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Chapter 18 Science General Knowledge (6)
Capricornus ["k?pri"k? :n? s] n. Capricornus, Capricornus
jug [d? ? ɡ] n. (with a handle and a small mouth) kettle
Virgo ["v?: ɡ? u] n. Virgo, people born in the Virgo Palace period

maiden ["meidn] n. Virgin, girl;
adj. girl, woman, first, first
furrow ["f? r? u] n. furrow, (face) wrinkles;

vt. plow, ditch

Archer ["ɑ: t??] n. Archer, archery athlete
prominent ["pr? min? nt] adj. prominent, outstanding, famous, outstanding
centaur ["sent?:] n. (Greek mythology) half-human half-horse monster
Ultimate ["?llimit] adj. The final, final, fundamental, largest, extreme degree
Centaurus [sen"t?: r? s] ​​n. Sagittarius

pirate ["pai? rit] vt. plagiarism, illegal reprint;
n. pirate, plagiarist

Ophiuchus ["?fiju:k?s] Ophiuchus (star) constellation
serpent ["s?: p? nt] n. Snake, big snake, cunning person

astrological [? s"tr? l? d? ikl] adj. astrological, astrological

Banish ["b? ni?] vt. exile, expulsion

oath [? uθ] n. Oath, cursing, cursing
Translation
The sun travels the sky around the ecliptic once a year.The constellations that line the strips on either side of the zodiac are known as the zodiac signs.Since the earth circles the sun once a year, it looks like the sun is traveling across the sky.The sun travels through 13 constellations, not just 12 as most people think, which are the constellations of the zodiac.The moon and planets also stay in this area most of the time.The constellations of the zodiac are known because the sun, moon and stars travel through them, but many of them are smaller constellations without very bright stars.

Have you heard the song "Age of Aquarius"?The true Age of Aquarius will not begin for about 600 years.At that time, on the first day of spring, the Sun will appear in Aquarius for the first time.

Aries

Aries is a large constellation with three moderately bright stars in the northern region only.These three stars in a simple pattern are easy to spot, but despite their long-standing reputation as members of the zodiac, observable constellations aren't much fun.In fall, Aries is in the east; in late December and January, it hangs high overhead.

In Sumerian times, these stars were "day laborers" who plowed the land and grew food for others.It has been known as a "ram" since at least ancient Greek times.

Over 4000 years ago, we used the Earth as our orientation, and it turned out that on the first day of spring—March 3 (back then, that day was considered the first day of the year)—the Sun was in Aries.At that time, the position of the Sun is known as "the first point of Aries".Now, on the first day of spring, the Sun is in Pisces, but we still refer to Aries as the first sign of the zodiac in honor of this ancient alignment.When a planet "visits" Aries, that planet shines brighter than any other star in the sign.

Cancer

Cancer is one of the bleakest signs in the zodiac.Few would have heard of it if it weren't for its membership in the zodiac.It has no bright stars.

Cancer sits between the large constellations Leo and Gemini, and we can see it in the evening sky from February to May.In Greek mythology, Cancer is a crab that was sent to bite Hercules, but he crushed it easily.The ancient Egyptians thought it was a golden tortoise, the Babylonians might have seen it as a sea turtle, and in some ancient star charts it's even a lobster!
Libra

Libra is a "box" of four moderately bright stars, resembling a diamond, to the right of Scorpio.It is best viewed in the southern sky in early summer.

Libra is a scale that balances by balancing the trays on either side of a lever, the same as a balance that judges justice in a court of law.The Sumerians originally called these stars Libra because, at the autumnal equinox, the sun stood in front of these stars, obscuring them and making the days and nights equal in length.

Libra is the only sign in the zodiac that is not an animal, and the star of Libra was once thought to be the claw of Scorpio and is located to the east of Scorpio.If you look closely at Scorpio, its claws are often overlooked.While it makes sense to think of the stars of Libra as the claws of Scorpio, ancient astronomers wanted to divide the zodiac into 12 parts, so they had to separate those few stars from Scorpio to form a constellation.

Taurus

Taurus is one of the main constellations of the winter sky, it contains three shining stars, and more importantly, two of them are very dazzling star clusters.The bull is in front right of Orion's hunter, who chases the bull and steers it across the sky to the west.

Taurus looks like the head of a strong bull.

Leo

Leo is the easiest constellation to see in the spring sky. Leo's first appearance in the night sky in March heralds the coming of spring, and it shines in the night sky throughout June.Leo is one of the few constellations named after its shape. Leo is Latin for "lion" and is one of the zodiac signs.Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo, means "Little Lion King" in Latin.

Except in the zoo, we rarely see lions.But to the ancient Sumerians 5000 years ago, lions were predators that haunted river valleys during the hot summer, hunting sheep and goats.Since the lion appeared on those days, the stars were seen as symbols of the lion.

Scorpio

Scorpio, one of the zodiac constellations, is the main constellation in the summer sky.Observing Scorpius from the position of the United States, it is located not very high on the Antarctic horizon, for which it has lost a lot of brilliance, and is the brightest group of stars in the southernmost sky of the equator.

The shape of Scorpio is very similar to that of Scorpio. In ancient times, at least 6000 years ago, people began to call it Scorpio.

Now the stubby claw of Scorpius has only three stars, but long ago it also included the star of Libra to the right of Scorpius.

In ancient Greek mythology, the scorpion was Orion's enemy because it killed Orion.Both Orion and Scorpio were placed in the sky, but in opposite directions, so that as one rose, the other set.

The Milky Way flows through Scorpio.Like Sagittarius, visible through binoculars or a small telescope, Scorpius is populated by star clusters.In the tail of Scorpio and the west of Sagittarius, people can see the two star clusters M6 and M7 with the naked eye.

Capricorn

The Sun, Moon, and some planets all pass through Capricornus as they move through the sky, making Capricornus one of the zodiac signs.Capricornus is the easiest constellation to see in the early autumn sky.

The sea goat, also called goatfish, is a strange creature that is unlikely to be seen in a zoo, it is a goat with a fish tail.During the Sumerian period about 5000 years ago, the Sumerians created many imaginary new animals by combining familiar animals in strange ways.Sagittarius, which is half-man, half-horse, and Pegasus, which is a winged horse, are two examples.Capricorns don't have shining stars.

Pisces

Pisces is a faint group of stars in a huge zodiac in the autumn and winter starry sky, and it is two fishes with connected tails swimming in different directions.

Although there are some ancient myths about fish and their adventures, only a little information exists to tell us why these stars were called fish in the first place.According to an ancient Greek myth, two fish cannot separate unless their tails are connected.We feel the same way today.

Aquarius

Before there were plumbing in houses, water was delivered from house to house in transports like water bottles.In ancient star charts, Aquarius was shaped like a man with a pot of water poured on his knees.In the starry sky, Aquarius is a large but shapeless group of faint stars southwest of the constellation Pegasus.

Aquarius seems to be associated with the "Great Flood," where we know that the entire world was once submerged in water—a story that originated in Sumeria and was subsequently mentioned in the Old Testament and elsewhere in the Bible.

From August to October, you can see the constellation Aquarius in the southern sky.

Virgo

Virgo (Virgo) is the second largest constellation, it appears in the night sky in late spring and early summer.

Virgo is the teenage girl associated with agriculture, especially with planting and plowing in the spring, when the wasteland begins to be sown and the land becomes fertile.

Sagittarius

Sagittarius (Sagittarius) is a famous and ancient constellation consisting of many shining stars.You can see the constellation Sagittarius just above the southern part of the starry night sky in summer and early fall.

As a sign in the zodiac, Sagittarius is a half-man, half-horse monster, though some people see Sagittarius as a teapot.When Sagittarius is in the southwest, the teapot is tilted and the tea is poured on the Scorpio's tail.

Many ancient imaginary creatures were assembled from two or more animals, and one of the strangest was the half-human, half-horse monster.The half-man, half-horse monster is the most heroic hunter, combining the skill of a human with the speed of a horse.Centaur monsters are usually armed and dangerous animals that are best avoided.Half-man, half-horse monsters with bows and arrows were called archers.Centaurs without weapons also appeared in the starry sky, called Sagittarius.

Gemini

The winter starry sky is full of shining stars. For thousands of years, two star groups with equal brightness and close proximity are called "twin star groups". They are directly above the constellation Gemini, and they are twin brothers in Greek mythology. Castor and Polydeuces.Gemini is one of the zodiac signs.

Gemini is high in the sky in winter and early spring, and around 8 pm in mid-May, the twin constellations of Gemini stand erect in the northwest.

Gemini is a lot like two little boys standing or lying side by side.From the shining constellation of Castor and Polydeuces stretched westward two wings, and in order to tell which was which, we must remember that Castor is the brightest star in the constellation Auriga. Chariot II is the closest star group; Polydeuces is next to Procyon, the brightest star in Canis Minor.

In Greek mythology, the twins are best known for their journey with Jason.Castor was a professional knight and his twin brother Polydeuces was a boxer, and together they defeated many bad guys.Because they rose before the sun when winter blizzards ended and the sailing season began, they were familiar to Greek sailors who relied on them to protect themselves from pirates.

Ophiuchus

The silhouette of a man in the northern constellation Scorpius takes up much of the summer sky.Ophiuchus holds a snake or serpent with his bare hands - Serpens constellation.The serpent's head faces to the right of Ophiuchus, its tail is to the left, and its body seems to be coiled in front of the Ophiuchus.One constellation cannot be in front of another, so Ophiuchus divides the snake into two parts: the head and the tail.No other asterism is so close together as Ophiuchus and Serpent.

Ophiuchus is high in the southern sky during evening hours throughout July and August.Even if it doesn't have a particularly bright star, it's not hard to see the silhouette of a giant in the sky with a little imagination.According to the modern constellation boundary division, the sun passes through the southern edge of Ophiuchus, so it is one of the zodiac constellations.Ophiuchus is not one of the 12 equal space signs in the traditional astrological horoscope, but it is the 13th constellation in the astronomical horoscope.

Ophiuchus is a doctor, the Greeks called him the god of medicine - Escolapius, he is an excellent doctor with the medical skills to bring people back to life.Pluto, the god of death, was terrified by the snake man, fearing that he would never find new recruits again.

Pluto then protested to Zeus, the god of heaven, to expel Aescolapius.Now, when doctors take the Hippocratic Oath, they swear to Escolapius or the slitherer of their responsibility.

Exercise
Test your knowledge of the zodiac signs now!Fill in the blanks with the constellation names that match the description, the first one is given as an example.

1.Ram Aries 2.Water holding tool 3.Crab

4.twins5.lion6.scorpion

7.Sea goat8.young girls9.shooter

10.balanced balance 11.bull 12．fish
13.man with serpent

2. Aquarius 3． Cancer4. Gemini
5. Leo6． Scorpio 7． Capricornus
8. Virgo9． Sagittarius 10． Libra
11. Taurus 12． Pisces 13． Ophiuchus
06 Weather
All life on earth depends upon the atmosphere. People, animals, and plants are all dependent upon air as well as water. Changes in the atmosphere, this ocean of air, cause weather. Changes in temperature, air pressure, air movement, and moisture all cause weather. By studying all these changes with special instruments, weathermen can predict the weather and warn us ahead of time.
Causes. Scientists have named the levels of the atmosphere. The air nearest the earth is called the troposphere. This layer of air contains almost all the air and most of the water vapor in the atmosphere. The great wind belts, the clouds, and the weather are part of the troposphere.
The next layer of atmosphere is the stratosphere. This layer of air extends from the troposphere to about 30 miles (about 48 kilometers) above the earth. In the upper part of the stratosphere is a layer of gas called ozone. Ozone gas protects people from the ultraviolet rays of the sun.
Beyond the stratosphere are three more layers of air: mesosphere, ionosphere, and exosphere. Beyond these layers the atmosphere blends into space where no air exists.
As you go higher in the troposphere, the temperature goes down. About eight to ten miles above the earth, the temperature gets down to an average of -55 degrees Fahrenheit. Air is usually cooler in the mountains. The temperature drops about three and one -half degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) for every 1 feet (000 meters) of altitude.
(End of this chapter)