The water cycle

You know that the water on our planet is in constant movement. For example, water goes from seas to clouds, and from clouds to the surface of our planet. This movement is what we know as the water cycle.

The water cycle is the process in which the Earth's water moves between the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, the geosphere and the biosphere.

This is possible thanks to the energy our planet receives from the Sun and the gravitational pull. Heat causes water to change the state; gravity moves water from higher points to lower ones, in the seas. Here you have a picture with the cycle water.

The water cycle (from USGS).

Here you have a link to an interactive diagram about the water cycle.
Here you can study the water cycle in Spanish.

And finally, an activity. Fill the gaps in this diagram with the processes of the water cycle. You can download the diagram from here.

About solar eclipses

In these days, we are learning about eclipses in our classes. In my opinion, all of you have understood the relative positions of the Sun, Earth and Moon, both in solar and moon eclipses. So, you should be able to explain what is an eclipse, the different types of eclipses and the differences between total and partial ones.

And as you have asked to me about next solar eclipses, here you have information about those visible from Granada in coming years:

Monday, 21st August  2017 (Partial, 6,3%).           

Thursday, 10th June 2021 (Partial, 1,4%).

Saturday, 29th March 2025 (Partial, 16,3%).

Wednesday, 12th August 2026 (Partial, 95,7%).

Saturday, 6th February 2027 (Partial, 0,5%).

Monday, 2nd August 2027 (Partial, 99,3%). 

Wednesday, 26th January 2028 (Annular, 82,6%).

And here you have a short documentary that we made about the solar eclipse we watched from this school two years ago.

I would like to know your opinion. Please write a comment in English.

Days, nights and seasons

Long time ago, Ancient Greeks thought that the Earth was motionless and in the center of  the Universe. Sun appears to move through the sky from East to West. So, days and nights were explained because the Sun revolved around the Earth. Years later, Copernicus was convinced that the Earth was a planet too; so, he proposed that our planet has two motions: rotation, spining around it axis, and orbital motion, around the Sun.
As result of rotation, the Sun lights up half of the Earth and the other half is in shadow. It’s day time when Granada is in the lit by the Sun; it is night-time here when our part of the planet is facing away from the Sun. The Earth’s axis, the imaginary line through the centre of the planet, is tilted compared to the way the Earth orbits the Sun.  

As result of orbital motion, the Earth goes once around the Sun every 365 days. That is one Earth  year. And every year has four seasons: winter, spring, autumn (fall) and summer. Seasons are mostly due to the tilt of the axis. In summer, the Northen Hemisphere is tilted to the Sun, so it spends more time facing the Sun and days are longer than nights and the weather is warm. In winter, the Northen Hemisphere is tilted away  from the Sun, so, nights are longer than days and the weather is cold.

In my opinion, it’s clear the mecanism of seasons in our planet. But the Earth is not the only planet in the Solar System. Here you have a picture whit all the planet (including the dwarf one, Pluto). Can you tell what planets do have seasons? Why? Please, write your answer as a comment (Spanish version).

The great pumpkin in the sky

The Perseus Cluster's X-Ray Skull
Credit: A. Fabian (IoA Cambridge) et al., NASA (APOD)

Have you heard the news? Something strange is happening in the sky next Halloween. Astronomers have called it The Great Pumpkin in the sky. But what do you think this pumpkin is? A monster from the outer space? An orange planet coming to the Earth? A moon eclipse? Please we are interested in your answers; write them as comments.

But what do we know about Halloween? Since the fifth century B.C. Halloween has been celebrated as a cross-quarter day, a day halfway between an equinox and a solstice. Nowadays, Halloween modern celebration retains historic roots in dressing up to scare away the spirit of the dead. This is the reason why lot of people wear fancy dresses that day. By the way, will you be wearing a Halloween costume next Saturday? We would  like to know. Please, write a comment. 

We are learning about Astronomy in our clases now. So, why don't you dress your favourite planet, moon, comet, galaxy or nebula up as a Halloween monster? I will put in this blog the best drawings.

Have a Happy Halloween.
(Spanish version) 

And now, your drawings

The Earth dresses up as a bat, Venus as a pumpkin and a teddy bear and Mercury as a witch.

Daniela Valenzuela Teodosio, 1º ESO B.

Alejandro Ortiz Minaeva, 1º ESO A

 

It is a solar eclipse. The Moon is a werewolf and she wants to eat the Earth.

Paula Duro Muñoz, 1º ESO A.

The magical witch

My drawing is the Moon disguised as a magic ball like a mirror with a witch.

Elena Quesada Pimentel, 1º ESO A

The evil Pumpkin

My painting is about Venus dressed as an evil pumpkin. I dressed it like this because Venus colours are black, orange and red, similar to a pumpkin, which is very typical in Halloween night. Its face is plenty of blood and scratches. Be carefun! It is very dangerous!

Lula Candela Scanavino Prieto, 1º ESO A.

Saturn is a terrible zombie. Cristina Ortega Rodríguez, 1º ESO A.

In the picture appears three malefic dolls. One doll makes cotton candy in the black hole of the Milky Way. Noemí Castillo Tejada, 1º ESO A.

My drawing is a black hole disguises as a skull because the middle is black as a skull. Belén Díaz Gutiérrez, 1º ESO A.

The Moon as Jack Skellington in Nightmare before Christmas (Pablo Cardaldas Fornieles, 1º ESO A).

The eclipse, in our hands

We had been waiting for it all the week. We had been reading about sun eclipses, about the position of the Sun, the Earth and the Moon in the sky. We learnt how to make weather forecast with the information we could get from weather websites. We all wished to have a great and sunny day.

The weather forecast was for rain; in fact, it was raining at nine o'clock. But suddenly, the clouds just disappeared. And there was the Sun, slowly covered by the Moon. The eclipse had begun. And there we were, with all our instruments prepared to watch the eclipse. Binoculars, special filters, a little mirror, pinhole cameras made by our students...and a skimmer too allow us to watch hundred of small eclipses! All we needed to look at the sky safely. And we also had models of the Sun, Earth and Moon in order to understand how an eclipse works.

Many people came to watch the eclipse: teachers, students, anyone who was interested in the eclipse. Everybody knew that something similar hadn't been watched since 2005; and something similar won't be seen till 2026. So, it was the best opportunity to look at the sky and watch something wonderful.

I know that this was the first time that most of you watched an eclipse, and I am sure that you really enjoyed it. Please, we would like to know your experience. Did your parents, brothers or sisters see the eclipse? Did they like it? Why don't you tell everybody how you and your family lived out this solar eclipse? We are willing to read your comments. And of course, here you have some photos of the day.

Bruno's drawing about the eclipse

Naiara's drawing about the eclipse

Marta's drawing about the eclipse

Something wonderful is going to happen

Nothing similar has been observed from Granada since 2005. Nothing similar will be seen here till 2026. The most important solar eclipse in this decade. Don't miss it. Next Friday, 20th at the IES Zaidín-Vergeles.

IES Zaidín Vergeles New Atlas of Constellations

Hipercoiris, the Light Dragon (Scorpius)

My invented constellation is Hipercoiris, the Light Dragon. There is another Dragon constellation in the sky but this is better.
It is a modification of Scorpius constellation. I used the stars of Scorpius to form my constellation and some stars of the constellation Ophiuchus that is to the north.
Its history :
Thousands of million years ago a black hole absorbed a red star and it exploded in the black hole. The result is the Light Dragon.
This is a new god and it created Camil, a new planet with life. Zeus felt jealous about it and he sent a meteor to the planet. But the Light Dragon diverted the meteor to the Earth. The impact extinguished the dinosaurs. Zeus honoured the Light Dragon and he drew it in the sky, under the name of Hipercoiris, the Light Dragon.

Bruno Otero Galadí, 1º de ESO A.

The Rose (Draco)

Aphrodite, the goodess of love and beauty, was the daughter of Zeus and Dione. Dione was one of the romances that Zeus had outside of his marriage. For this, Hera, Zeus's wife, detested and wanted her dead. Aphrodite was married to Ares, the god of war. And she was the rival of Persephone, the queen of the Underworld, for the love of the young and handsome Adonis. Hera decided to ally with Persephone to kill Aphrodite.

Adonis bought some roses for Aphrodite. But they were poissoned by Hera and Persephone. So, Aphrodite died when she received the roses. Adonis was blamed for the death of Aphrodite and died of grief.

Zeus was so angry with Hera that he sent him to jail. Persephone returned to the Underworld sad for the death of Adonis.

Zeus and Ares put a rose in the sky symbolizing the beauty of Aphrodite and her tragic death. And this is my new constellation; a modification of Draco.

Naiara Bouza García, 1º de ESO A.

Frosted Breath, the fairy (Virgo)

This is the story of Frosted Breath, the representative of the fairies. She was the representative because she fought against an ogre and won. Some time later, they were plagued by the destruction of their forest. Homeless, the constellation Virgo placed her by her side. Although you only see one fairy, there are many more which create the stars.

Paulina Sedano Montoya, 1º ESO B

The Dolphin (Gemini)

Greek mithology spoke of a creature of the deep sea that had the shape of a dolphin and helped sailors to reach their destination when they had difficulties. One night it ascended to heaven among the stars and continued helping them. These stars form the constellation of the dolphin.

Alejandro Martín García, 1º ESO B

The Spectrum King (Canis maior)

This constellation is the Spectrum King,who was always scaring everyone. And a punishment, Zeus threw his lightning bolt at him and shattered his crown. This enraged the Spectrum King and he placed a curse on the people. Instead of going to the Underworld when they died, they would be transformed into ghosts that walked the Earth forever.

Juan Martínez Nievas, 1º ESO B

The horse (Gemini)

Once upon a time there was a horse named Canela. He liked to run in races but he didn't like horses that could win him. One day, a very competitive horse came there. This horse was called The Dreaded because sometimes he was scary. Canela and The Dreaded talked and the decided to run a race.

At first, The Dreaded was winning. Finally, Canella overtook The Dreaded with great effort. Almost near the goal, Canella twisted his leg and fell down. He broke his leg and became very ill. He did not survive. All his friends were very sad and always remembered him as a good friend. He went to the sky and stayed there forever.

Mireia Carretero Ballesteros 1º ESO A

The robot constellation (Hercules)

In ancient Greece, the Greek thought of a new type of being, the robot. The robot would be made of metal. It would be the king, but more powerful than humans. In order to show their admiration, ancient Greek put the robot into a constellation, near to the constellation of Hercules because Hercules was a god, very, very strong and popular.

Javier Perea Guijarro, 1º ESO B

The love kite (Pegasus)

More than 2.500 years ago the kite was born. It was a completely new object. For a long period of time, the kite was the most famous and appreciated toy. All the children wanted it; but only the most rich families could afford it.

One day, a teen boy decided to buy a kite for his love, the Princess of France. It took all the his savings, but he believed she would love it when he decided to give the kite to the Princess. He gathered courage and went to the castle. The guard didn't let him go in, so he climbed the tower. When he gave the kite to the Princess, she started to cry. When the guard entered to the Princess room, he destroyed the kite and inmediately killed the boy.

When the king found out what had happened, he decided to put a colourful kite in the sky to remember the brave boy.

Marta Castillo Villén, 1º ESO A

The big eye swan (Lyra)

One day, a swan with very small eyes was born. His name was Raly and he loved being in lakes. One day he ate a small fish that was dead and  suddenly he grew beautiful big eyes. His eyes continued to grow until he died. After, he went to  heaven and his image was recorded in the heavens.

Carmen Robles Cejudo, 1º ESO A.

Fido, the Seahorse (Cancer)

Long time ago, there was a seahorse named Fido. He was very happy but he was tired of living under the sea because he has no one to play with. One day he was bored and he decide to make a prank. So he got into the dungeon and released all the prisoners King Neptune had put into jail.

When he had released all of them, a big shadow appeared behind him. It was a huge shark! Fido almost died of fear because he thought that he was going to die and he closed his eyes. When he opened them, he was standing in front of a large throne, the throne of Neptune, the great king of the seas. Suddenly he appeared very angry with his trident and he pointed at him with it. Fido asked Neptune not to kill him. He didn't kill him but put him in the sky forever close to the crab as a punishment.

Esther Mesa Medina, 1º ESO B

Python, the Snake

Once upon a time, a snake called Python was born without spots. One day, her mother left her home because his friends laughed at him because Python hadn't got spots. But Python's mother had a secret: she hadn`t got spots. She had painted their spots with clay.
Python had an idea and he went to the laboratory with his mother. The biologist beetle helped them to have spots like all the snakes. The beetle made a green and black liquid and Python and his mother took it. So, they went yellow and brown. And they were very happy.

Jorge Yélamos Lorente, 1º ESO B

The butterfly (Ursa minor)

Lucía González Moles, 1º ESO A

Pondyweveryn (Cassiopeia)

The name of my constellation is Pondiweveryn. She is a butterfly. I drew this picture to tell a legen:

One day in May, Pondiweveryn went to the field and saw Wetesimite; he was another butterfly. But Pondyweveryn loved Wetesimite, but he didn`t like her. Pondyweveryn cried, cried and cried. But her sister said:

You can find another husband because you are very beautiful and hardworking!

Other butterflies love you. She became happy and said: Ok, I can find another husband for the future. Thank you.

Andrea Hernández 1ºB.

The penguin

Once upon a time there was a citadel of penguins in the North Pole where all of them, but one, were very bad.  This penguin was very good. One day he thought: Today I will turn all the evil penguin good.

And everybody became good and then a magician penguin made a spell and sent the good penguin to heaven with the other stars.

Alejandro Valero Rodríguez, 1º ESO B

The wings (Capricorn) 

These wings are Hermes' wings. He used them for travelling all around the world. He was the messenger of the sky. The fastest god ever. I have drawn these wings because Hermes (also known with the name of Mercury) is my favourite character of the Greek Mithology.

Inma Ruiz López, 1º de ESO B.

The feather (Ursa maior)

Now, we know that Hermes was a messenger so in his last mission, there is a legend that says that he falled down when he was flying and a boy founded him, laying on the ground. The boy talked and carried him to his house, where his mother and father tried to help Hermes, but they couldn't do anything for him, and after that, he died.

But only a few minutes before he died, he took a feather from his shoes' wing and he gave it to the boy at the same time that he said "thanks", his last word.

Inma Ruiz López, 1º ESO B.

What was the Star of Bethlehem?

Do you know why there is a star on top of the Christmas tree or in the Nativity scene? The Gospel of Matthew says that magi from distant places saw a star in the sky that revealed them the birth of Jesus and led them to Bethlehem.
Did the star really exist? We don't know, but in that time, there were some interesting phenomena in the sky. Could one of them have been the Star of Behtlehem?

A comet?
A comet is an object with a long tail that moves through the sky. The most famous is Halley's comet. In the Adoration of the Magi, the painter Giotto drew this comet as the star as he had observed it in 1301. But comet Halley came close to the Earth in 12 b.C., too soon to be the star of Bethlehem. 

And what about planets?
There were two planetary conjunctions around the time of Jesus' birth: a triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in 7 b.C. and a conjunction of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn in 6 b. C. Both of them over the constellation of Pisces. Jupiter was considered the star of royalty, Saturn the star of the Mesopotamian deity who protected Israel and Pisces was the constellation associated to Jewish people.

A big explosion in the sky?
Chinese astronomers watched a new star in 5 b.C.  visible for over 70 days. Probably it was a nova. This is a big explosion on a white dwarf of a binary system when it takes hydrogen from the other star.
Another possibility is a supernova. This is the largest explosion that takes place in space. It happens when a star dies and it may shine with the brightness of millions suns. But no supernova remnant, as a nebula, is known from that time. 

And you? What do you think about the Star?

Here you have some hypothesis about the Star of Bethlehem. Buth there are others. In your opinion, which is the most likely hypothesis? Can you find another one? Please, write your opinions as comment. And have merry Christmas and a happy new year.

The best answer to a difficult question

Of course. I know that it was a very difficult question: Can you find any planet in your constellation?. But now, nothing is impossible if you work hard; and you have books, Internet... So, I want to post here the best answer to our difficult questions and his author:  

The orbits of all planets are in a plane. For this reason the planets are on a line in the sky. this line is the ecliptic. You can see planets in a contelations only if the ecliptic pass for this constelations. I drawing the ecliptic in Stellarium and I see what constelations pass for the ecliptic. Aries, Taurus, almost Orion, Gemini, Cancer, Pisces, almost Cetus, Aquarius, Leo, almost Sextans, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius (my constelation), Ophiuchus, Sagittarius, Capricornus. Venus pass through Scorpius on 19 September 2014. Mercury aproximately 30 November 2014. Saturn aproximately 25 January 2015. Jupiter aproximately 26 November 2018 with the Sun and Mercury. Uranus aproximately 22 January of 2066. And Neptune in year 2136. I see this in Stellarium.

Bruno Otero Galadí, 1º ESO B.

Stars, planets and moons dressed up as Halloween monsters!!!

Thank you very much for your drawings. Here you have only a selection of all the drawings you have presented. I invite you to see our notice-board in the the hall of the school and the notice-boards in your classrooms. If your picture is not in this blog, please write a comment with a description of your drawing.

 

This is Death City Moon. Some people says that in dark nights you can hear her laughting. We know that her eye is a big crater, but what is her smile? Inma Ruiz Löpez, 1º ESO B.

My draw is the Sun. This is a devil. The spider is Mercury and the ghost is a galaxy. I like it because is the good costume of Halloween. The Sun has got a trident. Andrea García Manzano, 1º ESO A.

I choose Venus to dress it of Frankenstein, because I like it very much. Marta Castillo Villén, 1º ESO A.

Mu planets are Earth and Moon. I like the zombie because is nice, and the vampire is one animal because scary. Gema Gómez Salmerón, 1º ESO A. 

The Moon is a murderer and the Earth is a pumpkin. Esther Mesa Medina, 1º ESO B.

The Solar System is a star (Sun), 8 planets and satellites. Sara Muñoz Bolaños, 1º ESO B.

Phantom is Super-Saturn and Sun is ready to scare on Halloween pumpkin from space. Iara Rodríguez Texeira, 1º ESO B.

Alejandro Valero Rodríguez, 1º ESO B.