albedo 0.39

I first read about the word albedo when i purchased a CD by Vangelis with the title Albedo 0.39. Albedo is defined as the reflective power of a surface, often a planet or celestial body, that does not shine by its own light. It is usually measured on a scale from 0 (or having no reflective power) to 1.  The higher the albedo is, the more reflective power its surface has.

I find it interesting that the earth we live in has a higher albedo than that of the moon. The earth has an average albedo of 0.39 while the moon has an average albedo of 0.12. This means that the earth is brighter than the moon since it reflects more of the sun's rays.

If you've been awed by the sight of a full moon on a cloudless night, imagine how awesome it must be to stand on the moon and see the earth beam!

Earthrise. a view of the earth from the moon.

Photo source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NASA-Apollo8-Dec24-Earthrise_Template.jpg

But if we are able to imagine this, the Bible says that we cannot imagine what God has prepared to those whom He loves.

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived that God has prepared for those who love Him." -1 Corinthians 2:9

those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength

Isaiah 40: 28-31
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
 the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
   they will run and not grow weary,
   they will walk and not be faint.

Leap Year

This year is a leap year. Which means that the month of February will have an extra day on the 29th.
Generally, a leap year occurs in a year evenly divisible by 4, example is in 2008 and this year, 2012.  But there is an exception for this rule.  An exception is if the year is evenly divisible by 100, unless it is evenly divisible by 400. So the years 2100, 2200 and 2300 are not leap years but the year 2400 is a leap year.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leap_year