Long live Ukraine

The world enters the Nuclear age when the U.S. drops two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WWII.

Four years later the USSR tests successfully its nuclear bomb and the nuclear age starts in earnest.

The world came close to nuclear war when the USSR wished to install intercontinental missiles in Cuba the range of which covered the entire U.S.  President Khrushchev asked his fleet to return to Russia when American warships moved to intercept them and thus a nuclear holocaust was averted.

President George Bush of the U.S. and the Secretary General of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev signed the historic nonproliferation treaty in 1991 which was the end of the Cold War between the two superpowers.

On Feb 21,2022 Russia recognises the two break away republics Donetsk and Luhansk in Ukraine's Dombas region.  Three days later Russia invades Ukraine from the North, East and South.

On Feb 28, 2022 President Putin places Russia's nuclear forces on high alert following a comment by the UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.

I hope Ukraine and Russia reach an agreement in the United Nations session to be held soon allowing Ukraine to stay an independent country.  Then the US and EU lift their sanctions against Russia and the world to avoids a nuclear catastrophe.

The Year of the Tiger

February 1, 2022 is the first day of the Chinese New Year which according to the Chinese zodiac in 2022 is the Year of the Tiger.

Before the new year celebration was established, ancient Chinese gathered and celebrated the end of harvest in the autumn. 

Legends tell us that the Chinese New Year started with a mythical beast called Nian which would eat villagers and their children and destroy their houses in the middle of the night.  Luck had that an an elderly man put red papers and set off firecrackers in the middle of the night after discovering what Nian was afraid off.  Following that night Nian never return to that village thus the Chinese prospered and multiplied.

The first mention of celebrating the start of a new year was recorded during the Han dynasty (220 BC - 220 AD).  in a book written by Cui Shi, "a celebration is described in which commemoration of ancestors and especially his father". The practice of worshiping ancestors on New Year's Eve is maintained in China to this day.  Also, on the days before the New Year, Chinese families clean their homes thoroughly as it is believed the cleaning sweeps bad luck and makes homes ready for good luck.

Chinese people believe that what you do at the beginning of the new year will affect your luck in the coming year.  Saying good wishes to family and friends when the clock strikes 12 will certainly bring good luck, so

Happy New Year my friends!

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.