The Flying Saucer At Sunset

Lenticular clouds (Altocumulus lenticularis) are stationary lens-shaped clouds with a smooth layered appearance that form in the troposphere, usually above mountain ranges. One was spotted in Singapore recently...

Eyes Of 30,000 Honeycombs

With 30,000 individual facets, dragonflies have the most number of facets among insects. Each facet, or ommatidia, creates its own image, and the dragonfly brain has eight pairs of descending visual neurons to compile those thousands of images into one picture...

A Kaleidoscope Of Colours, Shapes And Patterns

Spectacular and innovative in design, the Flower Dome replicates the cool-dry climate of Mediterranean regions like South Africa, California and parts of Spain and Italy. Home to a collection of plants from deserts all over the world, it showcases the adaptations of plants to arid environments...

Lightning Strikes, Not Once, But Many Times

Unlike light, lightning does not travel in a straight line. Instead, it has many branches. These other branches flashed at the same time as the main strike. The branches are actually the step leaders that were connected to the leader that made it to its target...

Are You My Dinner Tonight?

A T-Rex has 24-26 teeth on its upper jaw and 24 more on its lower jaw. Juveniles have small, sharp blade-shaped teeth to cut flesh, whereas adults have huge, blunt, rounded teeth for crushing bones. Is the T-Rex a bone-crushing scavenger?

Cleaner Pools, Happier Dolphins

Sentosa
South, Singapore
June 2013

Three weeks after the STOMP posting ("Poor conditions for RWS dolphins: Cramped space and algae-stained pool"), Merlion Wayfarer once again had a chance to observe the living conditions of the dolphins. 

(Photos taken at sunset)

It seems that after the resulting media publicity from the article, RWS has finally cleaned up the dolphin enclosures. 

This is how they look this week:

Other than some algae in two of the tanks, most of the tanks are cleaner now. The dolphins appear happier too, frolicking in the sun, swimming more actively, and playing within their group. It was really heartwarming to see the change in their behaviour.


Merlion Wayfarer is glad to have made the difference today. Thank you, STOMP.

"To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, 
a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; 
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. 
This is to have succeeded. "
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~


This article is currently in STOMP on 15 June 2013:
"What a difference: RWS dolphin pools cleared of algae following STOMPer's report"

(Source : SPH)


The full albums are available at:

Red Moon Rising

Singapore
June 2013

It was Thursday the 13th. Merlion Wayfarer looked out of her window and spotted a red moon. Incredulous, she blinked. And looked out again. A red moon.

(13 June 2013, 2150 hours)

She had never seen a red moon before - White yes, Yellow yes, Orange yes, Red no.

Moments later, the moon was obscured by the dark clouds. All that remained was one dark sky. Pitch black.

Uh-oh.

Her religious friends were filled with premonitions.


Instead of scaring herself silly, Merlion Wayfarer looked to Google for a scientific explanation...
Most of the time, the Moon is a bright yellow color; it’s reflecting light from the Sun. But sometimes the Moon can turn a beautiful dramatic red color.

There are few situations that can cause a red moon.

The most common way to see the Moon turn red is when the Moon is low in the sky, just after moonrise or before it’s about to set below the horizon. Just like the Sun, light from the Moon has to pass through a larger amount of atmosphere when it’s down near the horizon, compared to when it’s overhead. The Earth’s atmosphere can scatter sunlight, and since moonlight is just scattered sunlight, it can scatter that too. Red light can pass through the atmosphere and not get scattered much, while light at the blue end of the spectrum is more easily scattered. When you see a red moon, you’re seeing the red light that wasn’t scattered, but the blue and green light have been scattered away. That’s why the Moon looks red.

The second reason for a red moon is if there’s some kind of particle in the air. A forest fire or volcanic eruption can fill the air with tiny particles that partially obscure light from the Sun and Moon. Once again, these particles tend to scatter blue and green light away, while permitting red light to pass through more easily. When you see a red moon, high up in the sky, it’s probably because there’s a large amount of dust in the air.

A third - and dramatic - way to get a red moon is during a lunar eclipse. During a lunar eclipse, the Moon passes behind the Earth’s shadow, which darkens it. If you could take a look at the Earth from inside its shadow, you would see that the atmosphere around the edge of the entire planet glows red. Once again, this is because large amounts of atmosphere will scatter away the blue/green light and let the red light go straight through. During a lunar eclipse, the Moon passes fully into the shadow of the Earth and it’s no longer being illuminated by the Sun; however, this red light passing through the Earth’s atmosphere does reach the Moon, and shines on it.

(Source : Universe Today)
Hmmm, #3 is unlikely as there was no lunar eclipse forecasted on 13 June 2013. The last lunar eclipse was on 25 May 2013. The next lunar eclipse is on 18 October 2013. (Space.com, 2013)

The Moon's eastward motion is much slower than the sky's westward motion. So, though moving to the east from day to day, it still has a net motion toward the west, each day. This means that it still rises in the east, and sets in the west, like the stars, but a little later, each day. 

(Source : CSeligman.com)

Despite a forecast of an earlier moonset at 2249 hours on 13 June, the crescent moon was yellow on both 12 June and 14 June.

(Source : NEA)

Hence, the most likely reason was dust particles in the atmosphere.

"The exact color that the moon appears depends on the amount of dust and clouds in the atmosphere," according to NASA scientists. "If there are extra particles in the atmosphere, from say a recent volcanic eruption, the moon will appear a darker shade of red." (Space.com, 2013)

(Source : Ngabo)

Merlion Wayfarer recalled that the PSI reading from Wednesday was at 59. On Friday, it jumped to 91. The 24h reading shows a high degree of particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10). It was also an unusually warm evening with still air on 13 June, an indication of wind shift.

(Source : NEA)

A check on the NEA website confirms this:
Hazy Conditions Update
(Updated on 14 June 2013)

Southwest Monsoon conditions have onset over the region since the beginning of the week, with low level winds blowing predominantly from the southeast or southwest. The Southwest Monsoon season typically last from June to September and is the traditional dry season for the southern ASEAN region.

In the coming months, occasional extended periods of drier weather can be expected in the region. During the season, increased hotspot activities may be expected in Sumatra and Borneo. In addition, transboundary smoke haze could affect the region during periods of persistent dry weather conditions.

In recent days, weather conditions in the region have become drier and an increase in hotspot activities has been observed mainly over central Sumatra.  85 hotspots were detected on 6 June 2013 over Sumatra. Due to more cloud cover over Sumatra yesterday, the number of hotspots detected on 13 June 2013 has decreased to 22.   Singapore was affected by slight haze since yesterday.  The haziness and burning smell are from the fires in Sumatra, brought over by prevailing winds blowing from the southwest or west during the current Southwest Monsoon season. Hazy conditions are expected for the next few days.

(Source : NEA)

More photos are available on Merlion Wayfarer Goes Green's Picasa at :
Natural Phenomena - The Moon



Sources



Cloud Forest - A Mysterious World Veiled In Mist

Gardens By The Bay
Marina South, Singapore
June 2013

The Cloud Forest is a mysterious world veiled in mist. A 35-metre tall mountain covered in lush vegetation shrouds the world’s tallest indoor waterfall showcasing plant life from the tropical highlands up to 2,000 metres above sea level.

First impression of Cloud Forest - WOW!
The waterfall greets you, spray douses you, and the thunder of the falling water surrounds you!

The "Cloud Mountain" itself is an intricate structure completely clad in Epiphytes such as orchids, ferns, peacock ferns, spike and clubmosses, bromeliads and anthuriums. It consists of a number of levels, each with a different theme.

The entry level contains plants from the lower regions, foothills and includes numerous ferns, orchids, rare conifers, camelias and much more. From the entry level an elevator goes to the top of the "mountain", the Lost World.

An explosion of colour in the beautiful blooms...
 
Be charmed by the miniature trains chugging round the little town...

The Lost World contains pitcher plants, fly-traps, orchids, ferns and club-mosses as well as a single Keteleeria.

That top-of-the-world feeling...

Orchids galore...


Stone sculptures add to the mystique...

Make a wish at the top of the waterfall...

Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap. Foraging, flying or crawling insects such as flies are attracted to the cavity formed by the cupped leaf, often by visual lures such as anthocyanin pigments, and nectar bribes. The rim of the pitcher (peristome) is slippery, when moistened by condensation or nectar, causing insects to fall into the trap. They drown the insect, and the body of it is gradually dissolved. 

The Cloud Walk is an aerial walkway around the top of the mountain giving both a closer view of the Epiphytes growing on the outside of the mountain, and a view from above on the entry level below.


 Be enthralled by mist sprayed lightly from sprinklers around the walk...

Errrm... Feet seem glued to the see-through walkway in anticipation... It's such a looong way down!

That is why Merlion Wayfarer is full of admiration for the Landscaping Heroes 
who have to rappel downwards to keep the waterfall mountain lush and green!

The Cavern and the Crystal Mountain contain exhibitions of mineralogy and caves.


A stalaCtite ("C" for ceiling) is a type of speleothem (secondary mineral) that hangs from the ceiling of limestone caves. It is a type of dripstone. A stalaGmite ("G" for ground) is a type of speleothem that rises from the floor of a limestone cave due to the dripping of mineralized solutions and the deposition of calcium carbonate. If these formations grow together, the result is known as a column.

The Treetop Walk is a lower level aerial walkway enabling a walk amongst the treetops.

An unexpected surprise - Preview the F18s flying by for the NDP rehearsal...

A good view of the approaching thunderstorm - See the dark angry Cumulonimbus clouds coming...

The Secret Garden contains plants from ravines and tree ferns from New Zealand.


Walk through a waterfall curtain and past giant snails...

Watch out for the lion and the alligator!

Clean toilets with forest-themed wallpaper...
  
Earth Check and +5 degrees are exhibitions (including a video show) on what might happen if the temperate of the planet rises with an average of 5 degrees Celsius due to global warming.

Just a temperature change of 0.3 degrees Celsius is enough
to create dire changes to the world as we know it now...

Make the change today, live a greener lifestyle now...


(This article is part of Merlion Wayfarer Goes Green's Gardens By The Bay series.)