Showing posts with label BBC News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BBC News. Show all posts

Monday, 6 December 2021

T.rex gets Christmas jumper at Natural History Museum in London

 

T-Rex jumper
Image caption,
The T.rex has had a festive but fearsome makeover

A giant Christmas jumper has been created for a Tyrannosaurus Rex at London's Natural History Museum.

The animatronic T.rex is sporting the festive knit, which has been made by a family-run firm in Leicester.

British Christmas Jumpers has previously produced sweaters for Ed Sheeran and the Houses of Parliament.

Director Snahal Patel said the latest design was the company's biggest job yet and took staff 100 hours to complete.

"We've never done anything like this. My dad's never done anything like this and he's been in this business for 35 to 40 years," Mr Patel said.

"It's probably the biggest thing we've made and going forward into the future there are other big projects planned."

Christmas jumper being made
Image caption,
The Leicester firm has been making Christmas jumpers since the 1980s

The jumper is 12 times heavier than a regular jumper and human-sized versions are also available to buy from the museum shop to help fund the venue's work.

Carla Treasure, from the attraction, said they wanted to do something fun to encourage people back after a tough year.

"I think he looks absolutely fabulous," she said.

"It's been a really, really challenging year for heritage and visitor attractions and we really wanted to do something which would generate interest.

"All the proceeds from the sale of these jumpers goes back to supporting the museum, not only for its pioneering research but also caring for its 80m specimens."

She said they chose the Leicester firm because the jumpers were made in the UK and manufactured using recycled yarn and plastic bottles.

Friday, 27 July 2018

Lunar eclipse: Skygazers await century's longest 'blood moon'


Skywatchers will be treated to the longest "blood moon" eclipse of the 21st Century on Friday.
As it rises, during this total eclipse, Earth's natural satellite will turn a striking shade of red or ruddy brown.
The "totality" period, when light from the Moon is totally obscured, will last for one hour, 43 minutes.
At least part of the eclipse is visible from Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, most of Asia and South America.
In the UK, rain clouds permitting, the Moon will appear entirely red - fully eclipsed by Earth - from when it rises at 21:00 to 22:15 BST.
On the same night and over the coming days, Mars will be at its closest point to Earth since 2003 - visible as a "bright red star" where skies are clear.

Why will the eclipse last so long?

The Moon will pass right through the centre of the Earth's shadow, at the shadow's widest point.

The Moon appears red in a lunar eclipse as sunlight is filtered through Earth's atmosphere (c) SPLImage copyrightSPL
Image captionThis will be the longest 'blood moon' this century, as sunlight is filtered through Earth's atmosphere

"This is actually almost as long as a lunar eclipse could be," Prof Tim O'Brien, an astrophysicist at University of Manchester, explained.
It coincides not only with Mars's close approach, but with what he described as a "procession of planets" - a line-up of our celestial neighbours that will give skywatchers a particularly good view of Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars.

Eclipse terms

Umbra: The darker, central part of the Earth's shadow
Penumbra: The lighter, outer part of the shadow cast by our planet

Infographic

Because the Moon is far away from Earth relatively speaking - its orbit is an ellipse, so it moves closer and further and looks larger and smaller from Earth.
"Mars will look like this beautiful bright red star just below the Moon," said Prof O'Brien.
"Every couple of years or so, the Earth overtakes Mars on the inside as it orbits the Sun, so Mars is closest to us.
"And because of the elliptical shape of the orbit, it's even closer than normal; it really is a great time to spot Mars."

Where will the eclipse be visible?

Where skies are clear of cloud, the spectacle will be visible almost everywhere around the world, with the exception of North America. The eclipse will already have started by the time the Moon rises over the UK and Western Europe.

Infographic

Prof O'Brien explained that people in the UK would "need to have a clear south-eastern horizon as the Moon comes up" in order to see it.
The best views - weather permitting - could be across Eastern Europe, Central and East Africa and South East Asia, from where the entire eclipse will be visible.

The planet MarsImage copyrightSCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Image captionAt its closest approach, Mars will be 54.6 million km from Earth. At its furthest point from Earth, the two planets are 400 million km apart

So, from the UK and Europe, the south-east will be the place to look for the rising, eclipsing Moon with bright red Mars below. But for views of elsewhere in the Solar System, Jupiter will be in the southern sky and Venus in the west.
Dr Emily Brunsden, director of the University of York's Astrocampus, added that this eclipse was a "micro blood moon".
"This is a total eclipse at a time in its orbit when it is close to being the farthest from Earth, or at apogee," she said.
"Hence the Moon is fractionally smaller than usual."

Stages of a total lunar eclipse

  • Penumbral eclipse begins: This starts when the outer (and lighter) part of the Earth's shadow begins moving across the Moon
  • Partial eclipse begins: This stage takes hold when the darker, inner part of the Earth's shadow (umbra) begins covering the Moon
  • Total eclipse begins: Also called totality, this occurs when the umbra completely covers the Moon, turning it a reddish brown colour
  • Maximum eclipse: The mid-point of totality
  • Total eclipse ends: The umbra starts moving away from the Moon's face after totality
  • Partial eclipse ends: Earth's umbra completely leaves the surface of the Moon
  • Penumbral eclipse ends: The outer part of the shadow (penumbra) completely moves away from the Moon
Source: timeanddate.com

Tuesday, 20 March 2018

Royal wedding: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle choose cake

Claire PtakImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have chosen an organic lemon and elderflower cake for their wedding in May.
Instead of a more traditional fruit cake, it will involve "spring" flavours and be covered with buttercream and decorated with fresh flowers.
The couple have enlisted Californian pastry chef and food writer Claire Ptak, owner of the Violet Bakery in east London, to make it.
Ms Ptak said she was delighted and that she shared the couple's values on food.
Kensington Palace said the couple were "very much looking forward to sharing" the cake with their wedding guests on 19 May.
Meghan Markle and Prince HarryImage copyrightAFP/ GETTY IMAGES
Like Ms Markle, Ms Ptak was raised in California. She worked as a pastry chef at Chez Panisse under chef and campaigner Alice Waters.
She later moved to the UK where she worked at The Anchor and Hope gastropub in Waterloo and set up a market stall on Broadway Market, east London.
She said: "Knowing that they really share the same values as I do about food provenance, sustainability, seasonality and most importantly flavour, makes this the most exciting event to be a part of."
Mrs Markle has previously interviewed Ms Ptak for her former lifestyle website TheTig.com which covered topics such as food, beauty, fashion and travel.

Monday, 22 May 2017

RHS Chelsea Flower Show: Gardens bloom into action with a Royal Visit