Baobab – Upside Down Tree

When the Europeans saw the giant trees that grew “upside down” they decided that they were the eighth wonder of the world! But the natives disappointed white people: it turned out, that baobabs served their sentences in hot African savanna…. Once upon a time the Creator planted the trees in the valley of the Congo River, but they began to complain about the dampness. Then the creator became angry and threw the baobabs on dry land. Since then, they grow upside down.
No other representative of the flora does not cling to life as fiercely as baobab. Fire can burn wood, but the tree will grow! When it is cut down new roots will grow. By the way, its roots are tens and even hundreds of meters long. The diameter of the trunks of the trees on the average reaches 10 meters and circumference – 30-40 meters! It is one of the thickest trees in the world. Baobab tree is a natural reservoir, which can contain up to 120 thousand liters of water! In times of drought the tree consumes the “gold reserves” and becomes a little thinner.
More »

Sable Island – Island of lost ships

Sable Island is in the North Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Canada, in a place where the warm Gulf Stream meets the cold Labrador Current. It is crescent-shaped island, 42 km long and 1.5 km wide. It is the most mysterious and the most dangerous island in the world.
Until now, no one knows exactly who has discovered this island. Norwegians say that the Vikings were the first. The French believe that the fishermen from Normandy and Brittany discovered it at the beginning of the XVI century.
But most modern geographers and historians agree that Sable was discovered by French traveler, who in 1508 sailed from Europe to the peninsula, which later was named the British Acadia and later – Nova Scotia.
More »

Comet – celestial body with hairy tail

A comet travels around the sun and is sometimes described as a “dirty snowball.” The word “comet” comes from a Greek word that means “hairy one.”
A comet has no light of its own and shines from the sunlight bouncing off it.
Some scientists think that a large part of a comet is ice and the rest is bits of iron and dust. When the ice melts great clouds of gas go streaming behind it.
Earth passes through the orbit of some comets. Bits of dust left behind by the comets crash into the gases surrounding Earth. They burn up in the sky in what is called a meteor shower.
More »

Uranus – seventh planet

Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It was named after the god in ancient Greek mythology. This planet was discovered in March 1781 by William Herschel. It became the first planet discovered after the invention of the telescope. Herschel named it George’s Star in honor of his king George III of England. Scientists began to use the name Uranus in about 1850.
The spacecraft Voyager 2 confirmed that Uranus is a large gas planet made of hydrogen and helium. Methane in its upper atmosphere gives the planet a blue-green color.
Uranus has a system of rings like other gas planets, such as Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune. Its rings were discovered in 1977.
More »

Neptune – huge gas planet

Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun. It is named after the Roman god of the sea. Neptune is deep blue in color.
The planet was discovered in 1846 by German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle. In August 1989 spacecraft Voyager 2 visited it. It flew for 12 years before it got close enough to Neptune.
Neptune is made up mostly of gases, mainly hydrogen and helium, and has rapid winds and big storms. Its winds reach speeds of about 2,000 kilometers per hour, the fastest winds ever discovered in the solar system.
The planet rotates once every 16.1 hours, so its day is about two-thirds as long as ours. But there are about 60,225 days (about 165 Earth years) in one Neptune year. Each season on Neptune lasts for 41 Earth years.
More »

Geranium – popular flower-garden plant

Geraniums are flowering plants that grow in the wild as well as in gardens. There are many different types of geranium that are common in mild moist climates in North America, Europe, and Africa.
Its flowers may be round, ragged, or frilled. And they may be pink, deep red, violet, and white. These plants may smell like mint, fruit, flowers, spice, or even chocolate.
The word “geranium” is derived from the Greek word “geranos” which means crane. The seeds resemble the shape of this majestic bird.
This unassuming flower has long history with seas and oceans travels, with ups and downs in popularity.
More »

Unusual and beautiful caves

A cave is a natural hollow space under the ground. Most caves are formed by some type of erosional process. They can form in limestone, gypsum, marble, and dolomite. Caves may also form when earthquakes cause large cracks in solid rock. Ocean waves sometimes form sea caves along the coast.
Water dripping into a cave contains minerals that build up on the ceiling and the floor. Stalactites hang down from the ceiling and stalagmites point up from the floor. Sometimes stalactites and stalagmites join together to form columns.
Caves are sites of many important archeological discoveries such as The Dead Sea Scrolls. Many religious traditions have regarded caves as sacred and have used them to perform rituals, ceremonies, and sacrifices.
More »