super moon.

 

The mild Lyrids meteor shower has been gracing our night sky without fanfare every April, for centuries. This year, it has to tussle with a supermoon for attention

It never hurts to look up at the night sky. Stars explode, comets careen, cosmic miracles take place at an inconceivable scale far beyond our line of sight, and the only indication we get is the lightest of twinkles above our heads. Every once in a while, however, one of these phenomena deigns to enter our humble fields of vision. And while the Lyrids meteor shower is not the most exciting of them, it is among the first meteor showers of the year — and one of two reasons for us to keep our eyes trained towards the sky this month.

The showers can be seen at their peak tonight (as well as a few days before and after), but their glow might be dimmed by the other phenomenon of the month: a supermoon on April 26.

“What would have happened is that a comet would have broken up, probably centuries ago. We [the Earth] will be passing through the tail of the comet, or through what is left of it. This particular one is what we pass every year, around the third week of April,” explains Jayant Murthy, a scientist and professor at the Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Astrophysics, over the phone. He adds, “The comet itself came by our solar system in the mid-1800s, and won’t be coming back for a while.”

Neeraj Ladia, head of education organisation SPACE Chennai, explains further: “When the debris is left in space, it has a fixed space in the sky. Due to the Earth’s revolution it will cross the debris that lies in the path of its orbit.” The parts of debris that encounter our atmosphere begin to burn, creating the spectacle of bright, streaking meteors.

Murthy adds that this particular shower does have a few bright fragments, and can be best viewed after midnight on a dark sky, ideally one not lit up by bright city lights. “It will be brightest between April 21 and 23. Look towards the Lyra constellation to spot it,” he suggests.

The constellation, which the meteor shower has been named after, is considered the radiant point of the shower, explains Ladia. In simple terms, as the Earth nears this debris, that constellation is the point from where the shower appears to begin, to us.

Ladia calls this radiant point a meteor shower’s “address in the sky”. Whichever constellation it seems to be coming from, he says, is what the meteor shower is named after: Lyrids for Lyra, Geminids for Gemini, Perseid for Perseus and so on.

How powerful a meteor shower is, depends on a number of factors, such as how numerous the debris is, the size of each individual particle, its luminosity, and its rate per hour. The standard for measuring that last factor, says Ladia, “is zhr or zenithal hourly rate: how many meteors can one person see per hour on a clear night. It is the measure of the quality of a meteor shower.”

Lyrids has a zhr of 15 to 20 on dark skies, adds Ladia: “It isn’t very good, it is considered a fairly normal zhr. Geminids [in December] on the other hand has almost 120 zhr. Perseid, which is coming in August, will have around 80 meteors per hour.”

He further adds that Lyrids might be even less bright this year, because of its close proximity to the supermoon. “There is already a gibbous moon in the sky, which will only set around 1 am or 2 am each night,” he states, adding that post-1 am is the best time to make an attempt if you live close to dark skies.

The biggest danger of the meteor shower being drowned out by luminosity still stems from the supermoon, which also happens to be the first of its kind this year. Supermoons are generally the brightest and largest full moons of the year, and can occur two or three times a year if certain factors fall exactly into place.

Shweta Kulkarni, chief executive officer of Pune-based organisation Astron, which works to spread awareness of astronomy, explains the concept of a supermoon. “The lunar orbit around the Earth is elliptical. So the moon is sometimes very close to the Earth, and sometimes moves further away during its orbit. When it is very close to us and we happen to have a full moon at the same time, we call it a supermoon.”

For any satellite, the closest point of orbit to Earth is termed its perigee. According to NASA, both a new moon and a full moon can be termed a supermoon, as long as it is within 90% of perigee.

So what does this mean in visual terms? According to both Kulkarni and Ladia, it is difficult to gauge the difference between a usual full moon and a supermoon unless you put their photographs side by side.

“The difference in size is just about 10% to 14%, so there isn’t much to notice once it’s up in the sky,” adds Ladia, “You can tell it most drastically when the moon is still rising. Closer to the horizon, with buildings, trees or other structures for reference, it can look amazing.” Space Chennai is organising a photography contest, as well as a Facebook Live on April 26. “Anyone can join in and enjoy it,” adds Ladia.

So you can keep your cameras and telephoto lenses ready, or you can just sit back and watch the sky and all its miracles, letting it provide some of the succour we so desperately need.

supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

 Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (forty-five letters) is lung disease caused by the inhalation of silica or quartz dust.

Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism (thirty letters) is a mild form of inherited pseudohypoparathyroidism that simulates the symptoms of the disorder but isn’t associated with abnormal levels of calcium and phosphorus in the blood.

Floccinaucinihilipilification (twenty-nine letters) is the estimation of something as valueless. Ironically, floccinaucinihilipilification is a pretty valueless word itself; it’s almost never used except as an example of a long word.

 Antidisestablishmentarianism (twenty-eight letters) originally described opposition to the disestablishment of the Church of England, but now it may refer to any opposition to withdrawing government support of a particular church or religion.

What’s the longest word you know? If you watched Mary Poppins as a child, you might quickly think of supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (thirty-four letters). Mary Poppins described it as the word to use “when you have nothing to say.” It appears in some (but not all) dictionaries.

Incomprehensibilities set the record in the 1990s as the longest word “in common usage.” How many times have you used this twenty-one-letter term?

Strengths has only nine letters, but all except one of them are consonants! This earns the word a Guinness World Record. It is also one of the longest monosyllabic words of the English language.

Euouae is six letters long, but all of the letters are vowels. It holds two Guinness World Records. It’s the longest English word composed exclusively of vowels, and it has the most consecutive vowels of any word. If you are wondering about its meaning, it’s a musical term from medieval times.

Unimaginatively has lots of vowels—eight in total, if you count the final y. What’s neat about this word is that its vowels and consonants alternate. It’s not the longest word with alternating consonants and vowels, though. That position is held by honorificabilitudinitatibus, a twenty-seven-letter way of saying “with honorableness.”

chit

Chitta Chora Yashoda Ke Bal Navanita Chora Gopal
Gopal Gopal Gopal Govardhana Dhara Gopal
Gopal Gopal Gopal Gopal Govardhana Dhara Gopal

Yaaridam murai iduven

 By

Thanjavur  Sankara  iyer

 Ragam Malaya marutha

Thalam aadhi

 

Pallavi

Yaaridam murai iduven , nadha

Edhum ariyene, endhan murugane

 

Oh Lord   whom will I appeal to ,

I do not know anything, My  Muruga

 

Anupallavi

Par pugazhum  pazhani  malayil,

Uraibhavanai  padham  paninthene

Paaduven  unnaye

 

I  saluted  the  feet of Lord   who lives,

In  Pazhani mountain, praised by the world

I will   sing about you

 

Charanam

Vanthu adainthorgalai , kathu  arulbhavane

Vaan pugazh  kondavane, varam tharubhavane

Enthan kuraigalai  theerthu  arulbhavane

Yen indha  thamadham  yezhai ariyene

 

He who protects and blesses  those who come

Who has sky high fame, who grants  boons

He who puts an end   to my worries

Why this delay? This poor one  does not know

enta ruchi

 P : Sri rama nee namamemi ruchi ra! O rama nee nAmam enta ruchi ra!

A: enta rucirA rAma Emi rucirA rAma O rAmA nI nAmam enta ruchi ra!
C1: madhu rasamulakaNTE dadhi ghrtamulakanTE atirasamagu nAmamEmi ruchi ra!
C2: navarasa paramAnna navanItamulakaNTE nadhikamau nI nAmamEmi ruchi ra!
C3: drAkSA phalamu kanna nikSurasamu kanna pakSivAha nI nAma ruchi ra!
C4: anjanA tanaya hrtkanja dalamunandu ranjillu nI nAmamEmi ruchi ra!
C5: sadAshivuDu ninnu sadA bhajinchEDi sadAnanda nAmam enta ruchi ra! ; sadAnanda nAmam enta ruchi ra! ; P

C6: sAramu lEni samsAramunaku santArakamagu nAmamEmi ruchi ra!

C7: sharaNanna janamula saraguna rakSincu birudu galgina nAmamEmi ruchi ra!
C8: karirAja prahlAda dharaNIja vibhIShanulu gAchina nI nAmam enta ruchi ra!
C9: kadaLI kharjUra(di) phala mula-kadhikamu patita pAvana nAmamEmi ruchi ra! ; patita pAvana nAmam enta ruchi ra! ; P
C10: tumburu nAradulu Dambu mIraga gAnambu jEsEDi nAmamEmi ruchi ra!

C11: panasa jambU drAkSA phalarasa sukhakaNTE nadhikamau nI nAma ruchi ra!
C12: anaya bhadrAcaladAma shrI rAmadAsuni nElina nI nAmamEmi ruchi ra! ; nElina nI nAmam enta ruchi ra! ; P ; P

Thalli

 Nannu Kanna Thalli

Saint tyagaraja.

Raga Kesari
Thala Aadhi

Pallavi

Nannu kanna thalli bhagyama,
Narayani , Dharmambige

Anupallavi

Kanakangi , Rama pathi sodhari,
Kavave nannu kathyayani

Charanam

Kavu Kavumani ne mora pettaga,
Kamala lochani karaguchundaga,
Neevu brovakonte yevaru brotharu,
Sada varambosagyu Thyagaraja nuthe

English Translation

Pallavi
Oh my dear mother. Oh my luck,
Oh Narayani , Oh mother of Dharma

Anupallavi
Oh Goddess with golden limbs. Oh sistrer of Consrt of Lakshmi,
Please protect me oh Katyayani

Charanam
When I entreat you “save me” , “save me”
Oh lotus eyed one if your mind does not melt,
And you do not protect me, who else will do it?
Please shower boons on me prays Thyagaraja

h n poet.

भूलोक अतल पाताल देख
गत और अनागत काल देख
यह देख जगत का आदिसृजन
यह देख महाभारत का रण -

मृतकों से पटी हुई भू है
पहचान कहाँ इसमें तू है ॥

अम्बर में कुंतल जाल देख
पद के नीचे पाताल देख
मुठठी में तीनों काल देख
दुर्योधन! मेरा स्वरूप विकराल देख -

सब जन्म मुझी से पाते हैं
फिर लौट मुझी में आते हैं ॥

“davndgeet" 

चाहे जो भी फसल उगा ले,
तू जलधार बहाता चल।
जिसका भी घर चमक उठे,
तू मुक्त प्रकाश लुटाता चल।
रोक नहीं अपने अन्तर का
वेग किसी आशंका से,
मन में उठें भाव जो, उनको
गीत बना कर गाता चल।

तुझे फिक्र क्या, खेती को
प्रस्तुत है कौन किसान नहीं?
जोत चुका है कौन खेत?
किसको मौसम का ध्यान नहीं?
कौन समेटेगा, किसके
खेतों से जल बह जाएगा?
इस चिन्ता में पड़ा अगर
तो बाकी फिर ईमान नहीं।

तू जीवन का कंठ, भंग
इसका कोई उत्साह न कर,
रोक नहीं आवेग प्राण के,
सँभल-सँभल कर आह न कर।
उठने दे हुंकार हृदय से,
जैसे वह उठना चाहे;
किसका, कहाँ वक्ष फटता है,
तू इसकी परवाह न कर।

हम पर्वत पर की पुकार हैं,
वे घाटी के वासी हैं;
वन में ही वे गृही और
हम गृह में भी संन्यासी हैं।
वे लेते कर बन्द खिड़कियाँ
डर कर तेज हवाओं से;
झंझाओं में पंख खोल
उड़ने के हम अभ्यासी हैं।

 पर, जाने क्यों, नियम एक अद्भुत जग में चलता है,

भोगी सुख भोगता, तपस्वी और अधिक जलता है।

हरियाली है जहां, जलद भी उसी खण्ड के वासी,
मरु की भूमि मगर,रह जाती है प्यासी की प्यासी।

और, वीर जो किसी प्रतिज्ञा पर आकर अड़ता है,
सचमुच, उसके लिए उसे सब कुछ देना पड़ता है।

नहीं सदा भीषिका दौड़ती द्वार पाप का पाकर,
दुःख भोगता कभी पुण्य को भी मनुष्य अपनाकर।

पर, तब भी रेखा प्रकाश की जहां कहीं हँसती है,
वहाँ किसी प्रज्वलित वीर नर की आभा बस्ती है।

जिसने छोड़ी नहीं लीक विपदाओं से घबरा कर,
दी जग को रौशनी टेक पर अपनी जान गंवाकर।

नरता का आदर्श तपस्या के भीतर पलता है,
देता वही प्रकाश, आग में जो अभीत जलता है।

आजीवन झेलते दाह का दंश वीर-व्रतधारी,
हो पाते तब कहीं अमरता के पद के अधिकारी।

प्रण करना है सहज, कठिन है लेकिन, उसे निभाना,
सबसे बड़ी जांच है व्रत का अंतिम मोल चुकाना।

अंतिम मूल्य न दिया अगर, तो और मूल्य देना क्या?
करने लगे मोह प्राणों का - तो फिर प्रण लेना क्या?

सस्ती कीमत पर बिकती रहती जब तक कुर्बानी ,
तब तक सभी बने रह सकते हैं त्यागी, बलिदानी।

पर, महंगी में मोल तपस्या का देना दुष्कर है,
हंस कर दे यह मूल्य, न मिलता वह मनुष्य घर घर है।

क्षमा, दया, तप, त्याग, मनोबल सबका लिया सहारा
पर नर व्याघ सुयोधन तुमसे कहो कहाँ कब हारा?

क्षमाशील हो ॠपु-सक्षम तुम हुये विनीत जितना ही
दुष्ट कौरवों ने तुमको कायर समझा उतना ही

अत्याचार सहन करने का कुफल यही होता है
पौरुष का आतंक मनुज कोमल होकर खोता है

क्षमा शोभती उस भुजंग को जिसके पास गरल है
उसका क्या जो दंतहीन विषरहित विनीत सरल है

तीन दिवस तक पंथ मांगते रघुपति सिंधु किनारे
बैठे पढते रहे छन्द अनुनय के प्यारे प्यारे

उत्तर में जब एक नाद भी उठा नही सागर से
उठी अधीर धधक पौरुष की आग राम के शर से

सिंधु देह धर त्राहि-त्राहि करता आ गिरा शरण में
चरण पूज दासता गृहण की बंधा मूढ़ बन्धन में

सच पूछो तो शर में ही बसती है दीप्ति विनय की
संधिवचन सम्पूज्य उसीका जिसमे शक्ति विजय की

सहनशीलता, क्षमा, दया को तभी पूजता जग है
बल का दर्प चमकता उसके पीछे जब जगमग है

" SHAKTI AUR KSHAMA" 

Teen divas tak panth mangte, Raghupati sindhu kinare,
baithe padhte rahe chhand, anunay ke pyare.
Uttar mein jab ek naad bhi utha nahi saagar se,
uthi dhadhak adheer paurush ki, aag raam ke shar se,
Sindhu deh dhar trahi, trahi kahta aa gira charan mein,
charan pooj, daastan grahan ki,bandha moodha bandhan mein.

For three days Lord Raam kept asking the ocean for a passage
Sitting there he petitioned using the sweetest words to engage
When in response there was not a whisper from the sea
A raging fire of endeavor rose from Raam’s body
The ocean took human-form ‘N supplicated to Raam
Touched his feet, was subservient a slave he had become