2012 is a leap year and Wednesday 29th February is a leap day.
Once every four years, an extra day is added to the Gregorian Calendar to bring the solar year of 365 ¼ days into line with the calendar year of 365 days.
Traditionally, this is the one day of the year when a woman can ask a man to marry her.
One quaint old custom has it that if a man refuses a proposal, he must buy the woman a dress. Anyone adding to their wardrobe today?
Wednesday, 29 February 2012
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
Friday, 17 February 2012
Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of Lent, a Christian festival leading up to Easter Sunday.
This is the last chance to use up foods that aren't allowed in Lent, (a period of abstinence) such as butter and eggs, which are among the ingredients of pancakes.
Shrove Tuesday always falls 47 days before Easter Sunday, so the date varies from year to year, this year it is Tuesday 21 February.
The word Shrove comes from the old verb "shrive" meaning to confess. In the Middle Ages, people used to confess their sins and obtain forgiveness on Shrove Tuesday.
This is the last chance to use up foods that aren't allowed in Lent, (a period of abstinence) such as butter and eggs, which are among the ingredients of pancakes.
Shrove Tuesday always falls 47 days before Easter Sunday, so the date varies from year to year, this year it is Tuesday 21 February.
The word Shrove comes from the old verb "shrive" meaning to confess. In the Middle Ages, people used to confess their sins and obtain forgiveness on Shrove Tuesday.
Sunday, 22 January 2012
Year of the Dragon
The Year of the Dragon
The Chinese New Year begins on January 23, when the outgoing rabbit is replaced by the dragon, an auspicious symbol of fortune, confidence and courage.
The last year of the dragon was in 2000, this year is the turn of the water dragon (being the current influence out of the five elements which rule in a cycle - metal, wood, fire, earth and water)
The influence of water should have a softening effect, adding subtlety and diplomacy to the more fierce or extreme qualities sometimes experienmced in dragon years.
Saturday, 31 December 2011
Monday, 12 December 2011
Geminids meteor shower
The Geminids meteor shower should reach peak activity around the 13th and 14th December.
Conditions this year are not ideal with the presence of a waning gibbous moon, but it may still be possible to spot some shooting stars. Geminid meteors are often slow and bright with coloured trails which can linger for a while after the meteor has burned up.
The object that created the stream of debris associated with the Geminids is not a comet, but a rocky asteroid called Phaethon 3200, part of a group of asteroids whose orbits cross that of the Earth.
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
New planet found in hunt for earth's twin
A planet within the "habitable zone" of a star has been discovered.
Named Kepler-22b, it has a radius that is roughly 2.4 times that of earth and is positioned in a 290-day orbit of a star, which means water - and possibly life - could exist on its surface.
Scientists have yet to explore the planet's surface to find it is made of rock, liquid or gas.
Douglas Hudgins, Kepler program scienists at NASA, called the discovery "a major milestone on the road to finding Earth's twin."
The Kepler mission has found more than 1,000 new potential planets, ten of which are near earth size and orbit in the habitable zone of their host star.
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