Earth and Space News: April 2011

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Lunar Near Side’s Taruntius Crater System Lost Four Satellites in 1976

Summary: The lunar near side’s Taruntius Crater system lost four satellites in 1976 when A, E, G and N received official IAU-approved names as craters.

Apollo 10 mission's 70mm, black-and-white oblique view of Zähringer Crater, then designated as Taruntius E, and Taruntius F; 70mm Hasselblad by Apollo 10 mission, film magazine 31 (R); NASA ID AS10-31-4574: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), No known copyright restrictions, via U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)

The lunar near side’s Taruntius Crater system lost four satellites in 1976 when the International Astronomical Union (IAU) upgraded secondary craters A, E, G and N to primary craters and approved their officially names as Asada, Zähringer, Anville and Smithson, respectively.

Loss of the four satellites reduced Taruntius Crater’s parentage from 19 to 15. The remaining secondary craters associated with the Taruntius system are identified as B, F, H, K, L, O, P, R, S, T, U, V, W, X and Z.

Anville’s location in the northern Mare Fecunditatis (Sea of Fecundity) places it to the southeast of its former parent, Taruntius Crater. The circular, cup-shaped crater is centered at 1.84 degrees north latitude, 49.51 east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Northernmost and southernmost latitudes register at 2.01 degrees north and 1.67 degrees north, respectively. Anville claims easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 49.68 degrees east and 49.34 degrees east, respectively. The sharply edged crater’s diameter measures 10.26 kilometers.

The official name for previously-designated Taruntius satellite G honors French cartographer and geographer Jean-Baptise Bourguignon d’Anville (July 11, 1697-Jan. 28, 1782). D’Anville specialized in ancient geography.

Located northeast of Taruntius Crater, Asada lies in the northern edge of Mare Fecunditatis. The circular impact crater is centered at 7.25 degrees north latitude, 49.9 degrees east longitude. Northernmost and southernmost latitudes reach to 7.45 degrees north and 7.04 degrees north, respectively. Easternmost and westernmost longitudes extend to 50.11 degrees east and 49.7 degrees east, respectively. Its diameter measures 12.37 kilometers.

Previously designated as Taruntius Crater’s satellite A, primary crater Asada honors Japanese physician and astronomer Asada Gōryū (March 10, 1734-June 25, 1799). Asada Gōryū (麻田剛立) is credited with predicting the lunar eclipse of Sept. 1, 1763. The self-taught astronomer conducted his observations with instruments that he designed and built himself.

Lying southeast of Taruntius Crater, Smithson occupies the northeastern Mare Fecunditatis. The small impact crater is centered at 2.38 degrees north latitude, 53.64 degrees east longitude. Northernmost and southernmost latitudes extend to 2.48 degrees north and 2.28 degrees north, respectively. Easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach to 53.74 degrees east and 53.54 degrees east, respectively. The circular, cup-shaped crater’s diameter measures 6.04 kilometers.

The IAU’s official renaming of Taruntius satellite N as Smithson honors English chemist and mineralogist James Smithson (ca. 1765-June 27, 1829). Smithson’s legacy included identifying calamine (now known as smithsonite) as a mineral rather than a zinc oxide and establishing the Smithsonian Institution.

Lying to the west of its former parent, Zähringer occupies the southeastern fringes of Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquility). The circular, bowl-shaped lunar impact crater is centered at 5.51 degrees north latitude, 40.21 degrees east longitude. Northernmost and southernmost latitudes are obtained at 5.69 degrees north and 5.33 degrees north, respectively. Easternmost and westernmost longitudes are registered at 40.4 degrees east and 40.03 degrees east, respectively. Its diameter measures 11.19 kilometers.

Previously designated as Taruntius satellite E, Zähringer is named after German physicist Josef Zähringer (March 15, 1929-July 22, 1970). Zähringer’s accomplishments included journeying, at the express invitation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), from the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, Germany, to NASA’s Manned Spaceflight Center (MSC) in Houston, Texas, to evaluate lunar samples collected at Mare Tranquillitatis by the first human lunar-landing mission, Apollo 11 (Wednesday, July 16, to Thursday, July 24, 1969).

The takeaway for lunar near side Taruntius Crater system’s loss of four satellites in 1974 is that the International Astronomical Union (IAU) recognized Taruntius satellites A, E, G and N as solitary craters with respective official names of Asada, Zähringer, Anville and Smithson.

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Details of Lunar Aeronautical Charts (LACs) 61 (left) and 62 (right) show Zähringer in Mare Tranquillitatis and Asada and Anville (61) and Smithson (62) in Mare Fecunditatis; scale 1:1,000,000; Mercator Projection: United States Air Force (USAF) Aeronautical Chart and Information Center (ACIC) via USGS/Gazetter of Planetary Nomenclature @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/images/Lunar/lac_61_wac.pdf and https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/images/Lunar/lac_62_wac.pdf

For further information:

Consolmagno, Guy; and Dan M. Davis. Turn Left at Orion. Fourth edition. Cambridge UK; New York NY: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

International Astronomical Union. “Anville.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/307

International Astronomical Union. “Asada.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/413

International Astronomical Union. “Mare Fecunditatis.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3673

International Astronomical Union. “Mare Tranquillitatis.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3691

International Astronomical Union. “Smithson.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/5605

International Astronomical Union. “Taruntius.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/5878

International Astronomical Union. “Zähringer.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/6772

Levy, David H. Skywatching. Revised and updated. San Francisco CA: Fog City Press, 1994.

Marriner, Derdriu. “Lunar Taruntius Crater System Borders Northwestern Mare Fecunditatis.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, April 13, 2011.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/04/lunar-taruntius-crater-system-borders.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Lunar Taruntius Crater System Lost Three Satellites in 1973.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, April 20, 2011.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/04/lunar-taruntius-crater-system-lost.html

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft Newsroom. “Moon Dust Is Not to Be Sneezed At.” Max-Planck-Gesellschaft > Newsroom. July 15, 2019.
Available @ https://www.mpg.de/13695263/moon-dust-is-not-to-be-sneezed-at

Moore, Patrick, Sir. Philip’s Atlas of the Universe. Revised edition. London UK: Philip’s, 2005.

Ogawa, Teizo. “La Vie et les Travaux de Goryu Asada.” Okajimas Folia Anatomica Japonica, vol. 28, issue 1-6 (Sept. 28, 1956): 353-363.
Available @ https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ofaj1936/28/1-6/28_353/_pdf

U.S. Geological Survey. Color-Coded Topography and Shaded Relief Map of the Lunar Near Side and Far Side Hemispheres. U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Investigations Series I-2769. Page last modified Nov. 30, 2016. Flagstaff AZ: U.S. Geological Survey Astrogeology Science Center, 2003.
Available via USGS Publications Warehouse @ https://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/i2769/

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Lunar Taruntius Crater System Lost Three Satellites in 1973

Summary: The lunar Taruntius Crater system lost three satellites in 1973 when C, D and M received official IAU-approved names as craters.

Detail of Lunar Aeronautical Chart (LAC) 61, between 10 degrees north latitude and 40 degrees east longitude, shows Cameron, Lawrence, Watts and Taruntius Crater system on northwestern Mare Fecunditatis; scale 1:1,000,000; Mercator Projection: United States Air Force (USAF) Aeronautical Chart and Information Center (ACIC) via USGS/Gazetter of Planetary Nomenclature

The lunar Taruntius Crater system lost three satellites in 1973 when the International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved official names of Cameron, Watts and Lawrence for former Taruntius satellites C, D and M.

The upgrade from secondary to primary craters reduced Taruntius Crater’s parentage from 22 to 19. The Taruntius system’s remaining associated secondary craters are identified as A, B, E, F, G, H, K, L, N, O, P, R, S, T, U, V, W, X and Z.

The Taruntius Crater system occupies the maria-rich first, or northeastern, quadrant of the moon’s near side. The primary and second craters are found on the northwestern border of Mare Fecunditatis (Sea of Fecundity). Two other dark, basaltic plains, Mare Crisium (Sea of Crises) and Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquility), are sited in the Taruntius neighborhood.

Cameron Crater distinctively breaks Taruntius Crater’s northwestern rim. The circular, cup-shaped crater is centered at 6.19 degrees north latitude and 45.93 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes extend to 6.37 degrees north and 6.01 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach 46.11 degrees east and 45.75 degrees east, respectively. Cameron Crater’s diameter spans 10.91 kilometers.

Prior to IAU approval of Cameron as its official name in 1973, the small impact crater was designated as Taruntius C. Cameron’s namesake was American astronomer Robert Curry Cameron (1925-December 1972). Cameron’s astronomy resume included the United States Naval Observatory (USNO) in Washington, D.C., and also at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. On April 20, 1950, Cameron discovered asteroid 1950 HH, which he named 1575 Winifred in honor of his wife, American astronomer Winifred Sawtell Cameron (Dec. 3, 1918-March 29, 2016).

Watts lies to the north of Cameron and Taruntius, on the extreme northern edge of Mare Fecunditatis. The small lunar impact crater is centered at 8.84 degrees north latitude, 46.31 degrees east longitude. Watts obtains northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 9.1 degrees north and 8.59 degrees north, respectively. Easternmost and westernmost longitudes are registered at 46.57 degrees east and 46.05 degrees east, respectively. Its diameter measures 15.55 kilometers.

In 1973, the IAU approved Watts as the official name for previously-designated Taruntius satellite D. The crater’s name honors American astronomer Chester Burleigh Watts (Oct. 27, 1889-July 17, 1971). Watts devoted most of his career to the United States Naval Observatory’s 6-inch Transit Circle Division.

Lawrence Crater lies southwest of Watts and northwest of Cameron and Taruntius. Lawrence is centered at 7.35 degrees north latitude, 43.3 degrees east longitude. Northernmost and southernmost latitude extend to 7.75 degrees north and 6.96 degrees north, respectively. Easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach to 43.7 degrees east and 42.9 degrees east, respectively. Its diameter spans 24.02 kilometers.

In 1973, the IAU officially changed the flooded lunar impact crater’s name from Taruntius satellite M to Lawrence. The crater honors two namesakes. American nuclear scientist Ernest Orlando Lawrence (Aug. 8, 1901-Aug. 27, 1958) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in November 1939 for his invention, the cyclotron, and for results, especially concerning artificial radioactive elements, obtained with his particle accelerator. United States Air Force (USAF) test pilot Robert Henry Lawrence Jr. (Oct. 2, 1935-Dec. 8, 1967) became his country’s first African-American astronaut with his acceptance in June 1967 into the Manned Orbital Laboratory (MOL), the Air Force’s human spaceflight program.

The takeaway for the lunar Taruntius Crater system’s loss of three satellites in 1973 is that the International Astronomical Union (IAU) promoted Taruntius C, D and M from secondary to primary craters with respective official names of Cameron, Watts and Lawrence.

Apollo 10 mission 70mm, black-and-white photograph shows Cameron Crater, then designated as Taruntius C, breaking rim of Taruntius Crater; 70mm Hasselblad, film magazine 31 (R); NASA ID AS10-31-4570: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), No known copyright restrictions, via U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Consolmagno, Guy; and Dan M. Davis. Turn Left at Orion. Fourth edition. Cambridge UK; New York NY: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

International Astronomical Union. “Cameron.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/986

International Astronomical Union. “Lawrence.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3308

International Astronomical Union. “Mare Crisium.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3671

International Astronomical Union. “Watts.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/6498

Levy, David H. Skywatching. Revised and updated. San Francisco CA: Fog City Press, 1994.

Moore, Patrick, Sir. Philip’s Atlas of the Universe. Revised edition. London UK: Philip’s, 2005.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

American Downy Woodpecker Habitats: Black Body, Cavity Nest, White Egg

Summary: North American downy woodpecker habitats year-round throughout Canada and the United States support black bodies from white eggs in cavity nests.

North American downy woodpecker habitats alert cultivators to Picidae family member wildlife associations with such fungal diseases as tree heart rot and naturalists to distribution ranges in Canada and the United States.

Downy woodpeckers bear their common name and the scientific name Picoides pubescens (woodpecker-like downy) from the soft, white down on the feathers of their lower backs. Ornithologists consider gairdnerii, glaciali, leucurus, medianus, nelsoni and turati subspecies subsequent to Carl Linnaeus's (May 23, 1707-Jan. 10, 1787) nominate Picoides pubescens pubescens categorization in 1766. Dead limbs in live trees or in dead stubs or stumps or rotting wood in fence-posts draw solitary downy woodpeckers into communal flocks of monogamous mates.

Eleven-year lifespans expect coniferous, deciduous, mixed or second-growth forests, parks or woodlands, orchards, suburban, swampy or urban woods, timbered bottom-lands or tree-scattered farmlands, fields or meadows.

April through July facilitate brooding one two- to eight-egg clutch, followed by a second in the southern states, at 3- to 50-foot (0.91- to 15.24-meter) heights.

Parents-to-be gut 1.25- to 1.5-inch (3.18- to 3.81-centimeter) diameter entrance holes and 8- to 12-inch- (20.32- to 30.48-centimeter-) deep cavity nests within 13 to 20 days. Cavities head into downward-turning interiors 2 inches (5.08 centimeters) high and wide 2 inches (5.08 centimeters) from upward-sloping entrances 3 inches (7.62 centimeters) high and wide. Day-shift mothers and night-shift fathers implement 12-day incubations of non- or semi-glossy, 0.75- to 0.79-inch (19- to 20-millimeter) by 0.55- to 0.59-inch (14- to 15-millimeter) eggs.

Cooper's hawks, hairy woodpeckers, northern goshawks, parasitic blow- and louse-flies, peregrine falcons, rats, red-bellied woodpeckers, sharp-shinned hawks, snakes and squirrels jeopardize North American downy woodpecker habitats.

The last or next-to-last, smooth, subelliptical to oval, white egg kickstarts incubations that keep subsequently hatched blind, helpless, naked, same-sized, similar-aged nestlings in dark, dry dwellings.

Nestlings live off food foraged by, and portioned from the bills of, both parents in the furthest interiors for eight days and, as nine-day-olds, on downslopes. They move to entrance holes as 12-day-olds and, even though they maintain daily parental contact for another three weeks, to nearby roosts as 20- to 22-day-olds. Fresh water-scooping adults need ants, beetles, berries, bird-feeder suet, bugs, cambium tissue, caterpillars, fruits, goldenrod gall-inducing insects, plant lice, sap, scale insects, seeds, spiders and weevils.

North American downy woodpecker habitats up to 9,022.31 feet (2,750 meters) above sea level offer winter-coldest temperatures at minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 51.11 degrees Celsius).

Ash, aspen, beech, blackberry, blueberry, corn, cottonwood, dogwood, elderberry, elm, goldenrod, hazelnut, hemlock, hickory, maple, oak, spruce, sunflower, sycamore and willow promote downy woodpecker life cycles.

Olive-brown irises, long tails and red-patched napes respectively quicken identifications of brown upper-bodied, buff-gray under-bodied juvenile and black-and-white upper-bodied, white under-bodied, mature females and male adults. Barred, white-spotted black wings, black crown patches and shoulders, black, pointed, short bills, brown or brown-red irises and white backs and underparts reveal gray-footed, gray-legged adults. Gliding, undulating, wing-beating flight on 10- to 12-inch (25.4- to 30.48-centimeter) wingspans suggest 6- to 7-inch (15.24- to 17.78-centimeter), 0.74- to 0.99-inch (21- to 28-gram) adults.

North American downy woodpecker habitats transmit chirps, excavation-related slow taps, excited, high-pitched, sharp pik calls, higher-pitched, hoarse whinny calls and mating- or territory-related, rapid, steady drumming.

illustration of downy woodpecker (Picus pubescens) eggs; Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio, Plate LVI, opposite page 204: Public Domain, via Biodiversity Heritage Library

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

female downy woodpecker (left), Poquott, Suffolk County, North Shore of Long Island, southeastern New York; Saturday, March 24, 2007, 08:27: Wolfgang Wander, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Downy_Woodpecker02.jpg; Wolfgang Wander, GFDL 1.2, via @ https://www.pbase.com/image/76277741

illustration of downy woodpecker (Picus pubescens) eggs; Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio, Plate LVI, opposite page 204: Public Domain, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34908355

For further information:

Audubon, John James. 1839. "Gairdner's woodpecker Picus gairdnerii." Ornithological Biology, or An Account of the Habits of the Birds of the United States of America, vol. V: 317-319. Edinburgh, Scotland: Adam & Charles Black; London UK: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and Longman.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33240315

Baicich, Paul J.; and Harrison, Colin J.O. Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds. Second edition. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, Princeton Field Guides, 2005.

Grinnell, Joseph. 5 March 1910. "Birds of the 1908 Alexander Alaska Expedition: Dryobates pubescens glacialis, new subspecies. Valdez Downy Woodpecker." University of California Publications in Zoology, 5 (1908-1910): 12: 390-392, figure 7. Berkeley CA: The University Press.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/29393718

Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, 2nd edition. Volumes 8-11, Birds I-IV, edited by Michael Hutchins, Jerome A. Jackson, Walter J. Bock and Donna Olendorf. Farmington Hills MI: Gale Group, 2002.

Hartlaub, G. (Gustav), Dr. 1852. "Ueber einige neue oder weniger bekannte Vögel Amerika's: 39. Picus leucurus, Herz v. Württemb." Naumannia: Archiv für die Ornithologie, Vorzugsweise Europa's, 2: Heft2: 55. Stuttgart, Germany: Druck und Verlag; London UK: Williams & Norgate.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2390537

Jones, Howard. 1886. Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio. Illustrations by Mrs. N.E. Jones. Vol. II. Circleville OH: s.n. (sine nomine).
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34908243

Linnaeus, Carl. 1766. "15. Picus pubescens." Systema Naturae, tomus I: 175. Editio Duodecima, Reformata. Holmiae [Stockholm, Sweden]: Laurentii Salvii [Laurentius Salvius].
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42946371

Malherbe, Alf. (Alfred). 1861. "Picus turati (Malh.)." Monographie des Picidées, ou Histoire Naturelle des Picidés, Picumninés, Yuncinés ou Torcols, vol. I: 125-127. Metz, France: Jules Verronnais.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48842308

Maynard, Charles J. (Johnson). April 1889. "Description of Two Supposed New Sub-Species of Birds From Vancouver's Island: Dryobates pubescens fumidus novo." Ornithologist and Oölogist: Birds: Their Nests and Eggs, vol. XIV, no. 4: 58. Boston MA: Frank B. Webster.
Available via Forgotten Books @ https://www.forgottenbooks.com/en/readbook/TheOrnithologistandOologist1889_10546591#65

Peterson, Alan P., M.D. "Picoides pubescens (Linnaeus) 1766." Zoonomen: Zoological Nomenclature Resource > Birds of the World -- Current Valid Scientific Avian Names > Piciformes > Picidae > Picoides.
Available @ http://www.zoonomen.net/avtax/pici.html

Swainson, William. 1831 (MDCCCXXXI). "[103] 4. Picus (Dendrocopus) varius. (Swainson.) Yellow-bellied Woodpecker." Fauna Boreali-Americana; Or the Zoology of the Northern Parts of British America, second volume: The Birds: 308-311. London UK: John Murray.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/27217495

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Lunar Taruntius Crater System Borders Northwestern Mare Fecunditatis

Summary: The lunar Taruntius Crater system borders the northwestern Mare Fecunditatis (Sea of Fecundity) in the near side’s eastern hemisphere.

oblique view of Taruntius Crater shows central peak complex, concentric ridges and Cameron Crater on northwestern rim; taken with 70mm Hasselblad by Apollo 10 mission, film magazine 30 (Q); NASA ID AS10-30-4434: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), No known copyright restrictions, via U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)

The lunar Taruntius Crater system borders the northwestern Mare Fecunditatis (Sea of Fecundity) in the eastern hemisphere of the moon’s near side.

Taruntius occupies the near side’s first, or northeastern, quadrant. In his Atlas of the Universe (2005: page 54), English amateur astronomer Sir Patrick Moore (March 4, 1923-Dec. 9, 2012) described this quadrant along the lunar eastern, or leading, limb as largely comprising maria (seas), the moon’s dark, basaltic plains.

Mare Fecunditatis is centered at minus 7.83 degrees south latitude and 53.67 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The equator-straddling mare’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes extend to 6.11 degrees north and minus 21.7 degrees south, respectively. Its dark plains claim easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 63.34 degrees east and 40.77 degrees east, respectively. Mare Fecunditatis claims a diameter of 840.35 kilometers.

In addition to Mare Fecunditatis, Taruntius Crater’s maria-rich neighborhood includes Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquility) and Mare Crisium (Sea of Crises). Sea of Tranquility lies to the crater system’s west. Mare Crisium is located to the southeast.

Mare Crisium is centered at 16.18 degrees north latitude, 59.1 degrees east longitude. The Sea of Crises obtains northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 24.53 degrees north and 9.69 degrees north, respectively. Easternmost and westernmost longitudes stretch to 68.53 degrees east and 49.51 degrees east, respectively. Mare Crisium’s diameter measures 555.92 kilometers.

Mare Tranquillitatis is centered at 8.35 degrees north latitude, 30.83 degrees east longitude. The equator-straddling mare obtains northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 19.37 degrees north and minus 4.05 degrees south, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes are registered at 45.49 degrees east and 16.92 degrees east, respectively. As the largest of Taruntius Crater’s three neighboring maria, Sea of Tranquility measures a diameter of 875.75 kilometers.

Taruntius is centered at 5.5 degrees north latitude and 46.54 east longitude. As a northern hemisphere impact crater, Taruntius registers northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 6.45 degrees north and 4.56 degrees north, respectively. As an eastern hemisphere occupant, Taruntius claims easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 47.49 degrees east and 45.59 degrees east, respectively.

Sir Patrick Moore recognized Taruntius as a fine exemplar of a concentric crater. The crater’s shallow floor presents a summit-pitted central peak complex and a ring of concentric ridges. Rilles (German: grooves) fracture the floor.

The crater’s diameter measures 57.32 kilometers, according to the IAU Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. In their 1996 article on Taruntius, planetary geologists Robert W. Wichman and Peter H. Schultz placed crater rim heights at approximately 900 to 1,500 meters (page 196). The width of the crater’s smooth, uplifted floor approximates 28 to 30 kilometers. The unusually shallow crater’s apparent depth only dips to about 400 meters.

Its features qualify Taruntius as a floor-fractured crater (FFC). In 1976, Schultz provided the first detailed description of this class of a lunar craters from his examination of Lunar Orbiter program (1966-1967) and Apollo mission images. Schultz identified 206 examples of floor-fractured craters and found that floor-fractured craters closely correlated spatially with maria (pages 241, 265). Floor-uplift by hot magma accounts for the anomalously shallow basins that characterize floor-fractured craters.

The Taruntius Crater system was credited with 22 satellites until 1973. In that year, Taruntius C, D and M upgraded to craters with official names of Cameron, Watts and Lawrence, respectively. Cameron is located on Taruntius Crater’s northwestern rim.

In 1976, the IAU recognized Taruntius A, E, G and N as Asada, Zähringer, Anville and Smithson, respectively. Their removal from the Taruntius complex reduced Taruntius Crater’s parentage to its current tally of 15 satellites.

The IAU approved Taruntius as the crater's official name in 1935. Taruntius honors Roman astrologer, astronomer and philosopher Lucius Tarutius Firmanus, whose accomplishments included calculating March 24 as the birthday of Rome's founder, Romulus. He placed the time and date of the founding of Rome at between the second and third daytime hours on Oct. 4, 754 BCE.

The takeaway for the lunar Taruntius Crater system’s location on northwestern Mare Fecunditatis is that the floor-fractured crater occupies a maria-rich neighborhood in the first, or northeastern, quadrant of the moon’s near side.

Taruntius Crater (mid-upper right, between 0 and 10 degrees) on northwestern Mare Fecunditatis, southwest of Mare Crisium and east of Mare Tranquillitatis; Near Side Hemisphere, U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Investigations Series I-2769: Public Domain, via U.S. Geological Survey Publications

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Color-coded topographic and shaded relief map of lunar near and far side’s eastern hemisphere shows Taruntius Crater (mid-upper right, between 0 and 10 degrees) on northwestern Mare Fecunditatis, southwest of Mare Crisium and east of Mare Tranquillitatis; Near Side Hemisphere, U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Investigations Series I-2769: Public Domain, via U.S. Geological Survey Publications @ https://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/i2769/

For further information:

Consolmagno, Guy; and Dan M. Davis. Turn Left at Orion. Fourth edition. Cambridge UK; New York NY: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Jozwiak, Lauren M.; James W. Head; Maria T. Zuber; David E. Smith; and Gregory A. Neumann. “Lunar Floor-Fractured Craters: Classification, Distribution, Origin and Implications for Magmatism and Shallow Crustal Structure.” Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 117, issue E11 (November 2012): E11005.
Available @ http://www.planetary.brown.edu/pdfs/4320.pdf

Levy, David H. Skywatching. Revised and updated. San Francisco CA: Fog City Press, 1994.

Moore, Patrick, Sir. Philip’s Atlas of the Universe. Revised edition. London UK: Philip’s, 2005.

Pike, Richard J. Geometric Interpretation of Lunar Craters. Apollo 15-17 Orbital Investigations. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1046-C. Prepared on behalf of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Washington DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1980.
Available via U.S. Geological Survey @ https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1046c/report.pdf

Ransford, Gary A.; Wilbur R. Wollenhaupt; and Robert M. Bizzell. Lunar Landmark Locations -- Apollo 8, 10, 11, and 12 Missions. NASA Technical Note TN D-6082. Washington DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, November 1970.
Available via NASA History @ https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/pdf/19710002567_lunar-landmark-locations-a8-a10-a11-a12.pdf

Schultz, Peter H. “Floor-Fractured Lunar Craters.” The Moon, vol. 15 (June-July 1976): 241-273.
Available via Harvard ADSABS @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1976Moon...15..241S

Schultz, Peter H. Moon Morphology: Interpretations Based on Lunar Orbiter Photography. Austin TX: University of Texas Press, 1976.

Wichman, R. (Robert) W.; and P. (Peter) H. Schultz. “Crater-Centered Laccoliths on the Moon: Modeling Intrusion Depth and Magmatic Pressure at the Crater Taruntius.” Icarus, vol. 122, issue 1, article no. 0118 (July 1996): 193-199.
Available @ https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/e360/ca1daa2a05db7bae1b1082e2a9c008f895f0.pdf

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Red-Bellied Woodpecker Habitats: Black Body, Cavity Nest, White Egg

Summary: North American red-bellied woodpecker habitats year-round in southern Canada and the United States get black bodies, cavity nests and white eggs.

red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in Philadelphia, southeastern Pennsylvania; May 9, 2009: John Miles/ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region, Public Domain, via Flickr

North American red-bellied woodpecker habitats admit arborists, master gardeners, master naturalists and tree stewards in emerald ash borer-controlling Picidae family distribution ranges in south-central and southeast Canada and in the United States.

Red-bellied woodpeckers bear their common name because of unobvious red-tinged bellies and the scientific name Melanerpes carolinus as black creepers brought to European attention in Carolina. Ornithologists consider red-bellied woodpecker classifications in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus (May 23, 1707-Jan. 10, 1787) valid and subsequent subspecies categories in 1783, 1944 and 1954 invalid. Red-bellied woodpeckers display grayer cheeks and throats in central-eastern Texas and less white on tails, paler red-marked foreheads, smaller sizes and whiter upper-parts in southern Florida.

Twelve-year lifespans expect mature hardwood, mixed coniferous-deciduous, riparian or second-growth forests, open woodlands, orchards, parks, pine flat-woods, suburban and urban woods, timbered bottomlands or swampy woodlands.

April through August facilitate brooding two two- to eight-egg clutches, followed by a third if the others fail, at 5- to 80-foot (1.52- to 24.38-meter) heights.

Parents-to-be gather no lining for co-chosen and co-excavated, 10- to 12-inch- (25.4- to 30.48-centimeter-) deep cavity nests 5 to 5.5 inches (12.7 to 13.97 centimeters) across. Cavity nests with entrance holes 1 to 2.25 inches (2.54 to 5.72 centimeters) in diameter house elliptical, oval or subelliptical, smooth, somewhat glossy, unmarked, white eggs. Day-shift mothers-to-be and night-shift fathers-to-be initiate 12- to 14-day incubations of 0.87- to 1.14-inch- (22- to 29-millimeter-) long, 0.67- to 0.87-inch- (17- to 22-millimeter-) wide eggs.

Black rat-snakes, blue jays, Cooper's hawks, European starlings, gray rat-snakes, northern flickers, pileated woodpeckers, red-cockaded woodpeckers, red-headed woodpeckers and sharp-shinned hawks jeopardize American red-bellied woodpecker habitats.

Mating and raising a family keep monogamous adult female and male red-bellied woodpeckers busy choosing and excavating fresh holes in the same poles, posts or trees.

Hatchlings look less blind, helpless and naked with claws at six days, eyes opening over six to 15 days and feathering over 10 to 21 days. They manage parent-foraged, parent-portioned food before moving, as 24- to 27-day-old fledglings into nearby roosts for ten weeks of assisted feeding and maturing sexually as one-year-olds. Adults need acorns, anoles, ants, caterpillars, corn, flies, grains, grapes, grasshoppers, hackberries, lizards, minnows, mangoes, oozing sap, orange juices and pulp, pine seeds and tree frogs.

North American red-bellied woodpecker habitats up to 2,952.76 feet (900 meters) above sea level offer winter-coldest temperatures at minus 45 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 42.77 degrees Celsius).

Ash, basswood, beech, birch, cedar, cottonwood, cypress, elm, hickory, juniper, maple, oak, palmetto, pine, spruce, sugarberry, sweetgum, sycamore, willow and yellow-poplar promote red-bellied woodpecker life cycles.

Brown heads without any red, gray crowns and red crowns with red foreheads qualify as respective hallmarks of juvenile, male adult and mature female red-bellied woodpeckers. Black- and white-barred tails and upper-parts, gray-tan underparts, pale gray-tan faces, red napes, subtly red-tinged bellies, round heads and white-patched outer wing bases reveal adult presences. Undulating flight on 12.99- to 16.54-inch- (33- to 42-centimeter-) long wingspans suggest 9.06- to 10.63-inch- (23- to 27-centimeter-) long, 1.98- to 3.21-ounce (56- to 91-gram) adults.

North American red-headed woodpecker habitats team with coughing, gruff cha-cha-cha sounds, drumming against loud or resonant objects by males, rolling, shrill krrurrr calls and throaty growls.

illustration of eggs of red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) under scientific synonym of Centurus carolinus; Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio, Plate LXIV, opp. page 264: Public Domain, via Biodiversity Heritage Library

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

illustration of eggs of red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) under scientific synonym of Centurus carolinus; Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio, Plate LXIV, opp. page 264: Public Domain, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34908447

For further information:

Baicich, Paul J.; and Harrison, Colin J.O. Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds. Second edition. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, Princeton Field Guides, 2005.

Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, 2nd edition. Volumes 8-11, Birds I-IV, edited by Michael Hutchins, Jerome A. Jackson, Walter J. Bock and Donna Olendorf. Farmington Hills MI: Gale Group, 2002.

Linnaeus, Carl. 1758. "6. Picus carolinus." Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis, Tomus I, Editio Decima, Reformata: 113. Holmiae [Stockholm, Sweden]: Laurentii Salvii [Laurentius Salvius].
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727018

Peterson, Alan P., M.D. "Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus) 1758." Zoonomen: Zoological Nomenclature Resource > Birds of the World -- Current Valid Scientific Avian Names > Piciformes > Picidae > Melanerpes.
Available @ http://www.zoonomen.net/avtax/pici.html

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Benignly Ugly Tree Disorders: Oak Galls, Powdery Mildew, Sooty Mold, Tar Spot

Summary: Andrew Koeser of the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign diagnoses benignly ugly tree disorders: tree galls, powdery mildew, sooty mold and tar spot.

oak apple galls, created by California gall wasp (Andricus quercuscalifornicus), on Brewer's Oak (Quercus garryana var. breweri), Jackson County, southwestern Oregon: Jim Conrad, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Serious afflictions and unsightly appearances are not givens, according to Born to be Mild: Identification and Management of Highly Visible, Relatively Harmless, Tree Disorders in the April 2011 issue of Arborist News.

Andrew Koeser, Board-Certified Master Arborist and Ph.D. candidate and teacher at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, bases his observations on four mostly harmless tree disorders. He covers cosmetic nuisances and ecological curiosities called oak galls, fungal diseases described as powdery mildews and tar spots, and fungal disorders known as sooty molds. He deems them all cosmetic, foliar and temporary occurrences since the leaves tend to be unsightly, not unhealthy, because of an abnormally cool, damp growing season.

Damage ensues when benignly ugly tree disorders accord with a larger complex of multiple stress agents, affect many plant organs or are constant, extensive or extreme.

Members of the gall-making wasp family Cynipidae fit their eggs onto oak bud, leaf and stem surfaces where plant tissues form protective balls around hatched larvae. Larvae and pupae grow inside the irregular, rough or rounded globes from which diminutive, mature cynipid wasps emerge for mysterious, short-lived life cycles and natural histories.

Unlike tar spots, galls have uses in hemorrhoid-relieving pastes of crushed galls and lard and in iron gall ink from iron salts, macerated galls and water.

Tar spot is not so recyclable since dark, shiny lesions dot a leaf's upper sides in such Acer family members as Norway, red and silver maples. Arborists, master gardeners and master naturalists judge bagging or burning fallen leaves preferable to implementing "timely, frequent and thorough" fungicide schedules against benignly ugly tree disorders.

Like tar spot, powdery mildew keeps plant health care programs busy bagging or burning chalk-coated fallen leaves and stems against fungi overwintering benignly ugly tree disorders. At worst, powdery mildew limits flowering and fruiting and lowers aesthetic market values on spring- and summer-flowering plants while tar spot just lets leaves drop early. Buckeye, catalpa, cherry, crapemyrtle, dogwood, euonymus, honeysuckle, horsechestnut, lilac, oak, pecan, privet, roses, serviceberry, silver maple, soapberry, sycamore, tulip tree, walnut and willow must be monitored.

Unlike powdery mildew, sooty mold narrows the total surface area over which photosynthesis can occur by black powder coating leaves, stems and trunks that retain honeydew. Plant surfaces obtain the hazy, sticky, "sugary growing media" known as honeydew from the secretions of such sap-sipping arthropods as aphids, psyllids, scale insects and whiteflies.

Black knot, Graphiola leaf spot, hackberry gall makers, leaf miners, oak leaf blister and twig girdlers provide examples of similarly "visually distinctive, but largely diminutive" occurrences.

Such occurrences qualify for the appropriate response process of "systematically assessing plant health and client needs to determine what course of action, if any, is recommended." Prevention requires airy, unshaded locations while treatment rests upon botanical pesticides, horticultural oils and insecticidal soaps against girdlers, miners and sap-sippers and upon fallen leaf disposal. Moistened cloths sponge away honeydew, mildew, mold and spot even though "Washing sooty mold off the foliage of a large tree is a largely hopeless endeavor."

Just 28.35 grams of preventative siting take less resources and time than 0.45 kilograms of curative contact, systemic or translaminar chemicals against benignly ugly tree disorders.

tar spots on sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus), Cadier en Keer, Limburg province, southeastern Netherlands; Friday, Sep. 2, 2005: Annabel, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to:
talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet;
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for superior on-campus and on-line resources.

Image credits:

oak apple galls, created by Andricus quercuscalifornicus, on Brewer's Oak (Quercus garryana var. breweri), Jackson County, southwestern Oregon: Jim Conrad, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brewer%27s_Oak_apple.jpg

tar spots on sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus), Cadier en Keer, Limburg province, southeastern Netherlands; Friday, Sep. 2, 2005: Annabel, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RhytismaAcerinumDetailU.jpg

For further information:

Gilman, Ed. 2011. An Illustrated Guide to Pruning. Third Edition. Boston MA: Cengage.

Hartman, John R.; Thomas P. Pirone; Mary Ann Sall. 2000. Pirone's Tree Maintenance. Seventh edition. New York NY: Oxford University Press.

Hayes, Ed. 2001. Evaluating Tree Defects. Revised, Special Edition. Rochester MN: Safe Trees.

Koeser, Andrew. April 2011. "Born to be Mild: Identification and Management of Highly Visible, Relatively Harmless, Tree Disorders." Arborist News 20(2): 12 - 17.

Marriner, Derdriu. 12 February 2011. “Tree Load Can Turn Tree Health Into Tree Failure or Tree Fatigue.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/02/tree-load-can-turn-tree-health-into.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 11 December 2010. “Tree Electrical Safety Knowledge, Precautions, Risks and Standards.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2010/12/tree-electrical-safety-knowledge.html