Wednesday, 12 December, 2018

Singapore’s Clarke Quay

Posted on Sunday, 20 December, 2015Monday, 21 August, 2017 by Zheluo Cai

Singapore’s Clarke Quay

Clarke Quay is a historical riverside quay in Singapore, named after Sir Andrew Clarke, who was Singapore’s second Governer and also the Governer of the Straits Settlements from 1873 to 1875. It is located upstream from the mouth of the Singapore River and Boat Quay.

At present, five blocks of restored warehouses had been converted to various restaurants and nightclubs. Tongkangs or moored Chinese junks alongside the river had also been refurbished into floating pubs and restaurants. The G-MAX reverse bungee, the first in Singapore, is located at the entrance of the Quay. River cruises and river taxis on the Singapore River can also be accessed from Clarke Quay. One of its most popular attractions is its exciting host of CQ’s signature events happening once every quarter. Clarke Quay MRT Station is located within the vicinity, with The Central, a SOHO concept development cum shopping centre directly above the MRT station.

Credit: Zheluo Cai

Arp 188 and the Tadpole's Tail.
Image Credit: Hubble Legacy Archive, ESA, NASA; Processing: Faus Márquez (AAE). Distant galaxies form a dramatic backdrop for this disrupted spiral galaxy Arp 188, the Tadpole Galaxy. It is 420 million light-years distant toward the northern constellation of the Dragon (Draco), with its eye-catching tail is about 280 thousand light-years long, featuring massive, bright blue star clusters. One story goes that a more compact intruder galaxy crossed in front of Arp 188 - from right to left in this view - and was slung around behind the Tadpole by their gravitational attraction. During the close encounter, tidal forces drew out the spiral galaxy's stars, gas, and dust forming the spectacular tail. The intruder galaxy itself, estimated to lie about 300 thousand light-years behind the Tadpole, can be seen through foreground spiral arms at the upper right. The Tadpole Galaxy will likely lose its tail as it grows older, the tail's star clusters forming smaller satellites of the large spiral galaxy.

December 10: The Moon passes 0.7° north of Pluto (image above), 4h UT 11 PM EST).

December 12: The Moon is at apogee (405,177 km from Earth), 12h25m UT (7:25 AM EST).

December 14: Geminid meteor shower peaks.

December 14: The Moon passes 3° south of Neptune 7h20m UT (2:20 AM EST).

December 14: The Moon passes 4° south of Mars, 23h UT (6 PM EST).

December 15: First Quarter Moon occurs at, 11h49m UT (6:49 AM EST).

December 15: Mercury is at greatest western elongation (21°), 12h UT (7 AM EST).

Credit: Astronomy.

The Flag of Niger was inaugurated in 1959, a year prior to its formal independence from France, consisted of the colours of orange, white and green, in equal horizontal bands, with an orange roundel in the centre. The upper orange band represents the northern regions of the Sahara Desert, the white band represents purity, and the green band represents both hope and the fertile regions of southern Niger. The orange circle is said to represent the sun or independence.

Sunflowers (Tournesols) is the name of two series of still life paintings by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. The first series, executed in Paris in 1887, depicts the flowers lying on the ground, while the second set, executed a year later in Arles, shows a bouquet of sunflowers in a vase. In the artist's mind, both sets were linked by the name of his friend Paul Gauguin, who acquired two of the Paris versions. On March 30, 1987, Japanese insurance magnate, Yasuo Goto, paid the equivalent of US $39,921,750 for van Gogh's Still Life: Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers at auction at Christie's London. The painting currently resides at Seiji Togo Yasuda Memorial Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo.

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