Earth and Space News

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum): Fresh or Cooked Delicacy of Andes Tuber

Summary: Mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum) is a New World edible tuber, native to the Andes, that is served as a fresh or cooked delicacy.

Flowering mashua, in full growth at time of tuber harvesting, altitude of ca. 3,000 meters, near Quito, Provincia de Pichincha (Pichincha province), north central Ecuador; Germplasm collection of Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIAP; National Institute for Agricultural Research), Estación Experimental Santa Catalina (EESC; Santa Catalina Experimental Station); May 1990: Michael Hermann, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Tropaeolum tuberosum is an edible tuber in the nasturtium genus, Tropaeolum, which is the only genus in the Tropaeolaceae family.

The New World tuber's most widely used common name is mashua, a Quechua word of unknown meaning. Primarily spoken in South America's central Andean region, Quechua stands out as the most widely spoken language of indigenous peoples of the Americas.

Mashua's official description is credited to Spanish botanists Hipólito Ruiz López (Aug. 8, 1754–ca. 1816) and José Antonio Pavón Jiménez (April 22, 1754–1840). The two expeditionary botanists based their description in 1802 upon a specimen that they collected in Peru during the Botanical Expedition to the Viceroyalty of Peru (Expedición Botánica al Virreinato del Perú). The expedition was commissioned by Carlos III (Jan. 20, 1716–Dec. 14, 1788), fifth Bourbon King of Spain and the Spanish Indies (Aug. 10, 1759–Dec. 14, 1788), and conducted from April 1778 to March 1788.

A New World native, cultivated and wild forms of mashua are found in the high Andes from Colombia southward to northwestern Argentina. Located in the Jauja Valley in Peru's Central Highlands, Huachumachay Cave has yielded the first archaeological evidence of mashua, dating from 650 to 1350 A.D.

Included among designs of Andean tubers on pottery from Pacheco in southern Peru's lower-middle Nazca Valley are beautiful depictions of mashua. The location of the Nazca Valley, from Peru's Pacific Coast inland to the Andes Mountains, suggests the possibility of mashua not only as a highland staple but also as a coastal crop.

Despite its desirable attributes as hardily prolific and as resistant to frost and pests, mashua suffers from a rustic connotation due to its long-time cultivation in high-altitude remoteness.

Current Andean cultivation tends to occur on small-scale plots, with Peru emerging as the tuber's largest producer. In Ecuador, mashua is grown in isolated areas of La Sierra, the highland geographic region stretching centrally from north to south. Colombia's cultivation is restricted to Boyacá, the country's north central department. Only Argentina's northwestern provinces grow mashua, both for food and as an ornamental.

Although seeming to suffer from declining production in its native habitats, mashua is experiencing a surging interest as an introduced crop in new ecosystems, especially in New Zealand, and also in the Pacific Northwest in the United States.

Although traditionally produced as an annual, mashua is actually a perennial plant. Annual propagation entails spring planting of seed tubers.

Mashua tubers display a wide range of colors that is reflected in varietal common names. Orange predominates in zanahoria-añu (“like a carrot”) and zapallo-añu (“like a pumpkin”) varieties. Phutilla-añu and Puca-añu varieties are red. Yurac-añu applies to white tubers Yawar waqac ("tears of blood") tubers present a yellow background covered in red stripes.

Mashua is a completely edible plant, from its above-ground leaves, palm-shaped in 3 to 5 lobes, and flowers, brilliantly hued in reds and yellows, to its below-ground, colorfully blushing tubers. The pungency of raw mashua tubers, described as peppery and likened to radishes (Raphanus sativus), mellows with cooking.

Fresh tubers, thinly sliced, contribute a peppery taste to fresh salads. Tubers stewed with herbs, meats, and other vegetables are a favored recipe in the Andes. A dessert of the cooked tuber, soaked in molasses, is popular in Bolivia and Peru.

Mashua's raw pungency derives from isothiocyanates, natural compounds prized as natural repellents of gophers and other garden pests. Traditionally, mashua is intercropped with other root vegetables, such as oca (Oxalis tuberosa) and ulluco (Ullucus tuberosus). In Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, mashua is planted, as a companion plant for potatoes (Solanum tuberosum), in border rows to repel potato pests.

As a hardy, prolific tuber with desirable attributes of frost resistance and pest repellence, mashua qualifies as a welcome companion plant in gardens. Mashua's qualities as a garden plant have been acknowledged by way of the Award of Garden Merit (AGM), bestowed upon a cultivar, Tropaeolum tuberoseum var. lineamaculatum 'Ken Aslet,' in 1993 by the Royal Horticultural Society.

As a completely edible plant, mashua rewards gardeners with visual appeal and satisfying deliciousness as fresh and cooked ingredients at mealtime.

"Sample of clonally propagated mashua cultivars, in Peru"; 1995: Michael Hermann, CC BY SA 4.0 International, 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:

"Sample of clonally propagated mashua cultivars, in Peru"; 1995: Michael Hermann, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mashua_tuber_diversity_Peru_(Tropaeolum_tuberosum).JPG

For further information:

Grau, Alfredo; Ramiro Ortega Dueñas; Carlos Nieto Cabrera; Michael Hermann. Mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum Ruiz & Pav.). Promoting the Conservation and Use of Underutilized and Neglected Crops #25. Lima, Peru: International Potato Center; Rome, Italy: International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, 2003.
Available via Biodiversity International @ http://www.bioversityinternational.org/uploads/tx_news/Mashua__Tropaeolum_tuberosum_Ru%C3%ADz__amp__Pav._880.pdf

National Research Council (U.S.). Lost Crops of the Incas: Little-Known Plants of the Andes with Promise for Worldwide Cultivation. Washington DC: National Academy Press, 1989.

Ruiz, Hippolyto, and Josepho Pavon. Flora Peruviana, et Chilensis, Sive Descriptiones, et Icones Plantarum Peruvianarum, et Chilensium, Secundum Systema Linnaeanum Digestae, Cum Characteribus Plurium Generum Evulgatorum Generum. Plates XLIII-CCCXXV. Madrid: Typis Gabrielis de Sancha, 1798 – 1802.
Tropaeolum tuberosum (plate CCCXIV) available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/675123

Van Houtte, Louis. Flore des Serres et des Jardins de l'Europe. Tome cinquième. Gand, Belgium: Louis Van Houtte, 1849.
Tropaeolum tuberosum illustration by Louis Constantin Stroobant (1814 - 1872) available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16233987

Tomatoes Love Marigolds: Tomato Companion Planting

Summary: Tomatoes love marigolds, according to companion planting strategies, because marigold neighbors encourage aphid-free tomatoes.

marigold neighbors yield aphid-free tomatoes, according to companion planting principles; Mount Pleasant neighborhood, Vancouver, British Columbia, western Canada; Saturday, July 23, 2011, 16:27:03: Ruth Hartnup (Ruth and Dave), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

Companion planting is a gardening strategy to group together plants that thrive in proximity and to separate plants that languish as garden neighbors.

The dynamics of companion planting remain elusive and almost magical or miraculous in the effects produced by plants as adversarial or as beneficial neighbors in gardens. Experimentation, research, tradition and word-of-mouth are common avenues for identifying plants that flourish together and those that wither together.

Especially valuable for gardeners is the circle of friends enjoyed by tomatoes, one of the most popularly grown and harvested of garden plants. Gardens feature tomatoes because of their global culinary popularity and because of their easy cultivation.

Happy tomato plants produce an abundance of tomatoes, which satisfy as fresh or cooked ingredients and also as canned ingredients for future recipes. An allure of an overly productive tomato plant is the plethora of recipes, from easy to complex, from which to choose.

Tomatoes especially cherish marigolds as neighbors.

The scented beauties in the sunflower family of Asteraceae benevolently and effectively repel such floral pests as nematodes. The roundworms have tubular digestive systems, open at both ends, and display a talent for adapting to a wide range of environments, from marine to terrestrial and from polar to tropical.

The Tagetes genus of marigolds, a New World native sprawling across both North and South America, includes such garden favorites as French marigolds (Tagetes patula) and Mexican marigolds (Tagetes lucida). Marigolds slowly produce a chemical in their roots that is fatal to nematodes. Marigolds control root-knot nematodes, which feature larvae with a potentially lethal effect on roots and which plague tomatoes.

Tomatoes have a proclivity for staking claims to the same areas of a garden with future plantings in mind. Their preference should be honored whenever possible. A problem with disease-riddled tomatoes serves as the only exception and compelling reason for relocation of tomatoes from their habitual spots.

In addition to the fragrant and pretty camaraderie between tomatoes and marigolds, tomatoes also flourish in companion plantings with herbs, roses (Rosa) and vegetables.

Companionable herbs include basil (Ocimum basilicum), chives (Allium schoenoprasum), mint (Mentha), parsley (Petroselinum crispum) and rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis).

Companionable vegetables include asparagus (Asparagus officinalis), carrots (Daucus carota sativus), celery (Apium graveolens var. dulce), onions (Allium cepa) and radishes (Raphanus sativus).

Tomatoes extend their amiability in the garden to delectability in the kitchen with their favored floral companions. Their tasty camaraderie is especially apparent in salads.

In addition to popular garden companions, tomatoes team wonderfully, in and out of garden, with such well-known flowering plants as nasturtiums (Tropaeolum). All parts of nasturtiums are edible. Nasturtium flowers contribute vivid color to tomato salads.

Neighbors that are irksome to tomatoes include: cabbage (Brassica oleracea); other cabbage family members, such as broccoli (Brassica oleracea) and kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea Gongylodes group); corn; fennel (Foeniculum vulgare); and potatoes (Solanum tuberosum).

Tomatoes also join many garden plants in being troubled by nearby black walnut trees (Juglans nigra).

Although tomatoes are hardy, reliable garden dwellers, they are easily coaxed into resplendent perfection in appearance and taste through companion plantings with beneficial floral neighbors.

Happy tomato plants lead to happy eating for happy gardeners.

tomatoes and marigolds; Sunday, Sep. 10, 2006, 08:21:52: Rob and Stephanie Levy (robstephaustralia), 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.

Image credits:

tomatoes and marigolds; Sunday, Sep. 10, 2006, 08:21:52: Rob and Stephanie Levy (robstephaustralia), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/robandstephanielevy/238758231/

For further information:
Marriner, Derdriu. "Carrots Love Tomatoes: Carrot Companion Planting." Earth and Space News. Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/01/carrots-love-tomatoes-carrot-companion.html

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Urban Forest Maintenance and Non-Maintenance Costs and Benefits

Summary: Urban forest maintenance asks "How long?" "How much?" "How often?" "What?" "Which?" and "Who?" in ascertaining cost-benefit analyses of urban trees.

Water is essential for optimal growth and health of woody plants; USDA's i-Tree Tools peer-reviewed, state-of-the-art software suite is in the public domain as rural and urban forestry analysis and benefit assessment tools; i-Tree Hydro simulates potential hydrological impacts of land cover changes: USDA Forest Service, Free tools and free support, via i-Tree Tools

The article The Cost of Not Maintaining the Urban Forest in Arborist News for February 2015 applies the prescription that "preventive maintenance should cost less than delaying maintenance" to urban forest maintenance. It brings together a review of 300-plus tree maintenance-related papers, of which 21 percent and 36 percent of 163 papers respectively infer and include maintenance-related costs. It considers impacts of non-maintenance upon future values since longevity and serviceability compel disease and pest management, infrastructure repair, mulching, nutrient management, planting, pruning and watering.

The article's framework elements express duration, extent, frequency and intensity of urban forest maintenance activity type (mulching, pruning, staking) by whom (citizen, nonprofit, private, professional, public).

Duration, frequency and intensity fathom "How long?" and "How often?" and "How much?" while extent, as tree care standard practice objective, facilitates "What part?" and "Which?"

Urban forest maintenance gives pre-planting priority since "What initially occurs (or does not occur) at planting can greatly affect future maintenance, survival, and longevity of trees." Life-cycle stage-pegged maintenance helps immature, semi-mature, mature and senescent trees, with benefits holding steady increases, and costs decreases, "to the point they [woody plants] become senescent." Non-maintenance invokes lower benefits and "tree populations of lower value" since immature trees imply less benefits and more expenses and semi-mature and mature trees the reverse.

Urban forest maintenance judges that, for all tree life-cycle stages, "providing for maintenance that exceed [sic] the benefits is a financially inefficient means of allocating resources."

Natural woody plant function and structure keep non-maintained trees with benefits even though non-maintenance knows indirect costs of broken branches, debris removal, pests and tree failures.

Allocating maintenance resources below optimal pest, pruning and watering levels leads to "potentially less healthy trees that may have a shorter life span or service life." The economics-modeled intersection of marginal cost and marginal return curves mentions four- to five-year optimal pruning cycles for higher appraised tree values and stronger structural conditions. Woody plants need water for optimal growth and health since "inadequate water at critical plant life stages can ultimately lead to decreased tree health and death."

Urban forest maintenance obtains lower costs for watering, than not watering, new plantings when "replacing dead (unwatered) trees was included in the total tree establishment costs."

Inspecting and treating Dutch elm disease and managing emerald ash borers by removing, replacing and treating trees with insecticides, over doing nothing, provoke higher benefit-cost ratios.

Aesthetic and economic thresholds of unacceptable loss qualify for marginal analysis of non-treatment or treatment "when the costs of doing nothing surpasses [sic] the treatment cost." Condition and benefits and maintenance frequency, intensity and type records respectively relate physiology to pollutant uptakes, shade and water absorption and maintenance strategies to tree outcomes. The i-Tree and the Tree Benefits Calculator serve as useful tools since tree maintenance costs show "whether monetary investments in the urban forest make economic sense."

Savings on urban forest maintenance costs ultimately turn into losses in tree benefits, according to co-authors Burnell C. Fischer, Richard J. Hauer and Jessica M. Vogt.

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:

Costs and benefits of urban forest maintenance versus non-maintenance factor into deciding for management or for non-control of emerald ash borers (EAB); emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) image by David Cappeart, Michigan State University/Bugwood.org: uacescomm, CC BY-ND 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/uacescomm/14522904888/;
CC BY-NC 3.0 United States, via Forestry Images @ https://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=9000019

For further information:

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

Gilman, Edward F. January 2001. "Effect of Nursery Production Method, Irrigation, and Inoculation with Mycorrhizae-Forming Fungi on Establishment of Quercus virginiana." Journal of Arboriculture 27(1): 30-39.
Available @ http://joa.isa-arbor.com/articles.asp?JournalID=1&VolumeID=27&IssueID=1

Green Cities: Good Health. "Urban Forest Health Benefits." YouTube. Nov. 3, 2011.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTwbEogu2b4

Hauer, Richard J.; Jessica M. Vogt; and Burnell C. Fischer. February 2015. "The Cost of Not Maintaining the Urban Forest." Arborist News 24(1): 12-16.
Available @ http://html5.epaperflip.com/Viewer.aspx?docid=fd65520a-16ff-421e-9fb8-a42c0118f0d3#page=14

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

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 December 2014. “Tree Dwelling Symbionts: Dodder, Lichen, Mistletoe, Moss and Woe-Vine.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/12/tree-dwelling-symbionts-dodder-lichen.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 18 October 2014. “Tree Cable Installation Systems Lessen Target Impact From Tree Failure.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/10/tree-cable-installation-systems-lessen.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 16 August 2014. “Flood Tolerant Trees in Worst-Case Floodplain and Urbanized Scenarios.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/08/flood-tolerant-trees-in-worst-case.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 14 June 2014. “Integrated Vegetation Management of Plants in Utility Rights-of-Way.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/06/integrated-vegetation-management-of.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 12 April 2014. “Tree Twig Identification: Buds, Bundle Scars, Leaf Drops, Leaf Scars.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/04/tree-twig-identification-buds-bundle.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 February 2014. “Tree Twig Anatomy: Ecosystem Stress, Growth Rates, Winter Identification.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/02/tree-twig-anatomy-ecosystem-stress.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 14 December 2013. “Community and Tree Safety Awareness During Line- and Road-Clearances.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/12/community-and-tree-safety-awareness.html

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

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Heart Nebula: Cosmic Love via Plasma of Hydrogen Ions and Free Electrons

Summary: The Heart Nebula, known to astronomers as IC 1805, Sharpless 2-190, photographs as cosmic love via a plasma of hydrogen ions and free electrons.

Heart Nebula; image date Friday, July 31, 2009; image location near Halcottsville, Delaware County, New York: s58y, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons

The Heart Nebula, designated by astronomers as IC 1805, Sharpless 2-190 (Sh 2-190), is sited in the Perseus Spiral Arm, one of the Milky Way’s two major spiral arms. The home constellation for the Heart Nebula is Cassiopeia, the northern sky’s distinctive “M” of five bright stars that lies opposite the Big Dipper and borders Cepheus to the north, Andromeda to the south, Perseus to the southeast.

About 7,500 light years separate the Heart Nebula from Earth. A light year, which is represented by the symbol ly, is a unit of distance, not of time. A light year expresses an astronomical distance of approximately 6 trillion (6,000,000,000,000) miles, or 10 trillion (10,000,000,000,000) kilometers.

The brightest part of the nebula was the first part to be discovered. It appears as a knot in the nebula’s northwestern corner. Named NGC 896, the bright knot encompasses a region of faint hydrogen alpha emission. Dark dust lanes stretching across the Heart Nebula obscure much of the star formation occurring inside NGC 896.

A plasma of hydrogen ions and free electrons is responsible for forming the Heart Nebula. Plasma comprises one of the four fundamental states of matter, along with gas, liquid and solid. Free electrons are characterized by a lack of attachment to ions, atoms or molecules, which thereby allows them to move freely under the influence of applied electric or magnetic fields. One of the universe’s most abundant elements, hydrogen displays a simple structure, without neutrons, of one electron and one proton. Ionization, the process of gaining or losing electrons, often in tandem with other chemical changes, bestows a negative or positive charge upon an atom or a molecule.

The Heart Nebula’s cloud of ionized gas emitting variously colored lights qualifies it for classification as an emission nebula. Chemical composition and degree of ionization determine an emission nebula’s colors.

The Heart Nebula’s redness derives from Melotte 15, an open cluster, also known as a galactic cluster, near the nebula’s center. A few stars in the cluster outmass the Earth’s sun nearly 50 times. Fantastically sculpted cosmic clouds in the heart of the Heart Nebula are shaped by stellar winds and by radiation from the bright, hot, massive stars in Melotte 15.

Emission nebula IC 1805 glows in portraits as a heart, a recognizable symbol of love.

Perhaps the universe likes to send valentines.

Melotte 15, an open cluster near the Heart Nebula's center, is responsible for the nebula's redness; Wednesday, Nov. 11, 1009: Hunter Wilson (Hewholooks), 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:

Heart Nebula; image date Friday, July 31, 2009; image location near Halcottsville, Delaware County, New York: s58y, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons @ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IC1805_--_H-alpha_+_RGB.jpg;
s58y, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/s58y/4144731205/

Melotte 15, an open cluster near the Heart Nebula's center, is responsible for the nebula's redness; Nov. 11, 2009, Nov. 11, 2009: Hunter Wilson (Hewholooks), CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Melotte15HunterWilson.jpg

Crystal Serenity: Pampered and Serene Cruising of Global Seascapes

Summary: Crystal Serenity, the largest and youngest of Crystal Cruise Lines' three luxury liners, features pampered, serene cruising of global seascapes.

Crystal Serenity, moored at Antwerp, in northeastern Belgium: Port of Antwerp, third biggest port in Europe, with access to North Sea: bert76, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Crystal Serenity is the largest and youngest of the trio of stellar luxury liners owned by Crystal Cruise Lines (website: http://www.crystalcruises.com/).

A subsidiary of Tokyo-based shipping giant Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Crystal Cruise Lines, founded in 1988, is headquartered in Los Angeles, in southern California. Crystal Harmony, Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony fly the flag of the Bahamas as their port of registry.

Crystal Serenity was constructed by the South Korean shipbuilding firm of STX Europe. The liner's lead designer was Robert Tillberg (Feb. 2, 1920-March 26, 2013) of Tillberg Design. The renowned global firm specializing in marine architecture and design was founded in 1964 in Viken, in southwestern Sweden.

Signaling the start of construction, the keel was laid July 9, 2002. Construction took place at Alstom Chantiers de l'Atlantique, the firm's shipyard in Saint-Nazaire. The traditional shipbuilding port is sited on the Loire River estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean, in Brittany, northwestern France's historic maritime region.

On July 3, 2003, Dame Julie Andrews (born Oct. 1, 1935), beloved worldwide for her role as Maria in the 1965 musical film The Sound of Music, christened Crystal Serenity in Southampton on England's south central coast.

Four days later, on July 7, 2003, Crystal Serenity embarked on a 14-day round-trip cruise of Northern Europe for its maiden voyage.

On Jan. 14, 2004, the luxury liner kicked off its first world cruise, departing from Los Angeles and concluding 106 days later, on May 5, in New York City.

Crystal Serenity's gracious silhouette features 13 decks, of which nine are passenger accessible.

Encompassing five decks, its 535 staterooms feature 109 penthouses in three styles and 426 staterooms in three styles.

Its length spans 820 feet (249.94 meters), and its width measures 105.6 feet (32.3 meters). The elegant liner cruises at 21 knots (24 miles per hour; 39 kilometers per hour) and attains a maximum speed of 22 knots (25 mph; 41 kmh).

Major redesigns have taken place in 2008, 2011 and, most recently, in 2013. Twelve deluxe staterooms were converted into eight penthouses in November 2008. Outdoor pool deck, retail centers and guest rooms (penthouses and staterooms alike) underwent major redesign in spring 2011.

A $17 million redesign in 2013 created four chic penthouses and 70 PURE hypoallergenic staterooms. The redeisgn also effected a dramatic transformation of indoor and outdoor casual dining spaces, installed a new dance floor in the Palm Court lounge, initiated an industry first with a chef's herb garden, and implemented environmental upgrades throughout the liner's exterior and interior spaces.

Crystal Serenity's Seahorse pool, with sculptured trio of seahorses (left), at night; Thursday, Oct. 7, 2010, 20:16:23: cruisedotco (cruise.co), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

Crystal Serenity regales passengers with an array of entertainments and of recreational activities. Outlets for kinesthetically-inclined passengers include a fitness center, two pools (Seahorse outdoor pool with bandstand and two whirlpools; Neptune indoor pool with a sliding glass roof), a putting green, a tennis court and walking along the Promenade Deck.

Mental pursuits include a library of multi-language books, CDs, and DVDs; internet access in Computers@Sea, the ship's computer center; and lectures and lessons in the Creative Learning Institute's classrooms.

Crystal Spa on the 13th deck is a popular sanctuary with a serene atmosphere and a full range of spa services.

Entertainments include screenings with popcorn in the Hollywood Theater. Live music venues include Broadway-style shows and headline entertainers in the Galaxy Lounge. Ballroom dancing happens nightly, with gentlemen hosts, in the Palm Court lounge. Classical quartets take place in the atrium.

Crystal Serenity pampers passengers with enjoyable activities, comfortable rooms and delicious food. Everything is provided against the ever-changing backdrop of the natural beauty of earth, sea and sky.

Crystal Serenity's legendary amenities, atmosphere and customer service account for passengers who loyally return for cruise after cruise and also for year-round residency for seven years by Lee Wachtstetter.

Crystal Serenity continues to make waves as the best of the best as the incomparable luxury liner does what it does best: sailing with serenity.

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Crystal Serenity, moored at Antwerp, in northeastern Belgium: Port of Antwerp, third biggest port in Europe, with access to North Sea: bert76, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crystalserenity01.jpg

Crystal Serenity's Seahorse pool, with sculptured trio of seahorses (left), at night; Thursday, Oct. 7, 2010, 20:16:23: cruisedotco (cruise.co), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/98360501@N03/14863178936/

sweeping staircase and crystal baby grand (right) of atrium's Crystal Cove area onboard Crystal Serenity; Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2014, 15:03:07: Gary Bembridge (garybembridge), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/tipsfortravellers/15059031739/

For further information:

Marriner, Derdriu. "Luxury Liner Home: Fairy Tale Life of Lee Wachtstetter on Crystal Serenity." Earth and Space News. Friday, Feb. 13, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/02/luxury-liner-home-fairy-tale-life-of.html

Extinct Quagga Plains Zebra on Elementary's The Female of the Species

Summary: Elementary series episode The Female of the Species Feb. 12, 2015, breeds the extinct quagga plains zebra more for money and science than for love.

pen and watercolor drawing of young quagga (Equus quagga quagga) by Dutch artist, explorer and naturalist Robert Jacob Gordon (Sep. 29, 1743-Oct. 25, 1795) during four South Africa naturalist expeditions (1777-1786); Gordon African Collection, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, North Holland, northwestern Netherlands: Public Domain, via Rijksmuseum

The extinct quagga plains zebra articulates human appreciation of beauty, money and science for the plot of the Columbia Broadcasting System Elementary series episode The Female of the Species Feb. 12, 2015.

Two burgled plains zebras from the zoo bring Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) to the birth of the quagga through deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and surrogate motherhood. One of the episode's criminal commissions concerns the conspiratorial commercialization of a species created by science for collectors of the excellent, the exceptional and the exquisite. It does not describe the determination of 21st-century scientists to draw the quagga back from species demise through the Quagga Project on coat trait-dominated selective back-breeding.

The extinct quagga plains zebra emerges as likeliest for ethical ends to extinction as the first of Earth's extinct animals, in 1984, with their DNA explicated.

Illustrations, photographs, reminiscences, seven skeletons, tissue and 23 specimens furnish extinct quagga plains zebra physical features for non-scientists such as Detective Marcus Bell (Jon Michael Hill).

The Saan people's cave art and Khoikhoi language in southwestern South Africa and Swaziland respectively give the quagga's oldest illustrations and name, from their kwa-ha-ha calls. Nicolas Maréchal (1753-1802) had as model for his painting in 1793 Louis XVI's (Aug. 23, 1754-Jan. 21, 1793) stallion in the Palace menagerie in Versailles, France. Robert Jacob Gordon (Sep. 29, 1743-Oct. 25, 1795) illustrated a live colt (Equus quagga quagga) with a bagged adult Burchell's zebra (Equus quagga burchelli) in 1777.

Nineteenth-century art juggled Jacques-Laurent Agasse's (April 24, 1767-Dec. 27, 1849) live stallion at London's Royal College of Surgeons and Samuel Daniell's (1775-Dec. 16, 1811) in Bechuanaland.

The Zoological Society of London's Zoo kept five photographs, 1863-1870, of a captive mare whose fellow quaggas England knew as carriage-harnessed curiosities and livestock guards, 1830s-1870s.

Mayor Sir William Cornwallis Harris (Baptized April 2, 1807-Oct. 9, 1848), military engineer from Kent, England, listed quaggas among wildlife between the Orange and Vaal Rivers. The not yet extinct quagga plains zebra managed a "shrill, barking neigh", migrated between semi-desert scrublands and summer grasslands and moved with ostriches and white-tailed gnus. Amsterdam, Bamberg, Basel, Berlin, Darmstadt, Frankfurt, London, Mainz, Munich, Vienna and Wiesbaden netted 13 specimens extinct in wildernesses and captivity by 1878 and Aug. 12, 1883.

Extinction occurred from quaggas not breeding outside southern Africa and not surviving eastern, northern and western Cape and Free State southern Africa's agro-industrialists and imported grazers.

Elementary presented the resurrected extinct quagga plains zebra, described in 1778/1785 by Pieter Boddaert (May 26, 1733?-May 6, 1795), as somewhat big-bodied, big-eared, big-headed and dark-colored.

Illustrations, photographs, reminiscences and specimens queue up broad-striped backs, brown upper-sides, brown-and-white-striped heads and necks, red-brown flanks, stand-up, striped manes and white bellies, legs and tails. They reveal broadly narrow occiputs (basal, lower skull), front-gapped teeth (diastema), necks without mountain zebra-like dewlaps (longitudinal flaps), straight-profiled heads and thick winter coats replaced yearly. They suggest 49.21- to 53.14-inch (125- to 135-centimeter) heights from hooves to shoulders, 101.18-inch (257-centimeter) total head-body lengths and 500.45- to 701.07-pound (227- to 318-kilogram) weights.

The Quagga Project turns the back-bred Burchell's zebra into an exteriorly similar, genetically dissimilar resurrected extinct quagga plains zebra, for love of southern Africa's semi-desert scrublands.

Detective Marcus Bell (Jon Michael Hall) and Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) discover that the theft of two pregnant zoo zebras was part of a scheme to birth extinct quaggas in The Female of the Species (Elementary tv series season 3 episode 14): Sharon Seymour @TheSpoilerGirl, via Twitter Feb. 11, 2015

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Boddaert, P. (Pieter). 1784. "Quagga." Elenchus Animalium. Volumen I: 160. Roterodami [Rotterdam, Netherlands]: C.R. Hake, MDCCLXXXIV.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/89677#page/206/mode/1up

Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. London England: George Newsnes Ltd., 1892.
Available via Project Gutenberg @ http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1661?msg=welcome_stranger

Duncan, F. Martin. 1913. "Sir Cornwall Harris gives the following description of the Quagga." Cassell's Natural History: 350-351. London England; New York NY; Toronto Canada; Melbourne Australia: Cassell and Company, Limited.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/stream/cassellsnaturalh00duncrich#page/350/mode/2up

"The Female of the Species." Elementary: The Third Season. Los Angeles CA: Paramount Pictures Corporation, Feb. 12, 2015.

Marriner, Derdriu. 23 January 2015. “Elementary's Yellow Clivia and Yellow Clivia Botanical Illustrations.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/01/elementarys-yellow-clivia-and-yellow.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 12 December 2014. “Elementary's Nutmeg Concoction and Nutmeg Botanical Illustrations.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/12/elementarys-nutmeg-concoction-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 7 November 2014. “Elementary's Bird in Blue-Throated Macaw Natural History Illustrations.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/11/elementarys-bird-in-blue-throated-macaw.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 31 October 2014. “Bearded Dragon Natural History Illustrations: Not Elementary's Nemesis.” Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/10/bearded-dragon-natural-history.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 2 May 2014. “Ficus Benjamina Botanical Illustrations and Elementary's Stunted Tree.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/05/ficus-benjamina-botanical-illustrations.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 7 February 2014. “Dimetrodon Natural History Illustrations and Elementary's Dimetrodon.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/02/dimetrodon-natural-history.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 31 January 2014. “Nanotyrannus Natural History Illustrations and Elementary's Dead Clade Walking.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/01/nanotyrannus-natural-history.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 December 2013. “Fruit in Osage Orange Botanical Illustrations and Elementary Series.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/12/fruit-in-osage-orange-botanical.html

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

Sharon Seymour @TheSpoilerGirl. 11 February 2015. "Elementary -- Episode 3.14 -- The Female of the Species - Sneak Peeks." Twitter. Feb. 11, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/TheSpoilerGirl/status/565614982831017984