Earth and Space News

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Annular Solar Eclipse Dec. 26 Is Third of Three 2019 Solar Eclipses

Summary: The annular solar eclipse Dec. 26 is the third of three 2019 solar eclipses and traces a central path from Saudi Arabia to Guam.

details of Thursday, Dec. 26, 2019, annular solar eclipse: "Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment, Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA GSFC Emeritus," via NASA Eclipse Web Site

The annular solar eclipse Dec. 26 is the third of three 2019 solar eclipses and, as the year’s only annular solar eclipse, has a central path trajectory stretching from the Arabian Peninsula’s Saudi Arabia to Micronesia’s U.S. territory of Guam.

In an annular solar eclipse, the sun’s outer edges ring the lunar disk’s silhouette with an extremely bright annulus (Latin: “little ring”). From Earth’s perspective, the moon’s distance is so far that the lunar disk appears in a sun-rimmed setting.

An annular solar eclipse involves the moon’s antumbra (Latin: ante, “before, in front of” + umbra, “shadow”). The antumbral portion represents the faint, outer area extending lengthwise from the umbra, the shadow’s darkest, innermost part.

December’s annular solar eclipse begins Thursday, Dec. 26, at 02:29:51.0 UT1 (Universal Time), according to retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak’s EclipseWise website. Local time zones start the solar eclipse at 5:29 a.m. Arabia Standard Time in Saudi Arabia; 9:29 a.m. Western Indonesian Time in Sumatra; 12:29 p.m. Chamorro Standard Time in Guam.

December’s solar eclipse ends Thursday, Dec. 26, at 08:05:43.6 UT1. Local time zones place the end at 11:05 a.m. AST in Saudi Arabia; at 3:05 p.m. WIB in Sumatra; at 6:05 p.m. ChST in Guam.

The eclipse’s central line of entire visibility, known as the path of annularity, begins about 220 kilometers (136.7 miles) northeast of the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh. The eclipse’s annular phase starts at 03:43 UT1 (6:43 a.m. AST; 10:43 a.m. WIB; 1:43 p.m. ChST).

The path width during annularity’s Arabian Peninsula segment is 164 kilometers (101.9 miles). The Arabian Peninsula hosts annularity for 2 minutes 59 seconds. The path of annularity treks southeasterly across the southern United Arab Emirates and enters the Arabian Sea by way of the Sultanate of Oman on the peninsula’s southeastern coast.

The path of annularity arrives at the southwestern state of Kerala on India’s Malabar Coast at 03:56 UT1 (9:16 a.m. India Standard Time). Annularity endures for 3 minutes 12 seconds on the central line near Kannur, administrative headquarters of Kerala’s Kannur District and also a minor port in Kerala’s northwestern region. At this point, the path of annularity has a width of 129 kilometers (80.15 miles). The solar altitude measures 32 degrees.

The antumbral shadow’s ground speed of about 1.1 kilometers per second (0.68 miles per second) allows for an eight-minute diagonal passage from Kerala to the state of Tamil Nadu’s southeastern coasts. The path of annularity enters the Palk Strait at Tamil Nadu’s southeastern coastal Pudukkottai District at 04:04 UT1 (9:34 a.m. IST).

The eclipse’s central line sweeps across the Indian Ocean and successively crosses Lasia Island, Bangkaru Island and Musala Island, located off northwestern Sumatra. The central line’s southeasterly trajectory takes in North Sumatra and then Riau provinces.

Greatest eclipse happens at 05:17:48 UT1 (12:17 p.m. WIB) in Riau province in central eastern Sumatra. The event has an annular duration of 3 minutes 39 seconds.

Greatest eclipse indicates the instant of closest passage to Earth’s center by the axis of the moon’s shadow cone. The greatest eclipse’s geographic coordinates of 1 degree 00.5 minutes north latitude, 102 degrees 14.9 minutes east latitude place the point in the Panjang Strait between eastern Sumatra and Pedang Island.

The antumbral shadow island-hops to Borneo, trekking across Indonesian and Malaysian parts of the world’s third largest island. Located on Borneo’s north coast, the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace (Malay: Negara Brunei Darussalam) lies outside the eclipse’s path of annularity but within partiality’s visibility regions.

After Borneo, Micronesia’s U.S. territory of Guam claims the central line’s next, and last, landfall. The encounter with Guam takes place at 6:56 UT1 (4:56 p.m. Chamorro Standard Time). Guam’s annularity phase endures for 3 minutes 10 seconds. The sun’s altitude has dipped to 13 degrees.

The eclipse’s path of annularity leaves Guam for liftoff from Earth’s surface in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. Liftoff occurs northeast of Saipan, the largest island in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and west of the unorganized, unincorporated U.S. territory of Wake Island.

From start to finish, the path of annularity covered 0.34 percent of Earth’s surface. The 3.3-hour trek measured an approximate length of 12,900 kilometers (8,015.68 miles).

animation of annular solar eclipse Thursday, Dec. 26, 2019: A.T. Sinclair/NASA, 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:

animation of annular solar eclipse Thursday, Dec. 26, 2019: A.T. Sinclair/NASA, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SE2019Dec26A.gif

For further information:

Espenak, Fred. “Annular Solar Eclipse of 2019 Dec 26.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipse Page > Solar Eclipses: Past and Future > Decade Solar Eclipse Tables > Solar Eclipses: 2011-2020.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2019Dec26A.GIF

Espenak, Fred. “Annular Solar Eclipse of 2019 Dec 26: Google Maps and Solar Eclipse Paths.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipse Page > Solar Eclipses: Past and Future > Solar Eclipses on Google Maps: 2001-2020.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2019Dec26Agoogle.html

Espenak, Fred. “Annular Solar Eclipse of December 26.” EclipseWise > Solar Eclipses > Recent and Upcoming Solar Eclipses > Eclipses During 2019.
Available via EclipseWise @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/oh/ec2019.html#SE2019Dec26A

Espenak, Fred. “Glossary of Solar Eclipse Terms.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/SEglossary.html

Espenak, Fred. “Key to Global Maps of Solar Eclipses.” EclipseWise > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Preview: 2018 Through 2030 > Key to Solar Eclipse Maps.
Available via EclipseWise @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/solar/SEhelp/SEpingkey.html

Espenak, Fred. “Saros 132.” EclipseWise > Solar Eclipses > Recent and Upcoming Solar Eclipses > Eclipses During 2019.
Available via EclipseWise @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/solar/SEsaros/SEsaros132.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “February 2017 Annular Solar Eclipse Favors South Atlantic Ocean.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/02/february-2017-annular-solar-eclipse.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Partial Solar Eclipse Jan. 5-6 Is First of Three 2019 Solar Eclipses.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, January 2, 2019.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/01/partial-solar-eclipse-jan-5-6-is-first.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Sept. 1, 2016, Annular Eclipse Favors Central Africa and Madagascar.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/08/sept-1-2016-annular-eclipse-favors.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Total Lunar Eclipse Jan. 20-21 Is First of Two 2019 Lunar Eclipses.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/01/total-lunar-eclipse-jan-20-21-is-first.html

Monday, December 23, 2019

The Magic Flute Is Dec. 28, 2019, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: Mozart’s The Magic Flute is the Dec. 28, 2019, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast, airing as fourth in the season’s 23 radio matinees.

Lothar Koenigs returns to conduct Mozart operas in two successive Met Opera seasons, with La Clemenza di Tito (2018-2019) and now The Magic Flute (2019-2020): Thomas Malesys @tmalesys, via Twitter March 30, 2019

Wolfgang Mozart’s The Magic Flute is the Dec. 28, 2019, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast, airing at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) and numbering as the fourth of 23 scheduled Saturday radio matinees during the 2019-2020 Met Opera season.

The Metropolitan Opera’s holiday performances of The Magic Flute offer an abridged, English-language version of Die Zauberflöte by 18th century Classical Era composer Wolfgang Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791). The opera company’s family-friendly staging aims to establish a holiday tradition for young audiences.

Mozart set his musical score to a German libretto written by Emanuel Schikaneder (Sept. 1, 1751-Sept. 21, 1812), stage name of Bavarian playwright and impresario Johann Joseph Schickeneder. The fairy-tale opera premiered Sept. 30, 1791, at Schikaneder’s theater, the Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden, located near the center of Vienna, northeastern Austria. Mozart conducted the orchestra for the opera’s first two performances. Schikaneder sang the role of Papageno.

Die Zauberflöte received its Metropolitan Opera premiere March 30, 1900, as an Italian-language opera. Five performances were offered in the 1899-1900 season. The MetOpera Database notes that the Italian libretto of Il Flauto Magico was composed by an unknown translator.

The Metropolitan Opera premiered its abridged, English-language, one-act version Nov. 29, 2006, as a matinee. American literary critic and poet J.D. (Joseph Donald) McClatchy Jr. (Aug. 12, 1945-April 10, 2018), is credited with the opera’s English translation.

The Metropolitan Opera’s English-language version uses staging that debuted as a new production Oct. 8, 2004. Julie Taymor made her Met Opera production debut as the new staging’s director.

The 2019-2020 Met Opera season’s holiday performances of The Magic Flute revive Taymor’s staging. The American film, opera and theater director’s production team comprises set designer George Tsypin; lighting designer Donald Holder; choreographer Mark Dendy.

In addition to production direction, Julie Taymor is credited as The Magic Flute’s costume designer. She co-designed the production’s puppets with Michael Curry.

The 2019-2020 Met Opera season offers nine performances of The Magic Flute. The season’s first performance took place Sunday, Dec. 15, at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST).

Five additional performances take place in December. Performances are scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 19, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 21, at 1 p.m.; Tuesday, Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, Dec. 26, at 11 a.m.; and Saturday, Dec. 28, at 1 p.m.

The 2019-2020 holiday season’s last three performances of The Magic Flute will be offered after New Year’s Day. January’s three performances take place Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020, at 1 p.m.; Friday, Jan. 3, at 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday, Jan. 4, at 8 p.m.

The Metropolitan Opera’s two-act Magic Flute has an estimated run time of 1 hour 42 minutes (102 minutes). Acts I and II are staged together. There is no intermission.

Lothar Koenigs conducts all performances. The German conductor made his Metropolitan Opera debut Dec. 1, 2008, in the opera company’s 506th performance of Mozart’s Don Giovanni. During the 2019-2020 Met Opera season, Lothar Koenigs also conducts Káťa Kabanová by Czech composer Leoš Janáček (July 3, 1854-Aug. 12, 1928).

Joélle Harvey appears as Pamina, the Queen of the Night's daughter, for five performances (opening night, Sunday, Dec. 15; Thursday, Dec. 19; Saturday, Dec. 21; Tuesday, Christmas Eve, Dec. 24; Friday, Jan. 3). The American soprano made her Metropolitan Opera debut in the opera’s 2019-2020 opening night, Dec. 15.

Joélle Harvey shares the role with Ying Fang, who appears in four performances (Thursday, Dec. 26; Saturday matinee broadcast, Dec. 28; Thursday, Jan. 2; and closing night, Saturday, Jan. 4). The Chinese operatic soprano made her Metropolitan Opera debut Sept. 28, 2013, as the Kazan Cathedral’s female voice and as Madame Podtochina’s daughter in the opera company’s seventh performance of The Nose by Russian composer and pianist Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (Sept. 25, 1906-Aug. 9, 1975). In the 2019-2020 Met Opera season, Ying Fang also appears as Sophie in Werther by French Romantic Era composer Jules Massenet (May 12, 1842-Aug. 13, 1912).

Kathryn Lewek appears as the troublesome Queen of the Night for seven performances (opening night, Sunday, Dec. 15; Thursday, Dec. 19; Saturday, Dec. 21; Tuesday, Christmas Eve, Dec. 24; Thursday, Dec. 26; Saturday matinee broadcast, Dec. 28; Friday, Jan. 3). The American coloratura soprano reprises her Metropolitan Opera debut role, which happened Dec. 28, 2013, in the opera company’s 413th performance of the opera.

Kathryn Lewek shares the role with So Young Park, who appears in the performances on Thursday, Jan. 2, and closing night, Saturday, Jan. 4. The South Korean soprano reprises the role from her Metropolitan Opera debut, which took place Jan. 3, 2019, in the opera company’s 449th performance of the opera. During the 2019-2020 Met Opera season, So Young Park also appears as Clorinda in La Cenerentola by 19th century Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (Feb. 29, 1792-Nov. 13, 1868).

Update: The Metropolitan Opera announced via Twitter Dec. 3 that Jeni Houser and Kathryn Lewek are replacing So Young Park. Kathryn Lewek will appear as the Queen of the Night on closing night, Saturday, Jan. 4.

Jeni Houser will appear as the Queen of the Night for the Thursday, Jan. 2, performance. The American operatic soprano's performance will mark her Metropolitan Opera debut.

David Portillo appears as Prince Tamino, who loves Pamina, for seven performances (opening night, Sunday, Dec. 15; Thursday, Dec. 19; Saturday, Dec. 21; Tuesday, Christmas Eve, Dec. 24; Thursday, Dec. 26; Saturday matinee broadcast, Dec. 28; Friday, Jan. 3). The American tenor made his Metropolitan Opera debut Dec. 16, 2015, as Count Almaviva in the opera company’s 614th performance of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia. In the 2019-2020 Met Opera season, David Portillo also appears as the Steersman in Der Fliegende Holländer by German composer Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883).

David Portillo shares Tamino with Paul Groves, who appears in the performances on Thursday, Jan. 2, and closing night, Saturday, Jan. 4. The American operatic tenor made his Metropolitan Opera debut Jan. 9, 1992, as the Steersman in the opera company’s 127th performance of Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer. During the 2019-2020 Met Opera season, Paul Groves also appears as Tchekalinsky in The Queen of Spades by late-Romantic Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (May 7, 1840-Nov. 6, 1893).

Rodell Rosel appears in all performances as Monostatos, who fixates on the Queen of the Night's daughter. The Filipino tenor made his Metropolitan Opera debut Oct. 13, 2009, as Valzacchi in the opera company’s 370th performance of Der Rosenkavalier by German composer Richard Strauss (June 11, 1864-Sept. 8, 1949).

Joshua Hopkins appears as bird-catcher Papageno for seven performances (opening night, Sunday, Dec. 15; Thursday, Dec. 19; Saturday, Dec. 21; Tuesday, Christmas Eve, Dec. 24; Thursday, Dec. 26; Saturday matinee broadcast, Dec. 28; Friday, Jan. 3). The Canadian baritone made his Metropolitan Opera debut Oct. 28, 2009, as Ping in the opera company’s 271st performance of Turandot by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924). In the 2019-2020 Met Opera season, Joshua Hopkins also appears as Albert in Massenet’s Werther.

Joshua Hopkins shares Papageno with Will Liverman, who appears in the performances on Thursday, Jan. 2, and closing night, Saturday, Jan. 4. The American operatic baritone made his Metropolitan Opera debut Oct. 19, 2018, as Malcom Fleet in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Marnie by American contemporary classical music composer Nico Asher Muhly (born Aug. 26, 1981). During the 2019-2020 Met Opera season, Will Liverman also appears as Horemhab in Akhnaten by American composer Philip Glass (born Jan. 31, 1937).

Patrick Carfizzi appears as an old priest, known as the Speaker of the Temple, for seven performances (opening night, Sunday, Dec. 15; Thursday, Dec. 19; Saturday, Dec. 21; Tuesday, Christmas Eve, Dec. 24; Thursday, Dec. 26; Saturday matinee broadcast, Dec. 28; Friday, Jan. 3). The American bass-baritone made his Metropolitan Opera debut Dec. 24, 1999, as Count Ceprano in the opera company’s 736th performance of Rigoletto by 19th century Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901). In the 2019-2020 Met Opera season, Patrick Carfizzi also appears as Brander in La Damnation de Faust by 19th century French Romantic composer Louis-Hector Berlioz (Dec. 11, 1803-March 8, 1869) and as the Sacristan in Tosca by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924) and in the New Year’s Eve Gala.

Dwayne Croft appears as the Speaker in the performances on Thursday, Jan. 2, and closing night, Saturday, Jan. 4. The American baritone made his Metropolitan Opera debut April 18, 1990, as Fiorello in the opera company’s 442nd performance of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia. During the 2019-2020 Met Opera season, Dwayne Croft also appears as Baron Douphol in Verdi’s La Traviata.

Morris Robinson appears as Sarastro, in whose temple Prince Tamino and Papageno undergo wisdom trials, for four performances (opening night, Sunday, Dec. 15; Thursday, Dec. 19; Saturday, Dec. 21; Tuesday, Christmas Eve, Dec. 24). The American bass made his Metropolitan Opera debut Nov. 16, 2002, as the Second Prisoner in the opera company’s 217th performance of Fidelio by German composer and pianist Ludwig van Beethoven (bapt. Dec. 17, 1770-March 26, 1827).

Morris Robinson shares Sarastro with Soloman Howard and Patrick Guetti. Soloman Howard appears in four performances (Thursday, Dec. 26; Saturday, Dec. 28; Thursday, Jan. 2; closing night, Saturday, Jan. 4). The American bass made his Metropolitan Opera debut Oct. 30, 2014, as the King in the opera company’s 1,133rd performance of Verdi’s Aida.

Patrick Guetti appears in the Friday, Jan. 3, performance. The American bass makes his Metropolitan Opera debut with his Jan. 3 performance as Sarastro.

The takeaway for The Magic Flute as the Dec. 28, 2019, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is that 18th century Classical Era composer Wolfgang Mozart’s fairytale opera airs at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and numbers as the fourth of 23 Saturday matinee broadcasted weekly through Saturday, May 9, 2020.

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Kathryn Lewek’s reprisal of Mozart’s Queen of the Night for the 2019-2020 Met Opera season marks her sixth season in the role in which she made her Met Opera debut Dec. 28, 2013: Kathryn Lewek, Soprano @kathrynleweksoprano, via Facebook Dec. 29, 2013, @ https://www.facebook.com/kathrynleweksoprano/photos/a.586031791438212/648756078499116/

For further information:

“Debut: Dwayne Croft.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 300040 Il Barbiere di Siviglia {442} Metropolitan Opera House: 04/18/1990.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=300040

“Debut: Kathryn Lewek.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 355218 Die Zauberflöte {413} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/28/2013.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=355218

“Debut: Miah Persson, Rodell Rosel, Nicholas Crawford.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 353112 Der Rosenkavalier {370} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/13/2009.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=353112

“Debut: Paul Groves.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 307060 Der Fliegende Holländer {127} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/9/1992.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=307060

“Debut: Soloman Howard.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 355599 Aida {1133} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/30/2014.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=355599

“Debuts: Andris Nelsons, Lise Lindstrom Joshua Hopkins . . .” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 353144 Turandot {271} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/28/2009.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=353144

“Debuts: David Portillo, Valeriano Lanchas.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 356192 Il Barbiere di Siviglia {614} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/16/2015.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=356192

“Debuts: Lothar Koenigs, Mark Thomsen.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 352723 Don Giovanni {506} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/01/2008.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=352723

“Debuts: Patrick Carfizzi, Gloria Watson, Vladimir Jurowski.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 332264 Rigoletto {736} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/24/1999.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=332264

“Debuts: Philippe Castagner, Morris Robinson.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 350403 Fidelio {217} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/16/2002.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=350403

“Debuts: Robert Spano . . . Will Liverman.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 357028 Marnie {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/19/2018.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=357038

“Debuts: So Young Park, Peixin Chen.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 357104 Die Zauberflöte {449} Metropolitan Opera House01/03/2019.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=357104

“Debuts: Ying Fang . . .” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] Metropolitan Opera Premiere CID: 355027 The Nose {7} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 09/28/2013.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=355027

Kathryn Lewek, Soprano @kathrynleweksoprano. “Arriving to my post Met debut party! Courtesy of the one and only Robert Norman Photography! More photos to come soon of the festivities!” Facebook. Dec. 29, 2013.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/kathrynleweksoprano/photos/a.586031791438212/648756078499116/

Marriner, Derdriu. “Born July 7, 1887, Marc Chagall Designed Die Zauberflöte at Met Opera.” Earth and Space News. Monday, July 1, 2019.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/07/born-july-7-1887-marc-chagall-designed.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Born Sept. 10, 1944, Thomas Allen Made His Met Opera Debut as Papageno.” Earth and Space News. Monday, Sept. 9, 2019.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/09/born-sept-10-1944-thomas-allen-made-his.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “The Magic Flute Is the Dec. 29, 2018, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast.” Earth and Space News. Monday, June 18, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-magic-flute-is-dec-29-2018-met.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “The Magic Flute Is Dec. 9, 2017, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast.” Earth and Space News. Monday, Dec. 4, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-magic-flute-is-dec-9-2017-met-opera.html

Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "Jeni Houser will sing the Queen of the Night in the January 2 performance of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and Kathryn Lewek will sing the role January 4. Both replace So Young Park. #CastChange." Twitter. Dec. 3, 2019.
Available @ https://twitter.com/MetOpera/status/1201906732273934337

"Metropolitan Opera Premiere: Abridged, One Act Version of The Magic Flute / Die Zauberflöte." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 351755 Premiere of abridged version Die Zauberflöte {365} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 12/29/2006. Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=351755

“Metropolitan Opera Premiere: Die Zauberflöte.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 24080 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Die Zauberflöte {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/30/1900.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=24080

“New Production: Die Zauberflöte.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 351036 New Production Die Zauberflöte {343} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/08/2004.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=351036

Thomas Malesys @tmalesys. “Fantastic performances from all the cast. But imo the spectacular success is made by the conductor #LotharKoenigs #MetClemenza.” Twitter. March 30, 2019.
Available @ https://twitter.com/tmalesys/status/1112200876112969729

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Brazilian Angelim Vermelho Achieves Tallest Amazonian Tree Status

Summary: A Brazilian angelim vermelho assumed taller tallest Amazonian tree honor after Aug. 14-24, 2019 expedition accuracy checks added 21.32 feet (6.5 meters).

AFP graphic includes handout photo, released by SETEC (Science and Technology Secretary of Amapa State), showing tallest Amazon tree, a Brazilian angelim vermelho (Dinizia excelsa) tree found Aug. 21, 2019, in northeastern Brazil; AFP photo/Rafael Aleixo: AFP news agency @AFP, via Twitter Sep. 5, 2019

A Brazilian angelim vermelho achieved accuracy-checked, 21.32-foot (6.5-meter) higher, 290.35-foot (88.5-meter) base-tiptop height after 31-member expeditioning, Aug. 14-24, 2019, by Eric Bastos Gorgens, Federal University of the Jequitinhonha and Mucini Valleys professor.

Black, elliptic or oblong, four-month viable, hard-coated seeds brandish the first stages in 100 to 400 or perhaps 600-plus-year life cycles of Brazilian angelim vermelho trees. The 0.39 to 0.55-inch- (10 to 14-millimeter-) long, 0.24 to 0.28-inch- (6 to 7-millimeter-) wide seeds contain compressed sides, minute fractures, pebble-like textures and semi-narrower middles. They develop sustainable sprouts within 20 to 40 days in 30-plus percent of home-gardened plantings if scarified, warm-water soaked for 12 hours 12 hours before sowing.

Each 8.07 to 13.78-inch- (20.5 to 35-centimeter-) long, 1.77 to 3.35-inch- (4.5 to 8.5-centimeter-) wide fruit emerges leathery, non-splitting, seven to 12-seeded, smooth-surfaced and wine-red fresh.

Brazilian angelim vermelho 0.59 to 0.79-inch- (1.5 to 2-centimeter-) high stipes (from Latin stīpes, "post") fasten laterally compressed, longitudinally wrinkled fruits with 0.39-inch- (1-centimeter-) wide wings.

Central 3.15 to 6.29-inch (8 to 16-centimeter) spines guard 0.12 to 0.79-inch (3 to 20-millimeter) stems with 0.019 to 0.039-inch (0.5 to 1-millimeter) stalked calyxes ("husks"). The tallest Amazonian tree's 0.039 to 0.049-inch (1 to 1.25-millimeter) calyxes hold 0.12 to 0.16-inch (3 to 4-millimeter) by 0.079 to 0.088-inch (2 to 2.25-millimeter) petals. They hermaphroditically include 10 white stamens ("threads") with 0.024 to 0.028-inch- (0.6 to 0.7-millimeter-) long anthers ("blooming") and 0.39 to 0.047-inch- (10 to 12-millimeter-) long filaments.

Brazilian angelim vermelho juggles fall-peaked, winter-peaked, year-round fruits from staminal pollen journeying through red, smooth gynecial (from Greek γυναικεῖον, "women's quarters") stigmas, funnel-shaped styles and ovaries.

Green-white-yellow 0.39 to 0.79-inch (1 to 2-centimeter) clusters of 0.16 to 0.19-inch (4 to 5-millimeter) flowers keep branches, fruiting February through July, fragrant April through September.

Seven to 14-clustered 2.56 to 4.92-inch (6.5 to 12.5-centimeter) leaves lodge 1.58 to 11.02-inch (4 to 28-centimeter) spines and 0.79 to 2.95-inch (2 to 7.5-centimeter) stems. Seven to 13 alternate-positioned 0.47 to 0.98-inch (12 to 25-millimeter) by 0.19 to 0.43-inch (5 to 11-millimeter) leaflets manifest 0.12 to 0.24-inch (3 to 6-millimeter) stipules. Semi-deciduous foliage nestled near shredding, white bark atop borer and termite-resistant brown-red heartwood and 1.97 to 3.94-inch- (5 to 10-centimeter-) wide sapwood nurtures open, spreading canopies.

Brazilian angelim vermelho trees offer 49.21 to 73.82-foot- (15 to 22.5-meter-) tall trunks with 0.76 to 6.56-foot (23-centimeter to 2-meter) breast-high, maximally 9.84-foot (3-meter) soil-level diameters.

Clay-tolerant 13.12 to 16.4-foot- (4 to 5-meter-) tall buttress roots perform no bean, legume, pea family-prompted fixation of molecular nitrogen into soil food web-friendly nitrogenous compounds.

Coarse, durable, interlocking or straight-grained textures qualify Brazilian angelim vermelho wood for beam, bridge, floorboard, lath, parquet, pole, post, rafter, rail-tie, stake, strut and window-frame production. Brazilian angelim vermelho trees require non-inundated, tropical dry or moist, upland evergreen or mixed forests from Guyana southward into Amapá and Pará, Brazilian Amazon Basin states. Storm, wildfire, wind-sheltered 164.04 to 1,607.61-foot (50 to 490-meter) altitudes above sea level, separated from urban industrialization, suggest International Union for Conservation of Nature's least-concerned status.

Five hundred small trees, or 2.47 rainforested acres (1 hectare), trap the 44.09-ton (40-tonne) annual carbon dioxide takeaways of one Brazilian angelim vermelho, tallest Amazonian tree.

photo of "The Amazon's new record-breaking tree" provided by Amazon laser scan expedition member and University of Cambridge postdoctoral researcher Tobias Jackson: Arboricultural Association @ArbAssociation, via Twitter Oct. 18, 2019

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

AFP news agency ‏@AFP. 5 September 2019. "Amazon's 'tallest tree' safe from fires. Intrepid Brazilian and British scientists say they have located the Amazon's tallest tree in northern Brazil, untouched by a spate of wildfires that have raged in the rainforest for weeks http://u.afp.com/JuY5 @AFPgraphics." Twitter.
Available @ https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1169768181516292097

"Amazon's 'Tallest Tree' Safe from Fires, Say Scientists." Phys.Org > Earth > Environment > 4 September 2019.
Available @ https://phys.org/news/2019-09-amazon-tallest-tree-safe-scientists.html

Arboricultural Association ‏@ArbAssociation. 18 October 2019. "The Amazon’s tallest tree just got 50% taller – and scientists don’t know how... At 88m tall, it dwarfs the previous record holders by almost 30m. Read about it here." Twitter.
Available @ https://twitter.com/ArbAssociation/status/1185214147220443136

Chadwick, Jonathan. 18 December 2019. "Tallest Tree in the Amazon Rainforest Identified by Scientists Stands at 290-Feet - Almost As Tall As the Statue of Liberty." Daily Mail > Science.
Available @ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7805303/Tallest-tree-Amazon-rainforest-stands-290-feet.html

"Dinizia excelsa Ducke." Kew Royal Botanic Garden > Science > Plants of the World Online.
Available @ http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:80468-2

"Dinizia excelsa Ducke." Tropicos® > Name Search.
Available @ https://www.tropicos.org/Name/13017879

Ducke, Adolpho. 1922. "D. excelsa Ducke n. sp. (planche 4)." Pages 76-77. In: "Plantes Nouvelles ou Peu Connues de la Région Amazonienne (IIe Partie)." Archivos do Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, vol. III: 3-269.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/31246173

Fern, Ken. "Dinizia excelsa." Tropical Plants Database > Browse Botanical Names > D > Page 4. Last updated 13 June 2019.
Available @ http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Dinizia+excelsa

Ferreira, Gracialda Costa; Michael John Gilbert Hopkins; Ricardo de S. Secco. Junho 2004. "Contribuição ao conhecimento morfológico das espécies de leguminosae comercializadas no estado do Pará, como 'angelim': Contribution to the morphologic knowledge of the species of leguminosae in the state of Pará, traded as 'angelim'." Acta Amazonica 34(2): 219-232. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0044-59672004000200010.
Available @ http://www.scielo.br/pdf/aa/v34n2/v34n2a09.pdf

Gorgens, Eric Bastos; Alline Zagnoli Motta; Mauro Assis; Matheus Henrique Nunes; Tobias Jackson; David Coomes; Jacqueline Rosette; Luiz Eduardo Oliveira e Cruz Aragão; Jean Pierre Ometto. September 2019. "The Giant Trees of the Amazon Basin." Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 17(7): 373-374. DOI: 10.1002/fee.2085.
Available via The Ecological Society of America @ https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/15409309/2019/17/7

Jackson, Tobias; and Sami Rifai. 11 September 2019. "The Amazon's Tallest Tree Just Got 50% Taller - And Scientists Don't Know How." The Conversation > Environment + Energy > September 11, 2019.
Available @ https://theconversation.com/the-amazons-tallest-tree-just-got-50-taller-and-scientists-dont-know-how-122921

Langlois, Jill. 27 September 2019. "Researchers Discover the Tallest Known Tree in the Amazon." Smithsonian > Science.
Available @ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/researchers-discover-tallest-known-tree-amazon-180973227/

Malewar, Amit. 28 September 2019. "Scientists Located the Tallest Tree in Amazon Forest." Tech Explorist > Science.
Available @ https://www.techexplorist.com/scientists-located-tallest-tree-amazon-forest/26743/

Pullano, Nina. 12 September 2019. "The Amazon's Tallest Trees Are Safe (for Now)." Inverse > Science > Climate Crisis.
Available @ https://www.inverse.com/article/59221-tallest-tree-amazon-wildfires

thenewmag. 18 December 2019. "Tallest Tree in Amazon, 100 Feet Taller Than Nelson's Column." Serialpressit > News.
Available @ https://www.serialpressit.com/2019/12/18/tallest-tree-in-amazon-100-feet-taller-than-nelsons-column/

Waugh, Rob. 17 December 2019. "Tallest Tree Found in Amazon Rainforest Is 100 Feet Taller Than Nelson's Column." Yahoo! > News > Yahoo News UK.
Available @ https://news.yahoo.com/tallest-tree-found-in-amazon-rainforest-after-11-day-expedition-and-its-100-feet-taller-than-nelsons-column-191821819.html/

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Urban Trees Advocate for Human and Urban Health and Vice Versa

Summary: Urban trees affirm active human, non-polluted urban health, according to a TREE Fund and Utah State University Forestry Extension webinar Nov. 19, 2019.

U.S. Forest Service and University of Washington research scientist Kathleen Wolf credits her sabbatical at Japan's Awaji Landscape Planning and Horticulture Academy (ALPHA) with inspiring the establishment of Green Cities: Good Health website, a collaborative project of the U.S. Forest Service's Urban and Community Forestry (UCF) Program and the University of Washington; view of ALPA campus, Hyogo Prefectural University, Kobe City, southern Honshu, Japan: 淡路景観園芸学校／兵庫県立大学大学院緑環境景観マネジメント研究科, via Facebook Oct. 15, 2014

Urban trees advance urban health in arboricultural, epidemiological associations articulable in economic values and research evidence, according to a co-sponsored TREE Fund and Utah State University Forestry Extension webinar Nov. 19, 2019.

Dr. Kathleen Wolf of the University of Washington and the Pacific Northwest Research Station began her formal educational presentation with a World Health Organization (WHO) definition. Her webinar, Health Benefits of City Trees: Research Evidence and Economic Values, concurs with WHO's correlating health with disease and infirmity-free mental, physical and social well-being. Her Lunch and Learn webinar deferred to the United States Department of Agriculture's Forest Service portal for Green Cities: Good Health reviews and summaries.

The hour-long presentation, until 1 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time, equated air quality, physical activity, social contacts and stress reduction in natural environments with health and well-being.

A database of 4,500-plus peer-reviewed publications from the 1970s through 2015 furnished research findings focused upon health-friendly, tree-friendly economic and urban forest planning and planting implications.

Active, healing, mentally and physically healthy, risk-reducing, therapeutic lifestyles versus community and social ties, place attachment and meaning and safe streets gauge human versus urban health. Urban trees help human and urban health by harvesting air pollutants, excess heat and ultraviolet radiation but hurt human health for those who have pollen allergies. Economic models and medical research respectively inform arborists and urban foresters about market-determined health and tree costs, not non-marked-valued tree benefits, and about pollen-impacted health.

The second half-hour on diseases and disorders that jeopardize human and urban health joined the first on healthy inputs from nature generally and urban trees specifically.

The Wolf slides keep track of health care spending for 2016, at $10,348 per person and at $3.5 trillion overall, and of mortality causes for 2017.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed the 15 leading causes for a total of 2,813,503 resident deaths in the United States in 2017. They mention, first through ninth, heart diseases; cancer; accidents; Alzheimer's, cerebrovascular and chronic lower respiratory diseases; diabetes mellitus; influenza, pneumonia; and kidney disease, disorder and inflammation. They next note septicemia (from Latin sēpticus, "putrefying" and -emia, "blood"); essential and renal hypertension; Parkinson's disease; and pneumonitis (from Greek πνεύμων, "lung" and -ίτης, "inflammation").

Urban trees for human and urban health optimally operate against costly, health-compromising behavioral and mental disorders; cardiovascular and circulatory diseases; neoplasms; and musculoskeletal disorders.

Urban trees for human and urban health optimally palliate costly, health-compromising, mobility-restricting diabetes, blood, endocrine and urogenital disorders; chronic respiratory diseases; non-communicable diseases; and neurological disorders.

Greening urban spaces by 35 to 40 percent perhaps quantifies as health care spending reduced from 2017's $327 billion on diabetes and $1.1 trillion on hospitalizations. It recommends bringing nature close; creating refuges and 20 to 50-minute walking loops; generating diverse, mature-specimen greening blocks; and planting for tree-filled entrance and window views. It suggests the forest immersion therapy that survives from older Chinese practices into more recent Japanese cultural appropriations as sim-lim (森林, "forest-bathe") and shinrin-yoku (森林浴, "forest-bathing").

The Wolf webinar tells arborists and urban foresters what diseases, disorders and stresses trouble human and urban health and to transplant the most tolerant urban trees.

The U.S. Forest Service's (USFS) Pacific Northwest Research Station website describes Green Cities: Good Health website as a database of "summaries on the benefits of urban trees and green spaces," based on more than 1,700 scientific articles, with key findings revealing the benefits of proximity to nature for city-living humans: Blue Urban @GreenBlueUrban, via Facebook Sep. 20, 2016

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

U.S. Forest Service and University of Washington research scientist Kathleen Wolf credits her sabbatical at Japan's Awaji Landscape Planning and Horticulture Academy (ALPHA) with inspiring the establishment of Green Cities: Good Health website, a collaborative project of the U.S. Forest Service's Urban and Community Forestry (UCF) Program and the University of Washington; view of ALPHA campus, Hyogo Prefectural University, Kobe City, southern Honshu, Japan: 淡路景観園芸学校／兵庫県立大学大学院緑環境景観マネジメント研究科, via Facebook Oct. 15, 2014, @ https://www.facebook.com/596607490451035/photos/a.596610457117405/596610350450749/

Barron, S.; S. Nitoslawski; K. L. Wolf; A. Wood; E. Desautels; S. R. J. Sheppard. 2019. "Greening Blocks: A Conceptual Typology of Practical Design Interventions to Integrate Health and Climate Resilience Co-Benefits." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16: 4241.

GreenBlue Urban ‏@GreenBlueUrban. 20 September 2016. "Brilliant new project launched Green Cities Good Health @TreesforCities @GIPartnership @The_RHS." Twitter.
Available @ https://twitter.com/GreenBlueUrban/status/778239761446232065

Marriner, Derdriu. 2018. "Shinrin-Yoku: Forest Bathing Year-Round, Indoors and Outdoors, for All." Wizzley.
Available @ https://wizzley.com/shinrin-yoku-forest-bathing-year-round-indoors-and-outdoors-for-all/

Wolf, Kathleen. 19 November 2019. "Health Benefits of City Trees: Research Evidence and Economic Values." Utah State University Forestry Extension > Webinars > Archived Webinars > 2019.
Available @ http://forestry.usu.edu/webinars/index

Wolf, Kathleen L.; Marcus K. Measells; Stephen C. Grado; and Alicia S.T. Robbins. 2015. "Economic Values of Metro Nature Health Benefits: A Life Course Approach." Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 14(2015): 694-701. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2015.06.009.
Available @ https://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/journals/pnw_2015_wolf002.pdf

Friday, December 20, 2019

200th Anniversary of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Rain Gardens

Summary: Ajanta rain gardens appear above, alongside and below the Ajanta Caves in the 200th anniversary of European-accessed Ajanta cave wall paintings.

verdant landscape of Ajanta Caves along Waghora ("Tiger") River after monsoon; Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra, west-central India; Sunday, Sep. 11, 2016, 11:19: Ms Sarah Welch, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

The Ajanta Caves naturally accommodate Ajanta rain gardens, as wild area vegetation arrangements amenable to copycat assemblies elsewhere, in the 200th anniversary year of European-accessed Ajanta cave wall paintings in Maharashtra, India.

Natural Ajanta rain gardens buffer the western extensions of the Sahyradri Hills (from Sanskrit सह्याद्रि, "benevolent") and the Waghora (from Sanskrit व्याघ्र, "tiger") River bend glen. They collect the heavy metals and polluted particles that cluster atmospherically from on-site construction, tourism and traffic and that come down during the rainy season months. Two centuries developing cliff ridges above, excavated ridges of and to, and valley faces and floors below the Ajanta Caves somewhat debilitate natural Ajanta rain gardens.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Centre on-site examinations since 1983 expose moisture entering and endangering the 1,300- to 2,300-year-old, 30-cavern Ajanta Caves.

Geological flaws and preservation- and tourism-friendly features frustrate natural flows of surface runoff into forest soils, the Sat Kund (Seven Pool) waterfall and the Waghora River.

The volcanic basalt rocks in the near-perpendicular cliff faces that artisans gouged into the Ajanta Caves generate broken, collapsible surfaces from landslides, vibrations, water and winds. Installing administrative and tourist facilities, doors, lights, paths, rails, roads, steps and windows impairs cave integrity, impedes surface runoff infiltrating forest soils and initiates soil compaction.

Compaction from construction jeopardizes invertebrate, root and vertebrate journeys horizontally, not vertically, through Ajanta rain gardens toward Ajanta cave wall paintings in their 200th anniversary year.

Bhil hunters kept their traditional grounds around the Ajanta Caves a balanced ecosystem until antiquities-loving artist Robert Gill (Sept. 26, 1804-April 10, 1879) killed 250 tigers.

Well-drained forests naturally lodge almondette (charoli, Buchanania lanzan), asthma-plant (dudhi, Euphorbia hirta), axlewood (dhavra, Anogeissus latifolia), Bidi leaf (apta, Bauhinia racemosa) and fan palm (lendi, Borassus flabellifer). Ajanta rain gardens naturally maintain golden rain (bahawa, Cassia fistula), Indian blackwood (anjan, Hardwickia binata), Indian frankincense (salai, Boswellia serrata) and Indian gooseberry (amla, Phyllanthus emblica). Their black, humid, laterite, nutrient-rich, red, semi-shaded, sun-dappled soils nurture Indian kino (bija, Pterocarpus marsupium), Indian linden (dhaman, Grewia tiliifolia) and Indian plum (ber, Ziziphus mauritiana).

Natural Ajanta rain gardens in the 200th anniversary year of Ajanta cave wall paintings, European-accessed since April 28, 1819, still offer Indian quince (bel, Aegle marmelos).

Conservatory-, exterior and interior courtyard-, greenhouse-modeled and natural Ajanta rain gardens possess Indian sandalwood (chandan, Santalum album), kalam rosids (Drypetes kalamii) and khair acacia (Acacia catechu).

Natural Ajanta rain gardens queue up mallow-leaved crossberry (dhaman, Grewia abutilifolia), marking nut trees (bhilawa, Semecarpus anacardium), teak (Tectona grandis) and thorny acacia (babul, Vachellia nilotica). They require relative humidity at 40 to 80 percent, soil pHs 5.5 to 6, 30.51-inch (775-plus-millimeter) rainfall and temperatures above 55.4 degrees Fahrenheit (13 degrees Celsius). Those styled accurately elsewhere sustain edible, sheltering plants for perhaps non-existent populations of bats, boar, deer, gazelles, hare, jackals, jungle-fowls, langurs, leopards, pea-fowls, squirrels and tigers.

Natural Ajanta rain gardens, albeit semi-thwarted by time, traffic and trauma, turn rainy-season surface runoff away from Ajanta cave wall paintings in their 200th anniversary year.

Waghora River horseshoes Ajanta Caves; Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra, west-central India; Sunday, Sep. 11, 2016, 09:43: Ms Sarah Welch, 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:

Waghora River horseshoes Ajanta Caves; Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra, west-central India; Sunday, Sep. 11, 2016, 09:43: Ms Sarah Welch, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:12_Ajanta_Caves_overview.jpg

For further information:

"Ajanta Caves." UNESCO > Culture > World Heritage Centre > The List > World Heritage List.
Available @ http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/242

"Ajanta Caves Vulnerable to Landslides, Says Study." NDTV > India > News > August 6, 2014 15:50 IST.
Available @ https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/ajanta-caves-vulnerable-to-landslides-says-study-616005

Bankar, M.V.; and N.P. Bhosle. November-December 2017. "Ethnobotanical Survey of Medicinal Plants in Ajanta Region (MS) India." IOSR Journal of Pharmacy and Biological Sciences Volume 12, Issue 6 Ver. II: 59-64.
Available @ http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jpbs/papers/Vol12-issue6/Version-2/I1206025964.pdf

Barrett, Douglas E.; and Basil Gray. 1963. Painting of India. Geneva, Switzerland: Skira, Treasures of Asia. Distributed in the United States by World Publishing Co., Cleveland OH.

Behl, Benoy K. 2005. The Ajanta Caves: Ancient Paintings of Buddhist India. London UK: Thames & Hudson.

Boyd, Ryan. 14 December 2018. "Sacred Sites: Ajanta Caves." Evolve + Ascend > Ancient Wisdom > Culture > Occult > Sacred Sites.
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Burgess, J. (James). 1879. "Notes on the Bauddha Rock-Temples of Ajanta, Their Paintings and Sculptures, and on the Paintings of the Bagh Caves, Modern Bauddha Mythology, &c." Archaeological Society of Western India, no. 9. Bombay, India: Government Central Press.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/archaeologicals01indigoog/

Dalrymple, William. 15 August 2014. "The Ajanta Cave Murals: 'Nothing Less Than the Birth of Indian Art.'" The Guardian > Culture > Art & Design.
Available @ https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/aug/15/mural-ajanta-caves-india-birth-indian-art

Fergusson, James. 1845. Illustrations of the Rock-Cut Temples of India: Text to Accompany the Folio Volume of Plates. London, England.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/gri_33125008483717/

Fergusson, James. 1845. Illustrations of the Rock-Cut Temples of India: Selected From the Best Examples of the Different Series of Caves at Ellora, Ajunta, Cuttack, Salsette, Karli, and Mahavellipore. Drawn on Stone by Mr. T.C. Dibdin, From Sketches Carefully Made on the Spot, With the Assistance of the Camera-Lucida, in the Years 1838-9. London, England: John Weale, M.DCCC.XLV.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/gri_33125008543106/

Fergusson, James; and James Burgess. 1880. The Cave Temples of India. London, England: W.H. Allen & Co.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/cavetemplesofind00ferguoft/

Fergusson, James; and Robert Gill. 1864. The Rock-Cut Temples of India; Illustrated by Seventy-Four Photographs Taken on the Spot by Major Gill. Described by James Fergusson. London, England: John Murray.
Available via HathiTrust @ https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100206115
Available via Wikisource @ https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Rock-cut_Temples_of_India

Gill, Robert; and James Fergusson. 1864. One Hundred Stereoscopic Illustrations of Architecture and Natural History in Western India. Photographed by Major Gill and described by James Fergusson. London, England: Cundall, Downes & Co.

Gupte, R.S.; and B.D. Mahajan. 1962. Ajanta, Ellora and Aurangabad Caves. Bombay, India: D.B. Taraporevala Sons and Co.

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 December 2019. "Ajanta Herbal Gardens: 200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/12/ajanta-herbal-gardens-200th-anniversary.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 6 December 2019. "Maharashtran Tiger Ambles Through Ajanta Caves 200th Anniversary Year." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/12/maharashtran-tiger-ambles-through.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 29 November 2019. "Ajanta Cave 28: 200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/11/ajanta-cave-28-200th-anniversary-year.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 22 November 2019. "200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 27." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/11/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave_22.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 November 2019. "200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 24." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/11/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave_15.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 8 November 2019. “200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 14.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/11/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 November 2019. "Ajanta Cave 3: 200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/11/ajanta-cave-3-200th-anniversary-year-of.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 25 October 2019. "Ajanta Cave 5: 200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/10/ajanta-cave-5-200th-anniversary-year-of.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 18 October 2019. "Ajanta Cave 4: 200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/10/ajanta-cave-4-200th-anniversary-year-of.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 11 October 2019. "200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 22." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/10/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave_11.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 4 October 2019. "200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 20." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/10/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 27 September 2019. "Ajanta Cave 23: 200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/09/ajanta-cave-23-200th-anniversary-year.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 20 September 2019. "Ajanta Cave 21: 200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/09/ajanta-cave-21-200th-anniversary-year.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 September 2019. "Ajanta Cave 15: 200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/09/ajanta-cave-15-200th-anniversary-year.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 6 September 2019. "200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 7." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/09/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 30 August 2019. "Mandana Wall Paintings: 200th Anniversary of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/08/mandana-wall-paintings-200th.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 23 August 2019. "Warli Wall Paintings: 200th Anniversary of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/08/warli-wall-paintings-200th-anniversary.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 16 August 2019. "200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 11." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/08/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 9 August 2019. "Ajanta Cave 6: 200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/08/ajanta-cave-6-200th-anniversary-year-of.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 2 August 2019. "200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 18." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/08/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave_2.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 26 July 2019. "Ajanta Cave 25: 200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/07/ajanta-cave-25-200th-anniversary-year.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 19 July 2019. "Thich Nhat Hanh Achieved at An Quang the Aims of Ajanta Jataka Tales." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/07/thich-nhat-hanh-achieved-at-quang-aims.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 12 July 2019. "Engaged Buddhism of Thich Nhat Hanh Allies With Ajanta Jataka Tales." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/07/engaged-buddhism-of-thich-nhat-hanh.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 5 July 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh and Indra's Net at Parallax Press and Ajanta Cave 17.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/07/thich-nhat-hanh-and-indras-net-at.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 28 June 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, La Boi and Ajanta Cave 16 Ace Outstanding Inner Peace.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/06/thich-nhat-hanh-la-boi-and-ajanta-cave.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 21 June 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh and Indra's Net at Van Hanh and Ajanta Cave 1.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/06/thich-nhat-hanh-and-indras-net-at-van.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 14 June 2019. “Indra's Net Affects Thich Nhat Hanh, Phap Van and Ajanta Cave 2.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/06/indras-net-affects-thich-nhat-hanh-phap.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 7 June 2019. "Thich Nhat Hanh, Indra's Net at Phuong Boi and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/06/thich-nhat-hanh-indras-net-at-phuong.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 31 May 2019. "Thich Nhat Hanh, Indra's Net at Bat Nha and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/05/thich-nhat-hanh-indras-net-at-bat-nha.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 24 May 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, Stream Entering Monastery and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/05/thich-nhat-hanh-stream-entering.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 17 May 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, Thai Plum Village and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/05/thich-nhat-hanh-thai-plum-village-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 10 May 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, AIAB Hong Kong and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/05/thich-nhat-hanh-aiab-hong-kong-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 3 May 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, EIAB Germany and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/05/thich-nhat-hanh-eiab-germany-and-ajanta.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 26 April 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, Deer Park Monastery and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/04/thich-nhat-hanh-deer-park-monastery-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 19 April 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, Blue Cliff Monastery and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/04/thich-nhat-hanh-blue-cliff-monastery.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 12 April 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, Plum Village Tradition and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/04/thich-nhat-hanh-plum-village-tradition.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 5 April 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, Tu Hieu Temple Walks and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/04/thich-nhat-hanh-tu-hieu-temple-walks.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 29 March 2019. "Thich Nhat Hanh, Walking Meditations and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/03/thich-nhat-hanh-walking-meditations-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 22 March 2019. “200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 13.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/03/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave_22.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 March 2019. “200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 12.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/03/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 8 March 2019. “200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 8.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/03/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave_8.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 March 2019. “200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 15A/30.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/03/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave_1.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 22 February 2019. “200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Pithora Wall Art.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/02/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 February 2019. “200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 29.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/02/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave_15.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 8 February 2019. “Ajanta Cave 26 in 200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/02/ajanta-cave-26-in-200th-anniversary.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 February 2019. “Ajanta Cave 19 in 200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/02/ajanta-cave-19-in-200th-anniversary.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 25 January 2019. “200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings in Ajanta Cave 9.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/01/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 18 January 2019. “Ancient Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings and Inscriptions in Ajanta Cave 10.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/01/ancient-ajanta-cave-wall-paintings-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 11 January 2019. “Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings Ailing at World Heritage Centre Site.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/01/ajanta-cave-wall-paintings-ailing-at.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 4 January 2019. “Accurate, Ancient, Artistic Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings to Buddha.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/01/accurate-ancient-artistic-ajanta-cave.html

Pisani, Ludovico. 6 August 2013. "The Ajanta Cave Paintings." The Global Dispatches > Articles and Culture.
Available @ http://www.theglobaldispatches.com/articles/the-ajanta-cave-paintings

Singh, Rajesh. 2012. An Introduction to the Ajanta Caves: With Examples of Six Caves. Vadodara, India: Hari Sena Press Private Limited.

Singh, Rajesh Kumar. 2017. Ajanta Cave No. 1: Documented According to the Ajanta Corpus of Dieter Schlingloff (Photographic Compendium, Ajanta Narrative Painting). Vadodara, India: Hari Sena Press Private Limited.

Somathilake, Mahinda. June 2013. "Painted Jataka Stories of Ancient Sri Lanka." International Journal of Arts and Commerce 2(6): 139-150.
Available @ https://ijac.org.uk/images/frontImages/gallery/Vol._2_No._6/14.pdf

Spink, Walter M. 2018. Ajanta: History and Development. Volume 1: The End of the Golden Age. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia, Volume 18/1. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.

Spink, Walter M. 2018. Ajanta: History and Development. Volume 2: Arguments about Ajanta. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia, Volume 18/2. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.

Spink, Walter M. 2005. Ajanta: History and Development. Volume 3: The Arrival of the Uninvited. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia, Volume 18/3. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.

Spink, Walter M. 2008. Ajanta: History and Development. Volume 4: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture - Year by Year. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia, Volume 18/4. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.

Spink, Walter M. 2006. Ajanta: History and Development. Volume 5: Cave by Cave. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia, Volume 18/5. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.

Spink, Walter. 2017. Ajanta: History and Development. Volume 7: Bagh, Dandin, Cells and Cell Doorways. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia, Volume 18/7. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.

Spink, Walter M; and Naomichi Yaguchi. 2014. Ajanta: History and Development. Volume 6: Defining Features. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia, Volume 18/6. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.

Uno, Tomoko; and Yoshiko Shimazdu. "Thermal Environment in Ajanta Caves." Archi-Cultural Translations through the Silk Road: 2nd International Conference, Mukogawa Women's University, Nishinomiya, Japan, July 14-16, 2012, Proceedings.
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