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Stardate Friday 26 January 2007 Issue 216
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Weeh! Weeh! Here little piggy. This week it has been announced that the most horrible sound ever is – vomiting. Sick as a pig eh? And talking of which, next month heralds the start of the Chinese Year of the Pig. So - no time like the present, let’s get ready for a porcine party. From the Vietnamese Potbelly to the Gloucestershire Old Spot, the Saddleback to the Tamworth, Come One Come All! Ah you can’t beat a Tamworth. There’s nothing like a ginger pig. Unless you know different…?
The line-up this week:
- The Astronomy of Astrology: Taurus
- Activity of the Week: Snow Science
- Mouses at the Ready for Flying Pigs
- Noticeboard: FYI
- Recommended websites of the week
- The Winners’ Enclosure
- Joke of the Week
According to legend, Buddha asked animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve animals came – the Rat, the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Snake, the Horse, the Sheep, the Monkey, the Rooster, the Dog, and the Pig. So he named each year after them claiming that a person born under that year would have similar characteristics to the animal. This year is the Year of the Pig (or Boar). Those born in 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, and of course 2007 are born under the sign of the pig. Persons born under the Year of the Pig work very hard, have excellent manners, are loyal friends and enjoy luxuries.
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1. The Astronomy of Astrology: Taurus
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 Oi! We said pig not bull! Okay we’ll make an exception this time. It’s our own Astronomer Extraordinaire, Alison Begley, here to tell us all about this month’s sign.
Taurus (April 20 - May 20)
Taureans are in for an explosive month, but what appears to be the end of era could turn out to be the beginning of something beautiful…
How to find Taurus… Taurus conveniently sits next to Orion, just above and to the right. Its bright star Aldebaran - the brightest star in the zodiac, a bright orange, red giant - is hard to miss, and is a good starting point for tracing out the rest of the constellation.
 Since Taurus is not so tricky to find you might have a few minutes to take a look at the Hyades star cluster, which sits behind Aldebaran, before you start losing fingers to frostbite. And the Pleiades, one of the most famous star clusters, is found between Orion and Taurus.
In 1054 a new star appeared in Taurus, but unlike any other star (apart from the Sun of course) it was visible during the day. This was a supernova, the massive explosion of a dying star. It is most likely that this star used up all its fuel, firstly burning hydrogen, then helium, carbon and oxygen ending up with a dense iron core. With the energy from nuclear fusion gone, the core imploded catastrophically to form a neutron star, and material falling inwards formed a shock wave, blasting the star's outer layers away.
The star shone in the daytime for more than 3 weeks and it took nearly two years for it to fade from the night sky. What remains today is the Crab Nebula, and at its centre is a pulsar, a neutron star spinning 30 times a second. Now, one thousand years on you'll need to go out at night with binoculars to see it.
Many different atoms are formed in a star. In larger stars, fusion can produce anything lighter than iron, while heavier elements are formed by squeezing neutrons into already existing atoms. During a supernova the huge number of neutrons pinging around produce hundreds of different atoms. The explosion releases all these ingredients into the galaxy forming clouds of dust and gas, and new stars and new planets form from these clouds.
Most of the atoms which make up our bodies were once inside a star, either being released as a red giant puffs off its outer layers, or when the star explodes in a supernova. So even if you are feeling a little insignificant now, be happy that billions of years ago we all used to be stars.
Next month… Gemini… sunny days, dreaming our cares away
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Thanks Alison!
By the way, what do you call a pig with three eyes? A piiig!
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2. Activity of the Week: Snow Science
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 How very topical! It’s just the time of year to try these out.
You will need:
- Black velvet or black card or paper
- Magnifying Glass
- Snow
What to do:
- Since snowflakes melt so quickly you need to freeze your cloth or paper.
- Have it ready frozen and ready to go for the next snowfall.
- When it is snowing go outside and let some snowflakes land on the dark surface.
- Quickly, before they melt, examine the flakes with a magnifying glass.
- Many snowflakes are "broken" and so you don't see the whole six-sided crystal, but with persistence you'll see some beautiful examples.
- Print off a copy of Types of snowflake
- Compare your snowflakes to those on the chart.
What’s going on?
When cloud temperature is at freezing or below and the clouds are moisture filled, snow crystals form. The ice crystals form on dust particles as the water vapour condenses and partially melted crystals cling together to form snowflakes. It is said that no two snowflakes are the same, but they can be classified into types of crystals. All snow crystals have six sides. The six-sided shape of the ice crystal is because of the shape and bonding of the water molecules. Basically there are 6 different types of snow crystals: needles, columns, plates, columns capped with plates, dendrites and stars. The type of crystals depends on the amount of humidity and temperature present when they are forming. That's why when it's very cold and snowing, the flakes are small, and when it's closer to 0o C the flakes are larger. Click here for more photos of snowflakes.
This activity came from UK Education 4U.
More Snow Science Activities
- Make a snow gauge.
Take an old clear plastic drinks bottle and cut off the top half. Mark the outside in centimetres or inches with a permanent marker and place it outside in a place where it can collect the falling snow.
- Measure how much melted snow it takes to make water.
Collect some snow in a container and record the level of snow on the container. Let the snow melt. How much water is there? Are you surprised at the difference?
- Make your own glacier.
Fill a bowl with snow and bring it inside to partially thaw, then add more snow on top. Keep doing this all winter long. (Obviously you will need to keep it in the freezer in between times). You will then have the "layers" of ice and snow like a glacier.
These activities are courtesy of Snowcrystals.com
Scientists know that androstenone is a pheromone that excites pigs. Androstenone is found in truffles, which is why pigs will spontaneously search for them and why dogs can be taught to find them.
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3. Mouses at the Ready
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 Seen any flying pigs lately? You obviously don’t know about http://www.flying-pig.co.uk/ then. It’s a fantastic site containing paper-based animation kits. Yes they are paper models you make that move. A must for any D&T work. And we’ve got FIVE Flying Pigs to give away!
If you’d like to win one, send an email with your name and address, and the words PIGS MAY FLY in the subject line, to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk.
The draw will take place at 5pm on Wednesday 31st January.
Did you know that pig iron is raw cast iron of uniform shape and size, usually a rough bar? These pig iron bars were formed by moulds in the sand floor of the cast house that resembled little pigs nursing on the belly of their sow. The pig iron bars were then sold to a forge or finery for further refinement into wrought iron or other fine cast products.
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Planet Science Quiz
The January What’s in a Year? Quiz
If you get all the questions right you’ll go into the prize draw for a Blue Glow Brick – a nifty non energy using bulb that absorbs daylight and gives off a blue glow at night – perfect of those dull, dark January evenings!
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Royal Society Of Chemistry’s Bill Bryson Competition
This is a Science Communication award open to all UK students (aged 5-18).
Entries should show how science is helping the environment through the development of energy saving means of transport and travel. There are cash prizes of up to £500 for the best entries.
Closing date: 31st May 2007
For more details visit www.rsc.org/billbrysonprize or email: education@rsc.org
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Sense-ational Science competition KS2/3
Build your own animal head with super-sized sense organs and you and your class could go behind the scenes and meet one of London Zoo’s favourite animals. The top entries will be displayed in the Sense-ational Science exhibition at London Zoo 12-16 March to celebrate National Science and Engineering Week.
Closing date: 28 Feb 2007
Call Vicki on 020 7449 6503 for more details.
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So who won the eight copies of the Supporting Physics Teaching 11-14 CD-ROM packs? Well they are, in no particular order (as they say on the X-factor): Fiona O'Reilly of Tonbridge, Vanessa Mercieca of Farnham, Andy Williams of Tyne & Wear, Sarah Newlove of Middlesbrough, Ian Hemming of Bristol, Helen George of Henlow, Ian Garfield of Staffordshire, Alan Haffenden of Hampshire. Congratulations! They will be winging their way to you very soon.
If you weren’t so lucky this time and yet you still have a little money left over after the January bills have come in, then never fear. The CDs cost £10 per set and can be purchased online.
For more details visit this page.
Pigs cannot sweat. They have no sweat glands. They roll around in the mud to keep cool. Did you think they did it for FUN? Looks like you’ll have to find another analogy…
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7. Pig Joke of the Week
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Q: What did the neurotic pig say to the farmer?
A: You take me for grunted.
Q: Why did the farmer call his pig "Ink"?
A: Because it was always running out of the pen.
Q. What's a pig's favourite ballet?
A. Swine Lake.
A man was driving down the road in the country. He looked over and saw a baby pig in the field. He stopped and picked up the pig. He was driving around town with the pig in the car and a cop sees him and pulls him over.
Cop asks "Hey, What are you doing with that pig in the car?"
The driver says "Well, I just found the pig beside the road in the field."
The cop says" I want you to take that pig to the zoo!"
The driver agrees he will take the pig to the zoo.
The next day the cop sees the guy driving around again and pulls him over. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO TAKE THAT PIG TO THE ZOO!!"
He replied, "Well I did take the pig to the zoo. We had such a good time we’re going to the ball game now."
This farmer takes his pig to the vet and says to him, "My pig's cross-eyed. Is there anything you can do for him?"
"Well," says the vet, "Let's have a look at him."
So he picks the pig up and has a good look at its eyes. After pausing for a while to think, the vet says, "I'm going to have to put him down."
"Just because he's cross-eyed?" exclaims the bloke.
"No," replies the vet, "Because he's heavy."
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