Koi

Koi (鯉, English /ˈkɔɪ/, Japanese: [koꜜi]) or more specifically nishikigoi (錦鯉, [niɕi̥kiꜜɡo.i], literally "brocaded carp"), are a group of fish that are ornamental varieties of domesticated common carp (Cyprinus carpio) that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens.

Koi varieties are distinguished by coloration, patterning, and scalation. Some of the major colors are white, black, red, yellow, blue, and cream. The most popular category of koi is the Gosanke, which is made up of the Kohaku, Taisho Sanshoku, and Showa Sanshoku varieties.

History

Carp are a large group of fish originally found in Central Europe and Asia. Various carp species were originally domesticated in East Asia, where they were used as food fish. Carp are coldwater fish, and their ability to survive and adapt to many climates and water conditions allowed the domesticated species to be propagated to many new locations, including Japan. Natural color mutations of these carp would have occurred across all populations. Carp were first bred for color mutations in China more than a thousand years ago, where selective breeding of the Prussian carp (Carassius gibelio) led to the development of the goldfish.

Kepler-452

Kepler-452 is a G-class star located about 1400 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Cygnus. It has a similar temperature as the Sun, but is 20 percent brighter, 3.7 percent more massive and has a 11 percent larger diameter. Its gravity is 4.32±0.09 cgs. The star is also 1.5 billion years older than the Sun, having an age of about six billion years. Therefore, it is in a more advanced state in its evolution, but is still in the main sequence.

Planetary system

It has at least one confirmed exoplanet, Kepler-452b, discovered in July 2015 by the Kepler spacecraft.

References

Kepler-70b

Kepler-70b (formerly called KOI-55.01; sometimes listed as KOI-55 b) is a planet discovered orbiting the subdwarf B star (sdB) Kepler-70. It orbits its host along with another planet, Kepler-70c, both of which orbit very close to their host star. Kepler-70b completes one orbit around its star in just 5.76 hours, one of the shortest orbital periods of any exoplanetary system yet discovered, only second to PSR 1719-14 b with a period of 2.2 hours. It is also the hottest exoplanet as of mid-2013, with a surface temperature of 7143 K. Its density is 5500 kg/m³ which is not much different from Earth.

Kepler-70c passes 240,000 km away from Kepler-70b during their closest approach. This is currently the closest recorded approach between planets.

According to the main author of the paper in Nature which announced the discovery of the two planets, Stephane Charpinet, the two planets "probably plunged deep into the star’s envelope during the red giant phase, but survived.” However, this is not the first sighting of planets orbiting a post-red giant star - numerous pulsar planets have been observed, but no planet has been found with such a short period around any star, whether or not on the main sequence.

Dragon (zodiac)

The Dragon (simplified Chinese: 龙; traditional Chinese: 龍) is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Dragon is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 辰.

It has been proposed by one academic researcher that the Chen symbol might actually be a Scorpion and once symbolized the star Antares.

Years and the Five Elements

People born within these date ranges can be said to have been born in the "Year of the Dragon", while also bearing the following elemental sign:

There are typically spikes in the birth rates of countries that use the Chinese zodiac during a Year of the Dragon, because such "Dragon babies" are considered to be lucky and have desirable characteristics.

Basic astrology elements

Description

Compatibility with other zodiac signs

Among all the 12 animal signs, the Monkey has the most tacit understanding with the Dragon people. The cunning Rat can be good partner with the Dragon to make something big. The Dragon people can live happily with the Snake, for the Snake can prevent the Dragon from behaving outrageously. People under the signs of the Tiger, Rooster, Horse, Goat, Rabbit and Pig like to be friends with the Dragon, as they admire the Dragon's beautiful bearing and strength. Also, two Dragons can get along well with each other. However, the relationship between the Dragon and the Ox people are usually tense, because both of them are very majestic. The people that the Dragon feels headaches with the most is the Dog. They feel uncomfortable due to the Dog people's close guard.

Dragon (poem)

Dragon (Дракон) is a poem by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, written in the spring and summer of 1875 and first published in Vestnik Evropy October (#10) 1875 issue (pp. 581-605). The poem (consisting of 193 three-liners) was subtitled "A 12th century tale. From the Italian" and dedicated to Yakov Polonsky.

In July 1875 Tolstoy met Ivan Turgenev and Mikhail Stasyulevich in Karlsbad and read them the poem. According to the latter, all three discussed whether it was advisable to refer to as "translated from Italian" something that was in fact the original Russian text. "Let Angelo de Gubernatis scratch his head, digging in old archives, searching for the original", Tolstoy exclaimed, laughing. Still he made a compromise: in the "translated from Italian" phrase the first word was dropped.

The Dragon, as Tolstoy saw it, had one serious merit. "The best thing about this story is that it presents as rather plausible a kind of occurrence that would be quite impossible", he wrote in a letter to Princess Sayn-Wittgenstein.

Deals Gap, North Carolina

Deals Gap (el. 1,988 ft (606 m)) is a mountain pass along the North Carolina–Tennessee state line, bordering the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and near the Little Tennessee River. At .7 miles (1.1 km) south of the gap is the unincorporated community that shares the same name, located at the intersection of US 129 and NC 28. The area is popular with motorcycle enthusiasts, who cross the gap into Tennessee to drive along the "The Dragon"; famous for its 318 curves in 11 miles (18 km).

The Dragon

Deals Gap is a popular and internationally famous destination for motorcycle and sports car enthusiasts, as it is located along a stretch of two-lane road known since 1981 as "The Dragon" . The 11-mile stretch of the Dragon in Tennessee is said to have 318 curves. Some of the Dragon's sharpest curves have names like Copperhead Corner, Hog Pen Bend, Wheelie Hell, Shade Tree Corner, Mud Corner, Sunset Corner, Gravity Cavity, Beginner's End, and Brake or Bust Bend. The road earned its name from its curves being said to resemble a dragon's tail. The stretch bears the street name "Tapoco Road" in North Carolina and "Calderwood Highway" in Tennessee and is signed entirely by US 129 (hidden SR 115).