Earth and Space News: July 2014

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

American Astronomer Joel Stebbins Pioneered Photoelectric Photometry

Summary: American astronomer Joel Stebbins pioneered photoelectric photometry as a technique for precisely measuring an astronomical object's color and magnitude.

Joel Stebbins with photoelectric photometer on 12-inch refractor telescope, University of Illinois at Urbana: Friends of the University of Illinois Observatory, via Facebook Oct. 29, 2010

Twentieth-century American astronomer Joel Stebbins pioneered photoelectric photometry as a technique for the precise measurement of the colors and magnitudes of astronomical objects.

Stebbins was born July 30, 1878, in Omaha, Nebraska. He succumbed to leukemia March 16, 1966, in a Palo Alto, California, hospital.

Stebbins was awarded his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in May 1903 as the University of California's third Astronomy doctoral recipient, according to his 1978 biography by American astronomer and physicist Albert Edward Whitford (Oct. 22, 1905-March 28, 2002) for the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). His dissertation considered the spectrum of Omicron Ceti (ο Ceti; Omicron Cet, ο Cet; traditional name: Mira). The Astrophysical Journal, the science journal of astronomy and astrophysics, published Stebbins' dissertation in its December 1903 issue. Whitford stated that Stebbins' published dissertation was consulted as the principal source for information on long-term variable spectra for "almost twenty years" (page 296).

Immediately after completing his Ph.D., Stebbins assumed an instructorship in astronomy at the University of Illinois, in Urbana, Champaign County, east central Illinois. He became Assistant Professor in 1904 and then Professor and second Director of the University Astronomical Observatory in 1913, according to his 1984 biography in science textbook author David Abbott's The Biographical Dictionary of Scientists: Astronomers (page 148).

At the University of Illinois, Stebbins initiated a program for measuring the magnitudes of double stars via a visual polarizing photometer on a 12-inch refractor telescope. The online database of the University of Illinois Observatory Collection describes the visual polarizing photometer used by Stebbins as an instrument that measures stellar magnitudes via the polarizing properties of doubly-refracting crystals. The instrument assesses double stars with known magnitudes for one of the pair.

In his 1957 reminiscences of "Early Photometry at Illinois," Stebbins credited his wife, May Louise Prentiss Stebbins (June 12, 1875-Oct. 10, 1970), with inspiring his search for electronic methods for photometry. As recorder, she found the process slow, what with one magnitude necessitating a hundred readings. After Stebbins shared with her that one day electricity would accelerate the process, his wife kept questioning when the change to electricity would take place (page 507).

Shortly thereafter, Stebbins became aware of selenium cell experiments conducted by University of Illinois physicist Fay Cluff Brown (1881-1968). Stebbins and Brown collaborated on designing a selenium-celled photometer as an attachment for the observatory's 12-inch refractor telescope. Their first attempted application of their invention was directed, unsuccessfully, at gas-giant Jupiter. Stebbins promptly detached the selenium cell from the telescope and exposed it to the moon, which was visible through a window. Their invention's galvanometer (electromechanical instrument for detecting and measuring electric current) immediately responded.

With Stebbins on the telescope and Brown on the galvanometer, the team devoted June, July and August to measuring phase variations in moonlight. They published their results in the December 1907 issue of the Astrophysical Journal. Their findings determined the full phase's brightness as approximately nine times that of the half phase. Their phasal light curve constituted the first such study since research published in 1866 by German astrophysicist Johann Karl Friedrich Zöllner (Nov. 8, 1834-April 25, 1882).

By 1913, Stebbins sought further finesses of photometry via a photoelectric cell developed by Swiss-born American-naturalized theoretical physicist Jakob Kunz (Nov. 3, 1874-July 18, 1938). Planning to spend summer 1915 in California, Stebbins decided to test Kunz's instrument under the optimal conditions prevailing at the University of California's Lick Observatory. He arranged to transport Kunz's instrument and the University of Illinois Observatory's 12-inch refractor telescope to the observatory's location on Mount Hamilton. Stebbins took measures of Beta Lyrae (β Lyrae; Beta Lyr, β Lyr; traditional name: Sheliak) over 34 nights between Sunday, June 20, and Friday, July 30. Stebbins biographer Whitford describes Beta Lyrae as ". . . a prototype example of an eclipsing binary with marked ellipsoidal distortion of the components" (page 299). He published the eclipsing binary's light curve in the March 1916 issue of the Lick Observatory Bulletin.

Stebbins continued to advance photoelectric photometry for the next five decades. Within four decades, the photoelectric technique was becoming universally recognized as the standard method of astronomical photometry (Whitford, page 308).

The takeaway for American astronomer Joel Stebbins as photoelectric photometry's pioneer is that Stebbins' interests in the colors and magnitudes of astronomical objects impelled his measuring technique trajectory from usage of a visual polarizing photometer beginning in 1903 to collaborative development of selenium cells with physicist Fay Cluff Brown and then of photoelectric cells with physicist Jakob Kunz at the University of Illinois at Urbana.

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Joel Stebbins with photoelectric photometer on 12-inch refractor telescope, University of Illinois at Urbana: Friends of the University of Illinois Observatory, via Facebook Oct. 29, 2010, @ https://www.facebook.com/U.of.Illinois.Observatory/photos/a.127528800635930/128326157222861/?type=3

photoelectric photometer cell, developed by Jakob Kunz for Joel Stebbins, on 12-inch refractory telescope, University of Illinois at Urbana: Friends of the University of Illinois Observatory, via Facebook Oct. 2, 2014, @ https://www.facebook.com/U.of.Illinois.Observatory/photos/a.137983869590423/716636338391837/?type=3

For further information:

Abbott, David. The Biographical Dictionary of Scientists: Astronomers. New York NY: Peter Bedrick Books, 1984.

Alvan Clark & Sons. "Visual Polarizing Photometer." University of Illinois Observatory Collection.
Available @ https://uiobservatory.omeka.net/items/show/2

Brown, F.C.; and Joel Stebbins. "Some Studies on the Change of Electrical Resistance of Selenium Cells." Physical Review, (Series I) vol. 26, issue 4 (April 1, 1908): 273-298.
Available @ https://journals.aps.org/pri/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevSeriesI.26.273

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

Friends of the University of Illinois Observatory. "December 31, 1913. In 1913 Dr. Joel Stebbins earned the Rumford Award for his work on the selenium cell photometer which is now located in the University Archives. His grandson Robert Stebbins donated the award to the university several years ago." Facebook. Nov. 1, 2012.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/U.of.Illinois.Observatory/photos/a.137983869590423/421142501274557/?type=3

Friends of the University of Illinois Observatory. "Inside the shelter. A galvanometer (center right) was read by the reading telescope to measure the current produced by the photoelectric cells." Facebook. Oct. 16, 2014.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/U.of.Illinois.Observatory/photos/a.137983869590423/723046997750771/?type=3

Friends of the University of Illinois Observatory. "Joel Stebbin's work on the 12-inch was noted in this month's Sky & Telescope!" Facebook. Feb. 8, 2019.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/U.of.Illinois.Observatory/posts/2002912819764176

Friends of the University of Illinois Observatory. "Joel Stebbins at the eyepiece of his photometer, about 1923." Facebook. Oct. 29, 2010.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/U.of.Illinois.Observatory/photos/a.127528800635930/128326157222861/?type=3

Friends of the University of Illinois Observatory. "TBT: One of the earliest photographs of the photoelectric cell photometer on the 12-inch telescope. Taken about 1913. Notice the wires for the lights in the dome were two bare wires, no conduit." Facebook. Oct. 2, 2014.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/U.of.Illinois.Observatory/photos/a.137983869590423/716636338391837/?type=3

Genet, Russell M. "Joel Stebbins: Pioneer of Astronomical Photoelectric Photometry." International Amateur-Professional Photoelectric Photometry, Communication, No. 6 (November 1981): 1-3.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1981IAPPP...6....1G

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

Moore, Patrick, Sir. Astronomy Encyclopedia: An A-Z Guide to the Universe. New York NY: Oxford University Press, Inc., 2002.

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

Müller, G. (Karl Hermann Gustav). Die Photometrie Der Gestirne. Leipzig: W. Engelmann, 1807.

Stebbins, Joel. "The Color-Sensibility of Selenium Cells." Astrophysical Journal, vol. XXVII, no. 3 (April 1908): 183-187.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/seri/ApJ../0027//0000187.000.html

Stebbins, Joel. "Early Photometry at Illinois." Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, vol. 69, no. 411 (December 1957): 506-510.
Available via JSTOR @ https://www.jstor.org/stable/40673265

Stebbins, Joel. "Jakob Kunz 1874-1938." Popular Astronomy, vol. XLVII, no. 3, whole no. 463 (March 1939): 116-121.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1939PA.....47..117S

Stebbins, Joel. "The Light-Curve of δ Cephei." Astrophysical Journal, vol. XXVII, no. 3 (April 1908): 188-193.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1908ApJ....27..188S

Stebbins, Joel. "A Method of Determining the Heights of Migrating Birds." Popular Astronomy, vol. XIV, no. 2, whole no. 132 (February 1906): 65-70.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1906PA.....14...65S

Stebbins, Joel. "Observations of the Crater Linné During the Lunar Eclipse of February 8, 1906." The Astronomical Journal, vol. XXV, no. 587, no. 11 (July 18, 1906): 87-88.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1906AJ.....25...87S
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/1906AJ.....25...87S

Stebbins, Joel. "A Study of β Lyrae With a Photo-Electric Photometer." Lick Observatory Bulletin, vol. VIII, no. 277 (issued March 18, 1916): 186-193.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1916LicOB...8..186S
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/1906AJ.....25...87S

Stebbins, Joel; and Edward A. Fath. "The Use of Astronomical Telescopes in Determining the Speeds of Migrating Birds." Science, vol. 24, issue 602 (July 13, 1906): 49-51.
Available @ https://science.sciencemag.org/content/24/602/49

Stebbins, Joel; and F.C. Brown. "A Determination of the Moon's Light With a Selenium Photometer." Astrophysical Journal, vol. XXVI, no. 5 (December 1907): 326-340.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1907ApJ....26..326S
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/1907ApJ....26..326S

Svec, Michael. "The Many Transformations of the University of Illinois Observatory Annex." Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, vol. 21, issue 1 (March/April 2018), 81‒93(2018).
Available via NARIT (National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand) @ http://old.narit.or.th/en/files/2018JAHHvol21/2018JAHH...21...81S.pdf

Whitford, A.E. (Albert Edward). Joel Stebbins 1878-1966: A Biographical Memoir. Washington DC: National Academy of Sciences, 1978.
Available @ http://nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/stebbins-joel.pdf

Zöllner, F. (Johann Karl Friedrich). “ResultateastrophotometrischerBeobachtungen,”Astronomische Nachrichten, vol. 66, no. 1575, issue 225 (Jan. 1, 1866): 225-232.
Available @ https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/asna.18660661502

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Central Ranges Taipans: One of Four World-Deadliest Australian Snakes

Summary: Central Ranges taipans are among Australia's world-deadliest, least-known snakes, despite possible discovery in 1896, since discoveries in 2006 and 2010.

Jan. 22, 2012, photos of male Central Ranges taipan (Oxyuranus temporalis) by Tom Charlton: Eco Animal Encounters @ecoanimalencounters, via Facebook Feb. 14, 2014

Central Ranges taipans await specimen accumulations beyond the three that attest to overlapping and unique aspects of the newly discovered species with coastal and inland taipans, world's foremost and third-most venomous snakes.

Central Ranges taipans bear their common name because of biogeographies in the same-named Australian bioregion and the Wik-Mungkan term taipan ("snake") in Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. Their scientific name Oxyuranus temporalis (pointed-tail temple-scaled) confirms the Greek ὀξύς, oxús, "pointed" and οὐρά, ourá, "tail"; and Latin -ānus and ālis, "concerning" and tempora, "temple." Twenty-first-century taxonomies defer to scientific descriptions in 2007 by Stephen Donnellan, Paul Doughty, Mark Hutchinson and Brad Maryan of a live specimen from Sept. 22, 2006.

A George Gill Range specimen, misplaced after 1896, edges the Northern Territory in among Central Ranges taipan-friendly niches with 5.91- to 7.48-inch (150- to 190-millimeter) rainfall.

Many midbody scale rows, numerous ventral scales and undivided anal scales fit Central Ranges taipans in with fellow coastal (Oxyuranus scutellatus) and inland (Oxyuranus microlepidotus) taipans.

Central Ranges, coastal and inland taipans get round-pupiled eyes without subocular scales and paired subcaudal scales under pointed, whip-like tails whose tips never guard soft spines. Molecular genetic analyses of mitochondrial nucleotide sequences herald the three taipans' sister lineage despite Central Ranges' one, not two, temporal and six, not seven, lower-labial scales. Central Ranges taipans include one maxillary, not coastal taipans' one to three and inland taipans' three to five maxillaries, alongside two 0.12-inch- (3-millimeter-) long front fangs.

Central Ranges taipans juggle parallel-sided, rectangular heads with angular-brow ridges; big eyes; broad, rounded snouts; black-tipped, circular, large tongues; and eight upper-jaw and 10 lower-jaw teeth.

Central Ranges taipans know black irises; black-tongued, pink-lined mouths; black-olive-gray and white-brown upper-sides with scaleless, white skin; and white-yellow undersides with orange spots towards white-brown heads.

The first-collected, Walter James Range-area specimen lodged three undeveloped egg yolk-bearing right-ovary and four left-ovary follicles of respectively 0.11- and 0.12-inch (2.87- and 3.18-millimeter) maximum lengths. This first of five Western Australia-collected specimens manifests 21 midbody, 250 ventral and 60 paired subcaudal scales and 33.2-inch- (84.5-centimeter-) snout-vent and 4.92-inch- (12.5-centimeter-) tail lengths. The likewise smooth-shelled Western Australia quartet nets 45.28-inch (115-centimeter), 53.94-inch (137-centimeter) and 57.48-inch (146-centimeter) snout-vent lengths with 7.52-inch (19.1-centimeter), 8.27-inch (21-centimeter) and 7.99-inch (20.3-centimeter) tail lengths.

The last three of the four Western Australia specimens from Ilkurlka Roadhouse observe 12.34-ounce (350-gram) female-bodied, 13.19-ounce (374-gram) male-bodied and 17-ounce (482-gram) male-bodied sexually mature weights.

Two dead specimens from Ilkurlka Roadhouse-area biological surveys May 2010 present 0.49-inch- (12.5-millimeter-) deep heads, wider than two live specimens in Adelaide Zoo, Adelaide, South Australia. They queue up 1.13- to 1.21-inch- (28.7- to 30.6-millimeter-) long, 0.06- to 0.79-inch- (1.5- to 20.2-millimeter-) wide heads atop 240- to 252-ventral, 57- to 61-subcaudal-scaled bodies.

Fecal and stomach analyse reveal, as prey, hopping mice (Notomys) and plains rats (Pseudomys) and dunnart (Sminthopsis), false antechinus (Pseudantechinus), mulgara (Dasycercus) and ningaui (Ningaui) marsupials. Venom from the Adelaide Zoo duo for studies published July 2, 2014, suggests simple neurotoxins coastal and inland taipan-like in swift sureness and, with anti-venom, stoppability.

Gravel- and sand-rooted foxtails (Ptilotus), fuchsia bushes (Eremophila), marble gums (Eucalyptus), mulgas (Acacia), quandong sandalwoods (Santalum), silky oaks (Grevillea) and spinifex (Triodia) tempt Central Ranges taipans.

Pila Nguru (known in English as Spinifex people) from the Tjuntjuntjara Aboriginal community captured an adult female Central Ranges taipan during a biological study (conducted in collaboration with the Department of Environment and Conservation, Museum Victoria and West Australia Museum) in May 2010 at Western Australia’s Ilkulka Community, which comprises a small community and roadhouse, located in the Great Victoria Desert about 165 kilometers west of the South Australia border; Ilkulka Roadhouse, Monday, Jan. 2, 2006, 14:59: Gazjo at English Wikipedia, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Central Ranges taipan (Oxyuranus temporalis) housed at Adelaide Zoo, South Australia: Eco Animal Encounters @ecoanimalencounters via Facebook, Feb. 14, 2014, @ https://www.facebook.com/ecoanimalencounters/photos/a.181939035309065/260201307482837/

Barber, Carmel M.; Frank Madaras; Richard K. Turnbull; Terry Morley; Nathan Dunstan; Luke Allen; Tim Kuchel; Peter Mirtschin; and Wayne C. Hodgson. 2 July 2014. "Comparative Studies of the Venom of a New Taipan Species, Oxyuranus temporalis, with Other Members of Its Genus." Toxins, vol. 6, issue 7: 1979-1995. Doi:10.3390/toxins6071979
Available via MDPI @ https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/6/7
Available via ResearchGate @ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263708585_Comparative_Studies_of_the_Venom_of_a_New_Taipan_Species_Oxyuranus_temporalis_with_Other_Members_of_Its_Genus

Brennan, Karl E.C.; Terry Morley; Mark Hutchinson; and Steve Donnellan. 6 March 2012. "Redescription of the Western Desert Taipan, Oxyuranus Temporalis (Serpentes : Elapidae), with Notes on Its Distribution, Diet and Genetic Variation." Australian Journal of Zoology, vol. 59, issue 4: 227-235. Doi.org/10.1071/Z011062
Available via ResearchGate @ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263005424_Redescription_of_the_western_desert_taipan_Oxyuranus_temporalis_Serpentes_Elapidae_with_notes_on_its_distribution_diet_and_genetic_variation

Doughty, Paul; Brad Maryan; Stephen C. Donnellan; and Mark N. Hutchinson. 8 March 2007. "A New Species of Taipan (Elapidae: Oxyuranus) from Central Australia." Zootaxa, vol. 1422, no. 1: 45-58. Doi: 10.11646/zootaxa1422.1.3
Available via ResearchGate @ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/253285357_A_new_species_of_taipan_Elapidae_Oxyuranus_from_central_Australia

Keogh, J. Scott. "Cobras, Kraits, Seasnakes, Death Adders, and Relatives (Elapidae)." In: Michael Hutchins, James B. Murphy and Neil Schlager, eds. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Second edition. Volume 7, Reptiles: 483-488. Farmington Hills MI: Gale Group, 2003.

Eco Animal Encounters @ecoanimalencounters. 14 February 2014. “Back in January 2012, I was given the chance to see and photograph the recently discovered Central ranges taipan, Oxyuranus temporalis, held in quarantine at Adelaide Zoo, South Australia. This species was first described back in 2007, and and since then, only a handful have been found. The pair held in Adelaide -- the only animals of this species in captivity -- were collected back in October 2010 during a joint survey between the WA museum, Museum Victoria and Adelaide Zoo. It's surprising to think that a member of such of high-profile genus of venomous snake could remain hidden in the Australian outback for so long!” Facebook.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/ecoanimalencounters/photos/a.181939035309065/260201307482837/

Eco Animal Encounters @ecoanimalencounters. 21 September 2013. “Last year, I was lucky enough to be shown the only pair of the central ranges taipan, Oxyuranus temporalis, in captivity -- currently housed off-show in quarantine at Adelaide Zoo. This species was only described in 2007, and since then only a handful have been found, including the pair housed here. Unfortunately, the situation didn't allow for a decent photography session with this species, but never the less, a great experience! This is the male.” Facebook.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/ecoanimalencounters/photos/a.181939035309065/211384425697859/

Marriner, Derdriu. 25 July 2014. "Coastal Taipan Natural History Illustrations and Photographs." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/07/coastal-taipan-natural-history.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 26 July 2014. "Australian Inland Taipans: Reclusive But Deadliest of All World Snakes." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/07/australian-inland-taipans-reclusive-but.html

Shea, G.M. 2007. "A Possible Second Record of the Central Ranges Taipan Oxyuranus Temporalis (Elapidae)." Herpetofauna 37(2): 95-97.

Uetz, Peter. "Oxyuranus temporalis Doughty, Maryan, Donnellan & Hutchinson, 2007." The Reptile Database.
Available @ http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Oxyuranus&species=microlepidotus

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Australian Inland Taipans: Reclusive But Deadliest of All World Snakes

Summary: Oxyuranus microlepidotus natural history illustrations get western, small-scaled, lignum, fierce, inland taipan images as the world's most venomous snake.

Western, small-scaled, lignum, fierce and inland taipans all are names for one reclusive reptile that appears atop lists of Australia's and the world's deadliest, most venomous snakes and that appreciates mammalian prey.

Inland taipans bear their common names because of augmented venomousness; Australian interior biogeographies; basic ground cover; minimum-sized body armor; and Queensland and South Australia distribution ranges. Their scientific name Oxyuranus microlepidotus coordinates the Greek ὀξύς, óxús, "pointed" and οὐρά, ourá, "tail"; Latin -ānus, "possessing"; Greek μικρός, mikrós, "small" and λεπίς, lepís, "scale." Scientific descriptions in 1879 and 1882 by Sir Frederick McCoy (1817-May 1, 1899) and Sir William John Macleay (June 13, 1820-Dec. 7, 1891) dominate current taxonomies.

Western, small-scaled, lignum, fierce, inland taipans exist endemically on and under black-soil, cracking-clay, cracking-loam, rocky, semi-arid plains in the central-east states of Queensland and South Australia.

The term taipan ("snake") filters in, through Donald Finlay Fergusson Thomson (June 26, 1901-May 12, 1970), from the Wik-Mungkan aboriginal language of Cape York Peninsula, Queensland.

The Elapsidae (from the Greek ἔλαψ, élaps, "sea-fish" and Ἔλλοψ, Éllops, "serpent") family female member gestates one to two 12- to 24-egg clutches from mid-November onward. Temperatures between 80.6 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit (27 and 30 degrees Celsius) hatch the 2.36- by 1.38-inch (6- by 3.5-centimeter) eggs within 9 to 11 weeks. The 18.5-inch- (47-centimeter-) long hatchlings inhabit the abandoned animal burrows and cracked, creviced natural holes that insulate eggs, juveniles and adults against colder and hotter temperatures.

Inland taipans journey around chenopods (from Greek χήν, khén, "goose" and πούς, poús, "foot"), eucalypts and lignum (Muehlenbeckia florulenta) more sustainably in South Australia than Queensland.

Western, small-scaled, lignum, fierce, inland taipans keep heads between the horizontal and vertical for big, black-brown, keen-sighted, round-pupiled eyes to know predatory, prey and shelter whereabouts.

Hollow 0.14- to 0.25-inch- (3.5- to 6.2-millimeter-) long fangs loosen into mammalian bloodstreams world-lethalest absorption-accelerating hyaluronidases, muscle-necrotizing myotoxins, nervous system-sabotaging neurotoxins and red blood cell-savaging hemotoxins. They make for a favorite, quick meal of house (Mus musculus) and jumping-beak (Antechinomys laniger) mice and long-haired (Rattus villosissimus) and plains (Pseudomys australis) rat prey. Predatory monitor lizards (Varanus giganteus) and mulga snakes (Pseudechis australis) necessitate quick-retreat early morning and afternoon basking and hunting during 15- to 20-year reclusive life cycles.

Western, small-scaled, lignum, fierce, inland taipans observe thermoregulation as internal temperature control of cylindrical, semi-stout, short-headed, short-tailed, summer-greened, winter-browned bodies and of slender, summer-browned, winter-blackened necks.

Western, small-scaled, lignum, fierce, inland taipan fangs' 0.0016- to 0.0039-ounce (44- to 110-milligram) maximum venom per bite proves mortal within 30 to 45 minutes without antivenom.

Western, small-scaled, lignum, fierce, inland taipans queue up 1.75-plus-inch- (4.44-plus-centimeter-), 57- to 98.4-inch- (144.78 to 249.94-centimeter-) snout-vent and 7.5- to 12-plus-inch- (19.05- to 30.48-plus-centimeter-) tail lengths. They reveal 30 to 36 neck, 23 middle, 232 to 237 black-gray-blotched and edged ventral, one undivided anal, 60 to 66 subcaudal and 17 tail-base scales. Their black-brown-topped, gray-white-yellow-bottomed, black-brown-gray-tailed bodies with broad, depressed, glossy, round-muzzled heads and dual-fanged, sharp-toothed mouths never show up any more in New South Wales and Victoria.

Macleay descriptions termed the third-collected specimen of western, small-scaled, lignum, fierce, inland taipans "the most formidable looking of all the venomous Australian snakes I have seen."

range of fierce snake (Oxyuranus microlepidotus): Taipan198, CC BY SA 2.5 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

western taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus), under synonym Diemenia microlepidota; fig. 2 (lower left) under side of head and neck (lower left: fig. 2) and upper side of head (upper right: fig. 2a) of large dark specimen; head (upper right: fig. 3) and under side of base of tail (fig. 3a) of small specimen; drawn by English-born Australian natural history illustrator Arthur Bartholomew (Dec. 3, 1833-Aug. 19, 1909), lithograph plates by Swiss-born Australian lithographer and printmaker Frederick Schoenfeld (ca. 1810-April 21, 1868); F. McCoy's Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria (1879), decade III, Plate 23, opposite page 11: Not in copyright, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/5221170; Biodiversity Heritage Library (BioDivLibrary, Public Domain, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/29434234711/

range of fierce snake (Oxyuranus microlepidotus): Taipan198, CC BY SA 2.5 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fierce_Snake_Range.jpg

For further information:

Macleay, William. 1882. "Description of Two New Species of Snakes." The Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, vol. VI, part IV (papers read Nov. 30, 1881): 811-813. Sydney, Australia: F.W. White.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/3343925

McCoy, Frederick. 1879. "Plate 23, Figs. 2 and 3. Diemenia Microlepidota (McCoy). Small-Scaled Brown Snake." Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria; Figures and Descriptions of the Living Species of All Classes of the Victorian Indigenous Animals I. Decade III: 12-13. Natural History of Victoria. Melbourne, Australia: By authority: John Ferres, government printer; Published by George Robertson; London, England: Trübner and Co.; and George Robertson, M.DCCC.LXXIX.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/5221172
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/naturalhistoryof11885mcco/page/n151

Uetz, Peter. "Oxyuranus microlepidotus (McCoy, 1879)." The Reptile Database.
Available @ http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Oxyuranus&species=microlepidotus

Friday, July 25, 2014

Coastal Taipan Natural History Illustrations and Photographs

Summary: Coastal taipan natural history illustrations and photographs give behaviors, distributions and physiques of the world's third or fourth most venomous snake.

coastal taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus) in Cooktown, Cape York Peninsula, Far North Queensland, northeastern Australia; February 1980; John Wombey, CSIRO, CC BY 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Endemic Australian and New Guinean coastal taipan natural history illustrations and photographs acknowledge the world's third or fourth most venomous snake, after inland taipans, eastern brown snakes and possibly Central Ranges taipans.

Taipan venom, with 0.0042- to 0.0141-ounce (120- to 400-milligram) maximums per bite, without countermeasures, brings death within one-half to two hours of injection into victim bloodstreams. Coastal taipans constitute the first-discovered of the three most venomous, taipan species in the Elapidae subtropical and tropical venomous sea-fish (ἔλαψ, élaps) serpent (Ἔλλοψ, Éllops) family. Their scientific name Oxyuranus scutellatus (from the Greek ὀξύς, óxús, "pointed" and οὐρά, ourá, "tail"; and Latin -ānus, "possessing" and scutellātus, "shielded"), distinguishes plated, pointed tails.

Coastal taipans exist in New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia and, as George Cann's (1967-Aug. 22, 1965) subspecies, in Irian Jaya, New Guinea.

The Wik-Mungkan aboriginal language of Cape York Peninsula, in Queensland, Australia, furnished Donald Finlay Fergusson Thomson (June 26, 1901-May 12, 1970) with the term taipan ("snake").

July through October matings generate 3- to 21-egg August- through November-gestated clutches September through March and 11.81- to 23.62-inch (30- to 60-centimeter) hatchlings November through June. Adults with 4- to 11-foot (1.22- to 3.3-meter) head-body-tail lengths have big, narrow, rectangular heads that hint of evolutionarily convergent African black mambas with coffin-shaped heads. Convergent evolution indicates the almost or quite identical behavioral patterns, life cycles and physical appearances of black mambos and coastal taipans despite far-apart, non-overlapping distribution ranges.

Coastal taipan natural history illustrations and photographs juggle heads raised above ground-level, to judge predator, prey and shelter whereabouts, atop slender necks to strong, sturdy bodies.

Coastal taipans keep their angular-browed, light-faced heads angled between the horizontal and the vertical for big, hazel to light brown, keen-sighted, round eyes with big pupils.

Hollow fangs maximally 0.52 inches (13 millimeters) long loosen into bloodstreams the neurotoxin taipoxin that leads to bleeding, clots, convulsions, kidney and muscle damage and paralysis. Coastal taipans maintain immobile postures until they move, hurtlingly and swiftly, at the most accessible, bitable, vulnerable parts of bandicoot and rat prey and of predators. Coastal taipans, named in 1867 by Wilhelm Peters (April 22, 1815-April 20, 1883) and 1956 by Kenneth Slater (June 22, 1923-Aug. 15, 1999), net variable colors.

Coastal taipan natural history illustrations and photographs observe summer-faded, winter-darkened black, black-gray, olive or red-brown upper-sides, orange- or pink-flecked white or yellow bellies and white-yellow sides.

Australia's Oxyuranus scutellatus scutellatus and New Guinea's Oxyuranus scutellatus canni subspecies possess 21 to 23 dorsal, 45 to 80 subcaudal and 220 to 250 ventral scales.

Taipans, day-active into mid-morning or, during heat waves, night-active, queue up for 31.49-plus-inch (800-plus-millimeter) annual rainfall and winter temperatures above 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius). Coastal taipan habitat niches range from non-native lantana thickets to disturbed wastelands; grazing paddocks; monsoon, temperate and tropical continental wet forests; natural grasslands; and sugarcane fields. Abandoned burrows, hollow logs, litter piles and overgrown vegetation shelter coastal taipans in dry and wet sclerophyll (σκληρός, sklērós and φύλλον, phúllon, "hard-leaved") forests and woodlands.

Coastal taipan natural history illustrations and photographs tender, without the threat of toxicity, the behavioral patterns, distribution ranges and physical appearances of Australia's largest venomous animal.

geographical distribution of coastal taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus): RedGKS, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

coastal taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus) in Cooktown, Cape York Peninsula, Far North Queensland, northeastern Australia; February 1980; John Wombey, CSIRO, CC BY 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CSIRO_ScienceImage_3625_Taipan.jpg

geographical distribution of coastal taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus): RedGKS, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oxyuranus_scutellatus_range.png

For further information:

Barber, Carmel M.; Frank Madaras; Richard K. Turnbull; Terry Morley; Nathan Dunstan; Luke Allen; Tim Kuchel; Peter Mirtschin; and Wayne C. Hodgson. July 2014. "Comparative Studies of the Venom of a New Taipan Species, Oxyuranus temporalis, with Other Members of Its Genus." Toxins, vol. 6, issue 7 (July 2014): 1979-1995.
Available via National Center for Biotechnology Information @ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4113736/

Fohlman, Jan; David Eaker; Evert Karlsson; and Stephen Thesleff. 1976. "Taipoxin, an Extremely Potent Presynaptic Neurotoxin from the Venom of the Australian Snake Taipan (Oxuranus s. scutellatus): Isolation, Characterization, Quaternary Structure and Pharmacological Properties." European Journal of Biochemistry, vol. 68, issue 2 (September 1976): 457-469.
Available @ https://febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1432-1033.1976.tb10833.x

Keogh, J. Scott. "Taipan Oxyuranus scutellatus." In: Michael Hutchins, James B. Murphy and Neil Schlager, eds. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Second edition. Volume 7, Reptiles: 496. Farmington Hills MI: Gale Group, 2003.

Peters, W. [Wilhelm Karl Hartwig]. November 1867. "Über Flederthiere (Pteropus Gouldii, Rhinolophus Deckenii, Vespertilio lobipes, Vesperugo Temminckii) und Amphibien (Hypsilurus Godeffroyi, Lygosoma scutatum, Stenostoma narirostre, Onychocephalus unguirostris, Ahaetulla polylepis, Pseudechis scutellatus, Hoplobatrachus Reinhardtii, Hyla coriacea): 6. Pseudechis scutellatus n. sp." Monatsberichte der Königlich-Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin. November 1867: 710-711.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/stream/monatsberichtede1867knig#page/710/mode/1up

Rooij, Nelly de. 1917. "3. Pseudechis scutellatus Peters." The Reptiles of the Indo-Australian Archipelago, Vol. II Ophidia: 269-270. Leiden, Netherlands: E.J. Brill Ltd. Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/4133427

Slater, K.R. [Kenneth R.]. January 1956. "On the New Guinea Taipan." Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria Melbourne, no. 20: 201-215.
Available @ https://archive.org/stream/MemoirsNational20Nati#page/201/mode/1up

Uetz, Peter. "Oxyuranus scutellatus Peters, 1867." The Reptile Database.
Available @ http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Oxyuranus&species=scutellatus

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Lunar Near Side Crater Amundsen Parents One Satellite Near South Pole

Summary: Lunar near side crater Amundsen parents one satellite near the south pole as an intruder in Amundsen’s former satellite, Hédervári Crater.

Map shows lineup of parent crater Amundsen (center left), next to Hédervári Crater (former satellite A), which hosts Amundsen satellite C (green; center) in its northern rim, wall and floor: Courtesy ASU (Arizona State University)/NASA, via IAU/USGS Astrogeology Science Center Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature

Lunar near side crater Amundsen parents one satellite near the south pole as an intrusive craterlet, Amundsen C, on Hédervari Crater, Amundsen’s former satellite A.

Amundsen Crater formerly claimed two satellites in the lunar near side’s southeastern quadrant. Amundsen A hugs primary crater Amundsen’s northern rim. Intervening between parent and satellite, Amundsen A hosts Amundsen C, which is positioned in satellite A’s northern region.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) upgraded satellite A to a primary crater with official renaming as Hédervári Crater in 1994, during the organization’s XXIInd (22nd) General Assembly, held in The Hague, Netherlands, from Monday, Aug. 15, to Saturday, Aug. 27. Hédervári’s namesake is Hungarian geophysicist Péter Hédervári (April 29, 1931-June 27, 1984).

Amundsen satellite C is centered at minus 80.76 degrees south latitude, 85.21 degrees east longitude, according to the IAU’s Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The satellite registers northernmost and southernmost latitudes of minus 80.36 degrees south and minus 81.16 degrees south, respectively. Amundsen C’s easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach to 87.7 degrees east and 82.72 degrees east, respectively. The satellite has a diameter of 24.22 kilometers.

Satellite C not only overlaps Hédervári’s northern rim but also intrudes into its interior. C occupies Hédervári’s inner wall and claims part of the interior floor.

Satellite C’s parent distinguishes itself as a flat-floored, large impact crater. Central peaks emerge in the interior floor’s midpoint. The larger northern peak rises to 1,500 meters and the smaller, southern peak stands 1,300 meters above the floor, according to retired physicist Jim Mosher in his contribution to The Moon Wiki.

Primary crater Amundsen is centered at minus 84.44 degrees south latitude, 83.07 degrees east longitude. Amundsen obtains northernmost and southernmost latitudes of minus 82.85 degrees south and minus 86.26 degrees south, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes stretch to 104.12 degrees east and 67.6 degrees east, respectively. Amundsen’s diameter of 103.39 kilometer exceeds its satellite’s 24.22-kilometer diameter by approximately 75 percent.

Amundsen and its satellite fall within the moon’s permanently shadowed regions (PSRs). The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio’s (SVS) March 6, 2013, feature, “The Moon’s Permanently Shadowed Regions,” explains that “there are some parts of the Moon that never see sunlight.” The nearly perpendicular tilt of the lunar axis to the direction of sunlight accounts for the dark appearance of these permanently shadowed regions. “The result is that the bottoms of certain craters, like here at the Moon’s south pole, are never pointed toward the Sun, with some remaining dark for over two billion years,” notes the Scientific Visualization Studio’s presentation.

Amundsen’s terraced southern wall and southern floor receive sunlight. Sunlight illuminates the floor’s central peaks. Shadows cloak the crater’s northern wall and northern floor.

The sun illuminates the arc of Amundsen C’s southern rim. Darkness hides the rest of the petite satellite.

The IAU approved parent crater Amundsen’s name in 1964, during the organization’s XIIth (12th) General Assembly, which was held in Hamburg, Germany, from Tuesday, Aug. 25, to Thursday, Sept. 3. Satellite C’s designation received approval in 2006, during the IAU’s XXVIth (26th) General Assembly, held Monday, Aug. 14, to Friday, Aug. 25, in Prague, Czech Republic.

The Amundsen crater system is named after Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (July 16, 1872-June 18, 1928). The Norwegian polar explorer led expeditions that accomplished the first navigation of Canadian Arctic Archipelago’s Northwest Passage (1905), the first reach of the South Pole by ground (1911) and the first overflight of the North Pole (1926). Amundsen and five mission members disappeared Monday, June 18, 1928, during their search for airship Italia, which had crashed on Arctic pack ice Friday, May 25, northeast of the Svalbard Archipelago’s Nordaustlandet (North East Land) Island.

The takeaway for lunar near side crater Amundsen’s parentage of one satellite near the south pole is that former Amundsen satellite A, now renamed as primary crater Hédervári, intervenes between Amundsen and its sole satellite, Amundsen C.

Detail shows (left to right) Amundsen Crater (left center) with Hédervári (covered by letters “Am”) and satellite C (covered by letters “un”); U.S. Geological Survey Color-Coded Topography and Shaded Relief Map of Lunar South Hemisphere, prepared for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; 2002; Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection: U.S. Geological Survey, via USGS Publications Warehouse

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Amundsen, Roald. My Life as an Explorer. Garden City NY: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1927.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/roaldamundsenmyl00amun_0/

Amundsen, Roald. The North West Passage: Being the Record of a Voyage of Exploration of the Ship “Gjöa” 1903-1907 by Roald Amundsen With a Supplement by First Lieutenant Hansen Vice-Commander of the Expedition. With About One Hundred and Thirty-Nine Illustrations and Three Maps. Vol. I. London UK: Archibald Constable and Company Limited, 1908.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/northwestpassage01amun/

Amundsen, Roald. The North West Passage: Being the Record of a Voyage of Exploration of the Ship “Gjöa” 1903-1907 by Roald Amundsen With a Supplement by First Lieutenant Hansen Vice-Commander of the Expedition. With About One Hundred and Thirty-Nine Illustrations and Three Maps. Vol. II. London UK: Archibald Constable and Company Limited, 1908.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/northwestpassage02amun/

Amundsen, Roald. The South Pole: An Account of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition in the Fram, 1910-1912. In two volumes. Translated from the Norwegian by A.G. Chater. London UK: John Murray, 1912.
Volume I: Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/southpoleaccount01/
Volume II: Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/southpoleaccount02/

Appenzeller, I. (Immo), ed. XXIInd General Assembly – Transactions of the IAU Vol. XXII B Proceedings of the 22nd General Assembly The Hague, The Netherlands, August 15-27, 1994. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Jan. 1, 1996.
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Bown, Stephen R. The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen. A Merloyd Lawrence Book. Boston MA: Da Capo Press, 2012.

Byron, B.D.; K. (Kurt) D. Retherford; T.K. Greathouse; K.E. Mandt; A.R. Hendrix; M.J. Poston; Y. Liu; J. (Joshua) T. Cahill; and E. (Erwan) Mazarico. “Effects of Space Weathering and Porosity on the Far-UV Reflectance of Amundsen Crater." AGU 100, vol. 124, issue 3 (March 2019): 823-836.
Available via Wiley Online @ https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2018JE005908

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

Eubanks, Thomas Marshall. “Amundsen Crater: Access to Lunar Volatiles and Sunlit Areas on a Level Plain.” NASA Ames Research Center Lunar Science for Landed Missions Workshop, Jan. 10-12, 2018.
Available @ https://lunar-landing.arc.nasa.gov/program

Gläser, P.; J. Oberst; G.A. Neumann; E. Mazarico; E.J. Speyerer; and M.S. Robinson. Illumination Conditions at the Lunar Poles: Implications for Future Explorations. NASA Report No. GSFC-E-DAA-TN45112. Aug. 14, 2017.
Available via NASA NTRS (NASA Technical Reports Server) @ https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20170007365.pdf

Gläser, P.; F. Scholten; D. De Rosa; R. Marco Figuera; J. Oberst; E. Mazarico; G.A. Neumann; and M.S. Robinson. “Illumination Conditions at the Lunar South Pole Using High Resolution Digital Terrain Models From LOLA.” Icarus, vol. 243 (Nov. 15, 2014): 78-90.
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International Astronomical Union. “Amundsen.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/247

International Astronomical Union. “[Amundsen A].” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated March 25, 2011.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/7235

International Astronomical Union. “Amundsen C.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/7236

International Astronomical Union. “Hédervári.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/2620

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Marriner, Derdriu. “Amundsen Satellite A Now Honors Hungarian Geophysicist Péter Hédervári.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, June 25, 2014. Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/06/amundsen-satellite-now-honors-hungarian.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/07/lunar-crater-amundsen-honors-norwegian.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Stickney Crater Honors Phobos Discoverer Asaph Hall’s First Wife." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, July 3, 2013.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/07/stickney-crater-honors-phobos.html

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