became popular. Others were limited to single nations; the 48 traditional Western constellations are Greek. They are given in Aratus' work Phenomena and Ptolemy's Almagest, though their origin predates these works by several centuries. Constellations in the far southern sky were added from the 15th century until the mid-18th century when European explorers began traveling to the Southern Hemisphere. Twelve ancient constellations belong to the zodiac.
The origins of the zodiac remain uncertain. In 1928, the International Astronomical Union formally accepted 88 modern constellations, with contiguous boundaries that together cover the entire celestial sphere. Any given point in a celestial coordinate system lies in one of the modern constellations; some astronomical naming systems include the constellation where a given celestial object is found to convey its approximate location in the sky. The Flamsteed designation of a star, for example, consists of a number and the genitive form of the constellation name. Other star patterns or groups called asterisms are not constellations per se but are used by observers to navigate the night sky. Examples of bright asterisms include the Pleiades and Hyades within the constellation Taurus or Venus' Mirror in the constellation of Orion.. Some asterisms, like the False Cross, are split between two constellations; the word "constellation" comes from the Late Latin term cōnstellātiō, which can be translated as "set of stars".
The Ancient Greek word for constellation is ἄστρον. A more modern astronomical sense of the term "constellation" is as a recognisable pattern of stars whose appearance is associated with mythological characters or creatures, or earthbound animals, or objects, it can specifically denote the recognized 88 named constellations used today. Colloquial usage does not draw a sharp distinction between "constellations" and smaller "asterisms", yet the modern accepted astronomical constellations employ such a distinction. E.g. the Pleiades and the Hyades are both asterisms, each lies within the boundaries of the constellation of Taurus. Another example is the northern asterism known as the Big Dipper or the Plough, composed of the seven brightest stars within the area of the IAU-defined constellation of Ursa Major; the southern False Cross asterism includes portions of the constellations Carina and Vela and the Summer Triangle.. A constellation, viewed from a particular latitude on Earth, that never sets below the horizon is termed circumpolar.
From the North Pole or South Pole, all constellations south or north of the celestial equator are circumpolar. Depending on the definition, equatorial constellations may include those that lie between declinations 45° north and 45° south, or those that pass through the declination range of the ecliptic or zodiac ranging between 23½° north, the celestial equator, 23½° south. Although stars in constellations appear near each other in the sky, they lie at a variety of distances away from the Earth. Since stars have their own independent motions, all constellations will change over time. After tens to hundreds of thousands of years, familiar outlines will become unrecognizable. Astronomers can predict the past or future constellation outlines by measuring individual stars' common proper motions or cpm by accurate astrometry and their radial velocities by astronomical spectroscopy; the earliest evidence for the humankind's identification of constellations comes from Mesopotamian inscribed stones and clay writing tablets that date back to 3000 BC.
It seems that the bulk of the Mesopotamian constellations were created within a short interval from around 1300 to 1000 BC. Mesopotamian constellations appeared in many of the classical Greek constellations; the oldest Babylonian star catalogues of stars and constellations date back to the beginning in the Middle Bronze Age, most notably the Three Stars Each texts and the MUL. APIN, an expanded and revised version based on more accurate observation from around 1000 BC. However, the numerous Sumerian names in these catalogues suggest that they built on older, but otherwise unattested, Sumerian traditions of the Early Bronze Age; the classical Zodiac is a revision of Neo-Babylonian constellations from the 6th century BC. The Greeks adopted the Babylonian constellations in the 4th century BC. Twenty Ptolemaic constellations are from the Ancient Near East. Another ten have the same stars but different names. Biblical scholar, E. W. Bullinger interpreted some of the creatures mentioned in the books of Ezekiel and Revelation as the middle signs of the four quarters of the Zodiac, with the Lion as Leo, the Bull as Taurus, the Man representing Aquarius and the Eagle standing in for Scorpio.
The biblical Book of Job also
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