Inertial Navigation System

We just learned about the Reaction Control System.

Another part of rocket science is an Inertial Navigation System, or just INS for short.

We've learned that accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers are all sensors that can tell a rocket where it is going.
An INS is a computer that is hooked up to different sensors like these, and it steers the rocket the right way based on what the sensors tell it.



(from: wikipedia - inertial navigation system)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Dip-Slip Fault

Big Blue Octopus

We just learned about the Pharaoh Cuttlefish.

Another type of cephalopod is the Big Blue Octopus also called the octopus cyanea or day octopus.

This octopus lives in the pacific, all the way from Hawaii to Africa.
It grows to about 3 feet long, and lives in coral reefs.

Like a lot of other cephalopods, this octopus can changes its color and whether it has bumpy or smooth skin.
It can even make stripes or dots on its body, or even make itself look bumpy like a rock.
One scientist studying a big blue octopus watched it change the way it looked 1,000 times in 7 hours!
Sometimes the octopus will even make moving and changing colors on its body, like a cloud is passing over head.



(from: wikipedia - octopus cyanea)


cyanea octopus camouflaging - noam josef


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Wyoming Toad

Tooth Enamel

We just learned about Tooth Impaction.

Let's learn about what a tooth is made of!

The outside of the tooth that you can see is called Enamel.

Enamel is the hardest thing in the whole body, even harder than bone and nails.
It is made up mostly of something called hydroxyapatite, which is a kind of crystalline calcium.

Enamel is mostly white, but can be a little bit yellow or blueish if it is stained from food.


(from: wikipedia - tooth enamel)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Dense Connective Tissue

Spiš Castle

We just learned about the Buda Castle.

Another ancient castle is Spiš Castle, built around 1100 AD in Slovakia, and it over 400,000 square feet.

This castle was owned by the kings of Hungary, and then later was passed on to different families before it was taken over by the state of Slovakia.

At one time in the past the family that owned it abandoned it to move to the nearby village because they said it was not very comfortable.

A little while later there was a big fire and a lot of the castle was destroyed for over almost two hundred years.
The castle has now been fixed up and has a museum inside showing many things from the history of the castle.





(from: wikipedia - spiš castle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: State of Mexico

Caius - bishop of Ephesus

We just learned about Linus - Bishop of Rome, one of the seventy disciples.

Another of the seventy was Caius - bishop of Ephesus.

The city of Ephesus used to be part of the Roman empire, and is now part of the country of Turkey.
In the Bible there is a book called "Ephesians" that was a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in the city of Ephesus.

Some time around 100 AD, Caius (also known as Gaius) was the leader of the church in the city of Ephesus.


(from: wikipedia - gaius of ephesus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Macarius of Egypt

Nestorian Stele

We just learned about the He Zun.

Another ancient Chinese work of art is the Nestorian Stele.

It has writing on it telling the story of Christian missionaries coming into China all the way back to 635 AD.
There was a time when people did not want Christians in China so they had to bury the tablet underground, and it was lost for about 800 years.

The sculpture is in Chinese and says it is for the "Memorial of the Propagation in China of the Luminous Religion from Daqin".
Daqin was the name of the Roman Empire.

On top of the tablet there is a sculpture of two dragons holding up a pearl.
Lots of Chinese artwork used dragons to show powerful or important things, and the pearl is probably from the Bible story saying that heaven is a precious treasure like a pearl.

There is also a cross and some clouds below the carvings.



(from: wikipedia - nestorian stele)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Annunciation of the Virgin by the Angel - Mochi

Greek - Counting to Eighty Nine

We counted to 79 in Greek, let's keep going!

80 ογδόντα (ogdónta) - sounds like oh-g-DOH-n-tah
81 ογδόντα ένα (ogdónta éna) - sounds like oh-g-DOH-n-tah AY-nah
82 ογδόντα δύο (ogdónta dýo) - sounds like oh-g-DOH-n-tah DEE-y-oh
83 ογδόντα τρεις (ogdónta treis) - sounds like oh-g-DOH-n-tah t-day-ss
84 ογδόντα τέσσερις (ogdónta tésseris) - sounds like oh-g-DOH-n-tah TAY-say-dee-ss
85 ογδόντα πέντε (ogdónta pénte) - sounds like oh-g-DOH-n-tah PAY-n-tay
86 ογδόντα έξι (ogdónta éxi) - sounds like oh-g-DOH-n-tah AY-k-see
87 ογδόντα επτά (ogdónta eptá) - sounds like oh-g-DOH-n-tah ay-p-TAH
88 ογδόντα οκτώ (ogdónta októ) - sounds like oh-g-DOH-n-tah oh-k-TOH
89 ογδόντα εννέα (ogdónta ennéa) - sounds like oh-g-DOH-n-tah eh-NEE-y-ah


(from: wikipedia - center for the greek language)

ASL: eighty, eighty one, eighty two, eighty three, eighty four, eighty five, eighty six, eighty seven, eighty eight, eighty nine

Italian: ottanta, unottanta, ottantadue, ottantatre, ottantaquattro, ottantacinque, ottantasei, ottantasette, ottantotto, ottantanove

German: achtzig, einundachtzig, zweiundachtzig, dreiundachtzig, vierundachtzig, fünfundachtzig, sechsundachtzig, siebenundachtzig, achtundachtzig, neunundachtzig

Spanish: ochenta, ochenta y uno, ochenta y dos, ochenta y tres, ochenta y cuatro, ochenta y cinco, ochenta y seis, ochenta y siete, ochenta y ocho, ochenta y nueve

French: quatre-vingts, quatre-vingts-un, quatre vingt deux, quatre vingt trois, quatre vingt quatre, quatre vingt cinq, quatre vingt six, quatre vingt sept, quatre vingt huit, quatre vingt neuf