Mauna Kea and Hawaiian Blueberry

One of the places I absolutely *had* to visit when I was on the Big Island was Mauna Kea, Hawaii's tallest mountain, reaching a height of 13,900' above sea level. Technically, it's the world's biggest mountain, measuring 30,000' from the base, which is at the bottom of the sea, to the tip.


It's also the site of the world's largest astronomical observatory, with 13 telescopes representing 11 different countries. The air in this microclimate is the some of the driest on earth, second only to Antarctica. This, in addition to the absence of cloud cover and light pollution, makes for excellent astronomical viewing conditions.



Warned that going to the summit individually is quite difficult (you definitely need four-wheel drive) and reluctant to bring a bunch of winter gear with me from the mainland (it's a chilly 32° at the summit) I signed up for a tour with Mauna Kea Summit Adventures. The tour picked me up at 4pm, and along with about 12 other people, we had a picnic dinner at the visitors center (elevation 9000') before going to the summit for sunset.


After the sunset, we descended back to 9000' for some stargazing. I saw Saturn and its rings, the Omega Centauri, constellations Sagittarius, Virgo and Leo, as well as the beautiful binary star, Albireo. We also learned a fair amount about night viewing and general astronomy. It was an excellent tour and quite educational. By the time I got back to the hotel, nearing midnight, I was more than a little awestruck by how truly insignificant we are and by the incomprehensible age of the galaxies. (Light years, as a concept, always trips me up. The Omega Centauri is around 15,000 light years away. I see it, but because of its distance, it may not really be there anymore. Only in 15,000 years could someone know if it existed in 2010. Discussing this brain-bending concept with the tour guide, he quipped, 'I think that's why insanity is more common among quantum physicists and astronomers.' ...I can't verify that, but can imagine that the sense of profound insignificance, combined with the fact that - in such a profession - you ask questions that can never be truly answered, may be a bit maddening at times.)


I suppose that's why I prefer plants. There aren't a lot in this biome, but there were enough. I saw the plant below when we stopped for a photo-op at around 11,000'. Does it look familiar to any east coasters?


Those bell-shaped flowers are a clue, perhaps. Also maybe the reddish hue to the foliage...But who am I kidding, you read the post title so you know it's a blueberry, or Vaccinium reticulatum. In Hawaii the plant is commonly called the 'ohelo. There are two species of Vaccinium in Hawaii, and both have some subspecies, too, varying slightly among the different Hawaiian islands. V. reticulatum is found in open woodlands and high elevations, while V. calycinum is found in wet, wooded areas.


The plant's berries, like our more local V. corymbosum, V. caesariense, or V. angustifolium, make wonderful jams or jellies or can be eaten fresh. They can be picked by visitors and locals but the maximum takeaway is 1 quart when picking in parkland. That's because the plant provides habitat and food to two endemic moths as well as the endangered nene, or Hawaiian goose.

Pieris japonica

As I mentioned last December, seeing the fattened flower buds of trees and shrubs this time of year really keeps me pert during the otherwise dreary winter months. Pieris japonica may very well be the showiest plant when it comes to winter bud display, as you can see from the specimen below, growing in Herald Square.


It seems appropriate that I post about Pieris on the heels of an astronomical post, since Pieris shares its common name with the constellation - and galaxy - Andromeda.

Andromeda was a princess from Greek mythology whose mother, Cassiopeia, was a bit too conceited - she claimed she was more beautiful than the Nereids, daughters of the sea god Nereus. I guess Nereus and Poseidon were tight, so as punishment to Cassiopeia, Poseidon had Andromeda chained to a rock and sacrificed her to Cetus the sea monster. Luckily, Perseus - drunk with his victory of killing Gorgon Medusa - was able to slay the sea monster and rescue Andromeda. They got hitched shortly after.

If this all sounds a bit familiar, perhaps it's because you remember that 'classic' 1981 flick, Clash of the Titans which, incidentally, has been re-made and should be coming to theaters soon.



Anyway, back to the plant. While Pieris japonica is still referred to commonly as Japanese Andromeda, use of this name is discouraged, since there is another plant, bog rosemary, whose scientific name is Andromeda polifolia. Yet another example of how important it is to know the botanical names.



Pieris is in the Ericaceae, or heath, family and is related to mountain laurel, rhododendron, azaleas and blueberries. But Pieris is unique from some species those genera because it's not native to the US and, more pragmatically, it is toxic to animals. As a result, deer tend to stay away from it.



As you can see from the images, the plant comes in white and red (as well as pink) flowering varieties.

Last Friday's Wolf Moon

Chances are, many of you readers were forwarded some email or received a facebook post about the moon last Friday. Last Friday the smallest distance between the moon and earth, or its perigree, was reached. Actually, to be more accurate, the moon was as close to earth as it can get - 221,577 miles - at 4:04 AM on Saturday morning.



These photos were taken around midnight so the moon was actually moving closer to us at this time. It's not common for the perigree to occur at the same time that the moon is full, which is why this is considered a special event.


What made it even more unusual, was that Mars was "at opposition" last Friday, too. That meant it was opposite the sun and thus rose with the moon. On January 27, the red planet was nearest to the earth at a mere 61 million miles and was still quite close to us two days later on the 29th (click image above to enlarge).



The name 'wolf moon' was applied by Native Americans who often viewed this midwinter moon with the accompaniment of hungry, howling wolves.



Regular readers know I had to get a new camera recently. I have to say, I think my fairly everyday Canon 10x Zoom did pretty well with these shots. Now if only there was a bit more plant life to shoot!