User:M&NCenarius/2 (2007)
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March to April 2007
The featured things
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[edit] Geyser
March 5 to March 11
A geyser is a special type of hot spring that erupts periodically, ejecting a column of hot water and steam into the air. The name geyser comes from Geysir, the name of the best-known geyser in Iceland; that name, in turn, comes from the word gjósa, "to gush." Geysers are quite rare, requiring a combination of geology and climate that exists in only a few places on Earth. There are only six geyser fields of any size in the world: two in the United States, and one each in Russia, Chile, New Zealand and Iceland. Erupting fountains of liquefied nitrogen have been observed on Neptune's moon Triton. These phenomena are also often referred to as geysers. On Triton, the geysers appear to be driven by solar heating instead of geothermal energy. The nitrogen, liquefied by a kind of greenhouse effect, may erupt to heights of 8 km.
Recently featured: Albert Einstein - Mount Pinatubo - Death acceptance
[edit] Rainbow
March 12 to March 18
A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a (nearly) continuous spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the sun shines onto falling rain. It is a colored arc with red on the outside and violet on the inside: see color for the full sequence. The rainbow effect can be observed whenever there are water drops in the air and sunlight shining from behind the observer at a low altitude or angle. The most spectacular rainbow displays when half of the sky is still dark with draining clouds and the observer is at a spot with clear sky overhead. The rainbow effect is also commonly seen near waterfalls or fountains. Rainbow fringes can sometimes be seen at the edges of backlit clouds and as vertical bands in distant rain or virga. The effect can also be artificially created by dispersing water droplets into the air during a sunny day. Occasionally, a second, dimmer secondary rainbow is seen outside the primary bow.
Recently featured: Geyser - Albert Einstein - Mount Pinatubo
[edit] Buddhism
March 19 to March 25
Buddhism is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings of Siddhārtha Gautama, who lived between approximately 563 and 483 BCE. This religion originated in India and gradually spread throughout Asia, to Central Asia, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, as well as the East Asian countries of China, Mongolia, Korea, and Japan. Buddhism is unusual among world religions because it does not involve the worship of gods or other higher beings. For the Buddha, the key to liberation was mental purity and correct understanding, and for this reason he rejected the notion that we can gain salvation by petitioning a distant deity.
Recently featured: Rainbow - Geyser - Albert Einstein
[edit] Buddhism: the Path to Bodhisattva
March 26 to April 1
“A Bodhisattva should keep this in mind: All creatures, whether they are born from the womb or hatched from the egg, whether they transform like butterflies or arise miraculously, whether they have a body or are purely spirits, whether they are capable of thought or not capable of thought: All of these I vow to help enter nirvana before I rest there myself!" -Buddha & Diamond Sutra
Recently featured: Buddhism - Rainbow - Geyser
[edit] Antarctica
April 2 to April 8
Antarctica is a continent encompassing the southern extremity of Earth, and containing the Earth's South Pole. It is surrounded by the Southern Ocean and divided in two by the Transantarctic Mountains. It is considered to be the coldest, driest, windiest, and highest (on average) continent on Earth, and 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice. There are no permanent human residents and only cold-adapted plants and animals survive there, including penguins, fur seals, lichens, and hundreds of types of algae. The first commonly accepted sighting of the continent occurred in 1820 by the Russian expedition of Mikhail Lazarev and Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen. Antarctica is not under the political sovereignty of any nation, although seven countries (Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, Norway, New Zealand and the United Kingdom) maintain territorial claims. Most other countries do not recognize these claims, and the claims of Argentina, Chile and the United Kingdom all overlap. Human activity on the continent is regulated by the Antarctic Treaty, which was signed in 1959 by 12 countries and prohibits any military activity, supports scientific research, and protects the continent's ecozone. Ongoing experiments are conducted by more than 4000 scientists of many different nationalities and research interests.
Recently featured: Buddhism: Path to Bodhisattva - Buddhism - Rainbow
[edit] Velociraptor
Aril 9 - April 15
Velociraptor is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur for which fossils have been found dating from 80 to 75 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous Epoch of the Cretaceous Period. There is only one universally-recognized species, although others have been attributed in the past. Fossils of this species have been found in central Asia, from both Inner and Outer Mongolia. It was a bipedal carnivore with a long, stiffened tail and had an enlarged, sickle-shaped claw on each hindfoot, which is thought to have been used to kill its prey. Velociraptor can be distinguished from other dromaeosaurids by its long and low skull, with an upturned snout. Due in large part to its prominent role in the Jurassic Park motion picture series, Velociraptor is one of the most familiar dinosaur genera among the general public. It is also well-known to paleontologists, with over a dozen recovered fossil skeletons - the most of any dromaeosaurid.
Recently featured: Antarctica - Buddhism: Path to Bodhisattva - Buddhism
[edit] Orca
April 16 - April 22
The Orca, or killer whale is the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. It is the second-most widely distributed mammal on Earth (after humans) and is found in all the world's oceans. It is also a versatile predator, eating fish, turtles, birds, seals, sharks and even other juvenile and small cetaceans. This puts the orca at the pinnacle of the marine food chain. The orca is also commonly known as the "killer whale"—a name which reflects the animal's reputation as a magnificent and fearsome sea mammal whose existence was first recorded by Pliny the Elder. Today it is recognized that the orca is neither a whale nor a danger to humans; no attack on a human by an orca in the wild has ever been recorded.
Recently featured: Velociraptor - Antarctica - Buddhism: Path to Bodhisattva
[edit] Buddhism: Sense of Reason
April 23 - April 29
"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense." -Gautama Buddha
Recently featured: Orca - Velociraptor - Antarctica
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