Extraterrestrial life has been a craze for humans for a long time. People are still fascinated by the fact that life might exist in other places besides Earth. One of the most popular sources is our space neighbor, Mars.

Mars is actually only about half the size of Earth, but they have around the same amount of land. Mars’ also has the highest mountains, deepest trenches and others. Mountains such as Mt. Olympus can’t exist on Earth because the gravitational pull is too strong. Unlike Earth, Mars’ magnetic field only forms in some places, unlike Earth which has it all around. Mars’ polar caps also move and change compared to our planets locked ice caps.

Mars is also similar to Earth in ways, too. Like mentioned, The area of land is about the same between Mars and Earth. Days are about the same length on Mars. They both have polar caps and are tilted on their axes, creating similar seasonal changes. Both planets also an atmosphere, but they differ, Mars’ is much thinner.

But what make it so life can exist on Earth, but not present day Mars? Though temperatures can reach up to 70 degrees fahrenheit, the average temperature is negative 80 degrees, much too low for us to survive on Mars alone. Even though  Mars atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide, it is far too thin to trap much heat.. Earth also has a magnetic field that’s powerful and can be found all across the globe. There are only traces of faint magnetic fields on Mars as of today. The magnetic field does more than tell you the directions, it protects Earth from harmful radiation. It may also help the Earth keep its atmosphere and water. On Mars, you wouldn’t have the protection of Earth’s magnetic field.

As mentioned, we do know human life can’t exist on Mars without equipment, but what about bacteria. Bacteria was here on Earth billions of years before us, and has a long time to adapt to radiation, coldness, and everything else. Bacteria lived in space before, so does that mean it has the adaptability to live on Mars?

In one experiment, bacteria was put in a test chamber with freezing temperatures and high level of carbon dioxide, similar to the land on Mars. Most species of bacteria survived. Though this does not prove anything, ( Mars is also exposed to solar radiation) it show that bacteria fits the conditions of Mars and may have lived on it in the past. In the past... so what about the past?

Mars has changed a lot and was completely different in the past. For one thing, liquid water flowed freely. For this to happen, the temperature need to be just right, suggesting that Mars’ atmosphere was once at least as thick as Earth’s. Mars also most likely had a more complete magnetic field based on how there are traces left of it. These factors hint that life existed on Mars.

So what happened? Why did life vanish on Mars? One reason may be because of Mars’ magnetic field being destroyed (ex. meteorites). This caused the Red Planet to be exposed to harmful radiation of the sun. Life either died or took shelter underground. Another reason is because Mars’ atmosphere diminished to what it is now. The causes include it escaped due to low gravity, asteroid collisions, or the most interesting theory,  the “runaway refrigerator” effect. Water vapor condenses because of Mars’ coldness due to being far from the sun. The carbon dioxide then combines with the condensed water and mixes into the rock. As the atmosphere leaks away, it gets colder and the process continues until Mars basically well, freezes itself. These two features shape Mars into what it is now today.

There is a high chance that life existed on Mars in the past, because how it fitted the conditions for life (as we know of) to thrive. But now, Mars is likely just a lifeless, barren desert of sand and ice, a fragment of it’s past. Maybe in the future, life will be discovered or return to this seemingly extinct planet.

The basilisk, terrifying, gigantic, and deadly. A slithering snake with a giant rooster head that could kill you with one look, or stare. This monstrous creature is inescapable. Watch out, Medusa, You’ve got competition!

In many legends, basilisk, a giant roster headed slithering snake can kill you with a stare, similar to Medusa. a monstrous creature that was cursed allowing it to turn people to stone with one glance. However, basilisk is much more dangerous, because this snake is not just any old snake, it has mouths full of poisonous venom that, also, has the power to kill. One look at the basilisk, and you won’t be able to escape the wings of death. It is known as “king” due to the crown on it’s head that is very similar to those of a king’s, and also its name is from the Greek word “ basileus. But, where did this creature come from? Who started this legend?



In Medieval Europe, the basilisk was said be from an egg of a cockatrice, A 2 legged rooster headed dragon, and a cockerel, or a rooster. However, either, a toad or a serpent incubated, or took care of, the egg, until it hatched. This animal was soo known to be “king of the snakes.” Many say that this creature is so cruel that whenever it cannot kill a creature, it turns to plants and herbs to kill. This creature is almost invincible, but everything has an end. Only a weasel is can bite it to death, however, the rooster’s cry, also, has the ability to kill it. This was the reason why some travelers would bring roosters to places that were rumored to be homes of the evil basilisk.



According to most back then, there weren’t only one basilisk, but many more. The basilisk had three types, with three different powers each:

• The Golden Eyed Basilisk: The Golden Eyed Basilisk would kill and poison everything it laid its eyes on.
  
  
• The Evil Eye Basilisk: The Evil Eye Basilisk had a golden head, and a third eye above his others. The third eye had the only most power, and killed and terrorized everything it saw.
  
  
• The Sanguineness Basilisk:The Sanguineness (pronounced san-gu-in-ni-ness)Basilisk had the ability to sting. When stung, the opponents flesh would fall right of the bone.
  
  

All three types are deadly, and has the ability to make, even, non-living things crumble.



In the old legends, the basilisk was known to live in deserts. This was because the people believed that the basilisk had the power to even destroy a beautiful landscape into a sandy desert zone. However, many assume that the basilisk was really just an exaggerated version of the desert cobra. The desert cobra had similar characteristics, such as being able to spit out dangerous poisonous venom without taking a bite. In the olden days, cobras could have been killed by weasels, similar to the basilisk.



In European legends, there are many stories about the basilisk. The basilisk was rumored to kill three people in the olden town of Warsaw. Two were brothers and sister, and one was their mother. The two children were playing hide-and-seek with each other, in an old abandoned shed. They were exploring the shed before they started the game, when they both fell down dead to the ground. Their worried mother found them, after they didn’t come home for supper. She assumed the two children were asleep when she found them lying down, and tried to wake them up, when all of a sudden, she fell dead to the ground. The other villagers finally found the family, however their bodies were yellow, swollen, and all three were obviously dead. Most assumed this was the deadly doing of the basilisk.



There was another story about a sinner who was sentenced to death. However, he wore very strong glasses, mirrors everywhere, and a candle and pincers each in one hand. One day while he was searching the vault. After half an hour, he found a strange creature, the size of a chicken sitting on the crevasse of the wall. After this strange creature saw its own reflection, it immediately killed itself. The sinner used his pincers to bring this creature up to his candlelight, and it was easily identified as a basilisk.


The last story was about an Italian nobleman who was hunting alone with his dog. His dog was barking repeatedly nonstop at a pile of rocks. The nobleman couldn’t figure out why his dog wouldn’t stop barking, so he went over the the pile of rocks. With rapid speed, a winged snake flew up, and blew a puff full of poison. The poor nobleman got a mouthful of poison, and only lived long enough to tell his rescue crew what he saw.



In conclusion, the legendary basilisk is obviously just a legend. It could have been a cobra, or it might have been a hallucination. This basilisk, terrifying, gigantic, and deadly. The slithering snake with a giant rooster head that could kill you with one look, or stare. The creature that lives in legends, and legends alone. The creature that should never be seen won’t ever be seen, and will remain a beast, and a mystery to humankind forever.

Renewable energy is energy that comes from Earth’s resources, such as the sun, wind, water, and geothermal heat. This kind of energy can be replenished naturally by the Earth in a relatively short period of time, which is why it is called renewable energy. Renewable energy is growing quickly because our need for energy is also growing. The fossil fuels and other nonrenewable resources are diminishing, so we need to rely on other methods of acquiring energy. Although renewable energy does have its disadvantages, many people think it is the best way to go in the future.

Solar energy is one kind of renewable energy. It converts solar radiation from the sun into electricity. There are many different kinds of solar energy, including photovoltaics and concentrating solar power. Photovoltaic cells (PV) are devices that convert the sun’s light, or any kind of light, into electricity. PV cells are usually put into modules, which are then wired to form arrays, then wired to an inverter. Inverters produce power at a desired voltage. Next, concentrated solar power is when dozens of lenses or mirrors focus the sun’s light into a small beam. This beam then heats a regular power plant, and makes electricity. A disadvantage of solar energy is the sun doesn't shine all the time. To solve this, grids usually have a stored energy supply to use on cloudy or rainy days.

Wind energy uses turbines to make energy. Winds turn the turbines, which spin a generator that makes electricity. Turbines are usually put in groups, in places where winds are constant and strong. These groups of turbines are called wind farms. Wind farms have the most potential for being a major energy source because it can produce a lot of electricity if installed around the world. Some disadvantages of wind energy is that the wind doesn’t blow all the time. If the wind doesn’t blow, the turbines are not turned, and there is no electricity.

Hydroelectricity, or water energy, is electricity generated by water. When rivers or lakes are dammed, the water can be let through intakes and through the penstock, and the water runs through. The water spins a turbine, which generates electricity. The amount of electricity generated depends on the difference between the starting height and the end height, and the amount of water flowing through. Some disadvantages of hydroelectricity is that the water source might run out over time, such as a lake. Also, dams can be built improperly and can cause floods if it is leaking or falling apart. But, overall, hydroelectricity is more reliable than wind and solar energy because there is an almost constant flow of water.

Geothermal electricity is electricity that is formed from the heat inside earth. Since the inside of Earth is hot and heats bodies of water in the crust, the result is steam. This steam turns a turbine, which spins a generator and makes electricity. Geothermal energy is harnessed and used in geothermal plants. This kind of energy is very reliable because the Earth will constantly be hot, so there will be a constant flow of electricity.

As you can see, renewable energy is not yet ready enough to become the world’s major electricity resource, but it is still usable. Not only is this kind of electricity better for the environment, it will never run out unless something happens to the Earth. People around the world are converting to renewable energy; around 10% of electricity the world uses is produced by renewable means. Renewable electricity might not be a very major thing now, but it might be in the future.