The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, 1633 by-Rembrandt van Rijn

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Celebrating 400 years of shared cultural heritage, Indiaand the Netherlands have joined hands for a special exhibition in Mumbai that will showcase some of the original work of iconic Dutch painter Rembrandt and miniature paintings by artists from his era, officials said. Netherlands King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maximawill visit the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) on Wednesday for the opening of the exhibition titled ‘Indo-Dutch Connections in the Age of Rembrandt’, according to the website of the Royal House of the Netherlands.

“India and the Netherlands are coming together to celebrate 400 years of cultural heritage and honour the 350th death anniversary of the iconic artist, Rembrandt. The CSMVS, Mumbai and Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam are collaborating on an exhibition titled ‘India & the Netherlands in the Age of Rembrandt’, supported by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in Mumbai,” the Dutch consulate general said in a statement.

The exhibition will showcase some of Rembrandt’s original work and other miniature paintings by artists from his era, it said. It will be on display at the CSMVS from October 17 to December 16, the consulate general said.

Born in 1606, Rembrandt van Rijn was a Dutch draughtsman, painter and printmaker, and an innovative and prolific masterin the three media. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in the history of art and the most important in Dutch art history. His artwork also include Mughal miniatures and he painted various kings, including Shah Jehan.

The legendary artist, who also made a series of self-portraits year after year, died at Amsterdam in October 1669.

Mysterious Krishna’s Butter Ball @ Mamallapuram

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Weird But True:
The mystery of the balancing rock of Mahabalipuram.
The Krishna’s Butter Ball or Vaanirai Kal (Stone of the Sky God), as it is known to locals, has been sitting on a 45-degree slope in Mahabalipuram for over 1,400 years.

Some believe that it was put in place by the gods, others by aliens – and geologists argue it’s a natural formation.

The actual name of the stone is Vaan Irai Kal, which translates to Sky God’s Stone, and according to one source, the more playful name was given to the rock by a local tour guide. 

The push attempt:
According to an ancient myth, the Pallava King Narasimhavarman who ruled South India from 630-668 C.E. tried to remove the rock.
He gave specific order that the rock which was considered to be from the heavens must never be touched. 
However, a frustrated Narasimhavarman was forced to watch that his orders could not be carried out. Despite all efforts, the rock simply did not move.

In 1908 the then Governor of Madras Arthur Lawley decided the boulder to be too dangerous to nearby homes and wanted it removed. Seven elephants were employed to push the rock. But to everyone’s surprise the rock couldn’t be moved and the task was abandoned.

The 20ft rock appears to defy gravity, looking like it’s going to roll at any moment – and all attempts to move it have been in vain.

This is one of those unexplained mysteries in science. At Mahabalipuram the 20 feet high and 5 meter wide rock estimated to weigh over 250 tons seems to pull off a balancing act like no other. Known locally as Krishna’s Butter Ball is not a rock that stands on an extremely small and slippery area of a hill. It’s hard not to wonder how such a big structure is stationary at a place where it’s impossible to be so. And it’s been there for over 1400 years. Yes you heard that right 1400 years seemingly defying the laws of physics.

Its original Tamil name is “Vaanirai Kal” which literally translates to “Stone of The Sky God”.

Possible Theories:
The rock is believed to be naturally formed but theorists believe a natural formation such as this is highly improbable, as natural corrosion could not have brought upon such a shape.

Fact: This rock is bigger and heavier than the monolithic stones of Ollantaytambo, Peru or Machu Picchu.

The science:
The rock is balanced upon a 4 feet area of the hill. Its simple physics that a structure needs a 250 ton rock has a far-fetched chance of resting on a 4 feet area for such a long period. To site imagery, imagine a ball on a slope, unless it has a heavy footing it rolls down pretty fast.

Pallava kings attempted to move it, but all the kings and there elephants are not able to move the boulder even by an inch.

HELP NAME 20 NEWLY DISCOVERED MOONS OF SATURN!

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https://carnegiescience.edu/NameSaturnsMoons

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Carnegie’s Scott Sheppard has just announced the discovery of 20 new moons orbiting Saturn, bringing its total to 82 and moving it ahead of Jupiter, which has 79. All hail the new king of moons!

Earlier this year we held a contest to name five Jovian moons discovered by Sheppard last July. We loved the enthusiasm everyone showed for this contest so much that we’re doing it again. Please help us name all 20 Saturnian moons!

Contest Launch Date:

October 7, 2019

Contest End Date:

December 6, 2019

How to Submit: 

Tweet your suggested moon name to @SaturnLunacy and tell us why you picked it. Photos, artwork, and videos are strongly encouraged. Don’t forget to include the hashtag #NameSaturnsMoons.

The General Rules:

We hope you know a lot about giants, because that’s the key to playing the name game for Saturnian moons.

  • Two of the newly discovered prograde moons fit into a group of outer moons with inclinations of about 46 degrees called the Inuit group. All name submissions for this group must be giants from Inuit mythology.
  • Seventeen of the newly discovered moons are retrograde moons in the Norse group. All name submissions for this group must be giants from Norse mythology.
  • One of the newly discovered moons orbits in the prograde direction and has an inclination near 36 degrees, which is similar to those in the Gallic group, although it is much farther away from Saturn than any other prograde moons. It must be named after a giant from Gallic mythology.

Learn More: 

Further details about how the International Astronomical Union names astronomical objects can be found here. 

Make Sure Your Proposed Name Is Not Already in Use: 

Current names can be checked at the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center here or here.

Check out this video about the moon-naming process: