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Calendars And How To Appreciate Them

Jul 132010

The calendar is such a commonplace, everyday item, but how much do you really know about the operation of it. Why is it like that?

A DAY: The Earth rotates at a reasonably fixed pace about the imaginary line running between the North and South Poles named the Earth’s Axis. The time it takes to spin once is called a ‘rotation’ and this takes just under twenty-four hours. Nevertheless, because the Earth is constantly traveling around the Sun, the exact time from noon one day to noon the next is 3 minutes 56 seconds longer and this makes a day almost exactly twenty-four hours in length.

The actual time from noon to noon varies depending where the Earth is on its celestial course around the Sun, but if you average the days in a year out, it comes to exactly twenty-four hours.

A YEAR: All nine planets in our solar system travel around the Sun in almost perfectly circular routes called orbits. Each trip around the Sun is called a revolution and all the planets revolve around the Sun in the same direction. The direction the Earth takes can be verified by noting its location against the background stars.

Since you cannot see the Sun and the stars at the same time, it is obligatory to note the location of the Sun in the morning and the see which stars appear there in the night. You will see that the Sun appears to pass through the twelve constellations of the zodiac during a year.

Earth’s journey around the Sun, which seems like the Sun travelling through the zodiac takes about 365.25 days. This is different from year to year, so astronomers add or delete a second in some years to keep their time accurate with the Earth’s motion.

THE SEASONS: The seasons indicate the variation in the pattern of daylight over the course of a year. Because the Earth is tilted off centre, different parts of it get different amounts of sunlight on different stages of its path around the Sun, a path that we call a year. So, between about the 21st September and late March, the Earth’s Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun, which creates Autumn and Winter, giving less than twelve hours of daylight per day.

From April to the 20th September, the Northern Hemisphere receives more than twelve hours of daylight a day, producing Spring and Summer. The exact opposite occurs in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Equinoxes take place at the points in the year when there is exactly twelve hours of sunlight and darkness in the day. So, the vernal or Spring equinox is on or around the 21st March and the autumnal equinox is on or around the 21st September. Summer officially commences on the day with the greatest amount of daylight, the 21st June or summer solstice.

The winter solstice occurs on the shortest day, the 21st December. ‘Solstice’ is a combination of two words meaning ‘sun standing still’ and the days are so called because they are the days when the apparent movement of the Sun reaches its limits and reverses course again.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with researching Franklin planner pages. If you have an interest in calendars, organizers or promotional calendars, please go over to our web site now at Promotional Desk Calendars

Calendars – Why They Can Be Slightly Out

Astronomy No Responses »

Jul 122010

Thousands of years ago, ancient Greek astronomers calculated that the track of the Earth’s axis is constantly, even if in a very slow way, shifting in a uniform pattern. The variation is very similar to the manner a spinning top slowly leans one way and then another as it slows down. It is a wobble that happens as its axis alters direction.

This odd movement of the planet is due to several factors, the most significant of which is something called ‘precession’. Precession stems from the fact that the Earth is not a flawless sphere. It is in fact about twenty-seven miles longer around the Equator that it is about the Poles. The Earth then is oblate, or fat around the middle like middle-aged spread, but it is due to the rotation not to its age.

If you imagine the Earth with its Poles off centre. Then rotate that image and you will find that any point, except the very centre of the axis, will move in a circle. But very, very slowly. So slowly that it takes 26,000 years to go full circle and get back to where it started from.

This point then, any point you choose, is very gradually shifting its position in relation to the stars because the axis is rotating too. The result of this is that, what we call the North Star (formally known as Polaris, which is in fact one degree off true North) will not be over our North Pole one day. In fact, by about 15,000 AD, Vega will be almost over the North Pole, although it will be about four degrees off true North. But even this will not endure, and by 28,000 AD, Polaris will be back above where it is nowadays.

One of the effects of the precession is that seasons vary. They modify the dates that they take place, so that Summer could come earlier or later. The amazing thing about our calendar is that it is corrected for that (with the leap year). If it were not, the vernal or Spring equinox would shift over 13,000 years from March 21st to September 21st., which is the date of the autumnal equinox, precisely half a year later.

It is for this reason that the precession of the Earth is generally referred to as the “Precession of the Equinoxes”. Although the precession of the equinoxes is very gradual, it can be readily seen. The correct year of 325.25 days is the length of time from one vernal equinox to the next vernal equinox, however, it takes 20 minutes and 24 seconds longer for the Sun to appear in exactly the same position with relation to the stars behind it over the same period. It is for this reason that accurate star maps have to be stamped with the exact time and date to which they relate.

What Is A Promotional Strategy?

Astronomy No Responses »

Apr 282010

Even if you were to invent something earth-shattering, you would not make any money out of it if you left the invention on your desk. The only way you can turn a profit from it is by selling it and in order to achieve this, you have to inform people that it exists, that it is for sale and where they may obtain it from. In other words, you have to promote it.

The US Patents Office has issued thousands patents for items that never made it and many of those did not make it, not because they were not excellent concepts, but because their inventors did not know what to do with them. A business is more or less the same as a new invention. It has to be advertised, unless it is situated in the middle of the only street in town.

Having already started the business, it is to be expected that, you have already worked out your intended market and evaluated the demand for your goods or services. Now you have to convert those potential customers into contented customers and this is where your promotional strategy comes in.

A promotional strategy is nothing more than a for reaching your intended market, which is of course the people most likely to require your services or products. At its simplest, your promotional strategy might consist of just hanging a sign over your door and relying on word of mouth from satisfied customers to circulate, so doing your advertising for you.

In some cases, this is indeed all the advertising a business requires, but the cases are not that widespread really. It works, if you are operating in a very small town or if your product or service is unique or very specialized or if you enjoy a long-standing good reputation. However, usually, customers require more details to go on before they will be attracted to your business.

Therefore, the objective of your promotional strategy should be to get in touch with the greatest quantity of potential customers by the most economical use of your means, which may include money, personnel and facilities. This means that you have to divine the channels of communication most used by your potential customers and try to get a message to them through those. This is normally constrained by a budget.

Advertising involves the purchasing of time or space in the media you have selected in order to market your business to your intended market. You then have to come to a decision which form of advertising you are going to use: institutional or product advertising. Institutional advertising promotes the firm’s name as in: ‘Larry’s Boot Shop – The Best In Town’, whereas product advertising is more specific and might read: ‘Nike Walking Boots – 30% off at Larry’s. Offer Finishes Friday!’

Both types of advertising can be effective and lend themselves better to some media than to others. Institutional advertising is better carried out on shop signs, sign-written vans or windows or promotional calendars, that is, static, long-term, business name advertising and product advertising is better done by newspaper, magazine, radio and TV, where one-off special offers can be promoted.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with researching promotional wall calendars. If you have an interest in calendars, organizers or promotional calendars, please go over to our website now at Promotional Desk Calendars

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Millennium Prophesies

Astronomy No Responses »

Mar 262010

A lot of people predicted that the start of the new Millennium, the year 2000 would be the date of the apocalypse. However, fortunately, they were very wide of the mark.

What is it that makes people to try to predict calamities? Is it because they are trying to warn people or because they want to frighten people? Scare people, I think and thereby gain advantage over the naive.

These apocalyptic prophesies go back thousands of years and even happen in the Bible. Their only raison d’etre is to frighten people and so gain money, power and influence over them.

Even the millennium bug turned out not to be a problem with computers working perfectly well after midnight despite claims by ‘computer experts’ that there would be a worldwide crash of stupendous significance. The computer industry made a fortune out of scaring businesses and individuals with their lies. That was the scam of the Nineties to end all scams!

So why all the hype? Was it just the arrival of a new millennium, which gave rise to so many to make predictions on this date rather than stick to their usual common sense? Yes, I think. People saw the chance of a lifetime to rip others off and they jumped at it.

Needless to say there were hundreds of prophesies made ranging from the arrival of aliens and the Second Coming of Christ to airplane crashes. None of which came true. Here are a few of those less than accurate predictions:

May 5th was the day upon which all the planets lined up. The prediction was that the gravitational force of all these heavenly bodies in alignment would bring about massive earthquakes, huge tides and volcanic eruptions.

A lot of people also prophesied that the shifting of the poles would occur during 2000 and that this would cause disastrous events such as high tides, widespread electrical failure and computer failures, which would mean economic disaster for the larger countries and insurance firms.

I do not know what you think, but perhaps instead of worrying about the demise of the world (most doom-mongers have decided on the year 2012 for the destruction of the world) we should work together to make the best of the time we have left on this planet, as well as ensuring that we pass the planet on to the next generation in the same condition as we received it.

If we act in this way, we may hold off the day of reckoning for a long while yet. We are far more likely to undergo apocalypse through nuclear war, global warming and events which are avoidable and within our control, than cosmic events which we have little control over such as asteroids or the Sun’s developing into a red dwarf and ultimately exploding.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with custom wall calendars If you have an interest in calendars, organizers or promotional calendars, please go over to our website now at Promotional Desk Calendars

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Christianity’s Holy Days

Astronomy No Responses »

Mar 222010

Christmas – is the celebration of Jesus’ birthday. Although the precise date of his birth is unknown, December 25th was probably selected because it coincided with a pagan mid-winter festival. The ‘Twelve Days Of Christmas” mark the days between Christmas and Epiphany (January 6th), which was the day of the wise men’s visit.

Easter – is the most important day in the Christian calendar, because it celebrates Christ’s Resurrection, which gave / gives Christians the hope of salvation and eternal life. Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal (Spring) equinox, which is on 21st March.

Shrove Tuesday – (Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday) was originally a day of penance, but is now marked by merrymaking. It is the day before the beginning of Lent.

Ash Wednesday – is derived from the marking of a cross on the forehead of believers with the ashes from the burnt palms used on Palm Sunday.

Lent – 40 days of penance and fasting

Palm Sunday – the Sunday before Easter, remembers the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem, where palms were strewn on the road before him.

Maundy (Holy) Thursday – the day of the Last supper.

Good Friday – is the day of Christ’s crucifixion.

Holy Saturday – is the day before the Resurrection.

The Annunciation – March 25th is celebrated by Catholics as the day that Archangel Gabriel told Mary about her impending pregnancy.

Trinity Sunday – is celebrated by some denominations in honour of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. It was declared part of the holy calendar in 1334 by Pope John XII.

Corpus Christi – Catholics remembers the presence of the body of Christ on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday.

All Saints Day – this mainly Catholic celebration is on November 1 and honours all Christian saints.

Advent – a religious season that starts on the Sunday nearest to November 30 and lasts until Christmas Day. It celebrates the birth of Jesus and anticipates his Second Coming. It was once a period of fasting, but now no longer.

Holy Days Of Obligation – are feast days in the Catholic calendar marked by attendance at mass and the avoidance of unnecessary work. There are six in the USA: Solemnity of Mary – January 1: Christ’s circumcision, ie his first shedding of blood Ascension – 40 days after Easter Assumption – August 15: Mary is accepted into Heaven All Saints’ Day – November 1 Mary’s Immaculate Conception – December 8 Christmas Day – December 25.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with Franklin Covey planner refillss If you have an interest in calendars, organizers or promotional calendars, please go over to our website now at Promotional Desk Calendars

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World Wide SETI

Calendars And How To Appreciate Them

Calendars – Why They Can Be Slightly Out

What Is A Promotional Strategy?

Millennium Prophesies

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Christianity’s Holy Days

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