Cosmic Fireworks: The Fascinating World of Solar Flares - Yashraj Sharma

 

What are Solar Storms?

Solar storms occur when the Sun emits enormous bursts of energy through solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs). These phenomena send a stream of electrical charges and magnetic fields toward the Earth at about 3 million miles per hour!

• What are solar flares and CMEs?

A solar flare is an intense burst of radiation caused by the release of magnetic energy associated with sunspots. It is one of the most significant explosive events in our solar system. Flares are seen as bright areas on the Sun and can last minutes to hours.

Coronal Mass Ejections are large plasma and magnetic field expulsions from the Sun's corona (outermost layer).

Effects of the Solar Storm on Earth

1. Public and amateur radio (used by citizens) is frequently disrupted. Communications, navigation, and even land surveying via land, water, and air use global positioning systems (GPS) to determine routes and locations based on satellite radio waves. These waves are disrupted and/or interrupted by the geomagnetic waves from the Sun.

2. Blackouts and power outages 

If a significant solar storm were to hit the Earth, the worst-case scenario would be the damaged power grids, resulting in blackouts. The geomagnetic currents induced by a solar storm can overload power grids and potentially cause transformers to fail, leading to widespread power outages. 

           One example of such a black is the Canadian blackout of 1989. 

This geomagnetic storm occurred on March 13, 1989. It caused a nine-hour outage of Hydro-Québec's (largest power utility in Canada and a significant player in the global hydropower industry) electricity transmission system.

The ever-so-mesmerizing ‘Northern Lights’

Earth’s magnetic field shields our planet against solar flares and CMEs. 

When a solar flare reaches Earth, as it is about to collide, it meets with the magnetic field and spirals around it. It then goes down into the poles of the Earth. This area is known as the 'Aurora Oval.' When these flares collide with the atmosphere's particles, they excite and cause them to rush. This excitement causes the particles to light up!

Hence, giving us wavy patterns and 'curtains' of light, these are commonly known as ‘Auroras’

Yashraj Sharma

Gyanshree School

X-D
Compiled from reading and sourced from references on Google Search.

The Hidden Life of Trees - The Doon Girls School Reflections

Carbon Dioxide Vacuums

"This chapter is taken from The Hidden Life of Trees. It's based on the pollution of the area because of the trees being deforested. And this chapter also teaches us how carbon dioxide  is valuable for trees and plants." (Tamreen - IX)

Plant Based Facts

• Most trees grow in swamps.
• The coal is hardly being formed because forests are constantly being cleared.
• Carbon dioxide is the favourite food of plants.
• There are 700,000 trees on every continent in the world. (Sumya Jha - VIII)

Life is a splendid torch not a brief candle - Tenzin Jambey

Image courtesy Shmooz AI

Life is lovely and enjoyable; now it's in our hands whether we want to make it even more peaceful or let life burden us. It doesn't matter whether you are poor or rich; life will look perfectly fine if you are grateful for whatever you have. 

Our life is like an impressive torch that can bring light to the lives of others. We can shine brightly and chase the shadows away. We get to live our life for once, but let not our one life affect our beautiful journey. Let's not be sad thinking that we will die soon; everyone has to leave this world behind and die and become part of the soil of the earth beneath.

We know life is short; in today's world, half our age passes through pursuing education and skills, but we forget to liberate ourselves. Schooling teaches us the way to answer others and the way to work under someone and in this process, a child is never able to discover his own literature and interests. 

We come under pressure to think about our future, our career, family and so on. The term life is very wide and we can achieve what our hearts really desire except attraction and greed. 

That's so obvious that school studies will hunt you down and occupy your whole body if you don't connect your subject with your daily routine and your interests. When your subject is connected with your interest then every second of your life becomes memorable. 

It's in our hands whether you want to make your life like a dying candle or like a bright light that shines and radiates peace. 

Tenzin Jambey

Pestalozzi Children's Village India

Being Human - Keyura Rao Cheeti

My school, The Hyderabad Public School Begumpet

Human beings are unique. But what are the qualities that make us so? Our intelligence and qualities, such as kindness, compassion, love, care, and empathy, differentiate us from other living beings.

We can use these qualities to improve the world by improving our and others' lives. We humans also have a responsibility towards Mother Earth. Some of the little things around me that I observed where I feel humanity can be put to use are children in the neighbourhood can learn to be compassionate towards the stray animals, friendly with other children, adults can be empathetic towards the beggars and the poor.

We must let go of our jealousy, pessimism, greed and pride that will stop us from seeing the good in others. We need to set an example for others to learn from us. We need to bring change in the world to make it harmonious for all of us to coexist.

Keyura Rao Cheeti
Class VI
The Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet

Being Human - Amaira Bhati

Being a human, I feel proud but also crib about things a bit. I can tell the advantages and disadvantages of my life.

Had I been another human, I would like to carry my same attitude, feelings and thoughts. There are two types of humans, a cruel human and a kind human.

Our world's population of cruel people is growing, not knowing how many sins have been attempted. As a human, I have started exploring the world ahead of me even more.

With such small eyes of a human, the human can see the limitless skies. I see humans pulling and cutting trees and plants off their roots daily when we should care more for our dying earth.

Being a human is a beautiful journey. Some humans look at the negative side, while others look at the positive side. We humans only achieve something when we look at the positive side.

I feel proud to be a human by looking at the positive side, following kindness and expressing my thoughts and feelings to other humans who genuinely believe in themselves. Last but not least, I want to be a human who can understand everyone politely and kindly. Amaira Bhati Grade IV - C Gyanshree School

Light the candle - Rishona Chopra

We all aim for change, but why do we always look and aim for the sky? Why don't we look around and notice the changes needed around us?

Many have progressed towards changes, massive changes whose impact is left noticed. Have we cleared the ground before aiming for the sky? We make changes that are called "a benefit", but those changes affect the ground effect of Mother Earth. We all think of infrastructural changes but have we noticed that Mother Earth is the one that needs the change? We don't need the changes that worsen the state of mother Earth. 

Can we light the candle to save something we depend on more than anything and everything? When Mother Earth did nothing but give, can we at least put effort into a thank you? If everyone lights one candle, the entire Earth will shine. 
 
Rishona Chopra
Grade VI
Gyanshree School

What if our source of life disappered - Yashraj Sharma

 

George R.R. Martin rightly said that "Once the sun has set, no candle can replace it."

If our source of life, the Sun, were to disappear, humans would have no way to survive. You might have imagined that day, but what would happen if it happened? Our fate would be sealed. Seriously, what would happen on Earth? We would not notice anything until after eight minutes. There would not be any change in the temperature because our atmosphere and oceans have stored enough heat to last us a few weeks, but after that, things will start to get freezing. The ocean's surface would freeze over in two months, and humans would slowly disappear across the globe. As a result, there would be a lot of human carcasses lying around freely, as no one could bury the bodies properly, and they would rot away.

Let's now talk about what would cause mass disturbances in the solar system. The Earth's tilt would gradually increase because there would be no gravitational pull from the Sun. It would take longer to set it to a fixed tilt again.

The next question will come to us: will Earth stop moving?

The answer is no. Earth would continue to move at its original speed, just not on the path it used to. The planet would drift into interstellar space along with every other planet in our solar system. The entire world would be in a state of panic and worry. But we needn't worry about this happening anytime soon because the Sun cannot disappear and still has a long life to live!   

Yashraj Sharma

Grade: VIII-D

Gyanshree School

The Hidden Key 🔐 - Oshi Singh

Image courtesy www.pinterest.com, used for representation only.

Climate change has troubled us to be lone, 

But all we humans do is just moan and groan. 

But why can't all humans see,

That soil is the answer; it is our key! 

Long ago, carbon was balanced, 

But the humans made it unbalanced. 

The soil that once held tight,

Had to be lifted from its site. 

Deforestation and desertification were the results, 

And most people didn't react to it, unlike good adults. 

But all we need to do is store carbon in the soil,

So that the carbon no more does its harmful spoils. 

We should restore the soil and the Earth, 

And in the end, all of it would be worth. 

Nature's loving technology was and always be there,

And protecting it should be the duty that we all should swear. 

The answer is right beneath our feet, 

We should always respect and further teach. 

The problem and the answer are simply a matter of balance, 

What we all did was simply a matter of out-balance. 

Will the Earth now heat up?

Or is it a storm in a teacup? 

Whatever we do, 

We shall always remember,

there is no other place like home. 

And there's no clone for mother Earth. 

Oshi Singh
VIII D 
Gyanshree School

Credits: I would like to thank my friend Riddhi Chopra for helping me write this wonderful poem to bring notice to the rising issue of the depletion of the soil. 

Reference: https://images.app.goo.gl/6VFPD5h2Kjoh7D6d6

My Ambition - Yashraj Sharma

People always call me a curious boy

Who is interested in asking why

And due to my why, I may 

Become a famous guy.

With some surprising ambition

To become a scientist.

I want to know why wood should float

And why lead and marble sink

Why does the wind blow

And why do we all eat and drink?

I want to know what makes clouds

And why they snake across the sky

Why does the Sun set behind the hill

And why do all flowers die?

I want to know why fish have gills. 

And why the Earth has hills?

Why can boys not fly?

And why does rain fall from the sky?

I want to know why charcoal gives smoke.

And it's not the same for stones.

Some of my why's are not hard to answer.

If you will try, but no one ever yet

Has found the reason for my ambition-

Why?

Yashraj Sharma 

8D Gyanshree School

Out Of The Box - Reveda Bhatt

Thinking out of the box,

People believe the path is hard,

Paved with rocks.

Just come to our world once!

And, here, the world means a new way of thinking,

And not another Earth; it’s not a pun!

Reveda Bhatt
Grade 9
The Aryan School

The unprivileged - Rishona Chopra

Having trust,
And create a new bond,
And respond,
Is simply to adjust,

To the silent cries,
And let them rise,
They shall know that they are worth,
They are here on this Earth,

To create a future,
They don’t need a ruler,
They are much more than we think,
But we make them shrink!

Wonder who ‘they’ are in this poem? They are the unprivileged who are shown useless from their looks and way of living, but they are, after all, humans, suitable? They have taken birth on this Earth so they have as much right as we do. We have ignored their silent cries even knowing that they can change the world with a bit of education. We just need to trust them.

Rishona Chopra Grade V Gyanshree School

Interview with an elephant - Rishona Chopra

 Hi! Today I am going to be interviewing Ms Cloud. Let’s all welcome her with a round of applause.

Mrs Cloud: Thank you, but just a small thing, my name is not Cloud. In fact, it’s Ms. Elephant.

Interviewer: Oh! I am so sorry. So let us welcome Ms Elephant. So Ms Elephant, please tell us your journey to become a cloud.

Mrs Elephant: I was an elephant at first. I was living my life happily. I loved to dance, and I still do, but then the poachers, those evil mindless creatures…killed me. I was a perfect soul, and as I entered heaven, I always had this divine light surrounding me, and you can see I still have that light. So I remain in the sky, which is heaven, but for humans, the sky and I keep roaming around there having fun without any poachers to disturb me.

Interviewer: That is an interesting story, and those poachers who hurt you are indeed mindless creatures. Moving on to the next question, do you like being a cloud?

Mrs Elephant: Oh yes! I love being there. I get to meet so many elephants and animals and even humans. The only bad part is that when thunderstorms come, those spirits who have done sins come, and they are so dark in colour! They look scary.

Interviewer: I can imagine. The last question is would you like to continue being a cloud or be an elephant on Earth.

Mrs Elephant: I am in two minds about this. Being a cloud, you are mostly safe, with no poachers around, but if you are unlucky, you might crash into an aeroplane! On the other hand, on Earth, you get to see and feel nature in an entirely different way, and you can bathe in rivers and have fun with other animals in a pretty different way. So I am not so sure.

Interviewer: It’s good that you know the advantages and disadvantages of both places. That was a fantastic interview. Also, it must be telling the poachers something that people have become clouds because of them!!  Rishona Chopra
Grade V
Gyanshree School

Global Warming- Aanya Kumar

Global warming is the rising of temperature on Earth. It rises by about one degree Celsius each year, but it is a significant change. It is caused by carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.

These pollutants can stay for centuries and trap the sunlight bounced off to the Earth's surface. This light could bounce out to space, but the gases trap the light. They are known as greenhouse gases and cause the greenhouse effect.

Global warming is harmful to human beings and the Earth in many ways; for instance, it can cause many natural disasters like- storms, heat waves, floods, and droughts. It would be challenging to live in these conditions.

Global warming can be reduced in our houses with few simple steps. We should always turn the lights and fan off before leaving a room. We should use energy-saving light bulbs, and gradually global warming will reduce.

Aanya Kumar
Grade 5
Gyanshree School, Noida

Save Environment - Simran Soni

The word environment refers to all ecological units naturally present on earth in the form of land, water, air, soil, forest, sunlight, minerals, living organisms, etc. The earth is full of natural surroundings, some are biotic, and some are non-biotic. We should save our environment by planting more and more trees. World Environment Day is celebrated annually on 5th June and is the United Nations' principal vehicle for encouraging awareness and action to protect the environment.

On world environment day, we all take a day off from our work and join various campaigns to spread awareness about environmental protection. Moreover, we all plant small saplings in a barren land to grow and flourish in the land area after some years. We also take part in various processions to make people aware of this day to protect our environment.

Simran Soni

Class VI

The Fabindia School