LIFE ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

We tend to think of space travel in only the noblest of terms; steely-eyed men and women exploring the final frontier, the advancement of all human knowledge. But astronauts are people like every one of us, subject to idiosyncrasies, pettiness, and insecurities.

Things that we take for granted on Earth, such as washing our hair, popping to the shop for some milk or going to the toilet, become more of a challenge in Space. 

Here are some insights into life in space....

The International Space Station (ISS) is a habitable human-made satellite that orbits Earth. While it may be difficult to judge the scale of the ISS on a television screen, it is the same size as a football pitch. 

Astronauts making and eating hamburgers on board the ISS August 2007

There are different compartments for the American, Russian, European and Japanese astronauts. They all come together to have dinner but then head to their own labs to do research work.

RSA cosmonaut Gennady Padalka performs an ultrasound exam on NASA astronaut
Michael Fincke during Expedition 9 aboard the International Space Station.

During the six months that most astronauts spend on the International Space Station, they can grow up to 3 percent taller. 

Without gravity, the spine is free to expand, making the space flyers taller, even when they first return to Earth.

Astronaut Catherine (Cady) Coleman trims the hair of European Space Agency
astronaut Paolo Nespoli on the International Space Station during Expedition 26.

You can’t have running water as water causes problems if it gets loose in your cabin.You take a wash cloth and a bag of water and have a sponge bath. 

Space Station residents have liquid soap. 

Once they’re done with their towel they hang it up and the air flow will dry it out. 

For their hair they can use waterless shampoo.

NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, Expedition 36 flight engineer, attired in an
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit

Under their space suits, astronauts wear nappies.The space suit is your own little space ship. You can’t just take it off, go inside and do whatever. It makes everything convenient and a lot less stressful to know you can do that if you need to. 

Daniel Tani in ISS sleeping bag

As there is no “up or down” in Space, beds are positioned on the walls, ceilings and floor. Sleeping bags are strapped to the walls so they don’t float away.

Astronaut Sunita Williams
bungeed to the TVIS treadmill
aboard the International Space Station.

In the weightlessness of space, muscles aren't needed to support the body. An astronaut's muscles start to adapt to that change almost immediately. 

Due to the low gravity, the heart has a far easier time of pumping blood around the body in space than it does on Earth. 

This can be dangerous, as it gradually pumps less and less and becomes weaker, so astronauts must exercise for several hours a day to keep it working hard.

There are two treadmills and two stationary bicycles on board the space station to help the residents keep in shape during their time in orbit.

Astronauts have reported seeing flashes of light zap through their eyes as they try to rest, making it difficult for them to sleep on the space station. 

The flashes are actually from cosmic rays — high-energy particles that beam through the solar system — shooting through the orbiting outpost. 

Spaceflyers have described the flashes as "fireworks" or "streaks."

Cady Coleman plays a flute inside the International Space Station.

The International Space Station orbits the Earth at about 17,000mph (27,000kph). This means astronauts aboard the ISS see the Sun rise and set every 90 minutes. However, their clocks run to UTC and they work 9-5, just like on Earth, to keep their days ordered.

Dmitri Kondratyev and Paolo Nespoli photograph the Earth through the Cupola

The astronauts can visit the cupola, an observatory pod from which they can see Earth.

Sometimes, space flyers will drop things on earth, forgetting that gravity is influential back on Earth. After six months in micro-gravity conditions, it is difficult to adjust to life in a place where materials fall if you drop them. 

It is not only a fun job being an astronaut in space. It involves a lot of courage a sacrifice to be the chosen ones. We salute the brave astronauts!!

LIFE OF A STAR

Grand star forming region R136

Stars are hot bodies of glowing gas that start their life in Nebulae. 
Stars form when enough dust and gas clump together because of gravitational forces. Nuclear reactions release energy to keep the star hot.
They vary in size, mass and temperature, diameters ranging from 450x smaller to over 1000x larger than that of the Sun. 
The colour of a star is determined by its temperature, the hottest stars are blue and the coolest stars are red. The Sun has a surface temperature of 5,500 degrees Celcius, its colour appears yellow.

THE RING NEBULA
A PLANETARY NEBULA SIMILAR TO WHAT OUR SUN WILL BECOME

The Sun and other stars use nuclear fusion to release energy.
Nuclear fusion involves two atomic nuclei joining to make a large nucleus. Energy is released when this happens

THE LIFE CYCLE OF A STAR

A star goes through a life cycle. This is determined by the size of the star. The diagram below summarises the stages :

Stars about the same size as our Sun

These follow the left hand path:

Main sequence star → red giant → white dwarf → black dwarf

Stars much bigger than our Sun

These follow the right hand path:

Main sequence star → red super giant → supernova → neutron star or black hole

NEBULA

Stars are born in a region of high density Nebula, and condenses into a huge globule of gas and dust and contracts under its own gravity

There are different types of nebula. An Emission Nebula e.g. such as Orion nebula, glows brightly because the gas in it is energised by the stars that have already formed within it. In a Reflection Nebula, starlight reflects on the grains of dust in a nebula.

PROTOSTAR

A  region of condensing matter will begin to heat up and start to glow forming Protostars. 

MAIN SEQUENCE STAR

If a protostar  contains enough matter the central temperature reaches 15 million degrees centigrade.At this temperature, nuclear reactions in which hydrogen fuses to form helium can start.
The star begins to release energy, stopping it from contracting even more and causes it to shine. It is now a Main Sequence Star.

Life Of A Small Star

RED GIANT STAR

A star of one solar mass remains in main sequence for about 10 billion years, until all of the hydrogen has fused to form helium.
The helium core now starts to contract further and reactions begin to occur in a shell around the core.
The core is hot enough for the helium to fuse to form carbon. The outer layers begin to expand, cool and shine less brightly. The expanding star is now called a Red Giant.

 Red giants have diameter's between 10 and 100 times that of the Sun.

RED DWARF NEAR A PLANET

Red Dwarfs are very cool, faint and small stars, approximately one tenth the mass and diameter of the Sun. They burn very slowly and have estimated lifetimes of 100 billion years. Proxima Centauri and Barnard's Star are red dwarfs.

WHITE DWARF

White dwarfs are the shrunken remains of normal stars, whose nuclear energy supplies have been used up. White dwarf consist of degenerate matter with a very high density due to gravitational effects, i.e. one spoonful has a mass of several tonnes. White dwarfs cool and fade over several billion years.

When it stops shining, the now dead star is called a Black Dwarf.

Life Of A Massive Star

RED SUPERGIANT

Massive stars have a mass 3x times that of the Sun. Some are 50x that of the Sun. While it takes billions of years in a small star to use up all the hydrogen, it takes only millions in a massive star 
The massive star then becomes a Red Supergiant. These stars have diameters up to 1000 times that of the Sun and have luminosities often 1,000,000 times greater than the Sun.

SUPERNOVA  REMNANT

In the next million years a series of nuclear reactions occur forming different elements in shells around the iron core. The core collapses in less than a second, causing an explosion called a Supernova, in which a shock wave blows of the outer layers of the star. The actual supernova shines brighter than the entire galaxy for a short time.

This is the explosive death of a star, and often results in the star obtaining the brightness of 100 million suns for a short time.

CROSS SECTION OF NEUTRON STAR

When a supernova explodes, protons and electrons to combine to produce a neutron star. Neutron stars are very dense. Typical stars having a mass of three times the Sun but a diameter of only 20 km. If its mass is any greater, its gravity will be so strong that it will shrink further to become a black hole. Pulsars are neutron stars that are spinning very rapidly.

BLACK HOLE CYGNUS X-1

Black holes are believed to form from massive stars at the end of their life times. The gravitational pull in a black hole is so great that nothing can escape from it, not even light. The density of matter in a black hole cannot be measured. Black holes distort the space around them, and can often suck neighbouring matter into them including stars.

Next time you look at a star, remember the many different things it will become during it's lifetime! 

WHAT'S IN A NAME - Naming Storms

HISTORY OF NAMING STORMS

Call it a Tornado, Twister, Cyclone, Hurricane, Willy-Willy, or what you will, they have a destructive force that has terrorised man since as long as we can remember. 

The practice of naming storms (tropical cyclones) began years ago in order to help in the quick identification of storms in warning messages because names are presumed to be far easier to remember than numbers and technical terms.

In the beginning, storms were named arbitrarily. An Atlantic storm that ripped off the mast of a boat named Antje became known as Antje's hurricane.

For several hundred years many hurricanes in the West Indies were named after the particular saint's day on which the hurricane occurred.

In the pursuit of a more organized and efficient naming system, meteorologists later decided to identify storms using names from a list arranged alpabetically. Thus, a storm with a name which begins with A, like Anne, would be the first storm to occur in the year. 

NAMING STORMS - THE MODERN SYSTEM

Since 1953, Atlantic tropical storms have been named from lists originated by the National Hurricane Center. They are now maintained and updated by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organization.

The original name lists featured only women's names.

In 1979, men's names were introduced and they alternate with the women's names.

Six lists are used in rotation. Thus, the 2008 list is being used again in 2014.

The only time that there is a change in the list is if a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of its name on a different storm would be inappropriate for reasons of sensitivity. 

If that occurs, then at an annual meeting by the WMO Tropical Cyclone Committees (called primarily to discuss many other issues) the offending name is stricken from the list and another name is selected to replace it. 


There is a strict procedure to determine a list of tropical cyclone names in an ocean basin(s) by the Tropical Cyclone Regional Body responsible for that basin(s) at its annual/biennial meeting. There are five tropical cyclone regional bodies, i.e. ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee, WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones, RA I Tropical Cyclone Committee, RA IV Hurricane Committee, and RA V Tropical Cyclone Committee.

SOME STORM NAMES RETIRED IN THE RECENT YEARS

1990 Diana Klaus	1991 Bob	1992 Andrew	1993	1994	1995 Luis Marilyn Opal Roxanne	1996 Cesar Fran Hortense	1997	1998 Georges Mitch	1999 Floyd Lenny
2000 Keith	2001 Allison Iris Michelle	2002 Isidore Lili	2003 Fabian Isabel Juan	2004 Charley Frances Ivan Jeanne	2005 Dennis Katrina Rita Stan Wilma	2006	2007 Dean Felix Noel	2008 Gustav Ike Paloma	2009
2010 Igor Tomas	2011 Irene	2012 Sandy	2013 Ingrid

Twister In Kansas from CSU-Pueblo TODAY, CC BY 3.0

NAMES OF UPCOMING STORMS IN YOUR REGION

Be the first to know what the next storm in your region will be named - Have a look at these region wise lists.

While it might be interesting to know how the storms are named, it is important to be safe in a storm and know what to do if you are caught in one!

Have a look at the post  How To Survive Disaster - Tornadoes

Be Alert. Keep Safe.

HOW TO GET A YOUNGER LOOKING YOU!

So you’ve hit 35 and are just beginning to notice your first signs of aging – thinning of your skin and fine lines. Your skin feels dry and you have age-spots and broken blood vessels that just won’t go away.Before you hit that panic button, you need to understand that all these effects are mainly due to two factors related to natural ageing – the thinning of the epidermis (the topmost layer of our skin) and reduced blood flow to the skin. 

Why Does Women’s Skin Age Faster Than Men’s ?

Wrinkles are a sign of ageing and most of them are noticeable in the top layer of the skin. 

In men, the top layer of the skin is 25% thicker than women which makes them less prone to wrinkling. 

Men have more collagen content in their skin which is lost more gradually in comparison to women, so they tend to have a wrinkle-free skin for longer. 

Another factor that may help men look younger could be better oil shielding against moisture loss and dryness through secretion of larger amount of oils by their oil glands.

Your Fight Against Ageing Skin

The most popular anti ageing weapon is the use of anti ageing cream. Home remedies come a close second and you will find people who swear by either of the two. Of course , prevention is still the best remedy to help you keep the dreaded wrinkles away. 

Let's look at all these, and how they may or may not help you.

  

Anti Ageing Creams - Their secrets revealed

From fighting those pesky free radicals, to stimulating skin's natural collagen production, anti-aging products make some alluring promises. And consumers spend billions of dollars each year on such creams and lotions.But the most important question is do these creams really work?   

Here are some commonly listed active ingredients, and the scientific evidence about whether they may play a role in decreasing signs of aging.

Peptides

As you age, your skin becomes thinner and loses fat, causing it to sag and develop fine lines. The body produces less collagen and elastin, substances that enables the skin to maintain its smooth, plump and youthful appearance.

Peptides are small proteins that help stimulate new cells to grow and help skin cells to heal.

Experts consider peptides to be good in moisturizers for hydrating skin, which can make lines less noticeable, but there is no convincing data that they work to actually reduce wrinkles.

Alpha-hydroxy acids

Alpha-hydroxy acids, or AHAs such as lactic, glycolic and citric acids, are natural ingredients that come from fruits and milk sugars. 

"They are commonly used because they work as an exfoliant, getting rid of dead skin cells, allowing new cells to grow, and making the skin appear tighter" 

Side effects include stinging and sun sensitivity, so experts recommend using a sunscreen every day.

Antioxidants

Antioxidants are commonly claimed to help fight cell damage from free radicals, which are molecules that could injure cells and increase inflammation, and increase the risk of cancer.

Substances with antioxidant properties include beta-carotene, lycopene, selenium, and vitamins A, C and E. 

Retinol 
Touted as a tried-and-true method for decreasing signs of aging, retinol, a natural form of vitamin A, works by reducing the appearance of wrinkles and boosts the thickness and elasticity of the skin.

A more potent form of retinol,  called tretinoin (sometimes sold under the brand name Retin-A), is available by prescription but may cause more side effects than the over-the-counter strength. 

But women who are pregnant or plan to get pregnant should avoid using any form of vitamin A, because it may increase the risk of birth defects.

Vitamin C: 
Another potent antioxidant, vitamin C may help protect skin from sun damage. Before and between uses, wrinkle creams containing vitamin C must be stored in a way that protects them from air and sunlight.

Coenzyme Q10: 
This ingredient may help reduce fine wrinkles around the eyes and protect the skin from sun damage.

Tea extracts: 

Green, black and oolong tea contain compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Green tea extracts are the ones most commonly found in wrinkle creams.

Grape seed extract: 

In addition to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, grape seed extract also promotes wound healing.

Niacinamide: 

A potent antioxidant, this substance is related to vitamin B-3 (niacin). It helps reduce water loss in the skin and may improve skin elasticity.

Matrixyl

Collagen is needed to keep skin elastic and give it a plump, youthful feel - but production declines with age

The secret weapon, Matrixyl, almost doubles the production of collagen, the anti-wrinkle protein that keeps skin looking plump and youthful.

The ingredient is found in face creams made by high street brands such as  Olay’s Regenerist range, as well as in creams made by less well-known brands such as St Ives and Skin Doctors. 

Argireline (also known as acetyl hexapeptide-3): 
This peptide relaxes facial muscles to prevent wrinkles and fine lines from forming.

Consider these points when judging the merits of anti-ageing creams:

Cost: Cost has no relationship to effectiveness. A wrinkle cream that’s more costly may not be more effective than a less costly product.

Lower doses: Non-prescription wrinkle creams contain lower concentrations of active ingredients than prescription creams. So results, if any, are limited and usually short-lived.

Multiplicity of ingredients: There is no data to suggest that adding two or three of the ingredients above together will be more effective than just one of them.

Daily use: You’ll likely need to use the wrinkle cream once or twice a day for many weeks before noticing any improvements. And once you discontinue using the product, your skin is likely to return to its original appearance.

Side-effects: Some products may cause skin irritation, rashes, burning or redness. Be sure to read and follow the product instructions to limit possible side-effects.

Individual differences: Just because your friend swears by a product doesn’t mean it will work for you. People have different skin types. No one product works the same for everyone.

Home Remedies For A Younger Looking Skin

Lemon juice to reduce age spots

The vitamin C present in lemons is a strong antioxidant. Besides, its bleaching action works wonders on age spots and freckles. Just squeeze out the juice from a lemon, apply and leave on your skin for about 15 minutes every day and then rinse with plain water.

For even better results, combine 1 teaspoon of lemon juice with half teaspoon of milk cream and 1 teaspoon of egg white. Mix all these ingredients and apply on the face; after 15 minutes, rinse with cold water.

Lemon juice in combination with honey is also a very effective remedy for ageing skin because honey has a soothing action. Mix one teaspoon each of lemon juice and honey and massage it into your skin. Keep for 20 minutes and then wash with warm water.

Coconut milk to moisturise dry skin

Coconut is a treasure-trove of vitamins and minerals; it also has the ability to moisturise your skin and keep it soft, supple and radiantly young. Grate raw coconut and squeeze the milk out of it. Apply this coconut milk onto your face; stay for about 20 minutes and then rinse it out with warm water.

Papaya mask for skin firmness

The enzyme called papain in papaya can digest the dead cells on the surface of the skin and makes skin more elastic and firm. To make a papaya mask, cut a few pieces of a totally ripe papaya fruit and mash into a smooth paste. Apply this on the face and after 15 minutes, wash away with warm water. 

Rose water to tighten skin

Rose water is a cleanser and also has an astringent action which means it tightens the skin. Mix 2 teaspoons of rose water with 3-4 drops of glycerine and half a teaspoon of lemon juice. Apply this mixture to your face using cotton ball every night before you go to bed.

Cucumber and curd pack to rejuvenate skin and under-eye skin

Cucumber helps to reduce the puffiness and dark circles under the eyes. Curd contains lactic acid which has the property of exfoliating the dead cells of the skin and this helps to rejuvenate the skin. Prepare a face mask by mixing half-cup curd with two teaspoons of grated cucumber and apply this to the skin. After 20 minutes, rinse with warm water. Using this face pack about twice a week for a few months will help keep your skin healthy and young.

Provide nutrition from within

While the local application of a face pack can help prevent ageing, it is equally important to strengthen the skin from within by providing it the right nutrition. Vegetables, fruits, fish oils and nuts such as almond and walnut are valuable sources of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and omega-3 fatty acids and help to keep your skin young and healthy. So make sure you eat a healthy, balanced diet and use the right nutrients on your skin and you don’t ever need to worry about leeches and snails on your skin.

Prevention Is Better Than Cure!

With a few lifestyle modifications and some tender loving care, you really can look as young as you feel. To help put you on the right path, here are a few tips that you should stick to in order to keep your skin looking as young as possible

1. Avoid excess exposure to the sun:

It’s the no. 1 cause of wrinkles with dozens of studies documenting the impact. Protect your skin from sun rays firstly by staying indoors while the sun is strongest. Secondly get into the habit of wearing a sunscreen before stepping out in the sun and reapply it every few hours. 

2. Drink lots of water:

Insufficient hydration is the second major cause of excessive wrinkles. If you fail to get enough fluids in your body, cells will start to lose elasticity and eventually wrinkles shall start surfacing.

3. Quit smoking:

Apart from the many well-documented ill-effects of smoking on the body, smoking also causes premature ageing of the skin mainly by reducing blood supply and nourishment to the skin. 

4. Get adequate sleep:

When you don’t get enough sleep, the body produces excess cortisol – a hormone that breaks down skin cells. Get enough rest and you’ll produce more HGH (human growth hormone), which helps skin remain thick, more elastic and less likely to wrinkle.

5. Sleep on your back:

To reduce wrinkle formation, sleep on your back. Sleeping on the side will create ‘cleavage’ wrinkles, since skin on that surface is being squeezed together. Those who sleep on the chest will most likely develop sleep lines on their neck, face and chest as a consequence of being crushed into the pillow throughout the whole night. 

6. Eat healthy food:

While this should already be obvious to every person these days, it is important to point it out once more. Consume a lot of vitamins that come from fresh vegetables and fruits as well nuts and seeds, which are all effective anti-ageing foods due to the amount of anti-oxidants they all pack.

7. Keep stress at bay:

Stress causes creation of certain hormones like cortisol which decrease muscular tissue beneath the skin. This makes your skin thinner and make it look wrinkled and old. 

8. Use a moisturizer:

Many women these days are so concerned with anti-aging products they often overlook the power of a simple moisturizer. Skin that is moist simply looks better, so lines and creases are far less noticeable.

9. Don’t over-wash your face:

Tap water strips skin of its natural barrier oils and moisture that protect against wrinkles. Wash them off too often, and you wash away protection. Moreover, unless your soap contains moisturizers, you should use a cleanser instead.

10. Consult your dermatologist:

Do not ignore skin problems. Consult your dermatologist if you notice anything out of the ordinary. Let your doctor be the best judge.

Do What Suits You Best

Don't follow the latest fad promoted by the Hollywood celebrities or blindly go in for vampire masks and bird poo facials just because your neighbourhood beauty parlor is offering a discount! Make an informed choice, try out what suits you best and within no time, you are sure to hit on the best combination and have a glowing, younger looking skin that is the envy of everyone you know.