Plants on other planets may be yellow or red

By Julie Steenhuysen Reuters - Wednesday, April 11

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The same rules that make Earth plants green may make non-Earth plants yellow, red or green -- but likely not blue, NASA scientists said on Wednesday.

They said their findings -- which look at how plants absorb and reflect different types of light -- may help narrow the search for life on planets beyond our solar system.
And, as a bonus, they may have answered a basic question about life on Earth.

"We've uncovered maybe the best explanation of why plants are green," said Nancy Kiang, a NASA biometeorologist who led the study, which appears in the journal Astrobiology.
Understanding plant colours on other planets is important as scientists prepare for new information to be generated from giant space telescopes planned by NASA and the European Space Agency to study Earth-sized planets orbiting other stars.
"We can guess the plausible range of colours they might be," said Vikki Meadows, an astrobiologist the California Institute of Technology who heads NASA's Virtual Planetary Laboratory.

Meadows and a host of scientists from different disciplines first studied how light is absorbed and reflected by plants and some bacteria on Earth.
That led to computer model for predicting the colour of plants on other planets and new insights about plants on Earth.
Chlorophyll in plants takes light from the sun and converts it into energy through a process called photosynthesis.

Scientists have long known that most plants on Earth absorb more blue and red light and less green light, but they have not understood why.
It turns out that more red light reaches plants on Earth, and blue light is the easiest to absorb. So plants make most efficient use of these two, and that leaves green light as largely superfluous.

"They don't absorb the green because they have more than enough light from blue and red. They just don't need green," Kiang said.
As a result, plants reflect away relatively more green light, which is why plants appear green.
"It turns out plants are actually using the best light there is," Kiang said.
On other planets, where other colours of the light spectrum might dominate, the plants might soak up more green or even more blue light and reflect back whatever is not needed for energy.
The scientists believe the same rules will apply on Earth-like planets in other solar systems.
"It turns out that photosynthesis is one of those things that is likely to be common. If we look for life on other planets, we will try to look for signs of photosynthesis," Meadows said.

Lunar Eclipse

Ok who else saw it? i was out from 10:pm last night till gone midnight was very strange thing to watch the moon shadow over and turn red, the below artical is from Yahoo news.

Thousands of people gazed in awe as the skies remained clear for the most spectacular lunar eclipse in more than a decade. The first total eclipse of the moon in three years was visible across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland last night thanks to crisp weather.
The surface of the full Moon first went dark before turning a coppery red, to the delight of people who had stayed up to watch the display.
The Moon started to become obscured from 20:18 and was at its height between
The phenomenon occurred because the Earth passed directly between the Moon and the Sun.
Light scattering through the Earth's atmosphere was reduced to predominantly-red wavelengths, which reflect off the lunar surface.
In ancient times a "blood Moon" was viewed with dread and seen as an omen of disaster or great change.
This year's lunar eclipse could be seen most clearly from Europe, Africa

Click here for more on this story

Valentines Day

Valentine's Day is also known as the 'Eve of Roman Lupercalia'. This was a time of great celebration, a celebration of youthful love. Chance seemed to play a large part in this festival as sweethearts were chosen by a system similar to a lottery. Since Ancient Greek and Roman times this day has held a central focus in the folkloric calendar.

More recent traditions involve men and women exchanging cards which contained love dedications or even marriage proposals, each highly decorative, hand-made and personally designed. This tradition commenced in the Middle Ages. The sender then as now should never sign the card as it was considered to bring bad luck. Of course it also stifles any idea of guessing who might be in love with you. The idea of the secret admirer has long charmed both men and women alike.

Love divination games were very popular during the Victorian period for young lovers. There are many divination rituals and games. One of the most often used involved the potential lover writing the name of their favourite persons on a piece of paper and sealing it in clay which was then dropped into a bowl of water. The first clay to rise to the surface when opened would reveal the name of their future sweetheart or 'Valentine'. Sending a gift to the person was the next step towards revelation and happiness in love.

Many different flowers are also associated with this day, given as tokens of love. A European belief in the power of the saffron coloured crocus to attract attention of a lover is best done if worn in the buttonhole. Armed with this she is more likely to meet her future intended. In order to dream of a future husband on this night one European custom often followed was the placing of fresh Bay Leaves under the pillow the night before.

The type of flowers sent or decorating a card adds further meaning to a Valentine card and has come to be known as 'The Language of Flowers'. Some of the most well known Valentine flowers to be used to decorate the cards are highlighted below with an idea of the specific symbolism behind their inclusion, not all of which indicate love blossoming but also love on the wain.

Almond Blossom; As a symbol of hope, sweetness, delicacy.

Anenome; As a symbol of withered hopes, a dying love.

Forget-me-not; As a symbol of true love Lily; As a symbol of purity (white), gaiety or falsehood (yellow).

Periwinkle; As a symbol of early friendship (blue), happy memories (white).

Poppy; As a symbol of fantastic extravagance (scarlet), consolation (red). If the love is faithful placing a petal in the palm of the hand and hitting it with a fist should produce a popping sound.

Rose; As a symbol of love, pure and lovely (red rose buds), jealousy (yellow). This flower is dedicated to love.

Snowdrop; As a symbol of hope, consolation. The flower is thought mythologically to have been a snowflake which was transformed to comfort Adam and Eve after they had been expelled from the Garden of Eden.

Sunflower; As a symbol of the sun, and also haughtiness. Tulip; As a symbol of powerful love being declared (red), hopeless love (yellow). The heart burning symbolically like a flame.

The Power of One

Has anyone seen the animated Movie 'Happy Feet'..... it's about a dancing penguin that is outcast because the others believe his 'Pagan' ways (dancing) are stopping all the fish from coming.

The basic gist of the story is he sets out to find out who is taking all the fish and finds it's the humans, anyway he ends up in a zoo and shows off his dancing and to his suprise is taken back to where all the other penguins are and because he gets them all dancing the humans stop the fishing boats.

If you haven't seen it, it's a must see film and proves that even one penguin can make a difference and get the fish back.

We all say in many issues around the world that "What difference can I make", well you can, if you believe in something enough or want to change the world, get out there and do it, don't say you can't make a difference, .......sometimes it only takes one!

Has the ice age finished?

Now don’t get me wrong I’m all for cutting down on the use of fossil fuels and improving my ecological footprint but is global warming really all our doing?


The general accepted date that the ice age finished was 11500 years ago, well what if the age isn’t finished!!....... there is still a lot of ice at the north and south poles, maybe finally when all the ice is gone that we can say the ice age has finally finished.

What actually denotes the end of the ice age? World temperature, the overall land mass covered by ice?.

No doubt there are different views on that as last summer (2006) the rules as to what makes a planet a planet changed, leaving us with only eight planets, Yep… Pluto doesn’t qualify!!! So who’s to say the ice age is done, a lot of whats been going on for years could just be a natural progression of the worlds cycle!

Animal Totems

Animals have been around longer than mankind. Understanding your totem animal can help us discover our true self. The strengths and weaknesses of an animal totem are a mirror reflection of our inner being. We are all part of the tapestry of life and have gifts to share. Discovering your personal animal totems provides you with the insight necessary to align yourself with the Creative force.

How do you find out what your animal totem is?

There are many books on the subject and people far better than me on the subject, but I will tell how I have found mine.

I was first made aware of animal totems some years back by a shamen friend of mine and someone else who doesn't believe in luck and that everything happens for a reason, my first real totem animal (other than a Hippo) was a badger, now I don't know about you but I have never seen a real badger other than TV and road kill!, well one night in 2005 I had one come into the garden, pass me and head the the fallen plums on the grass, it looked round at me and carried on, the sauntered off without any worries, absolutely amazing sight and never forgot it so the badger became my totem animal.

Late last year I was pottering around the garden and could see rustling in the bushes so went to investegate, on looking I found a Woodpecker caught up in the brambles, again I was taken aback, I have never seen one before, I helped it untangle it's wings and off it went, I was suprised at the bright colours and how small they actually are, so the woodpecker became my totem animal.......so below have posted the woodpecker meaning.


WoodPecker Totem

Their flight patterns are unique. Woodpeckers fly up, coast down then fly upwards again. Those with this totem often find that their path in life wont always conform to society's standards and that their personal unique rhythm needs to be honoured. Woodpeckers teach us to honour our personal truth and move through life with perseverance and inner strength. By staying grounded in our pursuits our goals can be obtained.

In spring the loud calls of woodpeckers often augmented by drumming on hollow wood are the sounds of males holding territories. Woodpeckers defend their territory aggressively. Those with this medicine need to be in control of their personal environment and will not tolerate others trying to change it. Although personal space is very important for woodpecker medicine people control issues can sometimes be a problem and flexibility needs to be learned.

The woodpecker is known as the Earths drummer. Drumming is the heartbeat of mother earth and is associated with shamanism and the ability to move into other dimensions at will. For those with this totem the woodpecker represents self discovery. As they peck into and through trees and dead wood, hidden layers of ones psyche are revealed. Those with this medicine are good analysts and have strong mental capabilities. They make excellent psychiatrists and psychologists. Woodpeckers are active birds so caution is advised to maintain balance when reviewing any situation or issue. Too much analyzing can result in procrastination.

I haven't yet had a further new animal enter my life so assume the woodpecker is still current, animal totems change as we change, this is my view, someone else may see it differently.

If you have had an unusual animal encounter let me know and I will post your animal meaning too.

Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day is a traditional festival celebrated in the United States and Canada on February 2. It is a cross-quarter day, midway between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox.

In traditional weather lore, if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day and fails to see its shadow because the weather is cloudy, winter will soon end. If the groundhog sees its shadow because the weather is bright and clear, it will be frightened and run back into its hole, and the winter will continue for six more weeks.

Weather Lore

Well this morning brought the first of the snow, I awoke to a smattering of the white stuff. (this was taken from my back door)

So thought it an opportune time to do a bit on weather lore.

Weather lore is almost as old as the human race, and as extensive. Where rules and sayings apply to weather in the longer term, beyond the next few days, then experience and logic suggest that they are at best a prediction. Weather lore seems to persist among many (as many old sayings do). The following present some of the best known.

Long foretold, long last; short notice, soon past

Red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning; red sky at night, shepherd's delight

Rain before seven, fine before eleven

Ice in November to bear a duck, the rest of the winter'll be slush and muck

Evening red and morning grey, two sure signs of one fine day

Turkeys perched on trees and refusing to descend indicate snow

A northern air, brings weather fair. The north wind doth blow, and we shall have snow

Always a calm before a storm

Thought for Today

Chance, necessity, and opportunity shape our universe—a world of chemicals so fertile it made the emergence of life inevitable.

The random encounters of atoms, the birth and death of stars, and the formation of galaxies establish the scientific underpinnings of our ultimate origins.

Understanding this foundation, one that dates back billions of years, can yield new insights into the complexity of nature while enriching our faith in creation.

by George V. Coyne, S.J.

Each year, ninety-eight percent of the atoms in my body are replaced.

Every time I breathe, I inhale billions and billions of atoms, recycled during the past few weeks by the rest of the world’s breathing organisms.

Living things are constantly exchanging the fundamental building blocks of life, giving to and taking from the total reservoir; all is refreshed, regenerated from the available energy and matter in the universe.

My skin is renewed each month, my liver every six weeks.
All of the elements needed to make everything from human hair to toe nails ultimately come from the stars!

And the earth moves on

Something struck me this afternoon as a payed a friend a visit on a local farm, (no not a rock) how the earth is in continual flux even in small ways.

I parked opposite his workshop by a massive pile of sand, today is very windy and has been so since yesterday, I suppose I was there about half an hour and driving back home notice a yellow tint on the bonnet of my dark blue car, where it has been raining before my visit the sand the wind had blown about had stuck the the wet spots on the car and had come back with me the 20 minute drive to my cottage, I've just been outside to get something from the car and it's now gone... re-claimed to the land.

Ok it's only tiny grains of sand but this shift of material goes on all over the world in small forms as well a deserts shifting about, so somewhere in my drive or garden are small pieces of land mass that came from who knows where and no doubt there is some of my garden or drive in lands far away!!