James Webb; looking into the Genesis of our Universe

 

The James Webb telescope is on its month-long journey to Lagrange point L2 after its successful launch on December 25, 2021.  Point L2 is almost 1 million miles away from the Earth.

The Webb will look beyond to what the Hubble has already looked at.  As more distant objects are more redshifted and their light is in the near-infrared their observation requires an infrared telescope this is why the Webb was designed for.

The Webb will be able to look at the first galaxies and the first stars after the Big Bang, at the Genesis of our Universe .

View of the Andromeda galaxy taken by the Herschel Space Observatory an infrared telescope built by the European Space Agency.  The primary difference between the Webb and Herschel is their wavelength range and also the diameter of Webb's mirror is 6.5 meters and the Herschel's 3.5 meters.  The Hubble, the Webb and the Herschel will provide information that will allow astronomers to look and understand the early phases of our Universe.

The James Webb on Jan 24, 2022 reached its orbit 1 million miles from Earth and will begin looking back to the time the first starts and galaxies were forming 13.7 billion years ago and provide information about the origin of our Universe. 

                                     Credit to all images is due to NASA and ESA.

The return

 

The city of Columbus and its airport John Glenn International.

On the taxiway.  The control tower is seen on the left.

On the way to New York at dusk.  The curvature of the Earth hopefully will convince the Flat Earth society members to change their minds.

I am now in the land of the blue skies and seas, the land I was born at and I call home.

Earth's most Northern Island

 

Scientists on an expedition to collect samples from an island, called Oodaq off the coast of Greenland, then believed to be the world's most northern island, discovered a new island that measures 30 x 50 meters and has a peak of 3 meters above the sea surface.  The team wants it to be named Qeqertaq Avannarleq, which means "the northernmost island" in Greenlandic as it is thought to be the world's most northerly island as the islet lies at 83° 40' 59.1" North and 30° 41' 52.2" West.

New York City

 

New York City is situated in one of the world's largest natural harbours. Its population in 2020 was nearly 9 million and was 20 million in its greater metropolitan region. 

In the precolonial era, the area of present-day New York City was inhabited by the Algonquian Native Americans.  The first documented visit into the New York Harbor by a European was in 1524 by the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano.  The English Henry Hudson rediscovered New York Harbor in 1609 while searching for the Northwest passage. 

The Statue of Liberty is a world-famous symbol of freedom.  It was a gift from France to the United States to celebrate American Independence.  It was sculpted by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi in 1886.

The heart of Manhattan, Central Park is 843 acres of green space featuring running paths, a boating lake, a zoo, fountains, and a skating ring.  New Yorkers have gathered at this beautiful park since 1857 to enjoy being close to nature.

View of Brooklyn and Brooklyn bridge from Manhattan.  The East river is in the foreground.

Brooklyn has become a favorite borough of mine among other reasons because my son and his wife live there.  Strolling through Brooklyn neighborhoods is like entering a genteel bygone era. 

Prospect Park a 585-acre green oasis is less crowded than Manhattan's Central Park and it offers gorgeous green spaces for exercise, cycling, tai-chi, or simply hanging out to read a book. 

A young couple enjoying a stroll in Prospect Park.

This is the fifth time I have visited New York City.  There are so many venues to enjoy in this great city but one of the best is Brooklyn promenade that offers a magnificent night view of Manhattan.

9/11 and its aftermath

 

Twenty years ago, I struggled to absorb the images of fire and smoke wafting from the World Trade Center.

I turned the TV on when the second plane was ready to hit the tower.  I thought it was a movie.

When I later saw the beams twisted and in rubble, it was eerie, very eerie!

It is still hard to process what happened but the melancholy and pain of that day have been replaced by hope as we see the One World Trade Center tower and adjacent buildings in lower Manhattan.

So, what has happened in the interim?  The masterminds behind the attack are incarcerated, and Osama bin Laden was killed.  The Taliban that provided a safe haven to OBL were overthrown but they are again back in charge.  Nearly 3000 people lost their lives in that horrible day and thousand upon thousand more in the wars that followed in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and other Arab countries.  And the wars ended but the pain and confusion still persist for millions of people. 

The story America told itself in the aftermath was one of resilience but the grief is still alive in our hearts and tears are rushing down when the brutal events of that day and those that followed come to our minds.

MIkis Theodorakis 1925-2021

Mikis Theodorakis the best-known Greek composer and lyricist died today at the age of 96.  He composed music for the films "Zorba the Greek" (1964) and "Z" (1969).  His "Mauthausen Trilogy" also known as "The Ballad of Mauthausen" is considered the most beautiful music written about the Holocaust.  Politically he clearly stood on the left and was a member of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE).  He was among the most prominent opponents against the 1967-1974 Greek junta which imprisoned and tortured him.  In 1989 he run for Parliament as an independent candidate and was instrumental in creating a coalition between conservatives, socialists, and communists.  He became a minister in the government of Constantine Mitsotakis, a conservative, and fought against drugs, for better education, and for better relations between Greece and Turkey. "Today we lost part of the soul of Greece," said Culture Minister Lina Mendoni "the man who made Greeks sing poetry"

The Tokyo Olympics

 

The Summer Olympics originally scheduled for 2020, opened a year later on July 23, 2021 with dance performances highlighting the struggle to overcome the pandemic that infected close to 200 million people and has been the cause of death in more than 4 million people worldwide.

Japan is a country in East Asia of 126 million that inhabit multiple islands.  According to legend Emperor Jimmu, the grandson of Amaterasu goddess of the rising sun, formed the kingdom of Japan in 660 BC, forming a continuous imperial line. In 1868, Japan opened trade with the West.  In the Meiji period, the Empire of Japan adopted a Western modeled constitution and pursued industrialization and modernization.  Today, Japan is a member of both the G7 and G20 groups of nations.

As of today August 1st, the IOC said there have been 259 Covid-19 cases two of which were treated in a hospital.  Twenty athletes have tested positive.  Japan has dealt well with the pandemic reporting 937,203 cases and 15,209 deaths that correspond to 121 deaths per million.

The tennis star Naomi Osaka lit the cauldron with the flame that was brought to Tokyo from Olympia, Greece.

The flame is lit according to the ancient method using the sun's rays.  The flame is given to the first runner by the high priestess of Hera, the wife of God Zeus, the preeminent God on Mount Olympus.

The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens' Stadium in 1896.  Although the Tokyo Olympics will be celebrating the 125th year since their rebirth, the ancient Games began in Olympia over 2700 years ago.  They were held every four years between 776 BC and 392 AD. 

The Olympic Games were attended by approximately 50,000 people from all over the Greek world and were celebrated as a religious festival for Zeus, the supreme God of the Greek pantheon.  The main event at the games was the sacrifice of 100 oxen to God Zeus. 

Unlike in today's games, the ancient athletes wouldn't have medals but instead, they were given a wreath of leaves and they were welcomed back to their home towns as heroes.

Discus, javelin throwing as well as running were popular events.  The toughest running race was called the Hoplitodromos and athletes run wearing armor and carrying a shield.

Wrestling and boxing were popular.  One of the toughest events was called Pankration - the only rules were that those wrestling could not bite or poke their rival in the eye.

Sumo which originated in Japan is its national sport.  Sumo will not be one of the 2021 games. A two-day tournament will take place between the completion of the games and the beginning of the Paralympic games. 

On August 1st Qatar's Mutaz Barshim and Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi after the bar was set to 2.39m and each missed three times decided to share the gold in men's high jump.  The friendship and humanity the two athletes showed exemplified the spirit of the Olympics.  

           This was the best moment of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics!

People would travel from faraway places to compete in the ancient and modern games.  Two young athletes, Mark and Chloe - my children - traveled 5,000 miles to visit Olympia.  On July 23, 2007, they run the length of the stadium on a very hot day.  Hip hip hooray!

                                             Long live the Olympic Games