Earth and Space News: December 2013

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Apollo 8 Imaged Joliot Crater During December 1968 Lunar Orbits

Summary: Apollo 8 imaged Joliot Crater during December 1968 lunar orbits conducted by the first three humans to travel to another astronomical body.

Apollo 8 imaged Joliot Crater during December 1968 lunar orbits conducted by the first human-crewed mission to journey to another astronomical body.

Crater Joliot is situated in a lava-flooded area to the north-northeast of Mare Marginis on the far side of the moon. As viewed from the moon, Joliot Crater occupies the far side’s northwestern quadrant, along the western limb. A favorable libration brings Joliot into view along the near side’s eastern limb for Earth-based moonwatchers.

Joliot Crater is centered at 25.79 degrees north latitude, 93.39 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The northern hemisphere crater registers northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 28.64 degrees north and 22.94 degrees north, respectively. Joliot obtains easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 96.55 degrees east and 90.22 degrees east, respectively. The lunar impact crater’s diameter spans 172.79 kilometers.

Joliot parents one satellite. Joliot P lies to the south-southwest of its parent. The satellite is centered at 22.34 degrees north latitude, 91.99 degrees east longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes narrowly touch 22.54 degrees north and 22.15 degrees north, respectively. The satellite petitely marks easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 92.2 degrees east and 91.78 degrees east, respectively. Joliot P’s diameter measures 11.82 kilometers.

Two primary craters are attached to Joliot Crater’s rim. Lyapunov Crater hugs Joliot’s western rim. Rayleigh Crater snuggles against Joliot’s northwestern rim.

Lyapunov is centered at 12.7 degrees north latitude, 86.52 degrees east longitude. The lunar impact crater’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes extend to 27.54 degrees north and 25.31 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach 90.61 degrees east and 88.12 degrees east, respectively. Lyapunov has a diameter of 67.58 kilometers.

Lyapunov is attached to the south-southeastern rim of Rayleigh Crater, the other crater adjoining Joliot. Rayleigh is centered at 29.12 degrees north latitude, 89.45 degrees east longitude. Rayleigh obtains northernmost and southernmost latitudes of 31 degrees north and 27.24 degrees north, respectively. The lunar impact crater marks easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 91.59 degrees east and 87.3 degrees, respectively. Rayleigh’s diameter measures 113.77 kilometers.

Joliot Crater’s namesake is Jean Frédéric Joliot-Curie (March 19, 1900-Aug. 14, 1958). In 1935, the French chemist and physicist was jointly awarded the Noble Prize in Chemistry with his wife, Irène Joliot-Curie (Sept. 12, 1897-March 17, 1956), for their discovery of induced radioactivity, also known as artificial radioactivity or manmade radioactivity. French chemist and physicist Irène Joliot-Curie was the elder daughter of Noble Prize winners Marie Skłodowska Curie (Nov. 7, 1867-July 4, 1934) and Pierre Curie (May 15, 1859-April 19, 1906). Irène and Jean combined their surnames to form Joliot-Curie as their married surname.

The crater’s name of Joliot-Curie was approved at the IAU’s Eleventh General Assembly, held in Berkeley, California, from Tuesday, Aug. 15, to Thursday, Aug. 24, 1961. The crater’s name was truncated to Joliot during the Fourteenth General Assembly, held in Brighton, United Kingdom, from Monday, Aug. 18, to Thursday, Aug. 27, 1970.

Crater Lyapunov’s namesake is Aleksandr Mikhailovich Lyapunov (June 6, 1857-Nov. 3, 1918). The Russian mathematician is credited with developing the stability theory of a dynamical system. The IAU approved the crater’s name during the organization’s Twelfth General Assembly, held in Hamburg, Germany, from Tuesday, Aug. 25, to Thursday, Sept. 3, 1964.

Crater Rayleigh honors John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh (Nov. 12, 1842-June 30, 1919). The British physicist received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1904 for his research on important gas densities and for his discovery of argon (chemical symbol Ar; atomic number 18), the third most abundant gas in Earth’s atmosphere. The crater’s name joined Lyapunov Crater in receiving official approval during the IAU’s twelfth General Assembly.

Apollo 8 launched Saturday, Dec. 21, 1968, as the first human-crewed, lunar orbiting mission. The mission’s Command-Service Module (CSM) 103 made 10 lunar orbits between Christmas Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 24, and Christmas, Wednesday, Dec. 25. Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) William Alison Anders (born Oct. 17, 1933) was tasked as the mission’s official photographer. Frank Frederick Borman II (born March 14, 1928) commanded the mission. James “Jim” Arthur Lovell Jr. (born March 25, 1928) crewed as the Command Module Pilot (CMP).

The takeaway for Apollo 8’s image of Joliot Crater during the mission’s December 1968 lunar orbits is that the impact crater's placement along the lunar far side's western limb allows for visibility to Earth-based moonwatchers during favorable librations.

Detail of Lunar Aeronautical Chart (LAC) 46 shows Joliot Crater, with attached primary craters Lyapunov and Rayleigh to the west (left) and satellite Joliot P to the south (below); scale 1:1,000,000; Mercator Projection: United States Air Force (USAF) Aeronautical Chart and Information Center (ACIC) via USGS/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:

High-altitude, oblique view, looking northeastward across lunar far side, shows Joliot Crater (center left), dark-floored Lomonosov Crater (center right) and bright-rayed Giordano Bruno (below Lomonosov); Christmas Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 1968, photograph taken from Apollo 8 spacecraft; NASA ID AS08-12-2209; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): 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-as08-12-2209;
No known copyright restrictions, via GetArchive NARA (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration) & DVIDS (Defense Visual Information Distribution Service) Public Domain Archive @ https://nara.getarchive.net/media/as08-12-2209-apollo-8-apollo-8-mission-image-joliot-curie-lomonosov-e46a92;
NASA Johnson Space Center Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, No copyright maintained, via Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth @ https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/SearchPhotos/photo.pl?mission=AS08&roll=12&frame=2209;
Project Apollo Archive (Apollo Image Gallery), Public Domain, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/projectapolloarchive/21879350378;
Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AS08-12-2209_(21879350378).jpg

Borman, Frank; and Robert J. Serling. Countdown: An Autobiography. New York NY: Silver Arrow, 1988.

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

De Jager, C. (Cornelius) ; and A. (Arnost) Jappel, eds. XIVth General Assembly -- Transactions of the IAU Vol. XIV B Proceedings of the 14th General Assembly Brighton, United Kingdom, August 18-27, 1970. Washington DC: Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Jan. 1, 1971.
Available @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/

Godwin, Robert, comp. and ed. Apollo 8: The NASA Mission Reports. Second edition. Burlington, Canada: Apogee Books, 1971.

International Astronomical Union. “Giordano Bruno.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/2172

International Astronomical Union. “Joliot.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/2839

International Astronomical Union. “Joliot P.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/10231

International Astronomical Union. “Lomonosov.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3462

International Astronomical Union. “Lyapunov.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3526

International Astronomical Union. “Mare Marginis.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3681

International Astronomical Union. “Rayleigh.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/4966

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

Lovell, Jim; and Jeffrey Kluger. Apollo 13. First Mariner Books edition. Boston MA; New York NY: Houghton Mifflin, 2006.

Lovell, Jim; and Jeffrey Kluger. Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13. Boston MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1994.

Marriner, Derdriu. “Apollo 8 Imaged Goclenius Crater During December 1968 Lunar Orbits.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/12/apollo-8-imaged-goclenius-crater-during.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Apollo 8 Imaged Lomonosov Crater During December 1968 Lunar Orbits.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/12/apollo-8-imaged-lomonosov-crater-during.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Apollo 8 Flight Was Only, Second and Third Flight for Anders, Borman and Lovell.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/12/apollo-8-was-only-second-and-third.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “First Crewed Lunar Orbiting Mission Apollo 8 Launched Dec. 21, 1968.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/12/first-crewed-lunar-orbiting-mission.html

Menzel, D.H. (Donald Howard); M. (Marcel) Minnaert; B. (Boris) Levin; A. (Audouin) Dollfus; and B. Bell. “Report on Lunar Nomenclature by The Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU.” Space Science Reviews, vol. 12, issue 2 (June 1971): 136-186.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1971SSRv...12..136M

Menzel, Donald H. Interim Report No. 2 on NGR 22-007-194 Lunar Nomenclature. Cambridge MA: Harvard College Observatory, Aug. 17, 1970.
Available via NASA Technical Reports Server (NASA NTRS) @ https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19700028251.pdf

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

Orloff, Richard W. “Apollo 8 The Second Mission: Testing the CSM in Lunar Orbit.” Apollo by the Numbers: A Statistical Reference: 31-50. NASA History Series. NASA SP 4029. Washington DC: NASA Headquarters Office of Policy and Plans, 2000.
Available via NASA History @ https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029.pdf

Pecker, J.-C. (Jean-Claude), ed. XIIth General Assembly -- Transactions of the IAU Vol. XII B and XII C Proceedings of the 12th General Assembly Hamburg, Germany, August 25-September 3, 1964. Oxford UK: Blackwell Scientific Publications, Jan. 1, 1966.
Available @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/

Sadler, D.H. (Donald Harry), ed. “Session Administrative du 17 août 1961: Résolution No. 1.” XIth General Assembly -- Transactions of the IAU Vol. XI B Proceedings of the 11th General Assembly Berkeley CA, USA, August 15-24, 1961. Oxford UK: Blackwell Scientific Publications, Jan. 1, 1962.
Available @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/
Available via The Moon-Wiki @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/IAU_Transactions_XIB

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, December 18, 2013

Apollo 8 Imaged Lomonosov Crater During December 1968 Lunar Orbits

Summary: Apollo 8 imaged Lomonosov Crater during December 1968 lunar orbits conducted by the first crewed spaceflight mission to visit another astronomical body.

Apollo 8 imaged Lomonosov Crater during December 1968 lunar orbits conducted by the first crewed spaceflight mission to travel to and orbit another astronomical body, Earth’s moon.

Lomonosov Crater lies to the northeast of irregularly shaped Mare Marginis (Sea of the Edge) on the lunar far side. As viewed from the moon, Lomonosov occupies the far side’s northwestern quadrant, near the western limb. Lomonosov closely neighbors the east-northeastern rim of Joliot Crater.

Lomonosov presents a dark, lava-flooded interior floor. Craterlets puncture the floor’s level surface. Bright material that streak across the floor originated as ejecta from Giordano Bruno Crater, distanced approximately 300 kilometers to the northeast.

In their paper at the XXVIII (28th) Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, held in Houston, Texas, in March 1997, lunar geologists Jeffrey J. Gillis, Paul D. Spudis and D. Ben J. Bussey noted the prolonged volcanism in the areas of Mare Marginis and the lunar mare’s southern neighbor, Mare Smythii (Sea of Smyth). Over time, the eruptions decreased in volume and spewed only in Mare Smythii and Lomonosov.

Lomonosov is centered at 27.35 degrees north latitude, 98.28 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The northern hemisphere crater stretches to 28.85 degrees north and 25.85 degrees north for its northernmost and southernmost latitudes, respectively. The lunar impact crater marks easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 99.96 degrees east and 96.59 degrees east, respectively. Lomonosov’s diameter spans 90.69 kilometers.

Crater Lomonosov honors 18th century Russian poet, scientist and grammarian Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov (Nov. 19, 1711-April 15, 1765). The Russian polymath is credited with hypothesizing the existence of a Venusian atmosphere after observing the transit of Venus his observatory in Saint Petersburg in Saturday, June 6, 1761. Lomonosov Crater received official approval during the IAU’s Eleventh General Assembly, held in Berkeley, California, from Tuesday, Aug. 15, to Thursday, Aug. 24, 1961.

The European Space Agency’s Science & Technology website identifies Crater Lomonosov as the southernmost of a trio of overlying craters. Lomonosov overlaps Maxwell Crater’s southern rim. Maxwell overlies Richardson Crater’s southwestern rim and extends almost to its host’s center.

Maxwell is centered at 29.9 degrees north latitude, 98.53 degrees east longitude. The lunar impact crater registers northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 31.71 degrees north and 28.1 degrees north, respectively. Maxwell’s easternmost and westernmost longitudes stretch to 100.6 degrees east and 96.45 degrees east, respectively. Its diameter spans 109.24 kilometers.

Crater Maxwell’s namesake is James Clerk Maxwell (June 13, 1831-Nov. 5, 1879). The Scottish mathematical physicist is credited with the unification of electricity, light and magnetism in his A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field, which he presented Thursday, Dec. 8, 1864, at the Royal Society in London. The crater’s name became official in August 1961 during the IAU’s Eleventh General Assembly.

Edison Crater adjoins Lomonosov’s southeastern outer rim. Edison is centered at 24.88 degrees north latitude, 99.27 degrees east longitude. The lunar impact crater marks northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 25.91 degrees north and 23.85 degrees north, respectively. Easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach to 100.41 degrees east and 98.13 degrees east, respectively. Edison’s diameter measures 62.72 kilometers.

Crater Edison honors Thomas Alva Edison (Feb. 11, 1847-Oct. 18, 1931). The American polymathic inventor’s plethora of interests included finding evidence of radio waves from the sun. The IAU officially approved the crater’s name in 1961 during the organization’s Eleventh General Assembly.

Apollo 8, the first human-crewed, lunar orbiting mission, began with liftoff Saturday, Dec. 21, 1968, and finished with splashdown Friday, Dec. 27. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Apollo 8 Mission Report, released February 1969, tallied the mission’s photographic output. “During the mission, seven 70-mm film magazines were exposed and yielded more than 150 photographs of the earth and more than 700 photographs of the moon. Five 16-mm color magazines were also exposed” (4-1).

The takeaway for Apollo 8’s image of Lomonosov Crater during the mission’s December 1968 lunar orbits is that the dark-floored crater in the lunar far side’s northwestern quadrant is streaked with bright material ejected from a distance of over 300 kilometers by bright-rayed crater Giordano Bruno.

Detail of Lunar Aeronautical Chart (LAC) 46 shows Lomonosov Crater (upper left), with attached primary craters Maxwell (above) and Edison (below); scale 1:1,000,000; Mercator Projection: United States Air Force (USAF) Aeronautical Chart and Information Center (ACIC) via USGS/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:

Apollo 8 photograph of lunar far side shows dark-floored Lomonosov Crater (lower right) below bright-rayed Giordano Bruno Crater; NASA ID AS08-18-2883; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): NASA, Public Domain, via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/AS08-18-2883;
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-as08-18-2883.html;
No known copyright restrictions, via NARA (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration) & DVIDS (Defense Visual Information Distribution Service) Public Domain Archive @ https://nara.getarchive.net/media/as08-18-2883-apollo-8-apollo-8-mission-image-moon-354b3b

Berman, Louis. “What It Was Like Before Ozma.” Cosmic Search, vol. 1, no. 4 (Fall: October, November, December 1979): 17.
Available @ http://www.bigear.org/CSMO/HTML/CS04/cs04p17.htm

Borman, Frank; and Robert J. Serling. Countdown: An Autobiography. New York NY: Silver Arrow, 1988.

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

European Space Agency. “Crater Lomonosov.” European Space Agency Science & Technology > SMART-1. Last updated Aug. 29, 2006.
Available @ http://sci.esa.int/smart-1/39790-crater-lomonosov/

Gillis, Jeffrey J.; Paul D. Spudis; and D. Ben J. Bussey. “The Geology of Smythii and Marginis Basins Using Integrated Remote Sensing Techniques -- A Look At What’s Around the Corner.” Conference Paper, XXVIII (28th) Annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (March 17-21, 1997): 419-420.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1997LPI....28..419G

Godwin, Robert, comp. and ed. Apollo 8: The NASA Mission Reports. Second edition. Burlington, Canada: Apogee Books, 1971.

Haworth, David. “Moon Libration.” Stargazing Network > Table of Contents > David -- Observational Astronomy > David Haworth’s Moon Images.
Available @ http://www.stargazing.net/david/moon/moonlibration.html

International Astronomical Union. “Edison.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/1723

International Astronomical Union. “Mare Smythii.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3689

International Astronomical Union. “Maxwell.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3765

International Astronomical Union. “Richardson.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/5027

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

Lovell, Jim; and Jeffrey Kluger. Apollo 13. First Mariner Books edition. Boston MA; New York NY: Houghton Mifflin, 2006.

Lovell, Jim; and Jeffrey Kluger. Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13. Boston MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1994.

Marriner, Derdriu. “Apollo 8 Imaged Pasteur Craters During Christmas Eve 1968 Lunar Orbit.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2014.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/12/apollo-8-imaged-pasteur-craters-during.html

Maxwell, J. (James) Clerk. “VIII. A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field. Received October 27, -- Read December 8, 1864.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London for the Year MDCCCLXV, vol. 155: 459-512. London UK: Taylor and Francis, MDCCCLXV (1865).
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/54092736

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

National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Apollo 8 Mission Report. Prepared by Mission Evaluation Team. MSC-PA-R-69-1. Houston TX: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Manned Spacecraft Center, February 1969.
Available via NASA History-Apollo Flight Journal @ https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap08fj/pdf/a08-missionreport.pdf

Pasachoff, Jay M.; and William Sheehan. “Lomonosov, the Discovery of Venus’s Atmosphere, and Eighteenth Century Transits of Venus.” Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, vol. 15, no. 1 (March-April 2012): 3-14.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (National Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/2012JAHH...15....3P

Shiltsev, Vladmir. “The 1761 Discovery of Venus’ Atmosphere: Lomonosov and Others.” Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, vol. 17, no. 1 (March 2014): 85-112.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014JAHH...17...85S

Woods, W. David; and Frank O’Brien. “Apollo 8 Photography Index.” NASA History > Apollo Flight Journal > The Apollo 8 Flight Journal.
Available @ https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap08fj/a08-photoindex.html

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Community and Tree Safety Awareness During Line- and Road-Clearances

Summary: Geoff Kempter of Asplundh Tree Expert Company discusses community and tree safety awareness during line- and road-clearances.

Recordkeeping, which documents response activities and equipment, can clarify complexities and seeming chaos of storm response efforts; after-storm cleanup in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota: Joseph O'Brien/USDA Forest Service/Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0 United States, via Forestry Images

Storm Response, Part 4: Unique Aspects: Keeping Employees Safe, Talking to the Media, Saving Damaged Trees, Winding Down, and Lessons Learned accentuates tree safety awareness in the Arborist News December 2013 issue.

Geoff Kempter of Asplundh Tree Expert Company builds timely, vigilant pruning, publicity, recordkeeping, safety and stand-downs into the response and the restoration stages of storm responses. Safety in storm response and restoration concerns people and their equipment, infrastructure such as buildings and pavement and vehicles as well as sites and their trees. Emergency declarations by governments and by utilities derive from "extraordinary conditions" that "disrupt normal activities and cause damage to infrastructure," especially to communication and transportation networks.

With or without emergency declarations, response and restoration expand electrical hazards, tree failures and wildlife displacements and extend drive-times and workloads in "difficult or unusual environments."

Line- and road-clearances function as top priorities in storm response and restoration since communication and transportation networks and power grids facilitate returns to normal operating procedures.

Tree safety awareness sometimes gets underestimated since "Fallen trees and branches may be entangled, and partially fallen or leaning trees or hanging branches may be common." Storm-loaded wood under tension has the "possibility of unexpected movement when loads are released by cuts" from risk assessment arborists headed into removal or restoration pruning. Cuts "to allow access and restore critical services" indicate pruning procedures since "Many trees sustain severe damage but remain standing" and respond quickly to restoration schedules.

"[B]ack feed" from "improperly connected home generators" jeopardizes line- and road-clearance arborists whose metal pruners join wet wood near lines that must be treated as energized.

Line- and road-clearances always kindle learning and teaching moments for "lessons learned" and tree safety awareness stand-downs about accidents, "costly" mistakes, "near" misses and "[u]nexpected events."

Analyses of failures and successes lend themselves well to on-site stand-downs "to prevent further incidents" and post-response talks to incorporate lesson-learning into preparations for subsequent responses. They may mention publicity since line- and road-clearances, response and restoration, "attract intense public and media scrutiny, especially after large storms and during lengthy power outages." Management needs to name authorized issuers of descriptions, photographs and statements to bloggers and reporters, "homeowners and neighbors" and media outlets, social media and the public.

Pre-approved "I don't know" and "We are all working hard to get things back to normal" statements for field personnel offer nothing for misrepresentation or misunderstanding.

Recordkeeping puts in response and restoration appearances since accurately accounting "hours worked, miles traveled, and costs for food, fuel, lodging, and other expenses can be daunting."

"[P]re-negotiation of terms, including agreements on what expenses are reimbursable" and vigilant documentation from the start, with information shared between parties" quell chaos and quicken reimbursements. Pre-negotiation of "turnkey contracts with suppliers of services and materials" and "use of dedicated corporate credit cards" result in streamlined "expenses documentation and accounting" for reimbursement. Accurate, prompt accounting of legitimate expenses serves to thank those who sign checks for writing checks while correct, timely reimbursements show that people and trees matter.

Community and tree safety awareness takes many forms whose common denominator is line- and road-clearances during storms as "unruly reminders of our vulnerability to natural phenomena."

Community awareness and tree safety awareness are important components of storm response and restoration; utility pole dangerously leaning over Main Line of Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) after battering by overnight cold front's high winds, Hicksville, Long Island, New York; Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013, 12:49:48: Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York (MTAPhotos), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

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:

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

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

Kempter, Geoff. December 2013. "Storm Response, Part 4: Unique Aspects: Keeping Employees Safe, Talking to the Media, Saving Damaged Trees, Winding Down, and Lessons Learned." Arborist News 22(6): 12-18.
Available @ http://viewer.epaperflip.com/Viewer.aspx?docid=0d7dd641-d347-417c-b9c7-a28300c6d215#?page=12

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 October 2013. “Chain-Saw Gear and Tree Work Related Personal Protective Equipment.” Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/10/chain-saw-gear-and-tree-work-related.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 12 October 2013. “Storm Damaged Tree Clearances: Matched Teamwork of People to Equipment.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/10/storm-damaged-tree-clearances-matched.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 17 August 2013. “Storm Induced Tree Damage Assessments: Pre-Storm Planned Preparedness.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/08/storm-induced-tree-damage-assessments.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 June 2013. “Storm Induced Tree Failures From Heavy Tree Weights and Weather Loads.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/06/storm-induced-tree-failures-from-heavy.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 April 2013. “Urban Tree Root Management Concerns: Defects, Digs, Dirt, Disturbance.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/04/urban-tree-root-management-concerns.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 16 February 2013. “Tree Friendly Beneficial Soil Microbes: Inoculations and Occurrences.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/02/tree-friendly-beneficial-soil-microbes.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 December 2012. “Healthy Urban Tree Root Crown Balances: Soil Properties, Soil Volumes.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/12/healthy-urban-tree-root-crown-balances.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 October 2012. “Tree Adaptive Growth: Tree Risk Assessment of Tree Failure, Tree Strength.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/10/tree-adaptive-growth-tree-risk.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 11 August 2012. “Tree Risk Assessment Mitigation Reports: Tree Removal, Tree Retention?” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/08/tree-risk-assessment-mitigation-reports.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 16 June 2012. “Internally Stressed, Response Growing, Wind Loaded Tree Strength.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/06/internally-stressed-response-growing.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 14 April 2012. “Three Tree Risk Assessment Levels: Limited Visual, Basic and Advanced.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/04/three-tree-risk-assessment-levels.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 19 February 2012. “Qualitative Tree Risk Assessment: Risk Ratings for Targets and Trees.” Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/02/qualitative-tree-risk-assessment-risk.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 18 February 2012. “Qualitative Tree Risk Assessment: Falling Trees Impacting Targets.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/02/qualitative-tree-risk-assessment.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 10 December 2011. “Tree Risk Assessment: Tree Failures From Defects and From Wind Loads.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/12/tree-risk-assessment-tree-failures-from.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 October 2011. “Five Tree Felling Plan Steps for Successful Removals and Worker Safety.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/10/five-tree-felling-plan-steps-for.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 August 2011. “Natives and Non-Natives as Successfully Urbanized Plant Species.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/08/natives-and-non-natives-as-successfully.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 11 June 2011. “Tree Ring Patterns for Ecosystem Ages, Dates, Health and Stress.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/06/tree-ring-patterns-for-ecosystem-ages.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 9 April 2011. “Benignly Ugly Tree Disorders: Oak Galls, Powdery Mildew, Sooty Mold, Tar Spot.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/04/benignly-ugly-tree-disorders-oak-galls.html

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

Friday, December 13, 2013

Fruit in Osage Orange Botanical Illustrations and Elementary Series

Summary: Sherlock Holmes eats a fruit that epitomizes osage orange botanical illustrations and entraps a criminal in Elementary's Internal Audit Dec. 12, 2013.

osage orange (Maclura pomifera), under synonym Maclura aurantiaca; A-branches; B-portion of branch with female catkin; C-male flowers; D-male flowers, separate; E-young fruit; F-section of young fruit, showing seed disposition; G-full grown fruit; print by botanical engraving firm of Henry Hopkins Weddell (1794-1838) and Edward Weddell Smith (1796-1858) in A.B. Lambert's Description of the Genus Pinus (1828), vol. II: Public Domain, via Biodiversity Heritage Library

Osage orange botanical illustrations address the shrub-tree's fruit and approach the sap in accompanying analyses, just as they appear in the Columbia Broadcasting System series elementary episode Internal Audit Dec. 12, 2013.

The kicked-in door of dead independent journalist Rosalie Núñez (Kristine Johnson) bears osage orange sap from a nearby public park under a 24-7 crime-busting surveillance system. Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) consumes the fall-yellowing, latex-secreting, 3- to 6-inch (7.62- to 15.24-centimeter), woody-pulped single mass that comes from fruiting-bodied infructescences from fruiting-flowered inflorescences. He designates it monkey brains, one of its common names with bodark, bois d'arc ("wood of bow"), bow-wood, hedge apple, horse apple, mock orange and yellow-wood.

Sherlock explains the cucumber-tasting fruit as citrus-like to eat but elucidates nothing about the bitter, sticky, thick, white sap that, like leaves and thorns, it exudes.

Groppendorf-born German botanist Camillo Karl Schneider (April 7, 1876-Jan. 5, 1951) furnished one of the most accurate osage orange botanical illustrations with scientific annotations in 1906.

Osage orange gets the scientific citation (Raf.) Schneid. and the scientific name Maclura pomifera (Maclure's fruit-bearer) Nuttall by taxonomists who give credit for multiple same-plant discoverers. The citation has Rafinesque for Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (Oct. 22, 1783-Sep. 18, 1840), French-German-Italian Americanized polymath who had osage orange described and named in December 1817. Maclura and Nuttall respectively identify geologist William Maclure (Oct. 27, 1763-March 23, 1840) and his friend Thomas Nuttall (Jan. 5, 1786-Sep. 10, 1859), taxonomist in 1818.

Meriwether Lewis (Aug. 18, 1774-Oct. 11, 1809) judged Pierre Chouteau's (Oct. 10, 1758-July 10, 1849) specimens worthy of Thomas Jefferson's (April 13, 1743-July 4, 1813) attention.

Clayey-, sandy, silty-loamy, moist, nutrient-rich, permeable, sunlit, well-drained bottomland soils above pH 4.5 kick-start fall-germinating cream-brown, oval, untreated, 0.32- to 0.47-inch- (8- to 12-millimeter-) long seeds.

Hardiness lets 30- to 60-foot (9.14- to 18.29-meter) by 30- to 35-foot (9.14- to 10.67-meter) shrub-trees survive at minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 34.44 degrees Celsius). Mature shrub-trees manage deep-furrowed, orange-brown-barked trunks 2 feet (0.61 meter) around, orange-barked, 27-foot- (8.23-meter-) deep taproots and sharp, 0.5- to 1-inch- (1.27- to 2.54-centimeter-) long thorns. Alternate-arranged, end-pointed, simple, smooth-margined, 1.58- to 4.73-inch- (4- to 12-centimeter-) long, 0.79- to 2.36-inch- (2- to 6-centimeter-) wide leaves net darker green upper-sides, hairy, lighter undersides.

Osage orange botanical illustrations observe April- through June-blooming, cylinder-clustered or globular, green, hairy, short staminate flowers with four stamens and large yellow anthers on male-blossoming shrub-trees.

April- to June-blooming, dense, globular-clustered pistillate flowers present circular, flat, green, small ovaries with thread-like yellow stigmas and 0.59- to 0.98-inch (1.5- to 2.5-centimeter) basal diameters.

Shrub-trees queue up in black walnut, cedar-elm, red-cedar and white ash, mulberry and oak woodlands and boxelder-elm-locust, hackberry-oak, hickory-oak, hickory-oak-pine and northern and southern floodplain forests. Osage orange resists environmental pathogens, pests and pressures other than chainsaw girdling, picloram and triclopyr treatments, compacted soils, cotton root rot, eastern mistletoe parasitism and winter-kill. The relative of breadfruit, fig, mulberry and pineapple, serves as antioxidant, cockroach repellent, dye, fence, hedge, pesticide, post, railroad tie, shelterbelt and wagon hubs and rims.

The brown, green, orange, yellow shrub-tree turns up in osage orange botanical illustrations, bows for archers, fences, hedges and Internal Audit's homicide scene and public park.

Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) surveys crime scene of murdered private hedge fund manager Donald Hauser (Thomas Ryan), whose killing is finally solved by way of a slick of osage orange sap on similarly-murdered journalist Rosalie Nuñez's apartment door in Elementary tv series' Internal Audit (season 2 episode 11): Elementary @ElementaryCBS, via Facebook Dec. 11, 2013

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Elementary Writers ‏@ELEMENTARYStaff. 12 December 2013. "All the Osage Orange stuff, including the park in Brooklyn where they're found, is true. #monkeyballs #ELEMENTARY." Twitter.
Available @ https://twitter.com/ELEMENTARYStaff/status/411335995271815168

"Internal Audit." Elementary: The Second Season. Los Angeles CA: Paramount Pictures Corporation, Dec. 12, 2013.

Lambert, Aylmer Bourke. 1828. "Maclura aurantiaca. Osage Orange or Bow-Wood." Description of the Genus Pinus, Illustrated With Figures; Directions Relative to the Cultivation, and Remarks on the Uses of the Several Species: Also Descriptions of Many Other Trees of the Family of Coniferae. Second edition. Vol. II: 32. London, England: Messrs. Weddell, MDCCCXXVIII.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/30944690

"Maclura aurantiaca Nutt." Tropicos® > Name Search.
Available @ http://www.tropicos.org/Name/21301576

"Maclura pomifera (Raf.) C.K. Schneid." Tropicos® > Name Search.
Available @ http://www.tropicos.org/Name/21300468

Marriner, Derdriu. 22 November 2013. “George Stubbs Painting The Godolphin Arabian and Elementary's Nutmeg.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/11/george-stubbs-painting-godolphin.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 November 2013. “John Wootton Painting The Darley Arabian and Elementary's Studhorse.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/11/john-wootton-painting-darley-arabian.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 8 November 2013. “John Wootton Painting The Byerley Turk and Elementary's Thoroughbreds.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/11/john-wootton-painting-byerley-turk-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 30 August 2013. “Turner Fighting Temeraire Painting in Elementary Series Episode The Woman.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/08/turner-fighting-temeraire-painting-in.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 7 June 2013. “Paul Gauguin Painting Tahitian Women on the Beach in Elementary's The Woman.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/06/paul-gauguin-painting-tahitian-women-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 31 May 2013. “Rubens Painting The Incredulity of St Thomas in Elementary's The Woman.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/05/rubens-painting-incredulity-of-st.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 24 May 2013. “Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Painting Rousse in Elementary Episode The Woman.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/05/henri-de-toulouse-lautrec-painting.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 17 May 2013. “The Bruegel Painted Parable in the Elementary Series Episode The Woman.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-bruegel-painted-parable-in.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 22 February 2013. “Osmia Avosetta Natural History Illustrations for Elementary's Bee.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/02/osmia-avosetta-natural-history.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 February 2013. “Russian Tortoise Natural History Illustrations and Elementary's Clyde Jan. 31, 2013.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/02/russian-tortoise-natural-history.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 25 January 2013. “Costliest, World-Most Expensive Chopard Watch: 201 Carats at $25 Million.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/01/costliest-world-most-expensive-chopard.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 18 January 2013. “Chopard Watch Worth $25 Million on Elementary Episode The Leviathan.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/01/chopard-watch-worth-25-million-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 11 January 2013. “Claude Monet Painting Nympheas 1918 in Elementary Series' Leviathan.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/01/claude-monet-painting-nympheas-1918-in.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 4 January 2013. “Paul Cézanne Still Life Painting Fruit in Elementary Series' Leviathan.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/01/paul-cezanne-still-life-painting-fruit.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 28 December 2012. “Paul Signac Painting Women at the Well in Elementary Series' Leviathan.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/12/paul-signac-painting-women-at-well-in.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 21 December 2012. “The Van Gogh Pietà Painting in Elementary Series Episode The Leviathan.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-van-gogh-pieta-painting-in.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 14 December 2012. “Edward Hopper Painting Western Motel in Elementary Series' Leviathan.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/12/edward-hopper-painting-western-motel-in.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 29 September 2012. "Are Lesser Clovers Sherlock's Lucky Shamrocks on Elementary's Pilot?" Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/09/are-lesser-clovers-sherlocks-lucky.html

Park Slope Parents @ParkSlopeParents. 26 October 2014. "If you've see these in Prospect Park they are fruit from the Osage Orange Tree." Facebook.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=751575554889877

Schneider, Camillo Karl. 1906. "Fig. 153 a-g Ioxylon pomiferum (Maclura aurantiaca)." Illustriertes Handbuch der Laubholzkunde: 239. Jena, Germany: Gustav Fischer.
Available via Biodiversity Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/448423