Verna and Bob's Weblog

May 2008

Beltane

Known as a cross-quarter day, Beltane falls on May 5th. Celebrated long before Cinco de Mayo, Beltane marks the halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer soltice.

Archaeoastronomy.com Has a history on cross-quarter days and those cultures which celebrate(d) them. Plus they have a nice animation of the graphic seen below.

Beltane

Beltane was the start of Summer, just a few days beyond May Day on the modern calendar. Fertility is at its peak as bees pollinate the flowers. Seedlings are poking through the cool soil, seeking the warmth and energy of the sun. Early Christians preferred the name Whitsuntide instead of Beltane. The pronunciation of this cross quarter is BEE-awl-ten-ah.

May 5, 2008 by Culture

Spring Gold

I bought a little ‘frühlingsgold’ epiphyllum at a cactus exhibition at South Coast Botanic Garden about a year ago. In spite of the not-so-pretty leaves, it produced a beautiful bloom. Since then, the plant has been producing more not-so-pretty leaves, but it gave us this nice bloom today.

spring gold

May 4, 2008 by Home & Garden

Phalaenopsis – Moth Orchid

The generic name means “Phalaen[a]-like” and is probably a reference to the genus Phalaena, the name given by Carolus Linnaeus to a group of large moths; the flowers of some species supposedly resemble moths in flight. For this reason, the species are sometimes called Moth orchids.

I just added this moth to the collection today.

Phalaenopsis - Moth Orchid

May 3, 2008 by Home & Garden Photography

The Future of the Space Telescope

diffraction lensIf you ever took a class in practical physics that included a lab, then you remember those little diffraction gratings that could be used as a substitute for a prism to observe the spectrum of light. The gratings exhibited the properties of prisms, but without the bulk. If you did not happen to have a physics lab, then you may remember those flat Fresnel (pronounced ‘freh-nel’) fish-eye lenses that were popular in the back windows of vans and motor homes. Again, the properties of a larger, bulkier lens made in a compact format.

Image: (L. Koechlin et al/OMP) – a metallic prototype of a diffraction lens – click on the image for a larger view.

Now, it appears that a diffraction grating is being considered as a lightweight, and even more accurate, optical device for focusing light without the usual mirrors and lenses. That will be a boon for the future of space and even terrestrial telescopes.

This excerpt from New Scientist explains how that is possible.

Continue reading…

May 2, 2008 by Nerdliness

Gerbera and Cactus

A cereus cactus shares it’s flowerpot with this red Gerbera daisy. We put cactus in flowerpots to subdue the ‘sprawl’ as they have a tendency to take over.

I think the contrast between the two is interesting. Click the image for a larger view.

cactus and gerbera

May 1, 2008 by Home & Garden Photography

Avalon 1998

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