Earth and Space News: January 2012

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Harkhebi Crater Parents Six Satellites on Lunar Far Side

Summary: Harkhebi Crater parents six satellites on the lunar far side, in the northwest quadrant, to the southeast of Mare Humboldtianum.

Detail of oblique, northward view, obtained 1967 by Lunar Orbiter 5, shows Harkhebi Crater (center) encircling superimposed Fabry Crater (center right), with (center left) Giordano Bruno Crater between satellites J (right) and K (above); (left to right around Fabry) satellites H, U, T and W and western rim grazer Vashakidze Crater (upper right); NASA ID Frame 5181: James Stuby (Jstuby), Public Domain (CC0 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Harkhebi Crater parents six satellites on the lunar far side, in the northwest quadrant, to the southeast of north polar basaltic plain Mare Humboldtianum (Humboldt Sea).

Primary lunar impact crater Harkhebi is centered at 40.87 degrees north latitude, 98.74 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The worn crater posts northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 46.36 degrees north and 35.34 degrees north, respectively. The parental crater marks easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 104.6 degrees east and 92.94 degrees east, respectively. Harkhebi’s diameter measures 337.14 kilometers.

Harkhebi Crater parents six satellites. All six satellites cluster around their parent.

Satellites H, T, U and W populate their parent’s western interior floor. They arch around Fabry Crater, which overlays their parent’s north-northeastern area.

Harkhebi H rests to the south-southwest of superimposed Fabry Crater. A large craterlet crashes against the satellite’s northwestern rim, which a rim craterlet deforms into an outward bulge.

Harkhebi H is situated is centered at 39.4 degrees north latitude, 99.73 degrees east longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes occur at 39.88 degrees north and 38.92 degrees north, respectively. Satellite H finds its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 100.35 degrees east and 99.11 degrees east, respectively. Harkhebi H has a diameter of 28.93 kilometers.

Harkhebi W claims the most northerly position of its parent’s six satellites. Vashakidze Crater, positioned opposite satellite W on parental Harkhebi’s outer northwestern rim, dwarfs the northernmost Harkhebi satellite.

Harkhebi W is centered at 43.35 degrees north latitude, 95.55 degrees east longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes occur at 43.63 degrees north and 43.06 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes are found at 95.95 degrees east and 95.16 degrees east, respectively. Harkhebi H’s diameter of 17.4 kilometers qualifies it as the smallest of its parent’s six satellites.

Harkhebi T and Harkhebi U rest between Harkhebi H and Harkhebi W. Harkhebi U approximates the midpoint in a perfect arc with satellite H, to its southeast, and satellite W, to its northwest.

Harkhebi T claims the most westerly position of its parent’s six satellites. The satellite lies to the southwest of Harkhebi U.

Harkhebi T is centered at 40.04 degrees north latitude, 95.31 degrees east longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes touch 40.34 degrees north and 39.73 degrees north, respectively. It posts easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 95.71 degrees east and 94.91 degrees east, respectively. Harkhebi T has a diameter of 18.5 kilometers.

Harkhebi U is centered at 40.78 degrees north latitude, 96.81 degrees east longitude. It finds northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 41.08 degrees north and 40.48 degrees north, respectively. It marks easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 97.2 degrees east and 96.41 degrees east, respectively. Harkhebi U has a diameter of 18.16 kilometers.

Satellites J and K dimple their parent’s southern rim. They form a wide vee-shape with Giordano Bruno, a bright crater sited near parental Harkhebi’s south-southeastern rim. A bright ray system centered on Giordano Bruno Crater encompasses Harkhebi J and Harkhebi K in its glow.

Harkhebi J’s southeasterly placement qualifies it as the most easterly of its parent’s six satellites. Nearby Harkhebi K’s location qualifies it as the southerly of its parent’s six satellites.

Harkhebi J is centered at 37.42 degrees north latitude, 103.36 degrees east longitude, respectively. It records northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 38.11 degrees north and 36.73 degrees north, respectively. The satellite registers easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 104.23 degrees east and 102.49 degrees east, respectively. Harkhebi J’s diameter of 43.11 kilometers qualifies it as the largest of its parent’s six satellites.

Harkhebi K is centered at 35.81 degrees north latitude, 100.76 degrees east longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes reach 36.23 degrees north and 35.38 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes extend to 101.29 degrees east and 100.24 degrees east, respectively. Harkhebi K has a diameter of 25.92 kilometers.

The takeaways for Harkhebi Crater’s parentage of six satellites on the lunar far side are that all satellites cluster in or on their parent’s borders; that four satellites (H, T, U and W) reside on their parent’s interior floor; that two satellites (J, K) perch on their parent’s southern rim; that the most northern, eastern, southern and western positions are claimed by H, J, K and T, respectively; and that the smallest and largest satellites are H and J, respectively.

Detail of Lunar Astronautical Charts (LAC) 29 shows the Harkhebi Crater system in the lunar far side’s northwestern quadrant; courtesy NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) / GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center) / ASU (Arizona State University): U.S. Geological Survey, Public Domain, via USGS Astrogeology Science Center / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature

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.

Grego, Peter. The Moon and How to Observe It. Astronomers’ Observing Guides. London UK: Springer-Verlag, 2005.

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Fabry.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/1896

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Harkhebi.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/2365

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Harkhebi H.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/9724

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Harkhebi J.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/9725

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Harkhebi K.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/9726

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Harkhebi T.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/9727

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Harkhebi U.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/9728

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Harkhebi W.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/9729

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Target: The Moon.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Page/MOON/target

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Vashakidze.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/6328

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

Marriner, Derdriu. “Harkhebi Crater Honors Early Ptolemaic Astronomer Prince Harkhebi.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/01/harkhebi-crater-honors-early-ptolemaic.html

The Moon Wiki. “IAU Directions.” The Moon.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/IAU_directions

The Moon Wiki. “Fabry.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > F Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Fabry

The Moon Wiki. “Harkhebi.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > H Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Harkhebi

The Moon Wiki. “Vashakidze.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > V Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Vashakidze

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

Friday, January 20, 2012

Million-Dollar Chopard Emerald Diamond Ring Theft Hong Kong Sep. 8, 2011

Summary: The million-dollar Chopard emerald diamond ring theft Sep. 8, 2011, occurred during celebrations at Hong Kong's Four Seasons Hotel of a new Chopard branch.

A Chopard emerald diamond ring appears in other than its intended place or its original form or on other than its owner's fingers since its disappearance in Hong Kong Sep. 8, 2011.

The Chopard emerald diamond ring theft became public news four months later with an announcement by a police department spokesperson in Hong Kong Jan. 18, 2012. Online news sources correlate the criminal carryout of the diamond and emerald ring with the means, motives and opportunities that cluster around a high-end commercial launch. They describe the diversion of the diamond-studded, green-stoned ring as dating to celebrations over the launching of one of Chopard's branches outside Switzerland in Hong Kong.

Online news sources entertain as the diamond and emerald ring's owner Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele, co-president of Chopard and artistic director of ladies' accessories, fragrances, jewelry and wristwatches.

Online sources furnish a seven-minute timeline for the Chopard emerald diamond ring theft from a ladies' washroom on the fourth floor of the Four Seasons Hotel.

Sources give the times of the owner removing the ring to wash her hands as 11:24 p.m. Hong Kong time (3:24 p.m. Coordinated Universal Time, UTC). They have the owner heading back into the ladies' restroom for the Four Seasons Hotel's Harbour View Ballroom at 11:31 p.m. local time (3:31 p.m. UTC). Neither online news nor the police department spokesperson indicate whether the loss initiated a search of people and places at the time of the crime's reporting.

The Hong Kong police spokesperson alone juxtaposed the observation, from unspecified sources, that "A lot of people were coming and going. The washroom was very busy."

Nobody knows the source of the reward of HK$500,000 (£40,000, $64,000) to whomever has accurate information leading to the Chopard emerald diamond ring's safe, timely recovery.

The reward from Chopard, Hong Kong police or some other source lags behind the green-stoned diamond ring's estimated value at HK$12 million (£1 million, $1.53 million). The Chopard emerald diamond ring theft moved from the owner's ring-finger a band with a 16.83-carat emerald, 1.15-carat diamond, 1.29-carat diamond and 674 round, small diamonds.

Sonia Kalesnikov-Jessup, in an article for The New York Times April 17, 2009, noted the Philippines as Gruosi-Scheufele's first experience officially representing her parents' Swiss-headquartered business. Gruosi-Scheufele observed, "I also remember seeing the private jewelry collection of Mrs. Imelda Marcos. She really had the most incredible collection, emeralds as big as eggs."

Gruosi-Scheufele posited that "I think that's when I got the passion for colored stones" even though her ideating colored stones as a teenager predated the Philippines.

Gruosi-Scheufele's post-teenage diamond-studded, gold clown design with a glass stomach of moving diamonds, emeralds and rubies qualified in 1985 as the first, mascot Chopard jewelry line. Hong Kong, Geneva and Dubai rate as first-ever stand-along boutique, first boutique in Europe and first boutique in the Middle East in 1983, 1986 and 1993. Gruosi-Scheufele said to Kalesnikov-Jessop that "people are looking to buy something they can hold in their hands. Diamonds and top colored stones have not gone down."

Who turned the most recent celebration of Hong Kong's socioeconomic significance for elegant, exquisite accessories, fragrances, jewelry and timepieces into the Chopard emerald diamond ring theft?

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong was the scene of the theft of Chopard co-president Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele's million-dollar emerald and diamond Sept. 8, 2011: Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong @FourSeasonsHotelHongKong, via Facebook July 31 2011, @ https://www.facebook.com/FourSeasonsHotelHongKong/photos/a.445964762017.230491.232574327017/10150332247802018/

Chopard co-president Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele, wearing a Chopard blue sapphire and diamond necklace, with English composer, singer and pianist Sir Elton John, accessorized with a 260 carat Chopard emerald pendant: Chopard @Chopard, via Facebook Jan. 5, 2012, @ https://www.facebook.com/Chopard/photos/a.311254818918571.83174.164432246934163/311254898918563/

For further information:

Chopard @Chopard. 5 January 2012. "For the 13th consecutive year, Sir Elton John and David Furnish opened the doors of their splendid Old Windsor home for the legendary White Tie & Tiara Ball to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation, organised in partnership with Chopard." Facebook.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/Chopard/photos/a.311254818918571.83174.164432246934163/311254898918563/

"Elle perd sa bague à 1,2 million d'euros." La Parisienne > Actu-People > 18 janvier 2012.
Available @ http://www.leparisien.fr/laparisienne/actu-people/elle-perd-sa-bague-a-1-2-million-d-euros-18-01-2012-1817444.php

Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong @FourSeasonsHotelHongKong. 31 July 31 2011. "Hong Kong is beautiful today!" Facebook.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/FourSeasonsHotelHongKong/photos/a.445964762017.230491.232574327017/10150332247802018/

"Hong Kong Police Search for $1.53M Ring." UPI > Top News > World News > Jan. 18, 2012.
Available @ https://www.upi.com/Hong-Kong-police-search-for-153M-ring/38051326910410/

Kolesnikov-Jessop, Sonia. 17 April 2009. "Chopard Maintains a Bold Outlook." The New York Times > Global Business > Spotlight.
Available @ http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/18/business/global/18iht-spot18.html

Miller, Daniel. 19 January 2012. "The Woman Who Left £1M Emerald and Diamond Ring in Hotel Bathroom After Taking It Off to Wash Her Hands." Daily Mail > News.
Available @ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2088423/Hong-Kong-police-hunt-1million-emerald-ring-owner-leaves-hotel-bathroom.html

Nikolas, Katerina. 19 January 2012. "Police Hunt for €1 Million Emerald Millionairess Left in Bathroom." Digital Journal > News > World.
Available @ http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/318128

Parry, Hazel. 18 January 2012. "Chopard Head Loses 1.5Million Dollar Ring." Sowetan Live > News > World.
Available @ https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/world/2012-01-18-chopard-head-loses-15million-dollar-ring/

"Timeline." Chopard > La Maison Chopard.
Available @ https://www.chopard.com/intl/

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Harkhebi Crater Honors Early Ptolemaic Astronomer Prince Harkhebi

Summary: The lunar far side’s Harkhebi Crater honors early Ptolemaic astronomer Prince Harkhebi, who is known via an inscribed statue discovered in 1906.

Detail of oblique, northward view, obtained 1967 by Lunar Orbiter 5, shows Harkhebi Crater (center) encircling superimposed Fabry Crater (center right), with western rim grazer Vashakidze Crater (upper right); NASA ID Frame 5181: James Stuby (Jstuby), Public Domain (CC0 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons

The lunar far side’s Harkhebi Crater honors early Ptolemaic astronomer Prince Harkhebi, whose achievements as an observational astronomer are recorded on an inscribed statue dated to the third century BCE and discovered in 1906.

Harkhebi Crater occupies the lunar far side’s northwestern quadrant, beyond the near side’s northeastern limb. Impacts have extensively eroded and worn Harkhebi’s outer rim. Craterlets dot the crater’s rough, uneven interior floor.

Harkhebi is centered at 40.87 degrees north latitude, 98.74 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The northern hemisphere crater’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes extend to 46.36 degrees north and 35.34 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach 104.6 degrees east and 92.94 degrees east, respectively. Harkhebi’s diameter spans 337.14 kilometers.

Harkhebi parents six satellites, all of which respect their parent’s boundaries. Satellites H, T, U and W are strewn across their parent’s interior floor. Satellites J and K are located on their parent’s southeastern rim.

Harkhebi’s north-northeastern half hides under superimposed Fabry Crater. The impact-notched crater is centered at 43.07 degrees north latitude, 100.68 degrees east longitude. It records northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 46.03 degrees north and 40.11 degrees north, respectively. It registers easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 104.73 degrees east and 96.64 degrees east, respectively. Fabry’s diameter measures 179.44 kilometers.

Vashakidze Crater’s southeastern rim brushes against Harkhebi’s northwestern rim. The well-defined crater is centered at 43.65 degrees north latitude, 93.01 degrees east longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes occur at 44.4 degrees north and 42.91 degrees north, respectively. Vashakidze obtains easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 94.04 degrees east and 91.99 degrees east, respectively. Vashakidze Crater has a diameter of 44.99 kilometers.

The Harkhebi Crater system lies to the southeast of Mare Humboldtianum (Humboldt Sea). The limb-straddling lunar mare is centered at 56.92 degrees north latitude, 81.54 degrees east longitude. The middle-latitude dark basaltic plain invades the moon’s north polar region with its northernmost latitude posting of 60.02 degrees north. Its southernmost latitude touches 53.65 degrees north. Humboldt Sea’s easternmost and westernmost longitudes are found at 88.49 degrees east and 74.75 degrees east, respectively. Mare Humboldtianum’s diameter measures 230.78 kilometers.

Harkhebi Crater honors early Ptolemaic astronomer Prince Harkhebi. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved Harkhebi as the crater’s official name in 1979, during the organization’s XVIIth (17th) General Assembly, held in Montreal, Canada, from Tuesday, Aug. 14, to Thursday, Aug. 23. Prior to its formal naming, Harkhebi Crater was designated as Basin I.

Prince Harkhebi is known through his inscribed, third century BCE statue. Egypt’s first Egyptologist, Ahmed Kamal (July 29, 1849-Aug. 5, 1923), reported the 1906 finding of the basalt statue in the seventh volume of Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte. The owner of a farm in the northeastern Egyptian village of Faqous discovered the statue on his property, adjacent to the Northeastern Nile Delta archaeological site of Tell Faraoun, also known as Tell Nebesha or Tell Nebesheh (“Il a quelques mois, un notable de Faqous trouva dans sa ferme, adjacente à Tell Faraoun, une statue debout en basalte de 0 m. 65 cent. . . .” page 239).

The statue bore two inscriptions. A short inscription on the statue’s left side comprised two vertical columns. A longer inscription adorned the statue’s back pillar. Comprising three vertical lines, the longer inscription vaunts Harkhebi’s abilities and responsibilities.

Harkhebi’s longer inscription credits the astronomer prince with knowledge of the risings and culminations of every observable star. His talents included understanding and timing the sun’s movements and predicting the heliacal (Ancient Greek ἡλιακός hēliakós, “of the sun”) rising, or star rise, of Sopdet.

Star rise references a star’s annual return to visibility after its obscured position behind the sun, from the perspective of Earth. A star that does not remain above the horizon year-round breaks its absence from the nighttime sky with an appearance before sunrise.

Sopdet was an ancient Egyptian sky goddess who personified the star Sirius (Alpha Canis Majoris, α Canis Majoris; Alpha CMa, α CMa). Ancient Egyptians connected the brightest star in the nighttime sky with the annually renewed fertility of land along the Nile River. The heliacal rising of Sirius in summer signaled the Nile’s rising prior to the great river’s annual flooding, according to English Egyptologist Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge (July 27, 1857-Nov. 23, 1934) in The Gods of the Egyptians (volume I, page 435), published in 1904.

The takeaways for the lunar far side’s Harkhebi Crater, which honors early Ptolemaic astronomer Prince Harkhebi, are that the large lunar impact crater occupies the far side’s northwestern quadrant, to the southeast of north polar Mare Humboldtianum; that Harkhebi Crater parents six satellites; and that the crater’s namesake is known through a third century BCE inscribed statue enumerating his accomplishments in observational astronomy.

Detail of Shaded Relief and Color-Coded Topography Map shows lunar far side’s Harkhebi Crater (lower right), with superimposed Fabry Crater (center right) and western rim grazer Vashakidze Crater (center), in the northwestern quadrant: U.S. Geological Survey, Public Domain, via USGS Astrogeology Science Center / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Andersson, Leif E.; and Ewen A. Whitaker. NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA Reference Publication 1097. Washington DC: NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration Scientific and Technical Information Branch, October 1982.
Available via NASA NTRS (NASA Technical Reports Server) @ https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19830003761.pdf

Budge, E.A. (Ernest Alfred) Wallis. The Gods of the Egyptians, or, Studies in Egyptian Mythology. Vol. I. London UK: Methuen & Co., 1904.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/godsofegyptianso00budg/

Budge, E.A. (Ernest Alfred) Wallis. The Gods of the Egyptians, or, Studies in Egyptian Mythology. Vol. II. London UK: Methuen & Co., 1904.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/godsofegyptianso02budg/

Clagett, Marshall. “Document III.18: Introduction Inscriptions on the Statue of the Astronomer Harkhebi.” Ancient Egyptian Science: A Source Book, Volume Two Calendars, Clocks, and Astronomy: 489-493. Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society Held at Philadelphia for Promoting Useful Knowledge Volume 214. Philadelphia PA: American Philosophical Society, 1995.
Available via Google Books @ https://books.google.com/books?id=xKKPUpDOTKAC&pg=PA489

Clagett, Marshall. “Document III.18 Inscriptions on the Statue of the Astronomer Harkhebi.” Ancient Egyptian Science: A Source Book, Volume Two Calendars, Clocks, and Astronomy: 495-496. Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society Held at Philadelphia for Promoting Useful Knowledge Volume 214. Philadelphia PA: American Philosophical Society, 1995.
Available via Google Books @ https://books.google.com/books?id=xKKPUpDOTKAC&pg=PA489

Conman, Joanne. “Origins of Astrology: The Egyptian Legacy.” Kepler College Articles > History of Astrology.
Available @ https://www.keplercollege.org/index.php/articles-opinions/history-of-astrology/872-origins-of-astrology-the-egyptian-legacy

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

Grego, Peter. The Moon and How to Observe It. Astronomers’ Observing Guides. London UK: Springer-Verlag, 2005.

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Mare Humboldtianum.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3676

Kamal, Ahmed Bey. “Rapport Sur Quelques Localités de La Basse-Égypte.” Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’ÉRgypte, tome VII: 232-240. Le Caire [Cairo, Egypt]: Imprimerie de l’Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale, MDCCCVI (1906).
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/annalesduservice78egyp/page/n275

Lehoux, Daiyn Rosario. “I: Harkhebi, Astrometeorologist.” Pages 192-196. Parapegmata, or, Astrology, Weather, and Calendars in the Ancient World. Chapter Eight Egyptian Astrometeorology: 189-214. Ph.D. Thesis for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto, 2000.
Available @ https://www.academia.edu/36454525/Book_Parapegmata_astrometeorology_in_the_ancient_world_greek

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

Marriner, Derdriu. “Near Side Lunar Crater Swift Honors American Astronomer Lewis Swift.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/01/near-side-lunar-crater-swift-honors.html

The Moon Wiki. “IAU Directions.” The Moon.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/IAU_directions

The Moon Wiki. “Fabry.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > F Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Fabry

The Moon Wiki. “Harkhebi.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > H Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Harkhebi

The Moon Wiki. “Mare Humboldtianum.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > H Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Mare_Humboldtianum

The Moon Wiki. “Vashakidze.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > V Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Vashakidze

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

Schaefer, Bradley E. “The Heliacal Rising of Sirius and Ancient Egyptian Chronology.” Journal for the History of Astronomy, vol. XXXI, issue 2 (May 2000): 149-155.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/2000JHA....31..149S
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/2000JHA....31..149S

Wayman, P. (Patrick), ed. XVIIth General Assembly Transactions of the IAU Vol. XVII B Proceedings of the 17th General Assembly Montreal, Canada, August 14-23, 1979. Washington DC: Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Jan. 1, 1980.
Available via IAU @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Erlanger Crater Honors American Physiologist Joseph Erlanger

Summary: Erlanger Crater honors American physiologist Joseph Erlanger, joint 1944 Nobel Laureate with Herbert Gasser for their nerve fiber discoveries.

Image of Erlanger Crater, obtained by LROC Narrow Angle Camera, reveals the near side north polar crater’s permanently shadowed interior floor and sunlight-illuminated rim; NASA / GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center) / Arizona State University: Public Domain, via NASA

Erlanger Crater honors American physiologist Joseph Erlanger, who was the joint recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1944 for nerve fiber discoveries.

Erlanger is a lunar impact crater that lies close to the north pole in the near side’s northeastern quadrant. Planetary geologist Brett Denevi identifies Erlanger as numbering among lunar craters with floors completely, muchly or somewhat permanently shadowed. Shadowed craters are known as craters of eternal darkness. The sun’s position near the horizon accounts for the lack of illumination.

Erlanger is centered at 86.99 degrees north latitude, 28.62 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The north polar crater obtains northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 87.17 degrees north and 86.81 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes occur at 32.05 degrees east and 25.18 degrees east, respectively. Erlanger Crater has a diameter of 10.94 kilometers.

Peary is Erlanger’s nearest named northern neighbor. Peary’s location places the worn crater near the near side’s eastern limb.

Peary is centered at 88.63 degrees north latitude, 24.4 degrees east longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes stretch from 89.92 degrees north and 87.33 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach 95.2 degrees east and minus 46.4 degrees west longitude, respectively. Peary Crater’s diameter measures 78.75 kilometers.

Fibiger is one of Erlanger’s two nearest named southern neighbors. Fibiger lies to the southeast of Erlanger.

Fibiger is centered at 86.14 degrees north latitude, 37.13 degrees east longitude. It finds northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 86.46 degrees north and 85.82 degrees north, respectively. Fibiger marks easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 41.72 degrees east and 32.73 degrees east, respectively. Fibiger has a diameter of 21.1 kilometers.

Byrd is one of Erlanger’s two nearest named southern neighbors. Byrd lies to the southwest of Erlanger.

Byrd is centered at 85.43 degrees north latitude, 10.07 degrees east longitude. The irregular lunar crater posts northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 87.01 degrees north and 83.85 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes extend from 28.85 degrees east to minus 7.42 degrees west, respectively. Byrd’s diameter spans 97.49 kilometers.

Erlanger Crater honors American physiologist Joseph Erlanger (Jan. 5, 1874-Dec. 5, 1965). The International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved Erlanger as the crater’s official name on Jan. 22, 2009.

Erlanger received his medical degree in 1899 from Johns Hopkins Medical School in Baltimore, Maryland. He was admitted into the third class of the newly organized institution, according to American physiologist and otolaryngologist Hallowell Davis (Aug. 31, 1896-Aug. 22, 1992) in the 1970 issue of the National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoirs. Erlanger graduated second in his medical class.

After graduation, Erlanger favored teaching and research over a medical practice. He held a one-year internship under Sir William Osler (July 12, 1849-Dec. 29, 1919). The Canadian physician numbered among the “Big Four” founding physicians at the May 7, 1889, opening of the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Erlanger taught and researched physiology (Ancient Greek: φύσις, physis, “nature, origin” and -λογία, -logia, “study of”), the study of a living system’s functions and mechanisms, for six years at Johns Hopkins Medical School. His research yielded publications on such topics as canine metabolism; mammal heart-block, also known as abnormal heart rhythm; human blood pressure and the physiology of the circulatory system.

Erlanger accepted the first chair of physiology at the University of Wisconsin in Madison in 1906. He remained there for four years. One of his students was Herbert Spencer Gasser (July 5, 1888-May 11, 1963).

In 1910, Erlanger relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, to pioneer Washington University School of Medicine’s Physiology Department. In 1916, his former student, Herbert Gasser, who had received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1915, joined Erlanger in Washington University’s Physiology Department.

In the 1920s, Erlanger and Gasser researched nerve fibers. Differentiating between to differently thickened nerve fibers, they determined that faster signal conveyance occurs in the thicker of the two fiber types.

The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute jointly awarded the 1944 Nobel Prize in Physiology of Medicine to Erlanger and Gasser. The Nobel Prize webpage notes the prize motivation as recognition of “. . . their discoveries relating to the highly differentiated functions of single nerve fibres.”

The takeaways for Erlanger Crater, which honors American physiologist Joseph Erlanger, are that the lunar impact crater occupies the near side’s north polar region; that Erlanger Crater’s polar region placement, where the sun hovers near the horizon, keeps its interior floor in permanent shadow; that the crater’s namesake and his research partner, Herbert Gasser, discerned the connection between nerve fiber diameter and signal conduction velocity; and that Karolinska Institute’s Nobel Assembly jointed awarded the 1944 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Erlanger and Gasser for their nerve fiber discoveries.

Detail of Lunar Astronautical Chart (LAC) 1 shows Erlanger Crater as a near side north polar region crater, with nearest named neighbors Byrd and Fibiger to the southwest and southeast, respectively, and Peary to the north; courtesy NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) / GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center) / ASU (Arizona State University): U.S. Geological Survey, Public Domain, via USGS Astrogeology Science Center / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Image of Erlanger Crater obtained by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) reveals "eternal darkness near the North Pole" with illumination of a "small portion of the rim" and much of the floor "in permanent shadow due to its location near the north pole"; NASA ID PIA12899; image addition date 2009-08-24; image credit NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University: May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA JPL Photojournal @ https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA12899;
Generally not subject to copyright in the United States; may use this material for educational or informational purposes, including photo collections, textbooks, public exhibits, computer graphical simulations and Internet Web pages; general permission extends to personal Web pages, via NASA Image and Video Library @ https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA12899

Chase, Merrill W.; and Carlton C. Hunt. “Herbert Spencer Gasser 1888-1963.” National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoirs, vol. 67 (1995): 147-177. Washington DC: National Academy of Sciences, 1970.
Available @ http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/gasser-herbert.pdf

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

Corbett, Ian F., ed. XXVIIth General Assembly Transactions of the IAU Vol. XVII B Proceedings of the 27th General Assembly Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 3-14, 2009. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press, May 19, 2010.
Available @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/

Davis, Hallowell. “Joseph Erlanger 1874-1965.” National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoirs, vol. 41 (1970): 111-139. Washington DC: National Academy of Sciences, 1970.
Available via NAS (National Academy of Sciences) Online @ http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/erlanger-joseph.pdf

Denevi, Brett. “Eternal Darkness Near the North Pole.” LROC (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera) > posts. Aug. 24, 2009.
Available @ http://lroc.sese.asu.edu/posts/96

Grego, Peter. The Moon and How to Observe It. Astronomers’ Observing Guides. London UK: Springer-Verlag, 2005.

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Byrd.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/941

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Erlanger.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/14525

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Fibiger.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/14526

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Peary.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/4627

Keeter, Bill, ed. “Image of the Crater Erlanger.” NASA > Missions > Current Missions > Mini-RF > Multimedia. Last updated Aug. 20, 2009.
Available @ https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/Mini-RF/multimedia/erlanger_crater.html

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

The Moon Wiki. “Byrd.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > B Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Byrd

The Moon Wiki. “Erlanger.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > E Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Erlanger

The Moon Wiki. “Fibiger.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > F Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Fibiger

The Moon Wiki. “IAU Directions.” The Moon.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/IAU_directions

The Moon Wiki. “Peary.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > P Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Peary

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

The Nobel Prize. “Joseph Erlanger: Biographical.” The Nobel Prize > Prizes > Medicine > 1944.
Available @ https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1944/erlanger/facts/

The Nobel Prize. “Joseph Erlanger: Facts.” The Nobel Prize > Prizes > Medicine > 1944.
Available @ https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1944/erlanger/facts/

Plait, Phil. “Lunar Boreal Halo.” Discover > The Sciences > Bad Astronomy. Aug. 27, 2009.
Available @ https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/lunar-boreal-halo

Saturday, January 7, 2012

North American Crow Habitats: Black Bodies, Cup Nests, Green Eggs

Summary: North American crow habitats summers and year-round in Canada and in the United States produce black bodies from green eggs in cup nests.

American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos); Seattle, King County, northwestern Washington; Sunday, Jan. 2, 2011, 10:58: Ingrid Taylar from Seattle, WA, USA, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons

North American crow habitats appall arborists, master gardeners and master naturalists through Corvidae family wildlife associations with crop raids and noisy communal roosts within distribution ranges in Canada and the United States.

American crows bear their common name from North American distribution ranges and 20-plus harsh, loud, rapid calls and the scientific name Corvus brachyrhynchos as short-beaked ravens. Ornithologists consider hargravei, hesperis and pascuus subspecies since Christian Ludwig Brehm's (Jan. 24, 1787-June 23, 1864) classification in 1822 of the nominate Corvus brachyrhynchos brachyrhynchos subspecies. Bill shapes, body sizes and distribution ranges decide American crow subdivisions as eastern large-sized brachyrhynchos, Florida mid-sized pascuus, southern small-sized hargravei and western small-sized hesperis subspecies.

Fifteen-year lifespans expect farm woodlots, forest and woodland edges, open forests and woodlands, orchards, tree-edged, tree-scattered backyards, farmlands, grasslands and parklands and wooded islands and suburbs.

January through June facilitate brooding one three- to eight-egg clutch, followed by another in southern states, at ground-level or 10- to 70-foot (3.05- to 21.34-meter) heights.

Parents-to-be generate earth-lined, mud-bound, 9-inch- (22.86-centimeter-) high, 4.5-inch- (11.43-centimeter-) deep, 6- by 7-inch (15.24- by 17.78-centimeter) inner, 22- by 26-inch (55.88- by 66.04-centimeter) outer diameter nests. Bark-, stick-, twig-, vine-held, bark-, feather-, fur-, grass-, hair-, moss-, root-lined cup nests honed in 12 days house semi-glossy, smooth to semi-rough, subelliptical to oval eggs. Mothers-to-be implement 16- to 18-day incubations before the last 1.42- to 1.85-inch- (36- to 47-millimeter-) long, 1.02- to 1.22-inch- (26- to 31-millimeter-) wide egg is laid.

Eagles, great horned owls, peregrine falcons, raccoons, ravens, red-tailed hawks and snakes jeopardize North American crow habitats seasonally and year-round in Canada and the United States.

Initiation of incubation keeps a three-day difference between the first and the last black-olive, gray, olive, olive-brown, purple-blotched, speckled, spotted, blue-green, gray-green or olive-green egg's hatching.

The skin of blind, clumsy, helpless, naked hatchlings looks at first pink or pink-flesh and then brown-gray until sparse downy coats leave heads and upper-parts gray-brown. Nestlings manage on care, food and guidance from monogamous parents and the previous year's offspring while feathering as 20- to 30-day-olds and leaving nests as 35-day-olds. Adults need acorns, barley, beans, beechnuts, buckwheat, clams, corn, crayfish, fish, frogs, insects, mice, mussels, peas, pumpkin, rabbits, sorghum, spiders, squash, turtles, walnuts, wheat and worms.

North American crow habitats offer winter's coldest temperature ranges, from Newfoundland through Florida, at minus 45 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 42.77 to 1.66 degrees Celsius).

Almond, apple, bayberry, cedar, cherry, cranberry, dogwood, fig, five-finger, grape, hemlock, juniper, maple, oak, pine, poison-ivy, poison-oak, pokeberry, sour-gum, sumac, walnut and winterberry promote American crows.

Black bills, brown narrow, pointed tails, brown wings, dull black, fluffy, loose, non-glossy plumage, eyes browning from gray-blue and mouths blackening from red quicken juvenile identifications. Black bills, feet, heads, legs, tails and underparts, finger-like wingtip feathers, green-shining black upper-parts and round- or square-ended short tails reveal broad-, round-winged, dark-eyed, thick-necked adults. Non-soaring, slow, steady flapping on 33.47- to 39.37-inch (85- to 100-centimeter) wingspans suggest 15.75- to 20.87-inch (40- to 53-centimeter), 11.15- to 22.05-ounce (316- to 625-gram) adults.

North American crow habitats transmit 20-plus calls, from begging, high-pitched, nasal sounds by nestlings to extended, grating, harsh, hoarse, loud, rambling caws, clicks, coos and rattles.

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos); Seattle, King County, northwestern Washington; Sunday, Jan. 2, 2011, 10:58: Ingrid Taylar from Seattle, WA, USA, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Corvus_brachyrhynchos_-Seattle,_Washington,_USA-8_(1).jpg

American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) egg in permanent collection of The Children's Museum of Indianapolis: Michelle Pemberton/The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Childrens_Museum_of_Indianapolis_-_American_crow_egg.jpg

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.

Brehm, Christian Ludwig. 1822. "Corvus corone Weiß = Corvus brachyrhynchos." Beiträge zur Vögelkunde in vollstandigen Beschreibungen mehrerer neu Entdeckter und vieler seltener oder nicht gehörig beobachteter deutscher Vögel, zweiter band: 56. Neustadt-an-der-Orla, Germany: J.K.G. Wagner.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33116043

Coues, Elliott. January 1899. "The Finishing Stroke to Bartram: C. a. pascuus." The Auk, vol. XVI (old series vol. XXIII), no. 1 (January-March): 84.
Available via SORA (Searchable Ornithological Research Archive) @ https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v016n01/p0083-p0084.pdf

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.

Peterson, Alan P., M.D. "Corvus brachyrhynchos Brehm, CL 1822." Zoonomen: Zoological Nomenclature Resource > Birds of the World -- Current Valid Scientific Avian Names > Passeriformes > Corvidae > Corvus.
Available @ http://www.zoonomen.net/avtax/pass.html

Phillips, Alan R. (Robert). October 1942. "A New Crow From Arizona: Corvus brachyrhynchos hargravei subsp. nov." The Auk, vol. 59, no. 4 (October-December): 574-575. Lancaster PA: The American Ornithologists' Union
Available via SORA (Searchable Ornithological Research Archive) @ https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v059n04/p0573-p0575.pdf

Ridgway, Robert. 1887. "C. americanus hesperis Ridgw. California Crow." A Manual of North American Birds, page 362. Philadelphia PA: J.B. Lippincott.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/7567617