Lenticular clouds (Altocumulus lenticularis) are stationary lens-shaped clouds with a smooth layered appearance that form in the troposphere, usually above mountain ranges. One was spotted in Singapore recently...
With 30,000 individual facets, dragonflies have the most number of facets among insects. Each facet, or ommatidia, creates its own image, and the dragonfly brain has eight pairs of descending visual neurons to compile those thousands of images into one picture...
Spectacular and innovative in design, the Flower Dome replicates the cool-dry climate of Mediterranean regions like South Africa, California and parts of Spain and Italy. Home to a collection of plants from deserts all over the world, it showcases the adaptations of plants to arid environments...
Unlike light, lightning does not travel in a straight line. Instead, it has many branches. These other branches flashed at the same time as the main strike. The branches are actually the step leaders that were connected to the leader that made it to its target...
A T-Rex has 24-26 teeth on its upper jaw and 24 more on its lower jaw. Juveniles have small, sharp blade-shaped teeth to cut flesh, whereas adults have huge, blunt, rounded teeth for crushing bones. Is the T-Rex a bone-crushing scavenger?
Following the success from the 2015 exhibit, the Singapore Motorshow returns for a second consecutive year from 14-17 January 2016 at Suntec City Convention & Exhibition Centre.
Making its debut at the Singapore Motorshow 2016 is the Subaru VIZIV 2
concept car, a next generation crossover vehicle, which similarly to its
predecessor, the VIZIV, takes its name from “Vision for Innovation”.
Colours abound at the various booths...
However, white seems to be the predominant colour...
It does help to have attractive models posing beside the cars, always ready with a smile...
Not to mention key attractions like game booths and MediaCorp personalities...
There were also photo opportunities with the friendly Russ Swift,
who wowed the crowd with his stun driving skills...
Toyota Singapore ups the ante this year by unveiling three new models to the Singapore market - with the 4th Generation Toyota Prius taking centrestage, followed by the RAV4 and Avanza. The sports variants of the Corolla Altis and Wish was also on display.
Staying true to the brand’s promise of Superior Peace of Mind, Toyota Singapore highlights its unparalleled strength of quality, durability and reliability through its displays at the Motorshow - Visitors will also be able to fully experience the brand’s focus on a sense of Waku-Doki as it exceeds expectations to elicit joy in every customer’s life.
Toyota's progressive efforts to further enhance the Prius reflect its environmental leadership in contributing to a better society.
With its established DNA of fuel efficiency and ecological prowess, the new Toyota Prius will feature a new striking exterior design and is set to captivate anyone who sees it.
The interior also impresses with ergonomic innovations and voluminous space that makes it a winner on every seat.
User-friendly icon-based sound system interface...
With over 8 million sold worldwide, the Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD) answers the needs of an environment-conscious world. HSD is an intelligent combination of an internal combustion engine and an electric motor, which can reduce fuel consumption significantly while remaining fully optimised for lowering CO2 emission. This specially- designed hybrid system helped pioneer regenerative braking technology - where kinetic energy generated by braking is harnessed into charging a nickel-metal hydride battery - a concept that would open the door to an all-new driving sensation.
The Clean Technologies 2015 mission is part of the EU Business Avenues' inaugural mission in ASEAN with participation of 41 European companies selected by the European Union and will be held in June 2015 in both Singapore and Vietnam. The mission will include sector expert presentations, site visits, technical seminars, networking opportunities and a two-day 1-2-1 business matching event. Participating companies will also benefit from post-event meet-ups.
The welcoming banner to the event...
Singapore is recognized as a global leader in the environment and water sectors, being at the forefront of environmental innovation and an early adopter of solutions. With its government strongly involved in the promotion of the development of the local environment and water industries, the aim is to establish Singapore as a global R&D centre for renewable energy. The main focus will be on solar energy development, with effort put in to also promote wind energy, electric mobility, smart grids, biomass, fuel cells, energy efficiency, and carbon services.
The stage where the opening speech was made during the networking session...
The strong government support and local business culture makes Singapore an ideal springboard as an R&D and sales hub for European companies with innovative, high-tech environmental and water offerings looking to access regional markets.
Handouts include a brochure about the event and a list of the participating companies...
The EU Business Avenues Clean Technologies 2015 focuses on three main sectors namely: (1) Water, (2) Environment / Waste Management and (3) Renewable Energy. The participating companies for this mission specializes on the following sub-sectors:
According to Davide Besana, EU Trade Affairs, the EU Business Avenues Clean Technologies event is based on the Gateway program an EU-funded initiative helping European SMEs to establish long-lasting business collaborations in Japan and Korea. EU Gateway participants attend one week in-country business missions and benefit from business support services such as: coaching, logistical and financial support, among others. The resulting high returns from this program prompted the EU to pilot the EU Business Avenues in Southeast Asia.
The EU countries have much to share with the region on sustainable energy. EU ranks as the top producer in renewable energy and clean technology. First in cleantech IPOs, EU also attracted over $1b in cleantech venture capital in 2014. (Climate Week Paris, 2015) According to Dr Luca Sanfillippo, from Systea Environmental & Industrial Analytical Technologies, Italy, this trip is a mutually beneficial exchange as Singapore is advanced in its use of water treatment technologies.
Networking and sharing among the exhibitors and visiting Singapore companies...
Among the EU countries, each country has its strengths in renewable energy. For example, Spain, Greece and Italy, being located in the southern regions with ample sunshine, generate a significant portion of their energy through solar power. Sweden and Croatia tap on their hydropower for their energy needs, while Ireland and Denmark use wind energy more.
It was certainly an enlightening networking session learning from the participating companies about what the world has to offer to meet our planet's increasing energy needs yet maintaining a clean and green environment.
Organized by Ricoh Asia Pacific and Eco-Business, this year’s Eco Action Day panel discussion focused on the World Environment Day theme on sustainable consumption and production.
The panel featured distinguished speakers including Ronnie Tay, CEO, National Environment Agency; Ynse de Boer, Managing Director, Strategy and Sustainability Services, Accenture; Ariel Muller, Director, Asia Pacific, Forum for the Future; Professor Victor Savage, Associate Professor, Department of Geography, National University of Singapore; and Vincent Lim, Managing Director, Ricoh Singapore.
(Source : Eco Action Day)
The theme is aligned with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) World Environment Day (WED) message: Seven Billion Dreams, One Planet, Consume with Care. Aptly, it was also held on WED on 5 June as the highlight of Eco Action Day, Singapore’s largest business-led environmental awareness campaign. The dialogue was attended by 100 people from business, government and civic society leaders.
In conjunction with Eco Action Day, the Eco Action Day Awards were presented to seven schools and organisations to recognise their efforts in raising awareness of the importance of sustainability. This year’s Award winners are:
Most Creative & Most Fun Eco Award - Crescent Girls’ School
Most Inspiring Eco Award - Loola Adventure Resort (Bintan)
Most Inspiring Eco Award (Merit) - Starhub Ltd
Most Effort Eco Award - Orchid Park Secondary School
Most Effort Eco Award (Merit) - West Spring Primary School
Best Eco Practices Award - Systems on Silicon Manufacturing Company Pte Ltd
Best Eco Practices Award (Merit) - Samwoh Corporation
(Source : Eco Action Day)
The afternoon session kicked off with a case study by Jin Dong, IBM China. Project Green Horizon is a multi-year initiative to support China's energy and environment goals using big data. Its three components include reduction of air pollution, increase of renewable energy utilization, and improvement of energy consumption efficiency.
The afternoon panel sessions were an in-depth discussion on sustainability, both at the corporate and education levels. In the first session, moderated by Mr Terry F Yosie of World Environment Center, with panelists from Ricoh Company Ltd, IBM Research China, Keppel Land and SingTel. In Session 2, educators from Singapore Environment Institute and Singapore University of Technology & Design (SUTD) shared on the spreading of the sustainability message to youths.
Posters were available for corporate participants to bring back to spread the conservation message...
Eco Action Day partners for 2015 include the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS), National Environment Agency (NEA), Building and Construction Authority (BCA), Energy Market Authority (EMA), Singapore Environment Council (SEC), Singapore Compact for CSR, Singapore Business Federation, Keppel Land, Keppel Reit, Mapletree Business City, ComfortDelGro, Rice Communications and Eco-Business.
“Sustainable consumption and production does not simply imply consuming or producing lesser goods and services - it is about adopting more efficient and less resource intensive processes. As consumers, we can help by shifting our consumption patterns towards goods that use less energy, water and other resources, and by wasting less food.”
The Science Centre Singapore Omni-Theatre reopens on 30 May 2015. Digitally enhanced with the world's latest 8K digital fulldome system, it allows you, the theatre goer, to have a digitally immersive experience by traveling beyond physical boundaries to remote locations on Earth and the solar system in the comfort of your seat.
On Southeast Asia's largest seamless some screen, you can enjoy a selection of digital fulldome movies and "live" shows with topical real-time presentations conducted by knowledgeable science educators. Each show is introduced with high-resolution graphics, along with real-time images from the American Museum of Natural History and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
With this new technology, science educators can now have full control over where they want to bring their audiences, what they want to show, and through this learning journey, introduce them to space science and exploration.
The host welcoming all guests to the revamped experience...
A chaotic cluster of green words - all the man-made satellites | that are roaming round the earth at this very moment...
Watch the Earth's rotation on its axis with the orbiting satellites...
Move on to the Moon, Earth's very own satellite, including the "dark side" that faces space...
Singapore at night, one bright blob with smaller dots where HDB estates are located and yellow light streamers for roads...
Seconds later, be zapped to the tallest peaks on Earth and see Mount Everest in person at the Himalayas...
Mars
The hue from the "Red Planet" comes from "rusty" surface rich in iron oxide formed from surface iron reacting with oxygen in the air and liquid water from long ago to create a film of iron oxide.
Located along the equator of Mars, on the east side of the Tharsis Bulge, the Valles Marineris (Latin for Mariner Valleys) stretches for nearly a fifth of the planet’s circumference. At more than 4,000 km, 200 km wide and up to 10 km deep, the rift system is one of the largest canyons of the Solar System, even larger than Earth's Grand Canyon in the United States.
Jupiter
Jupiter is a gas giant planet. Its atmosphere is made up of mostly hydrogen gas and helium gas, just like the sun. The planet's surface is covered in thick red, brown, yellow and white clouds.
The Great Red Spot is a giant, spinning storm in Jupiter's atmosphere. It is like a hurricane on Earth, but it is much larger. Jupiter's Great Red Spot is more than twice the size of Earth! Winds inside this storm reach speeds of about 270 miles per hour. Unlike hurricanes and cyclones on Earth, which come and go in a matter of days, this iconic oval has endured for centuries.
Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. its rings are the most extensive planetary ring system of any planet in the Solar System. They consist of countless small particles, ranging in size from micrometres to metres, that orbit about Saturn. The ring particles are made almost entirely of water ice, with a trace component of rocky material.
From a different angle, the rings are hardly visible...
Neptune
Neptune, another gas giant, is the eighth planet from the Sun and is the most distant planet from the Sun in our Solar System. The atmosphere of Neptune is made of hydrogen and helium, with some methane. The methane absorbs red light, which makes the planet appear a lovely blue. High, thin clouds drift in the upper atmosphere.
Seen along its orbital path around the Sun...
Beyond Our Solar System
There are other galaxies and globular clusters, a spherical collection of stars that orbits a galactic core as a satellite...
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains our Solar System. Its name "milky" is derived from its appearance as a dim glowing band arching across the night sky...
The Butterfly Cluster (also known as Messier 6 or NGC 6405) is a bright open star cluster of some 12 light-years across, located around 1,600 light-years away from Earth in the southern constellation of Scorpius (the Scorpion). Its name derives from the vague resemblance of its shape to a butterfly...
Digital Fulldome Movie
In Back To The Moon, a 40-minute Digital Fulldome Movie, teams around the world are competing for a chance to win the Google Lunar X Prize of $20 million, the largest incentivized prize in history In a renewed race to the moon. To qualify, teams must land a robotic spacecraft on the moon, navigate 300 metres over the lunar surface, and send videos, images and data back to Earth.
Tickets are priced at $14 for Digital Movies / Live Shows and $12 for IMAX movies. For more details, including the full list of movies and shows, check out the website for Science Centre Singapore's Omni-Theatre.
"This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."
