Interesting Facts About the Sun


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Think you know everything there is to know about the Sun? Think again. Here are 10 interesting facts about the Sun, collected in no particular order. Some you might already know, and others will be totally new to you. Interesting facts after the break...

1. The Sun is the Solar System.
We live on the planet, so we think it's an equal member of the Solar System. But that couldn't be further from the truth. The reality is that the mass of the Sun accounts for 99.8% of the mass of the Solar System. And most of that final 0.2% comes from Jupiter. So the mass of the Earth is a fraction of a fraction of the mass of the Solar System. Really, we barely exist.

2. And the Sun is mostly hydrogen and helium.
If you could take apart the Sun and pile up its different elements, you'd find that 74% of its mass comes from hydrogen. with 24% helium. The remaining 2% is includes trace amounts of iron, nickel, oxygen, and all the other elements we have in the Solar System. In other words, the Solar System is mostly made of hydrogen.

3. The Sun is pretty bright.
We know of some amazingly large and bright stars, like Eta Carina and Betelgeuse. But they're incredibly far away. Our own Sun is a relatively bright star. If you could take the 50 closest stars within 17 light-years of the Earth, the Sun would be the 4th brightest star in absolute terms. Not bad at all.

4. The Sun is huge, but tiny.
With a diameter of 109 times the size the Earth, the Sun makes a really big sphere. You could fit 1.3 million Earths inside the Sun. Or you could flatten out 11,990 Earths to cover the surface of the Sun. That's big, but there are some much bigger stars out there. For example, the biggest star that we know of would almost reach Saturn if it were placed inside the Solar System.

5. The Sun is middle aged.
Astronomers think that the Sun (and the planets) formed from the solar nebula about 4.59 billion years ago. The Sun is in the main sequence stage right now, slowly using up its hydrogen fuel. But at some point, in about 5 billion years from now, the Sun will enter the red giant phase, where it swells up to consume the inner planets – including Earth (probably). It will slough off its outer layers, and then shrink back down to a relatively tiny white dwarf.

6. The Sun has layers.
The Sun looks like a burning ball of fire, but it actually has an internal structure. The visible surface we can see is called the photosphere, and heats up to a temperature of about 6,000 degrees Kelvin. Beneath that is the convective zone, where heat moves slowly from the inner Sun to the surface, and cooled material falls back down in columns. This region starts at 70% of the radius of the Sun. Beneath the convection zone is the radiative zone. In this zone, heat can only travel through radiation. The core of the Sun extends from the center of the Sun to a distance of 0.2 solar radii. This is where temperatures reach 13.6 million degrees Kelvin, and molecules of hydrogen are fused into helium.

7. The Sun is heating up, and will kill all life on Earth.
It feels like the Sun has been around forever, unchanging, but that's not true. The Sun is actually slowly heating up. It's becoming 10% more luminous every billion years. In fact, within just a billion years, the heat from the Sun will be so intense that liquid water won't exist on the surface of the Earth. Life on Earth as we know it will be gone forever. Bacteria might still live on underground, but the surface of the planet will be scorched and uninhabited. It'll take another 7 billion years for the Sun to reach its red giant phase before it actually expands to the point that it engulfs the Earth and destroys the entire planet.

8. Different parts of the Sun rotate at different speeds.
Unlike the planets, the Sun is great big sphere of hydrogen gas. Because of this, different parts of the Sun rotate at different speeds. You can see how fast the surface is rotating by tracking the movement of sunspots across the surface. Regions at the equator take 25 days to complete one rotation, while features at the poles can take 36 days. And the inside of the Sun seems to take about 27 days.

9. The outer atmosphere is hotter than the surface.
The surface of the Sun reaches temperatures of 6,000 Kelvin. But this is actually much less than the Sun's atmosphere. Above the surface of the Sun is a region of the atmosphere called the chromosphere, where temperatures can reach 100,000 K. But that's nothing. There's an even more distant region called the corona, which extends to a volume even larger than the Sun itself. Temperatures in the corona can reach 1 million K.

10. There are spacecraft observing the Sun right now.
The most famous spacecraft sent to observe the Sun is the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, built by NASA and ESA, and launched in December, 1995. SOHO has been continuously observing the Sun since then, and sent back countless images. A more recent mission is NASA's STEREO spacecraft. This was actually two spacecraft, launched in October 2006. These twin spacecraft were designed to watch the same activity on the Sun from two different vantage points, to give a 3-D perspective of the Sun's activity, and allow astronomers to better predict space weather.

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World's Youngest Tattoo Artist


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Most three-year-old girls are just getting to grips with felt pens, but Ruby Dickinson is taking her artistic tendencies a step further. The toddler is set to become the world's youngest tattoo artist after learning the trade from her father, Blane, who runs a tattoo parlour in Wales.  Mr Dickinson, 36, is importing an ink gun from the U.S. that has been specially designed to be used by small hands. More images after the break...



Ruby Dickinson is set to become the world's youngest tattoo artist after learning the trade from her father, Blane, who runs a tattoo parlour in Wales. Ruby will be getting the miniature tattoo kit for her fourth birthday in October. Mr Dickinson told North Wales Pioneer: 'Ruby is well aware she is getting the kit, she cannot wait. She wants to be a tattoo artist when she grows up. 'The aim is to get her to tattoo my leg with a birthday message for my 40th birthday.'  The toddler currently takes tattoo lessons after nursery as well as practising with a toy kit at her father's shop. Mr Dickinson hopes to beat Canadian Emilie Darrigade's record of tattooing part of a butterfly on to her father's arm when she was five.



Mr Dickinson, 36, is importing an ink gun from the U.S. that has been specially designed to be used by small hands, According to her father, Ruby is nearly able to draw a complete version of her favourite design - a spider.

'I'm under no illusions that she'll do a Van Gogh, after all she's only three-and-a-half,' Mr Dickinson told The Sun.

'But I've got 70 per cent of my body covered in tattoos already and it'll only be the size of a 2p piece, so I'm not too worried she'll make a mess of it.'

Mr Dickinson, who runs Inkaholics Anonymous at his home in Penmaenmawr, Conwy, added: 'It'll be a proud and very special moment for me and for her.

'She really loves it and I'm pleased I can teach her the skills.'

However, despite hoping Ruby will take up tattooing as a career, the toddler's father is keen to let her make her own choices.
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Sheep - Pig pulling the wool over


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At first glance, with its woolly coat, onlookers would be forgiven for mistaking this creature for a sheep. However, a closer look at this rare breed reveals a snout and trotters usually found on pigs. It’s a confusing sight, but this is one of three curly coated Mangalitza ‘sheep-pigs’ which have been delivered to a UK zoo. More images after the break...

Pig in a blanket: Buddy, one of the Mangalitza sheep-pigs that have been delivered to a zoo in Essex, As part of a programme to help save the animals from extinction, staff at Tropical Wings in Essex are hoping they can help the breed survive.Originating from Austria and Hungary, the Mangalitza is similar to the native Lincolnshire curly coat breed which died out in Britain 40 years ago. ‘At first sight, people think they are sheep,’ Denise Cox, education co-ordinator, at Tropical Wings, said. ‘It is not until they turn around and you see their faces and snouts you realise they are in fact pigs.

‘The woolly coat makes them very hardy and helps them to survive in the harsh winters in their native Austria and Hungary. ‘In the summer it helps protect them from sunburn.’ The sheep-pig used to be a common sight in Lincolnshire and was shorn once a year to make sweaters, but it became extinct in Britain in 1972. In the early 1900s, many Lincolnshire curly coats were sold to Austria and Hungary where they were crossed with the Mangalitza, creating the Lincolista. Three years ago this cross-breed were found thriving in Austria and a small number were brought back to create a herd in Britain. Now offspring from this herd have gone to Essex to form part of a programme to prevent the breed from disappearing. They are worth around £1,000, five times the value of an ordinary pig and are fond of fruit and the odd tipple. Blond-haired male, Buddy, black-coated female, Porsche, and ginger Margot have already attracted lots of interest from visitors. ‘Although there is a small amount of genetic DNA in there, they are in a small way linked to Lincolnshire curly coat,’ Ms Cox added. ‘It’s extremely rare, particularly in its native Hungary and Austria. ‘We want to show people what these native woolly pigs used to look like and ensure the breed remains in this country and survives. ‘They have already become a real talking point at the zoo and everyone loves them.’

Ms Cox said there was a possibility Porsche could already be pregnant. ‘Her tummy looks much rounder than the other female, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed,’ she said.
 
Spotlight: Emma Thompson takes a sheep-pig to a world film premiere at the Odeon West End in London
Mangalitza pigs are much hardier than normal pigs and moult in the summer to prevent them getting too hot. Unlike normal commercial pigs they do not get sunburnt. Hair from the pigs is particularly popular in the U.S. as it retains air bubbles under water making it ideal for tying fishing flies. They come in three colours, bright red, blonde and black with a cream stomach and they are lardier than most breeds, making them perfect for Parma ham-style cuts. Sheep-pigs hit the headlines last month after Emma Thompson took one to the London premiere of her latest film Nanny McPhee And The Big Bang. The actress was nearly upstaged by the animal - which refused to pose for the cameras and was so startled by the screaming fans it relieved itself at the entrance to the Leicester Square cinema.


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New Chinese Invention


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Huskies Can Pull Not Only Sleds, This Chinese man found what his pack of Huskies can pull and I may say it is a good idea. Completely eco-friendly :) more images after the break...











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Presidents in Their Young Age


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Barack Obama, 3 Years Old, With Grandfather, 1965

Photos of some of the most famous US presidents when they were just kids. There is nothing special about them and there is no way to know, just by looking, that these boys would grow up to become the leader of the most powerful country in the free world.  More images after the break...


George W. Bush, 9 Years Old, With His Mother and Father, 1955


Bill Clinton, 5 Years Old, 1952


George H.W. Bush, 5 Years Old, With Sister Mercy, 1929


Ronald Reagan, 12 Years Old, 1923



Jimmy Carter, 12 Years Old, With Dog Bozo, 1937


Gerald Ford, 6 Years Old, With His Half-Brother, Tom, 1920


Richard Millhouse Nixon, 4 Years Old, 1917


Lyndon Johnson, 6 Months Old, 1909


John F. Kennedy, 10 Years Old, 1927


Dwight D. Eisenhower (Center) With Friends, 17 Years Old, 1907


Harry S. Truman, 6 Months Old, 1884


Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 3 Years Old, 1885

Abraham Lincoln, Age Unknown

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The Man with Half a Body


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Kenny Easterday is a 35-year-old American man born with a rare disease (sacral agenesis) that prevents his spine from growing correctly. Doctors amputated his legs when he was a baby to use his shinbone for completing his underdeveloped spine.Kenny never liked wheelchairs and refused to wear prosthetic legs, so he learned with his dad to walk on his hands and to move with a skateboard.As many other men, he enjoys sports (especially bowling and pool), has a job and has found his sweetheart, Nicky, with whom he raises her two kids.Nicky got pregnant when she started to date Kenny 7 years ago, so they made a test to know for sure if he’s the real father. They’re waiting for the results…Kenny’s unbelievable story is filmed for the new documentary “The Man with Half a Body” that appeared yesterday on TLC. See more pictures and an extract of the documentary inside the post…

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