The second of the modern December birthstones is Blue Topaz. Its name comes either from the Sanskrit word âtapasâ which means fire, the symbol of love and fidelity, or the greek word âtopazosâ which means âgreen gemstoneâ. As a precious stone, Topaz became known only in the classical era.
exists and is an alternate of . The earth is often thought of as spherical (like a ball), but it is closer to being an oblate spheroid. An oblate spheroid is a sphere that is slightly bulged along the 'equator'. We can create a reference oblate spheroid, a theoretical closest fit to earth, and the over-all tolerance between the actual geoid, the earth itself, and the reference oblate spheroid is extremely close-- even closer than the tolerance allowable in billiard balls.
The Earth rotates (spins) on its axis counter-clockwise, and orbits the Sun counter-clockwise as well, as viewed from the North Pole of the Earth or Sun. These are arbitrary concepts of above and below the plane of the Solar System. The Moon also revolves around the Earth counter-clockwise.