Longest glaciers

During the last Ice Age, more than 30 per cent of the Earth’s surface was covered by glaciers –frozen rivers of ice that move very slowly. Today as much as 10 percent is covered with glaciers.

The Lambert-Fisher Glacier is the longest in the world and was discovered (from the air) in 1956. The longest glacier in North America is the Hubbard Glacier, Alaska, Which measures 146 km (91 miles). The longest in Europe is the Aletsh Glacier, Switzerland, at 35 km (22 miles).

1 Lambert-Fisher, Antarctica – 515 km

2 Novaya Zemlya, Russia – 418 km

3 Arctic Institute, Antarctica – 362 km

4 Nimrod-Lennox-King, Antarctica – 290 km

5 Denman, Antarctica – 241 km

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Names of months

The names of the months in English (as well in many other languages) come from Latin Words. January Januarius – this month was dedicated to Janus, the Roman god of doors. Janus had two faces, one looking back at the old year and the other looking forward to the new year. February Februarius – Februa was the Roman purification festival, which took place at this time of year. March ...

Chinese calendar

Present-day China uses the Gregorian calendar for most purposes, but traditional festivals, such as Chinese New Year, take place according to the ancient Chinese calendar. Legend has it that this was started during the reign of Emperor Huangdi in 2637 BC, and relates to the positions of the Moon and Sun. Heavenly systems Earthly branches 1 jia 1 zi (rat) 2 yi ...

Constellations

Groups of stars form patterns in the night sky, which are called constellations. There are 88 known constellations. The sumerians, a Middle Eastern civilization, probably named them, about 5,000 years ago. The largest is Hydra, the sea serpent, and the smallest is Crux Australis, the Southern Cross. Centaurus, the Centaur. Has the most stars that can be seen with the naked eye(94). Others include Aquila, the Eagle; Canis Major, the Great Dog; and Orion, the Hunter.

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