Pangong Lake

This is one of the most beautiful spots in India. Spread over an area of about 600 sq. km, the lake is shared by India and China and 60 per cent of it lies in the neighbouring country. The alluring beauty of the lake and its natural scenic views make it seem like a painted landscape. It’s nice to see how the lake changes colours in every season due to its salinity. The lake is in the process of being identified under the Ramsar Convention as a wetland of international importance.

Corpse flowers

Corpse flowers are so called as they smell like rotting meat, which attract beetles and flesh flies that pollinate the flowers. The red colour and texture contribute to the illusion that the corpse flower is a piece of meat. The stench has been described as spoiled eggs, soiled diaper, rotting fish, dirty laundry or even day-old road kill. They can take up to seven years to bloom; some corpse flowers only bloom once every few decades. The corpse flower is endemic to western Sumatra,  where it grows in rainforests on limestone hills.

Submitted by students, Meridian School, Banjara Hillls

Zürich 

This city has a history that goes back to its founding by the Romans, who, in 15 BC, called it Turicum. During the Middle Ages Zürich gained the independent and privileged status of imperial immediacy and, in 1519, became a primary centre of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. Today, Zürich is a leading global city and among the world's largest financial centres despite a relatively low population.

Mocking bird

In North America the northern Mockingbird is the best known example of an accomplished mimic. Male birds sing up to 200 different types of songs and some are clearly copied from other species. They can mimic 70 different sounds including a cat’s meow, a frog’s call, a squeaky door and the calls of various bird species ranging from owls, gulls and ducks to thrushes, cuckoos and many more. 

Blue roses 

After 13 years of collaborative research by an Australian company, Florigene, and a Japanese company, Suntory, a rose containing the blue pigment delphinidin was created in 2004 by the genetic engineering of a white rose. In some cultures, blue roses are traditionally associated with royal blood, and thus the blue rose can also denote regal majesty and splendour. In 2010, prices of blue roses ranged from 2,000 to 3,000 Yen or US$22 to 35 a stem.

MAGNETIC HILL OF LADAKH 

Located about 30 km from Leh, at a height of 11,000 feet above sea level, the magnetic hill of Ladakh has unique magnetic properties that attract metallic objects to its peak. This causes vehicles to move up the hill with their engines off. Planes and helicopters are advised to avoid being pulled down. The most commonly accepted explanation for this is that the hill possesses magnetic properties. 

Meerkat

It is a small carnivoran belonging to the mongoose family. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in most of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan". A meerkat clan often contains about 20 meerkats, but some super-families have 50 or more members. In captivity, meerkats have an average life span of 12–14 years, and about half of this in the wild.

Cappadocia caves

A popular tourist destination, Cappadocia caves in Turkey  have a unique geological, historic, and cultural features. Sedimentary rocks in lakes and streams erupted from ancient volcanoes about 9 million years ago. These rocks eroded into hundreds of spectacular pillars and minaret-like forms. Some of these plateaus are over 1,000 m in altitude. People of the region carved houses, churches and monasteries from the soft volcanic rock deposits. Göreme, one of the cities, became a monastic centre in 300-1200 AD.

ELECTRIC EEL

An electric eel (Electrophorus electricus) is a fish which can discharge up to 650 volts of electricity for self-defence, killing prey or communicating with other eels. They have specialised cells which produce about 100 millivolts in synchronisation. Each cell acts like a battery. The conductor is acetylcholine, so the eel short circuits the organism it is targeting. Electric eels are at the top of the food chain. 

Vaquita

The vaquita is a rare species of porpoise endemic to the northern part of the Gulf of California. Vaquitas use high-pitched sounds to communicate with one another and navigate through their habitat. They feed and swim at a leisurely pace. They rise to breathe with a slow, forward motion and then disappear quickly. This lack of activity at the surface makes them difficult to observe. Vaquitas are usually alone unless they are accompanied by a calf.  

Aditya bhattacharya, Class IX, DPS Howrah, WB

Shih Tzu

Also known as the Chrysanthemum Dog, it is a toy dog breed, weighing 10 to 19 pounds when fully grown. The exact origins of the breed are unknown, but it is thought to have originated in Tibet and then developed in China. The Shih Tzu is a sturdy little dog with a short muzzle and large dark eyes. It has a soft and long double coat. A Shih Tzu stands no taller than 28 cm. Its drop ears are covered with long fur.

Laser harp

It is an electronic musical instrument made up of laser beams that must be blocked to produce sound. It is played by moving hands (similar to plucking the strings of a harp) over laser light in order to send commands. When the laser light is interrupted, sounds are produced. These commands can be sent to various electronic instruments like samplers and synthesisers. This electronic harp was made famous by musician Jean Michel Jarre. He has used it in many of his concerts.

Waitomo Glow worm Caves

Waitomo Glow worm Caves are located in North Island, in New Zealand. They are composed of limestone formations that occurred over 30m years ago under the ocean. What makes them unique is the twinkling glow that comes from the ceiling – it emanates from thousands of glow worm clusters. The caves are full of insects, including albino cave ants and giant crickets. They are looked after by the local Maoris. 

Pink Lake

This is a salt lake in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. The lake is not always pink but the distinctive colour of the water changes as a result of the green algae Dunaliella salina, halobacterium Halobacteria cutirubrum, and/or high concentration of brine prawn. Once the lake water reaches a salinity level greater than that of sea water, the temperature is high enough and adequate light conditions are provided, the algae begins to accumulate the red pigment beta carotene.

Alaska

It is a US state located in the northwest extremity of North America. The Canadian administrative divisions of British Columbia and Yukon border the state to the east; its most extreme western part is Attu Island; it has a maritime border with Russia to the west across the Bering Strait. Many active volcanoes are found in the Aleutians and in coastal regions. One of the world's largest tides occurs in Turnagain Arm, just south of Anchorage – tidal differences can be more than 35 feet.

Exoplanet

The planet, HD 131399Ab has the widest known orbit within a multi-star system. Located about 340 light years from Earth in the constellation Centaurus, HD 131399Ab is believed to be about 16 million years old, making it one of the youngest exoplanets discovered. With a temperature of about 1,070 F or 580 C and weighing in at an estimated four Jupiter masses, it is also one of the coldest and least massive directly-imaged exoplanets. For about half of the planet’s orbit, which lasts 550 Earth years, three stars are visible in the sky. 

Boiling Lake

Dominica's Boiling Lake has bubbling greyish-blue water with temperatures in the range of 82 to 92 degree celsius. Situated in Morne Trois Pitons National Park, Dominica's World Heritage site, the lake is usually enveloped in a cloud of vapour. The water looks like a giant pot of water steaming on a stove. The lake rests at the bottom of a large sinkhole in the Earth's crust. The lake sees periodic fluctuations in the level of the water.

Full-circle rainbow

In theory, every rainbow is a circle, but from the ground, only its upper half can be seen. Viewing the rainbow's lower half requires the presence of water droplets below the observer's horizon, as well as sunlight that is able to reach them. These requirements are not usually met when the viewer is at ground level, either because droplets are absent in the required position, or the sunlight is obstructed by the landscape behind the observer. 

National Centre for the Performing Arts, China 

Described as The Giant Egg, it is an opera house in Beijing, People’s Republic of China. The Centre, an ellipsoid dome of titanium and glass surrounded by an artificial lake, seats 5,452 people in three halls and is almost 12,000 m2 in size. It was designed by French architect Paul Andreu. It took almost six years to be built. Construction started in December 2001 and the inaugural concert was held in December 2007.

TrES-2b

TrES-2b is an extrasolar planet orbiting the star GSC 03549-02811 located 750 light years away from the Solar System. The planet has been identified in 2011 as the darkest known exoplanet, reflecting less than 1% of any light that hits it. This makes it the darkest known exoplanet, reflecting less light than coal or black acrylic paint. The planet is a gas giant with a composition similar to that of Jupiter. It is located very close to its star and belongs to the class of planets known as hot Jupiters. 

Ranthambore Fort

It was built by a Chauhan Rajput ruler, although the exact name of the ruler is disputed. A widely held belief is that the fort was built in the reign of Sapaldaksha, in 944 CE. Another theory states that the fort was built during the reign of Jayant, in 1110 CE. According to the Government of Rajasthan's Amber Development & Management Authority, it is likely that the construction started in the mid 10th century during the reign of Sapaldaksha, and continued a few centuries after that.

Glasswinged butterfly

The Glasswinged butterfly is brush-footed and is a member of the sub-family Danainae, tribe Ithomiini, subtribe Godyridina. It is one of the 23 rare butterflies existing in the world. This beautiful butterfly, named 'Greta oto', but nicknamed the 'glass butterfly', has 2.3 inches (6 cm) of incredibly beautiful, and completely transparent, wings. Adult glass butterflies also exhibit a number of interesting behaviours migrations.

Nandana V & Anjali J, class VIII, Bhavan’s Adarsha Vidyalaya, Ernakulam 

Mosquito

Mosquitoes are hated the world over. These disease carrying insects suck the blood out of just about anything that moves, including us. More deaths are associated with mosquitoes than any other insect on the planet. Only female mosquitoes bite human beings and animals. Males feed on flower nectar. Female mosquitoes need protein for their eggs, and must take a bloody meal in order to reproduce. Mosquitoes fly at speeds between 1 and 1.5 miles per hour and its wings beat 300-600 times per second.

Pournami S, class X, MGM Model School, Thiruvananthapuram

Koh-i-Noor

This famous diamond also called ‘Mountain of Light’ was originally 793 carats when uncut. It is now a 105.6 metric carats diamond, weighing 21.6 gm in the most recent cut state. Once the largest known diamond, Koh-i-Noor is believed to have originated in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India again with the Darya-ye Noor. The diamond has belonged to many dynasties, including Kakatiyas, Rajputs, Mughal, Afsharid, Durrani, the Sikhs and the British who seized it as a spoil of war each time. 

Dwarf Goby

The dwarf goby is a tropical freshwater fish of family Gobiidae. It is one of the smallest fish in the world by mass, and also one of the shortest freshwater fish. Mature males can reach up to 1.1 centimetres, while the females can grow up to 1.5 centimetres. Average weight is from 4 to 5 milligrams. It used to frequent shady river banks in Rizal Province of Luzon, Philippines. It has also been collected in the sea at Culion Island, near Palawan, Philippines. The brackish waters and mangrove areas of Indonesia and Singapore are ideal for its habitat.

Oscar-Claude Monet 

He was a founder of French Impressionist painting, and the most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement's philosophy of expressing one's perceptions before nature, especially as applied to plein-air landscape painting. The term "Impressionism" is derived from the title of his painting Impression, soleil levant (Impression, Sunrise), which was exhibited in 1874 in the first of the independent exhibitions mounted by Monet and his associates as an alternative to the Salon de Paris.

Diamond planet 

Astronomers say a planet made largely of diamonds has been found. The alien planet, also-called "super-Earth", is called 55 Cancrie and was discovered in 2004 around a nearby star in our Milky Way galaxy. After estimating the planet’s mass and radius, and studying the host star's composition, scientists now say the rocky world is composed mainly of carbon (in the form of diamond and graphite), as well as iron, silicon carbide, and potentially silicates. At least a third of the planet's mass is likely pure diamond.

Academy Awards

The Academy Awards, or "Oscars", is a group of 24 artistic and technical honours given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognise excellence in cinematic achievements in the film industry in United States as assessed by the Academy's voting membership. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a statuette, officially called Academy Award of Merit, which is now commonly known by its nickname "Oscar."

Quetzal

The resplendent quetzal is an aptly named bird that many consider to be among the world's most beautiful. These vibrantly coloured birds live in the mountainous, tropical forests of Central America where they eat fruits, insects, lizards, and other small creatures.  The bird was sacred to the ancient Maya and Aztec peoples, and royalty and priests wore its feathers during ceremonies. Unfortunately, these striking birds are threatened in Guatemala and elsewhere throughout their range.

Mosquito

There are more than 3,000 species of mosquitoes, but the members of three bear primary responsibility for the spread of diseases. Mosquitoes use exhaled carbon dioxide, body odour, temperature, and movement to home in on their victims. Only female mosquitoes bear mouth parts necessary for sucking blood. When biting with their proboscis, they stab two tubes into the skin: one to inject an enzyme that inhibits blood clotting; the other to suck blood. The blood is not only used for their own nourishment but as a source of protein for their eggs.

Space capsule

A space capsule is an often manned spacecraft which has a simple shape for the main section, without any wings or other features to create lift during atmospheric reentry. Capsules have been used in most of the manned space programmes to date, including the world's first Vostok and Mercury manned spacecraft, as well as in the later Soviet Voskhod, Soyuz, Zond/L1, L3, Chinese Shenzhou and US, Russian and ISRO has recently unveiled its own space capsule.

BUDAPEST

Split in two by the Danube river, Budapest is the capital and most populous city of Hungary and one of the largest cities in the European Union. Buda is the hill with the royal palace and an old town filled with baroque and gothic monuments looking over the mostly 19th century, crossed by broad avenues and lined with elegant neo-renaissance buildings. One can admire the remarkable architecture from the monumental Chain Bridge.

Potala Palace 

Situated on Marpo Ri hill, 130 metres above the Lhasa valley, the Potala Palace rises a further 170 metres and is the greatest monumental structure in the whole of Tibet. Although a palace was already built here in the 7th century, the construction of the present palace began in 1645 during the reign of the fifth Dalai Lama and by 1648, Potrang Karpo, or White Palace, was completed. Potrang Marpo, or Red Palace, was added between 1690 and 1694. 

Galaxy

A galaxy is a gravitationally bound system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias, literally "milky", a reference to the Milky Way. Galaxies range in size from dwarfs with just a few billion (109) stars to giants with one hundred trillion (1014) stars, each orbiting its galaxy's centre of mass. Galaxies are categorised according to their visual morphology as elliptical, spiral and irregular.