title: Life of Crime (film)

text: Catherine Shoard of "The Guardian" praised Schecter for his "unexpectedly winning take" on Leonard's novel and the "top-notch" performances from the cast, highlighting Aniston for her "deft comic timing" and Hawkes for being "surprisingly convincing" in his role, concluding that: "This is a good-natured, show-not-tell treat, almost bloodless fun." Glenn Kenny of RogerEbert.com called it "a pretty engaging, and [pretty] authentically Leonardesque, comedic crime movie" and praised the ensemble cast's performances, singling out Aniston's part for being "measured, engrossing, and empathy-generating" without any "sitcom-style" mannerisms, concluding that: "The amusing twists and turns of the script, the multiple instances of bracing humor and consistent tension, help the cast bring this small-scale thriller to the place it clearly wants to be. Well worth seeing, particularly for Leonard people." Ben Kenigsberg of "The New York Times" wrote that it pales in comparison to "Jackie Brown" and found Bey to be "droll" as Ordell Robbie, but called it a "late-summer caper movie" that settles into its groove and offers an "intriguing contrast of actors and a director taking a different approach to known material."


title: Life of Crime (film)

text: Michael O'Sullivan of "The Washington Post" commended Hawkes and Bey for doing "an adequate job" portraying their characters but felt the story they inhabit was "noticeably sluggish and spiritless" compared to Tarantino's film, and lacked a sense of urgency in its overall setup. Steve Macfarlane of "Slant Magazine" criticized Schecter for crafting his film with "obnoxiously self-aware period detail" and a "too-rich soundtrack" when compared to "American Hustle" and felt the performances had an "undeniably comparable dramatic weightlessness" to them, highlighting Aniston for being miscast in her role and giving "a long, bland starring performance in an Indiewood dramedy." "Entertainment Weekly"s Chris Nashawaty gave the movie a "C−" grade, calling it one of the worst Leonard adaptations based on Schecter's "lifeless" filmmaking, and backhandedly complimenting its "kitschy" production for distracting viewers away from the rest of the film.


title: Tabby's Star

text: Tabby's Star (also known as Boyajian's Star and WTF Star, and designated KIC 8462852 in the Kepler Input Catalog) is an F-type main-sequence star in the constellation Cygnus approximately from Earth. Unusual light fluctuations of the star, including up to a 22% dimming in brightness, were discovered by citizen scientists as part of the Planet Hunters project. In September 2015, astronomers and citizen scientists associated with the project posted a preprint of an article describing the data and possible interpretations. The discovery was made from data collected by the Kepler space telescope, which observed changes in the brightness of distant stars to detect exoplanets.


title: Tabby's Star

text: Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the star's large irregular changes in brightness as measured by its light curve, but none to date fully explain all aspects of the curve. One explanation is that an "uneven ring of dust" orbits Tabby's Star. In another explanation, the star's luminosity is modulated by changes in the efficiency of heat transport to its photosphere, so no external obscuration is required. A third hypothesis, based on a lack of observed infrared light, posits a swarm of cold, dusty comet fragments in a highly eccentric orbit; however, the notion that disturbed comets from such a cloud could exist in high enough numbers to obscure 22% of the star's observed luminosity has been doubted. Another hypothesis is that a large number of small masses in "tight formation" are orbiting the star. Furthermore, spectroscopic study of the system has found no evidence for coalescing material or hot close-in dust or circumstellar matter from an evaporating or exploding planet within a few astronomical units of the mature central star. It has also been hypothesized that the changes in brightness could be signs of activity associated with intelligent extraterrestrial life constructing a Dyson swarm; however, further analysis based on data through the end of 2017 showed wavelength-dependent dimming consistent with dust but not an opaque object such as an alien megastructure, which would block all wavelengths of light equally.


title: Tabby's Star

text: Tabby's Star is not the only star that has large irregular dimmings, but other such stars include young stellar objects called YSO dippers, which have different dimming patterns. An example of such an object is EPIC 204278916.


title: Tabby's Star

text: New fluctuations ran from mid-May 2017 until July 2018, assuming their continuance in late-December 2017 to mid-February 2018 when obscured by the Sun.


title: Tabby's Star

text: In September 2019, astronomers reported that the observed dimmings of Tabby's Star may have been produced by fragments resulting from the disruption of an orphaned exomoon. An overall study of other similar stars has been presented. In January 2021, a distant stellar-mass companion was reported, making Tabby's Star a binary stellar system.


title: Tabby's Star

text: The names "Tabby's Star" and "Boyajian's Star" refer to American astronomer Tabetha S. Boyajian, who was the lead author of the scientific paper that announced the discovery of the star's irregular light fluctuations in 2015. The nickname "WTF Star" is a reference to the paper's subtitle "where's the flux?", which highlights the observed dips in the star's radiative flux. The star has also been given the nickname "LGM-2" – a homage to the first pulsar discovered, PSR B1919+21, which was given the nickname "LGM-1" when it was originally theorized to be a transmission from an extraterrestrial civilization. Other designations in various star catalogues have been given to Tabby's Star. In the Kepler Input Catalog, a collection of astronomical objects catalogued by the Kepler space telescope, Tabby's Star is known as . In the Tycho-2 Catalogue, an enhanced collection of stars catalogued by "Hipparcos", the star is known as . In the infrared Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS), the star is identified as .


title: Tabby's Star

text: Tabby's Star in the constellation Cygnus is roughly halfway between the bright stars Deneb and Delta Cygni as part of the Northern Cross. Tabby's Star is situated south of 31 Cygni, and northeast of the star cluster NGC 6866. While only a few arcminutes away from the cluster, it is unrelated and closer to the Sun than it is to the star cluster.


title: Tabby's Star

text: With an apparent magnitude of 11.7, the star cannot be seen by the naked eye, but is visible with a telescope in a dark sky with little light pollution.


title: Tabby's Star

text: Tabby's Star was observed as early as the year 1890. The star was cataloged in the Tycho, 2MASS, UCAC4, and WISE astronomical catalogs (published in 1997, 2003, 2009, and 2012, respectively).


title: Tabby's Star

text: The main source of information about the luminosity fluctuations of Tabby's Star is the Kepler space telescope. During its primary and extended mission from 2009 to 2013 it continuously monitored the light curves of over 100,000 stars in a patch of sky in the constellations Cygnus and Lyra.


title: Tabby's Star

text: Observations of the luminosity of the star by the Kepler space telescope show small, frequent, non-periodic dips in brightness, along with two large recorded dips in brightness two years apart. The amplitude of the changes in the star's brightness, and the aperiodicity of the changes, mean that this star is of particular interest for astronomers. The star's changes in brightness are consistent with many small masses orbiting the star in "tight formation".


title: Tabby's Star

text: The first major dip, on 5 March 2011, reduced the star's brightness by up to 15%, and the next 726 days later (on 28 February 2013) by up to 22%. (A third dimming, around 8%, occurred 48 days later.) In comparison, a planet the size of Jupiter would only obscure a star of this size by 1%, indicating that whatever is blocking light during the star's major dips is not a planet, but rather something covering up to half the width of the star. Due to the failure of two of Kepler's reaction wheels, the star's predicted 750-day dip around February 2015 was not recorded. The light dips do not exhibit an obvious pattern.


title: Tabby's Star

text: In addition to the day-long dimmings, a study of a century's worth of photographic plates suggests that the star has gradually faded in 100 years (from c. 1890 to c. 1990) by about 20%, which would be unprecedented for any F-type main-sequence star. Teasing accurate magnitudes from long-term photographic archives is a complex procedure, however, requiring adjustment for equipment changes, and is strongly dependent on the choice of comparison stars. Another study, examining the same photographic plates, concluded that the possible century-long dimming was likely a data artifact, and not a real astrophysical event. Another study from plates between 1895 and 1995 found strong evidence that the star has not dimmed, but kept a constant flux within a few percent, except an 8% dip on 24 October 1978, resulting in a period of the putative occulter of 738 days.


title: Tabby's Star

text: A third study, using light measurements by the Kepler observatory over a four-year period, determined that Tabby's Star dimmed at about 0.34% per year before dimming more rapidly by about 2.5% in 200 days. It then returned to its previous slow fade rate. The same technique was used to study 193 stars in its vicinity and 355 stars similar in size and composition to Tabby's Star. None of these stars exhibited such dimming.


title: Tabby's Star

text: The red dwarf stellar companion at projected separation 880 AU from Tabby's Star was confirmed to be comoving in 2021.


title: Tabby's Star

text: Originally, and until Kohler's work of 2017, it was thought that, based on the spectrum and stellar type of Tabby's Star, its changes in brightness could not be attributed to intrinsic variability. Consequently, a few hypotheses have been proposed involving material orbiting the star and blocking its light, although none of these fully fit the observed data.


title: Tabby's Star

text: Some of the proposed explanations involve interstellar dust, a series of giant planets with very large ring structures, a recently captured asteroid field, the system undergoing Late Heavy Bombardment, and an artificial megastructure orbiting the star.


title: Tabby's Star

text: By 2018, the leading hypothesis was that the "missing" heat flux involved in the star's dimming could be stored within the star's interior. Such variations in luminosity might arise from a number of mechanisms affecting the efficiency of heat transport inside the star.


title: Tabby's Star

text: However, in September 2019, astronomers reported that the observed dimmings of Tabby's Star may have been produced by fragments resulting from the disruption of an orphaned exomoon.


title: Tabby's Star

text: Meng et al. (2017) suggested that, based on observational data of Tabby's Star from the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission, Spitzer Space Telescope, and Belgian AstroLAB IRIS Observatory, only "microscopic fine-dust screens", originating from "circumstellar material", are able to disperse the starlight in the way detected in their measurements. Based on these studies, on 4 October 2017, NASA reported that the unusual dimming events of Tabby's Star are due to an "uneven ring of dust" orbiting the star. Although the explanation of a significant amount of small particles orbiting the star regards "long-term fading" as noted by Meng, the explanation also seems consistent with the week-long fadings found by amateur astronomer Bruce L. Gary and the Tabby Team, coordinated by astronomer Tabetha S. Boyajian, in more recent dimming events. A related, but more sophisticated, explanation of dimming events, involving a transiting "brown dwarf" in a 1600-day eccentric orbit near Tabby's Star, a "drop feature" in dimness, and predicted intervals of "brightening", has been proposed. Dimming and brightening events of Tabby's Star continue to be monitored; related light curves are currently updated and released frequently.


title: Tabby's Star

text: Nonetheless, data similar to that observed for Tabby's Star, along with supporting data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, were found with dust debris orbiting WD 1145+017, a white dwarf that also has unusual light curve fluctuations. Further, the highly variable star RZ Piscium, which brightens and dims erratically, has been found to emit excessive infrared radiation, suggesting that the star is surrounded by large amounts of gas and dust, possibly resulting from the destruction of local planets.


title: Tabby's Star

text: One proposed explanation for the reduction in light is that it is due to a cloud of disintegrating comets orbiting the star elliptically. This scenario would assume that a planetary system around Tabby's Star has something similar to the Oort cloud and that gravity from a nearby star caused comets from said cloud to fall closer into the system, thereby obstructing the spectra of Tabby's Star. Evidence supporting this hypothesis includes an M-type red dwarf within of Tabby's Star. The notion that disturbed comets from such a cloud could exist in high enough numbers to obscure 22% of the star's observed luminosity has been doubted.


title: Tabby's Star

text: Submillimetre-wavelength observations searching for farther-out cold dust in an asteroid belt akin to the Sun's Kuiper Belt suggest that a distant "catastrophic" planetary disruption explanation is unlikely; the possibility of a disrupted asteroid belt scattering comets into the inner system is still to be determined.


title: Tabby's Star

text: Astronomer Jason T. Wright and others who have studied Tabby's Star have suggested that if the star is younger than its position and speed would suggest, then it may still have coalescing material around it.


title: Tabby's Star

text: A 0.8–4.2-micrometer spectroscopic study of the system using the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (NASA IRTF) found no evidence for coalescing material within a few astronomical units of the mature central star.


title: Tabby's Star

text: High-resolution spectroscopy and imaging observations have also been made, as well as spectral energy distribution analyses using the Nordic Optical Telescope in Spain. A massive collision scenario would create warm dust that glows in infrared wavelengths, but there is no observed excess infrared energy, ruling out massive planetary collision debris. Other researchers think the planetary debris field explanation is unlikely, given the very low probability that Kepler would ever witness such an event due to the rarity of collisions of such size.


title: Tabby's Star

text: As with the possibility of coalescing material around the star, spectroscopic studies using the NASA IRTF found no evidence for hot close-in dust or circumstellar matter from an evaporating or exploding planet within a few astronomical units of the central star. Similarly, a study of past infrared data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer found no evidence for an excess of infrared emission from the star, which would have been an indicator of warm dust grains that could have come from catastrophic collisions of meteors or planets in the system. This absence of emission supports the hypothesis that a swarm of cold comets on an unusually eccentric orbit could be responsible for the star's unique light curve, but more studies are needed.


title: Tabby's Star

text: In December 2016, a team of researchers proposed that Tabby's Star swallowed a planet, causing a temporary and unobserved increase in brightness due to the release of gravitational energy. As the planet fell into its star, it could have been ripped apart or had its moons stripped away, leaving clouds of debris orbiting the star in eccentric orbits. Planetary debris still in orbit around the star would then explain its observed drops in intensity. Additionally, the researchers suggest that the consumed planet could have caused the star to increase in brightness up to 10,000 years ago, and its stellar flux is now returning to the normal state.


title: Tabby's Star

text: Sucerquia et al. (2017) suggested that a large planet with oscillating rings may help explain the unusual dimmings associated with Tabby's Star.


title: Tabby's Star

text: Ballesteros et al. (2017) proposed a large, ringed planet trailed by a swarm of Trojan asteroids in its L5 Lagrangian point, and estimated an orbit that predicts another event in early 2021 due to the leading Trojans followed by another transit of the hypothetical planet in 2023. The model suggests a planet with a radius of 4.7 Jupiter radii, large for a planet (unless very young). An early red dwarf of about would be easily seen in infrared. The current radial velocity observations available (four runs at σ ≈ 400 m/s) hardly constrain the model, but new radial velocity measurements would greatly reduce the uncertainty. The model predicts a discrete and short-lived event for the May 2017 dimming episode, corresponding to the secondary eclipse of the planet passing behind KIC 8246852, with about a 3% decrease in the stellar flux with a transit time of about 2 days. If this is the cause of the May 2017 event, the planet's orbital period is more precisely estimated as 12.41 years with a semi-major axis of 5.9 AU.


title: Tabby's Star

text: The reddening observed during the deep dimming events of Tabby's Star is consistent with cooling of its photosphere. It does not require obscuration by dust. Such cooling could be produced by a decreased efficiency of heat transport caused e.g. by decreased effectiveness of convection due to the star's strong differential rotation, or by changes in its modes of heat transport if it is near the transition between radiative and convective heat transport. The "missing" heat flux is stored as a small increase of internal and potential energy.


title: Tabby's Star

text: The possible location of this early F star near the boundary between radiative and convective transport seems to be supported by the finding that the star's observed brightness variations appear to fit the "avalanche statistics" known to occur in a system close to a phase-transition. "Avalanche statistics" with a self-similar or power-law spectrum are a universal property of complex dynamical systems operating close to a phase transition or bifurcation point between two different types of dynamical behavior. Such close-to-critical systems are often observed to exhibit behavior that is intermediate between "order" and "chaos". Three other stars in the Kepler Input Catalog likewise exhibit similar "avalanche statistics" in their brightness variations, and all three are known to be magnetically active. It has been conjectured that stellar magnetism may be involved in Tabby's Star.


title: Tabby's Star

text: Some astronomers have speculated that the objects eclipsing Tabby's Star could be parts of a megastructure made by an alien civilization, such as a Dyson swarm, a hypothetical structure that an advanced civilization might build around a star to intercept some of its light for their energy needs. According to Steinn Sigurðsson, the megastructure hypothesis is implausible and disfavored by Occam's razor and fails to sufficiently explain the dimming. He says that it remains a valid subject for scientific investigation, however, because it is a falsifiable hypothesis. Due to extensive media coverage on this matter, Tabby's Star has been compared by Kepler's Steve Howell to , a star with an odd light curve that was shown, after years of research, to be a part of a five-star system. The likelihood of extraterrestrial intelligence being the cause of the dimming is purely speculative; however, the star remains an outstanding SETI target because natural explanations have yet to fully explain the dimming phenomenon. The latest results have ruled out explanations involving only opaque objects such as stars, planets, swarms of asteroids, or alien megastructures.


title: Tabby's Star

text: Two papers published in summer 2019 offered plausible scientific scenarios involving large moons being stripped from their planets. Numeric simulations were performed of the migration of gas giant planets, and their large gaseous moons, during the first few hundred million years after the formation of the planetary system. In approximately 50% of the cases, the results produce a scenario where the moon is freed from its parent planet and its orbit evolves to produce a light curve similar to that of Tabby's Star.


title: Tabby's Star

text: , numerous optical telescopes were monitoring Tabby's Star in anticipation of another multi-day dimming event, with planned follow-up observations of a dimming event using large telescopes equipped with spectrographs to determine if the eclipsing mass is a solid object, or composed of dust or gas. Additional follow-up observations may involve the ground-based Green Bank Telescope, the Very Large Array Radio Telescope, and future orbital telescopes dedicated to exoplanetology such as the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, TESS, and PLATO.


title: Tabby's Star

text: In 2016, a Kickstarter fund-raising campaign was led by Tabetha Boyajian, the lead author of the initial study on the star's anomalous light curve. The project proposed to use the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network for continuous monitoring of the star. The campaign raised over , enough for one year of telescope time. Furthermore, as of 2016, more than fifty amateur astronomers working under the aegis of the American Association of Variable Star Observers were providing effectively full coverage since AAVSO's alert about the star in October 2015, namely a nearly continuous photometric record. In a study published in January 2018, Boyajian et al. reported that whatever is blocking Tabby's Star filters different wavelengths of light differently, so it cannot be an opaque object. They concluded that it is most likely space dust.


title: Tabby's Star

text: In December 2018, a search for laser light emissions from Tabby's Star was carried out using the Automated Planet Finder (APF), which is sensitive enough to detect a laser at this distance. Although a number of candidates were identified, further analysis showed that they are coming from the Earth and not from the star.


title: Tabby's Star

text: In October 2015, the SETI Institute used the Allen Telescope Array to look for radio emissions from possible intelligent extraterrestrial life in the vicinity of the star. After an initial two-week survey, the SETI Institute reported that it found no evidence of technology-related radio signals from the star system. No narrowband radio signals were found at a level of 180–300 Jy in a 1 Hz channel, or medium-band signals above 10 Jy in a 100 kHz channel.


title: Tabby's Star

text: In 2016, the VERITAS gamma-ray observatory was used to search for ultra-fast optical transients from astronomical objects, with astronomers developing an efficient method sensitive to nanosecond pulses with fluxes as low as about one photon per square meter. This technique was applied on archival observations of Tabby's Star from 2009 to 2015, but no emissions were detected.


title: Tabby's Star

text: In May 2017, a related search, based on laser light emissions, was reported, with no evidence found for technology-related signals from Tabby's Star.


title: Tabby's Star

text: In September 2017, some SETI@Home workunits were created based on a previous RF survey of the region around this star. This was coupled with a doubling in the size of SETI@Home workunits, so the workunits related to this region will probably be the first workunits to have less issues with quantization noise.


title: Tabby's Star

text: A star called EPIC 204278916, as well as some other young stellar objects, have been observed to exhibit dips with some similarities to those observed in Tabby's Star. They differ in several respects, however. shows much deeper dips than Tabby's Star, and they are grouped over a shorter period, whereas the dips at Tabby's Star are spread out over several years. Furthermore, is surrounded by a proto-stellar disc, whereas Tabby's Star appears to be a normal F-type star displaying no evidence of a disc.


title: Tabby's Star

text: On 20 May 2017, Boyajian and her colleagues reported, via "The Astronomer's Telegram", on an ongoing dimming event (named "Elsie") which possibly began on 14 May 2017. It was detected by the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, specifically by its telescope in Maui (LCO Maui). This was verified by the Fairborn Observatory (part of the N2K Consortium) in Southern Arizona (and later by LCO Canary Islands). Further optical and infrared spectroscopy and photometry were urgently requested, given the short duration of these events, which may be measured in days or weeks. Observations from multiple observers globally were coordinated, including polarimetry. Furthermore, the independent SETI projects Breakthrough Listen and Near-InfraRed Optical SETI (NIROSETI), both at Lick Observatory, continue to monitor the star. By the end of the three-day dimming event, a dozen observatories had taken spectra, with some astronomers having dropped their own projects to provide telescope time and resources. More generally the astronomical community was described as having gone "mildly bananas" over the opportunity to collect data in real-time on the unique star. The 2% dip event was named "Elsie" (a homophone of "LC", in reference to Las Cumbres and light curve).<ref name="Dip update 6/n"></ref>


title: Tabby's Star

text: Initial spectra with FRODOSpec at the two-meter Liverpool Telescope showed no changes visible between a reference spectrum and this dip. Several observatories, however, including the twin Keck telescopes (HIRES) and numerous citizen science observatories, acquired spectra of the star, showing a dimming dip that had a complex shape, and initially had a pattern similar to the one at 759.75 days from the Kepler event 2, epoch 2 data. Observations were taken across the electromagnetic spectrum.


title: Tabby's Star

text: Evidence of a second dimming event (named "Celeste") was observed on 13–14 June 2017, which possibly began 11 June, by amateur astronomer Bruce L. Gary. While the light curve on 14–15 June indicated a possible recovery from the dimming event, the dimming continued to increase afterwards, and on 16 June, Boyajian wrote that the event was approaching a 2% dip in brightness.


title: Tabby's Star

text: A third prominent 1% dimming event (named "Skara Brae") was detected beginning 2 August 2017, and which recovered by 17 August.


title: Tabby's Star

text: A fourth prominent dimming event (named "Angkor") began 5 September 2017, and is, as of 16 September 2017, between 2.3% and 3% dimming event, making it the "deepest dip this year".


title: Tabby's Star

text: Another dimming event, amounting to a 0.3% dip, began around 21 September 2017 and completely recovered by 4 October 2017.


title: Tabby's Star

text: On 10 October 2017, an increasing brightening, lasting about two weeks, of the starlight from KIC 8462852 was noted by Bruce L. Gary of the Hereford Arizona Observatory and Boyajian. A possible explanation, involving a transiting brown dwarf in a 1,600-day eccentric orbit near KIC 8462852, a "drop feature" in dimness and predicted intervals of brightening, to account for the unusual fluctuating starlight events of KIC 8462852, has been proposed.


title: Tabby's Star

text: On about 20 November 2017, a fifth prominent dimming event began and had deepened to a depth of 0.44%; as of 16 December 2017, the event recovered, leveled off at dip bottom for 11 days, faded again, to a current total dimming depth of 1.25%, and is now recovering again.


title: Tabby's Star

text: Dimming and brightening events of the star continue to be monitored; related light curves are currently updated and released frequently.


title: Tabby's Star

text: The star was too close to the Sun's position in the sky from late December 2017 to mid February 2018 to be seen. Observations resumed in late February. A new series of dips began on 16 March 2018. By 18 March 2018 the star was down by more than 1% in g-band, according to Bruce L. Gary, and about 5% in r-band, making it the deepest dip observed since the Kepler Mission in 2013, according to Tabetha S. Boyajian. A second even deeper dip with a depth of >5% started on 24 March 2018, as confirmed by AAVSO observer John Hall.<ref name="dip update 6/n"></ref><ref name="dip update 7/n"></ref> As of 27 March 2018, that second dip is recovering.<ref name="dip update 8/n"></ref>


title: Tabby's Star

text: The 2019 observing season began in mid-March, when the star reappeared after its yearly conjunction with the Sun.<ref name="2019/1n"></ref>


title: Tabby's Star

text: The ground based observation campaign was supplemented by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), which observed the star every 2 minutes between 18 July and 11 September 2019.<ref name="2019/2n"></ref> It observed a 1.4% dip in brightness between 3–4 September 2019.


title: Tabby's Star

text: Between October 2019 and December 2019, at least seven separate dips were observed, the deepest of which had a depth of 2%. By the end of the observing season in early January 2020, the star had once again recovered in brightness. The total combined depth of the dips in 2019 was 11%, comparable to that seen in 2011 and 2013, but spread over a long time interval. This cluster of dips is roughly centered on the 17 October 2019 date predicted by Sacco et al. for a reappearance, given a 1,574-day (4.31-year) period, of orbiting material comprising the original "D800" dip.


title: Charleston International Airport

text: Charleston International Airport is a joint civil-military airport located in North Charleston, South Carolina, United States. The airport is operated by the Charleston County Aviation Authority under a joint-use agreement with Joint Base Charleston. It is South Carolina's busiest airport; in 2019 the airport served nearly 4.9 million passengers in its busiest year on record. The airport is located in North Charleston and is approximately northwest of downtown Charleston. The airport serves as a focus city for Breeze Airways. It is also home to the Boeing facility that assembles the 787 Dreamliner.


title: Charleston International Airport

text: In 1928, the Charleston Airport Corporation was founded and purchased of land previously belonging to a mining company. Although privately developed at first, the City of Charleston floated bonds in 1931 to acquire a portion of the site for passenger service. Within ten years, three runways were paved and outfitted with lighting for nighttime operations. In World War II, control of the airfield passed to the United States Army though civilian service was allowed to continue to use the airfield. After the war, the airfield reverted to civilian use for a short time. In 1949, a new passenger terminal was built.


title: Charleston International Airport

text: During the Korean War, the airfield was reactivated for military use and in 1952, the City of Charleston and the United States Air Force reached an agreement on control of the base and the runways—an arrangement that has been renegotiated over time and that continues to this day. In 1979, the civilian portions of the airport were transferred from the City of Charleston to the Charleston County Aviation Authority, which had operated two other airports in the area. The current terminal on the south end of the airport was built in the 1980s on land acquired by Georgia Pacific.


title: Charleston International Airport

text: In October 2009, Boeing announced that it would build a major plant on at the airport as a second final assembly site for its 787 Dreamliner commercial aircraft. The facility began limited operations in July 2011 and rolled out its first completed aircraft in April 2012. Additional facilities to complement aircraft assembly have since been announced by the company.


title: Charleston International Airport

text: Throughout its history, all three domestic legacy carriers (American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines) and their predecessor companies or affiliates have served Charleston International Airport.


title: Charleston International Airport

text: Aside from the legacy carriers, Charleston has seen periods of additional air service from other carriers, but prior to 2010, those services were short-lived. The airport has had brief periods of international service. In 2001, Air Canada briefly served the airport from Toronto but ended service immediately after the September 11th attacks. Porter Airlines briefly served Charleston with flights to Toronto in 2015. In April 2019, British Airways launched a direct route from London Heathrow for the summer season. This became the first scheduled transatlantic flight to operate from Charleston. This also made Charleston the smallest U.S. city that British Airways serviced, and the only U.S. city that they serviced seasonally. This route was canceled in December 2020.


title: Charleston International Airport

text: Since 2010, the airport's passenger figures have doubled. New services established by additional airlines during this time along with increased services from the three legacy carriers have contributed to this growth. As of 2019, the airport is the only facility in South Carolina to offer regular flights to destinations in all four time zones in the contiguous United States.


title: Charleston International Airport

text: In 2021, the newly established Breeze Airways announced that the airport would serve as a focus city for the airline and announced service to 11 cities. Additional destinations have been added by Breeze since then, including transcontinental flights to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas.


title: Charleston International Airport

text: In 2022, the airport authority announced a 20 year master plan for future growth of the airport, including the constructing of an additional concourse, adding up to 11 new gates, providing additional plane stands, and expanding parking facilities for vehicles.


title: Charleston International Airport

text: The airport consists of four general areas: the military area to the west, the airline terminal to the south, the general aviation area to the east, and the Boeing assembly area further to the south. The combined airport area of Charleston International Airport and Charleston Air Force Base covers and has two runways: 15/33, and 03/21, .


title: Charleston International Airport

text: For the 12-month period ending May 31, 2019, the airport had 118,211 aircraft operations, an average of 324 per day: 42% commercial, 28% general aviation, 16% military, and 13% air taxi. In May 2019, there were 81 aircraft based at this airport: 28 single-engine, 6 multi-engine, 43 jet, and 4 helicopter.


title: Charleston International Airport

text: Joint Base Charleston owns and operates the runways at the airport and has an agreement with the Charleston County Aviation Authority to allow civilian use of the field. General aviation services are operated by the Charleston County Aviation Authority. Boeing South Carolina operates the Boeing assembly area.


title: Charleston International Airport

text: The current airline terminal completed a three-year, $200 million redevelopment project in 2016 which added five gates and significantly renovated the interior appearance of the facility. The original terminal was built in 1985 and was designed by Howard Needles Tammen & Bergendoff, Davis & Floyd, Inc., and Lucas & Stubbs.


title: Charleston International Airport

text: Both departures and arrivals are located on the same floor, with the departure area to the east end of the terminal and the arrival area to the west end. Flights depart from two concourses: Concourse A towards the east and Concourse B towards the west. Since 2015, a consolidated TSA security checkpoint is utilized for both concourses. Charleston International Airport is classified as a security-level Category I airport by the TSA. The airport is equipped to handle international flights.


title: Charleston International Airport

text: Concourse A contains eight gates (A1, A2, A2A, and A3-A7) that are primarily used by Delta Air Lines and Delta Connection, with other airlines occasionally using gates as needed for overflow. Concourse B contains ten gates (B1-B10) and is used by other airlines serving the airport. Concourse B also contains the international arrivals facility.


title: Charleston International Airport

text: Charleston International Airport is located near the interchange of Interstate 26 and Interstate 526 and is accessible from both interstates using International Boulevard and Montague Avenue exits. The airport offers a free cell phone parking lot for passenger pickups. For short-term and long-term parking, the airport offers surface or garage parking for up to 30 days. Rental cars from major companies are available. The airport completed a rental car pavilion adjacent to the terminal in 2014.


title: Charleston International Airport

text: CARTA, the regional mass transit system, serves the airport with one bus route that operates seven days a week.


title: Once Upon a Time (season 7)

text: The seventh and final season of the American ABC fantasy-drama series "Once Upon a Time" was ordered on May 11, 2017. It premiered on October 6, 2017, and consisted of 22 episodes, having aired on Fridays instead of Sundays in prior seasons.


title: Once Upon a Time (season 7)

text: This season marked a significant change for the series, as it was announced at the end of the sixth season that the majority of the main cast members would not be returning in such capacity for season 7. Lana Parrilla, Colin O'Donoghue and Robert Carlyle were the only ones remaining, while Rebecca Mader and Jared S. Gilmore returned in recurring capacities. Andrew J. West and Alison Fernandez were announced as new regulars in May 2017. Dania Ramirez and Gabrielle Anwar were announced as additional regulars in July 2017. In August 2017, it was announced that Mekia Cox had been promoted to series regular after initially joining the cast in July as recurring.


title: Once Upon a Time (season 7)

text: The storyline was softly rebooted with a main narrative led by an adult Henry Mills, set several years after last season's events. In February 2018, it was announced the seventh season would serve as the final season of the series; the season and series concluded on May 18, 2018.


title: Once Upon a Time (season 7)

text: Existing fictional characters introduced to the series during the season include Tiana, Mother Gothel, Eudora, Dr. Facilier, Prince Naveen, Madame Leota, and Captain Ahab. The season also introduced new iterations of various characters from earlier seasons, including Cinderella, Lady Tremaine, Drizella, Anastasia, Rapunzel, Jack, Hansel, Gretel, the Blind Witch, as well as Alice, who previously appeared in "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland".


title: Once Upon a Time (season 7)

text: Several years after the Final Battle, Henry Mills leaves Storybrooke in search of his own story, only to find himself in the New Enchanted Forest, where a conflict among its inhabitants culminates in the casting of a new curse that sends the New Enchanted Forest inhabitants to a Seattle neighborhood known as "Hyperion Heights" - and back to the past, before Henry left Storybrooke. As Henry's daughter Lucy sets out to restore his belief, Mother Gothel seeks to reclaim her former home by using her Coven of the Eight while avoiding Dr. Facilier and a vengeful witch hunter. The eventual breaking of the curse leads to the arrival of the Wish Realm version of Rumplestiltskin, who seeks to destroy everyone’s happiness. His defeat leads Regina to recast the Dark Curse one last time, which merges all the realms of story into one: the United Realms.


title: Once Upon a Time (season 7)

text: In January 2017, while season 6 was still in production, ABC president Channing Dungey spoke of a possible "reset" of the show's narrative in the event that the show received a season 7 order. After much speculation, executive producers Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis later confirmed that certain characters would have their storylines wrapped up and that the back-end of the sixth season had been written with the season 7 narrative change in mind. Despite the major changes from seasons past, the showrunners have said that they do not view season 7 as a complete reboot of the show. Horowitz said: "I hesitate to use the word 'reboot'. We're more thinking about it as a hybrid of a lot of things. We're paying homage to the original premise, but there are certain characters who are returning and some who are not. It's a combination of a lot of things, but what we're trying to do is go in a new direction but stay true to the spirit of what the show has always been."


title: Once Upon a Time (season 7)

text: In July 2017, the creators announced that the season would be set in the fictitious Seattle neighborhood of Hyperion Heights, which was created under a new curse. Residents of this neighborhood included displaced characters from the original and new versions of the Enchanted Forest, as well as regular people from the Land Without Magic. This differs from Storybrooke in the first six seasons, which was an isolated town that was blocked off from real-world Maine. The initial villain is Lady Tremaine, who assumes the role of an urban developer who seeks to "gentrify the neighborhood" and push out and separate fairytale residents. Meanwhile, Storybrooke and various Fairy Tale Land locations still appear in the flashbacks of the season as the story bounces back and forth between the characters' lives before and during the latest curse.


title: Once Upon a Time (season 7)

text: The main flashback setting of the seventh season is the New Enchanted Forest, which is a New Fairy Tale Land realm. Other locations featured in flashbacks are the Edge of Realms, the Wish Realm, the New Wonderland, Oz, and Storybrooke itself.


title: Once Upon a Time (season 7)

text: In May 2017, it was announced that Lana Parrilla, Colin O'Donoghue, and Robert Carlyle would be the only series regulars from season 6 to continue onto season 7. The character of Henry would also return, but as a man in his late 20s-early 30s portrayed by Andrew J. West. It was teased that the four would be portraying their original characters but with cursed identities, similar to the circumstances in season 1. In July, the first promo of the season revealed that Killian is now a Seattle police officer with the last name Rogers, who is living with an unexplained sense of loss. In August, it was revealed that Regina is now a bar owner named Roni, who is more dressed down and is "no longer in charge."


title: Once Upon a Time (season 7)

text: Former main cast member Jennifer Morrison has confirmed that she has agreed to return for at least one episode, first appearing in the second episode of the season. Morrison announced her last filming day for the episode on July 19, 2017. On July 22, it was confirmed that Emilie de Ravin would return for the fourth episode of the season.


title: Once Upon a Time (season 7)

text: In March 2017, Andrew J. West and Alison Fernandez were cast for unknown guest roles in the season 6 finale. During the episode, it was revealed that West was portraying an adult Henry Mills, while Fernandez portrayed his daughter, Lucy. After that episode's airing, they were confirmed as series regulars for season 7. West took over the role from Jared S. Gilmore, who has been confirmed to appear in at least the first two episodes of the season.


title: Once Upon a Time (season 7)

text: On July 6, 2017, it was announced that Dania Ramirez and Gabrielle Anwar would be two additional series regulars for season 7. Additionally, Adelaide Kane, Mekia Cox, and Rose Reynolds were cast in recurring roles for the season. On July 15, it was announced that Ramirez would be portraying Cinderella, albeit a different version from the one previously played by Jessy Schram for the first six seasons. On July 22 at San Diego Comic-Con, it was revealed that Anwar and Kane will be portraying Lady Tremaine and Drizella, respectively. Cox would be portraying Tiana from "The Princess and the Frog", while Reynolds would be playing an alternate version of Alice, a character previously featured in the spin-off "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland." In August 2017, Cox was promoted to series regular status.


title: Once Upon a Time (season 7)

text: On August 1, it was announced that Giles Matthey would return as an adult Gideon for the season's fourth episode. The episode, also featuring de Ravin, would be centered around Rumple. On that same day, it was also announced that Emma Booth was cast in a major recurring role as the Witch, whose more specific identity would be revealed later on during the season. On August 25, Kevin Ryan announced that he would be making an appearance as a new prince in the upcoming season. On August 30, it was announced that Robin Givens had been cast as Tiana's mother, Eudora.


title: Once Upon a Time (season 7)

text: On September 8, it was announced that Meegan Warner would be guest starring as an alternate version of Rapunzel, a character previously featured in the season 3 episode "The Tower". It was later revealed that the character would appear in a multi-episode arc. On September 20, it was announced that former regular Rebecca Mader would return for multiple episodes in the seventh season as Zelena, who would also have a cursed identity.


title: Once Upon a Time (season 7)

text: On October 2, it was announced that Dr. Facilier from "The Princess and the Frog" would make an appearance during the season, later revealed to be portrayed by Daniel Francis in the season's fifth episode. On October 3, it was announced that flashbacks of the ninth episode would feature a "tweenage" Anastasia, Lady Tremaine's other biological daughter.


title: Once Upon a Time (season 7)

text: On November 1, it was announced that Tiera Skovbye would be recurring as an older version of Robin, the daughter of Zelena and Robin Hood. On November 2, it was announced that Nathan Parsons had been cast in a recurring role as Nick, a lawyer and potential love interest for another character. On November 3, it was announced that the show was casting for the role of Naveen from "The Princess and the Frog", who will be recurring in the second half of the season. It was later revealed that the role would be played by Jeff Pierre, who first appeared in the twelfth episode of the season. On November 16, actor Chad Rook announced that he had been cast in an unknown role, later revealed to be Captain Ahab in the thirteenth episode.


title: Once Upon a Time (season 7)

text: On January 23, 2018, it was announced that Kip Pardue had been cast as Chad, Zelena's fiancé from when she was cursed as Kelly. He made his appearance in the seventeenth episode of the season.


title: Once Upon a Time (season 7)

text: On March 16, it was announced that multiple former cast members were set to appear in one or both of the season's (and series') last two episodes. This includes former regulars Gilmore (who had also been confirmed to appear in the twentieth episode) and Sean Maguire, as well as formerly recurring stars JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Victoria Smurfit, Robbie Kay, Beverley Elliott, Lee Arenberg, Keegan Connor Tracy and Tony Amendola. On March 21, it was announced that Morrison and de Ravin would be back for a second time, along with Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas for the final episode of the series. In addition, Raphael Sbarge, David Paul Grove, and Faustino Di Bauda later confirmed that they were also appearing in the finale.


title: 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix

text: The 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2022) was a Formula One race that was held on 20 March 2022 at the Bahrain International Circuit, a motor racing circuit in the west of Bahrain. It served as the season opener of the 2022 Formula One World Championship and it was the eighteenth running of the Bahrain Grand Prix.


title: 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix

text: Charles Leclerc won the race after starting from pole position, his first win since the 2019 Italian Grand Prix. Leading all but two laps after pitting a second time, short of a Grand Slam, Leclerc had a hat-trick with pole, race win, and fastest lap. Teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. and Lewis Hamilton completed the podium, as reigning champion Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez both retired. It was Ferrari's first win and 1–2 finish since the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix.


title: 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix

text: The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with the only exception being Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel, who tested positive for coronavirus and was therefore replaced by Nico Hülkenberg. This was Hülkenberg's first race since his one-off appearance at the 2020 Eifel Grand Prix. The race was also the Grand Prix debut of Zhou Guanyu for Alfa Romeo. He became the first ever Chinese driver to take part in a Formula One Grand Prix.


title: 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix

text: Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C1, C2, and C3 tyre compounds (designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively) for teams to use at the event. This was a step harder than 2021 where the C2, C3 and C4 tyres were used. This race was also the first race where the 18-inch tyres were used as the 2022 regulations began.


title: 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix

text: Three practice sessions were held at the Grand Prix, each lasting an hour in length. The first practice session was on Friday 18 March, and started at 15:00 local time (). The only red flag of the session was when Esteban Ocon's Alpine shed its sidepod bodywork on the main straight. The session ended being topped by Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri on soft tyres.


title: 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix

text: The second session started at 18:00 local time on the same day. The session ended with reigning World Champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing topping the timing sheets with a 1:31.936 on soft tyres. Charles Leclerc was 0.087 seconds behind him in second place with his teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. in third. The third practice session took place on 19 March, starting at 15:00 local time. Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing was fastest again Charles Leclerc in second by 0.096 seconds, after overcoming a spin into the Turn 11 gravel. Sergio Pérez was in third, 0.25 seconds off the pace.


title: 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix

text: Qualifying lasted for one hour and started at 18:00 local time on 19 March. Kevin Magnussen of Haas achieved the team's first Q3 appearance since the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari set the fastest time for pole position, ahead of Verstappen and teammate Carlos Sainz Jr.


title: 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix

text: The race started at 18:00 local time on 20 March, ran under overhead lights and lasted for 57 laps. At the start, Leclerc remained ahead of Verstappen at the first turn. Sainz remained in third place, with Pérez being passed by Hamilton and Magnussen. Bottas, who began at sixth, fell to 14th within the first lap. Schumacher and Ocon collided on the first lap, which resulted in a five-second penalty for Ocon. Pérez passed Magnussen and Hamilton to return to fourth position.


title: 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix

text: Hamilton entered the pit lane on lap 9, becoming the first driver of the race to do so, and reentered the race 12th. Verstappen, still behind Leclerc, pitted on lap 14, along with Sainz, while Leclerc pitted a lap later. Verstappen passed Leclerc on lap 17 using DRS, but Leclerc regained first soon after. On lap 19, Verstappen attempted to pass again, but he locked up and overshot turn 1, allowing Leclerc to build a lead.


title: 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix

text: Leclerc maintained his lead, with Verstappen entering the pit lane on lap 31, followed by Leclerc a lap later. Sainz and Pérez both pitted on lap 34, followed by Verstappen pitting for a third time on lap 44, and then by Sainz and Hamilton. On lap 46, Gasly's car caught fire, which prompted the safety car until lap 51. When the race restarted, Leclerc maintained the lead over Verstappen, who radioed the pit crew to notify them he suspected he had a power unit issue. He was passed by Sainz and Hamilton, and he entered the pit lane to retire his car on lap 54. On the final lap, Pérez suffered a fuel system issue causing his power unit to switch off, with the resulting blockage of the rear axle as he was negotiating the first corner causing him to spin his car and retire. Leclerc and Sainz maintained first and second position, followed by Hamilton in third, through to the end of the race. Russell finished fourth with Magnussen of Haas in fifth.


title: Schlumbergera

text: Schlumbergera is a small genus of cacti with six to nine species found in the coastal mountains of south-eastern Brazil. These plants grow on trees or rocks in habitats that are generally shady with high humidity, and can be quite different in appearance from their desert-dwelling cousins. Most species of "Schlumbergera" have stems which resemble leaf-like pads joined one to the other and flowers which appear from areoles at the joints and tips of the stems. Two species have cylindrical stems more similar to other cacti. Recent phylogenetic studies using DNA have led to three species of the related genus "Hatiora" being transferred into "Schlumbergera," though this change is not universally accepted.


title: Schlumbergera

text: Common names for these cacti generally refer to their flowering season. In the Northern Hemisphere, they are called Christmas cactus, Thanksgiving cactus, crab cactus and holiday cactus. In Brazil, the genus is referred to as (May flower), reflecting the period in which they flower in the Southern Hemisphere. Most of the popular houseplants are cultivars of "Schlumbergera", rather than species, with flowers in white, pink, yellow, orange, red or purple. The Easter cactus or Whitsun cactus, until recently placed in the genus "Hatiora", is also called a holiday cactus and has flowers in red, orange, pink and white.


title: Schlumbergera

text: In the wild, the species of "Schlumbergera" grow either on trees (epiphytic) or on rocks (epilithic) and can form sizeable shrubs with woody bases; a height of up to has been reported for one species ("S. opuntioides"). They are leafless, the green stems acting as photosynthetic organs. The stems are composed of segments, which take one of two forms. In most species the segments are strongly flattened (cladodes), being made up of a central core with two (or more rarely three) "wings". Special structures characteristic of cacti, called "areoles", then occur at the ends of the segments of the stem. In two species the stems are less flattened, more cylinder-shaped, and the areoles are arranged in a more or less spiral pattern all over the segments. In both cases, the areoles, which may have wool and bristles, are where the flower buds appear.


title: Schlumbergera

text: The flowers either hang downwards and are almost regular (radially symmetrical or actinomorphic) or, as in most species, are held more or less horizontally with the higher side of the flower different from the lower side (radially asymmetrical or zygomorphic). In those species whose flowers are held up, their angle with the horizontal is relatively constant and is characteristic of the species. Each flower has 20–30 tepals. The outer tepals – those closer to the base of the flower – are short and unconnected, and spread out or curve backwards. The inner tepals – those towards the tip of the flower – are longer and in most species become progressively more fused together at the base to form a floral tube. In some species the difference between the outer and inner tepals creates the appearance of a "flower within a flower". The flowers produce nectar in a chamber at the base of the floral tube.


title: Schlumbergera

text: In most species, the many stamens are arranged in two series, with the inner stamens being fused at the base to form a short tubular structure and the outer stamens arising from along the floral tube. The style is usually dark red and has a stigma with 6–8 lobes; the style plus stigma is roughly the same length as the stamens. If the flower is fertilized, a fleshy fruit forms, either smooth or with ribs. The brown or black seeds are about 1 mm in diameter.


title: Schlumbergera

text: The genus is one of a small number belonging to a group of cacti classified as the tribe Rhipsalideae. Species of cacti belonging to this group are quite distinct in appearance and habit from most other cacti since they grow on trees or rocks as epiphytes or lithophytes. Although the species are easy to identify as members of the Rhipsalideae, for many years there was confusion as to how they should be divided into genera. This confusion extended to "Schlumbergera", whose complicated taxonomic history has been detailed by McMillan and Horobin. The modern genus "Schlumbergera" was created by Charles Lemaire in 1858. The name commemorates Frédéric Schlumberger, who had a collection of cacti at his chateau near Rouen. Lemaire placed only one species in his new genus – a plant discovered in Brazil in 1837 which had been named "Epiphyllum russellianum" by William J. Hooker. Lemaire renamed it "Schlumbergera epiphylloides" (under the current rules of botanical nomenclature it should have been called "Schlumbergera russelliana", which is its current name).


title: Schlumbergera

text: Lemaire noted the similarity of his "Schlumbergera epiphylloides" to a species first described as "Epiphyllum truncatum" by Adrian Hardy Haworth in 1819, but did not accept that the two species should be included in the same genus. In 1890, Karl Moritz Schumann created the new genus "Zygocactus", transferring "Epiphyllum truncatum" to "Zygocactus truncatus". Although he later placed it back in "Epiphyllum", abandoning "Zygocactus", the generic name "Zygocactus" continued to be widely used.


title: Schlumbergera

text: In 1913, Nathaniel Britton and Joseph Rose followed Lemaire in keeping "Schlumbergera russelliana" and "Zygocactus truncatus" in separate genera. They also transferred the Easter cactus to "Schlumbergera" as "S. gaertneri", initiating a lasting confusion between these two genera.


title: Schlumbergera

text: In 1953, Reid Venable Moran placed both "Schlumbergera russelliana" and "Zygocactus truncatus" in the genus "Schlumbergera". Other species were added later by David Hunt, including those formerly placed in "Epiphyllanthus", to form the modern total of six full species and a number of hybrids.


title: Schlumbergera

text: "Schlumbergera" and "Hatiora" have long been confused. Species in the former genus generally have flowers that are zygomorphic with a distinct floral tube, while those in the latter have actinomorphic flowers with inconspicuous tubes. DNA data shows that as previously circumscribed the two genera are not monophyletic and the three species in "Hatiora" subgenus "Rhipsalidopsis" have been transferred into "Schlumbergera", although this change has not been universally adopted.


title: Schlumbergera

text: The following genera are now synonyms of "Schlumbergera" (i.e. they have no species not moved into "Schlumbergera"):


title: Schlumbergera

text: The case of "Epiphyllum" is complex. In 1753, Carl Linnaeus created the genus "Cactus". As more species were discovered this proved too broad, and new genera were set up to subdivide the cacti. The genus "Epiphyllum" was created in 1812 by Haworth, based on Linnaeus's "Cactus phyllanthus". In 1831, Johann Link created the genus "Phyllocactus" based on the same species. Following Ludwig Pfeiffer in 1837, the European tradition was to use "Phyllocactus" for epiphytic cacti with large regular flowers and "Epiphyllum" for the irregular-flowered species now called "Schlumbergera truncata". Under modern rules, "Phyllocactus" is an illegitimate name, as is "Epiphyllum" in the sense of Pfeiffer; thus "Epiphyllum" is a synonym of "Schlumbergera". The true genus "Epiphyllum" now has around 19 species.


title: Schlumbergera

text: Between six and nine species are currently recognized. In the narrowest circumscription, "Schlumbergera" sensu stricto, six species are accepted. Only synonyms which have been widely used (and their basionyms) are given in the list below.


title: Schlumbergera

text: In the widest circumscription, "Schlumbergera" sensu lato, three species formerly placed in "Hatiora" are transferred into "Schlumbergera".


title: Schlumbergera

text: Four hybrids of "Schlumbergera" s.s. have been named, all made in cultivation (although the first may possibly occur in the wild). The "International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants" recommends that cultivated plants should be named under its rules, not those appropriate for natural species and hybrids. The Group names given below were provided by McMillan and Horobin.


title: Schlumbergera

text: "Schlumbergera" occurs only in the coastal mountains of south-east Brazil, in the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo. Sites where it has been found range from close to the Tropic of Capricorn northwards to 20°S, i.e. in the southernmost part of the tropics. Plants grow at altitudes from in the case of "S. truncata" to in the case of "S. microsphaerica", either in the coastal moist forests or in rocky areas. The natural distribution of "Schlumbergera" species has become confused because European cultivars were deliberately introduced into some areas, including the Serra dos Órgãos National Park, by the Brazilian Agricultural Department, to compensate for over-collecting of wild plants.


title: Schlumbergera

text: Because of their height and proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, the coastal mountains produce high altitude moist forests – warm moist air is forced upwards into higher, colder locations where it condenses. "Schlumbergera" species grow in habitats which are generally relatively cool, shaded and of high humidity. David Hunt describes collecting specimens in conditions of cloud, drizzle and overnight temperatures down to . Plants are epiphytic or lithophytic, growing on moss-covered tree branches or in rock crevices, often in small pockets of substrate formed from decayed leaves and other vegetation. "S. microsphaerica" is found at higher altitudes, above , in barren rocky habitats, and tolerates higher light levels.


title: Schlumbergera

text: The flowers of "Schlumbergera" have adaptations for pollination by hummingbirds: tubular flowers with abundant nectar, and colours towards the red end of the spectrum. Most species require cross-pollination to set seed. The exceptions are "S. kautskyi" and "S. microsphaerica"; as noted above, the latter is found at higher altitudes where hummingbirds may be absent or less common.


title: Schlumbergera

text: The fruits of "Schlumbergera" do not open spontaneously when ripe, and appear to be adapted for distribution by birds, which eat the seeds and pulp contained in the fruit. Birds have been observed removing seeds which had stuck to their beaks by rubbing them on tree branches, where the seeds might be able to germinate. Segments may also break off from the stems and take root, thus enabling plants to propagate vegetatively.


title: Schlumbergera

text: "Schlumbergera truncata" was in cultivation in Europe by 1818, and "S. russelliana" was introduced in 1839. The two species were deliberately crossed in England by W. Buckley resulting in the hybrid now called "S." × "buckleyi", first recorded in 1852. By the 1860s, a substantial number of cultivars (cultivated varieties) were available in a range of colours and habits, and were used as ornamental plants in "stoves" (heated greenhouses) and in houses, where they were popular for their autumn and winter flowering. Many cultivars were selected seedlings of "S. truncata", but at least three "S." × "buckleyi" hybrids were available, of which one, now called "S." 'Buckleyi', is thought to be the original Christmas cactus. By the early part of the 20th century, the genus had become less popular, and many of the early cultivars were lost.


title: Schlumbergera

text: From around the 1950s onwards, breeding resumed in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. New plants were produced by crossing among the species and existing cultivars of "S. truncata", "S. russelliana" and the hybrid "S." × "buckleyi". Treatments which induced mutations were also used. The result was a wide range of flower colours which had not been available before, including the first true yellow to be sold commercially, "S." 'Gold Charm' (which was a sterile triploid). Breeders aimed for plants which grew strongly, were upright at the point of sale rather than pendulous, had many flowers or buds, and were adapted to living as house plants.


title: Schlumbergera

text: In the 1980s the species "S. orssichiana" was also used in crosses. The hybrid of "S. truncata" and "S. orssichiana" has been named "S." × "reginae" or "S." Reginae Group; one of the first cultivars was "S." 'Bristol Queen'. "S. opuntioides" crosses have also been made, but have not resulted in commercially available cultivars.


title: Schlumbergera

text: McMillan and Horobin have listed hundreds of modern European, North American and Australian cultivars of the Christmas cactus, which they put into a number of cultivar groups:


title: Schlumbergera

text: Attempts have also been made to classify cultivars by colour. A difficulty is that the flowers of many cultivars exhibit different colours depending on the temperature during bud formation and growth. In particular, temperatures below produce pink tones in otherwise white and yellow cultivars, and deepen the colour in pink and red cultivars. The availability of iron to the plant has also been suggested to affect flower colour.


title: Schlumbergera

text: In the United States, cultivars are propagated in large numbers for sale before Thanksgiving Day (the fourth Thursday in November). In Europe, plants are mainly sold later in the year, in the period before Christmas. A single Dutch grower (de Vries of Aalsmeer, the Netherlands) was reported in 1989 as producing 2,000,000 plants per year.


title: Schlumbergera

text: Plants are offered for sale under a variety of common names. The earliest English common name was "Christmas cactus". In Europe, where plants are largely produced for sale in the period before Christmas, this remains the most widely used common name in many languages for cultivars of all groups (e.g. in German, in French, and in Spanish). This is also the name used in Canada. In the United States, where plants are produced for the Thanksgiving holiday in November, the name "Thanksgiving cactus" is used; "Christmas cactus" may then be restricted to cultivars of the Buckleyi Group, particularly the very old cultivars such as 'Buckleyi'. In Russia they are known as "dekabrist" ("decembrist") and "rozhdestvennika" ("nativity"). The name "crab cactus" (referring to the clawed ends of the stems) is also used for the Truncata Group. "Link cactus" is another common name, describing the way that the stems of the genus as a whole are made up of linked segments. The name "chain cactus" is common in New Zealand, and may also refer to "Hatiora" species.


title: Schlumbergera

text: The Easter cactus or Whitsun cactus is now placed in the genus "Hatiora", but was at one time included in "Schlumbergera" (or one of its synonyms). The name "holiday cactus" has been used to include both "Schlumbergera" and "Hatiora" cultivars.


title: Schlumbergera

text: When grown as house plants, "Schlumbergera" cultivars are said to be relatively easy to care for. McMillan and Horobin describe in detail their cultivation in both commercial and domestic conditions. Their specific recommendations include:


title: Schlumbergera

text: In cultivation, these plants have been described as "remarkably free from pests and diseases". Two significant insect pests are aphids on young shoots, buds and flowers, and root mealybugs which attack below soil level. Stems and roots can be rotted by diseases caused by fungi and similar organisms; these include infections by species of "Fusarium" (a fungus), and "Phytophthora" and "Pythium" (both water moulds). Approved chemical treatments can be used in the case of insect attack or these diseases.


title: Schlumbergera

text: Aphids, mealybugs and other invertebrate pests can spread viruses. Symptoms vary with the species, but a loss of vigour is usual. Cactus virus X has been isolated from "S. truncata". There is no treatment for virus diseases; it is recommended that infected plants be destroyed.


title: Japanese beetle

text: The Japanese beetle ("Popillia japonica") is a species of scarab beetle. The adult measures in length and in width, has iridescent copper-colored elytra and a green thorax and head. It is not very destructive in Japan (where it is controlled by natural predators), but in North America and some regions of Europe is a noted pest to roughly 300 species of plants, including rose bushes, grapes, hops, canna, crape myrtles, birch trees, linden trees, and others.


title: Japanese beetle

text: The adult beetles damage plants by skeletonizing the foliage (i.e., consuming only the material between a leaf's veins) as well as, at times, feeding on a plant's fruit. The subterranean larvae feed on the roots of grasses.


title: Japanese beetle

text: Adult "P. japonica" measure in length and in width, with iridescent copper-colored elytra and green thorax and head. A row of white tufts (spots) of hair project from under the wing covers on each side of the body.


title: Japanese beetle

text: The first written evidence of the insect appearing within the United States was in 1916 in a nursery near Riverton, New Jersey. The beetle larvae are thought to have entered the United States in a shipment of iris bulbs prior to 1912, when inspections of commodities entering the country began. As of 2015, just nine western states of the United States were considered free of Japanese beetles. Beetles have been detected in airports on the west coast of the United States since the 1940s.


title: Japanese beetle

text: The first Japanese beetle found in Canada was inadvertently brought by tourists to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia by ferry from Maine in 1939. During the same year, three additional adults were captured at Yarmouth and three at Lacolle in southern Quebec.


title: Japanese beetle

text: Japanese beetles have been found in the islands of the Azores since the 1970s. In 2014, the first population in mainland Europe was discovered near Milan in Italy. In 2017, the pest was detected in Switzerland, most likely having spread over the border from Italy. Swiss authorities are attempting to eradicate the pest.


title: Japanese beetle

text: Only three were found in Washington State, USA in 2020, but then from late June to September 3, 2021 there were over 20,000 found in Grandview alone.


title: Japanese beetle

text: Ova are laid individually, or in small clusters near the soil surface. Within approximately two weeks, the ova hatch, the larvae feeding on fine roots and other organic material. As the larvae mature, they become c-shaped grubs which consume progressively coarser roots and may do economic damage to pasture and turf at this time.


title: Japanese beetle

text: Larvae hibernate in small cells in the soil, emerging in the spring when soil temperatures rise again. Within 4–6 weeks of breaking hibernation, the larvae will pupate. Most of the beetle's life is spent as a larva, with only 30–45 days spent as an imago. Adults feed on leaf material above ground, using pheromones to attract other beetles and overwhelm plants, skeletonizing leaves from the top of the plant downward. The aggregation of beetles will alternate daily between mating, feeding, and ovipositing. An adult female may lay as many as 40–60 ova in her lifetime.


title: Japanese beetle

text: Throughout the majority of the Japanese beetle's range, its lifecycle takes one full year, however in the extreme northern parts of its range, as well as high altitude zones as found in its native Japan, development may take two years.


title: Japanese beetle

text: Phenological models might be useful in predicting the timing of presence of larvae or adults of the Japanese beetle. Model outputs can be used to support the timely implementation of monitoring and control actions against the pest, thus reducing its potential impact.


title: Japanese beetle

text: Owing to its destructive nature, traps have been invented specifically to target Japanese beetles. These comprise a pair of crossed walls with a bag or plastic container underneath and are baited with floral scent, pheromone, or both. However, studies conducted at the University of Kentucky and Eastern Illinois University suggest beetles attracted to traps frequently do not end up in the traps, instead, they land on plants in the vicinity and cause more damage along the flight path and near the trap than may have occurred if the trap were not present.


title: Japanese beetle

text: During the larval stage, the Japanese beetle lives in lawns and other grasslands, where it eats the roots of grasses. During that stage, it is susceptible to a fatal disease called milky spore disease, caused by a bacterium called milky spore, "Paenibacillus" (formerly "Bacillus") "popilliae." The USDA developed this biological control and it is commercially available in powder form for application to lawn areas. Standard applications (low density across a broad area) take from one to five years to establish maximal protection against larval survival (depending on the climate), expanding through the soil through repeated rounds of infection.


title: Japanese beetle

text: On field crops such as squash, floating row covers can be used to exclude the beetles, but this may necessitate hand pollination of flowers. Kaolin sprays can also be used as barriers.


title: Japanese beetle

text: Research performed by many US extension service branches has shown pheromone traps attract more beetles than they catch. Traps are most effective when spread out over an entire community, and downwind and at the borders (i.e., as far away as possible, particularly upwind), of managed property containing plants being protected.


title: Japanese beetle

text: When present in small numbers, the beetles may be manually controlled using a soap-water spray mixture, shaking a plant in the morning hours and disposing of the fallen beetles, or simply picking them off attractions such as rose flowers, since the presence of beetles attracts more beetles to that plant.


title: Japanese beetle

text: Several insect predators and parasitoids have been introduced to the United States for biocontrol. Two of them, "Istocheta aldrichi" and "Tiphia vernalis", are well established with significant but variable rates of parasitism.


title: Japanese beetle

text: While the larvae of Japanese beetles feed on the roots of many genera of grasses, the adults consume the leaves of a much wider range of hosts, including these common crops: bean, cannabis, strawberry, tomato, pepper, grape, hop, rose, cherry, plum, pear, peach, raspberry, blackberry, corn, pea, okra, and blueberry.


title: Blake Crouch

text: William Blake Crouch (born October 15, 1978) is an American author best known for his "Wayward Pines Trilogy", which was adapted into the 2015 television series "Wayward Pines".


title: Blake Crouch

text: Crouch was born near the town of Statesville, North Carolina, in 1978. He attended North Iredell High School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating in 2000 with degrees in English and creative writing.


title: Blake Crouch

text: Crouch published his first two novels, "Desert Places" and "Locked Doors", in 2004 and 2005. His stories have appeared in "Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine", "Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine", "Thriller 2", and other anthologies. In 2016, he released the novel "Dark Matter".


title: Blake Crouch

text: Crouch's "Wayward Pines Trilogy" (2012–14) was adapted into the 2015 television series "Wayward Pines". Another work, "Good Behavior", premiered as a television series in November 2016.


title: Blake Crouch

text: In 2020, Crouch began working on a screenplay to adapt "Dark Matter" into a feature film for Sony Pictures.


title: Blake Crouch

text: Crouch married Rebecca Greene on June 20, 1998. They have three children together. The couple divorced in 2017. As of 2019, Crouch is dating Jacque Ben-Zekry.


title: Blake Crouch

text: In 2021, Crouch filed a court case appealing to modify his and Greene's joint agreement for medical decision-making authority for their children, to allow him to vaccinate them over Greene's religious-based objections.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: John Arbuthnot Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, (25 January 1841 – 10 July 1920), commonly known as Jacky or Jackie Fisher, was a British Admiral of the Fleet. With more than sixty years in the Royal Navy, his efforts to reform the service helped to usher in an era of modernisation which saw the supersession of wooden sailing ships armed with muzzle-loading cannon by steel-hulled battlecruisers, submarines and the first aircraft carriers.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: Fisher has a reputation as an innovator, strategist and developer of the navy rather than as a seagoing admiral involved in major battles, although in his career he experienced all these things. When appointed First Sea Lord in 1904 he removed 150 ships then on active service which were no longer useful and set about constructing modern replacements, developing a modern fleet prepared to meet Germany during the First World War.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: Fisher saw the need to improve the range, accuracy and rate-of-fire of naval gunnery, and became an early proponent of the use of the torpedo, which he believed would supersede big guns for use against ships. As Controller, he introduced torpedo-boat destroyers as a class of ship intended for defence against attack from torpedo boats or from submarines. As First Sea Lord he drove the construction of , the first all-big-gun battleship, but he also believed that submarines would become increasingly important and urged their development. He became involved with the introduction of turbine engines to replace reciprocating engines, and with the introduction of oil fuelling to replace coal. He introduced daily baked bread on board ships, whereas when he entered the service it was customary to eat hard biscuits, frequently infested by biscuit beetles.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: He first officially retired from the Admiralty in 1910 on his 69th birthday, but became First Sea Lord again in November 1914. He resigned seven months later in frustration over Churchill's Gallipoli campaign, and then served as chairman of the Government's Board of Invention and Research until the end of the war.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: Fisher was five feet seven inches tall and stocky with a round face. In later years, some suggested that Fisher, born in Ceylon of British parents, had Asian ancestry due to his features and the yellow cast of his skin. However, his colour resulted from dysentery and malaria in middle life, which nearly caused his death. He had a fixed and compelling gaze when addressing someone, which gave little clue to his feelings. Fisher was energetic, ambitious, enthusiastic and clever. A shipmate described him as "easily the most interesting midshipman I ever met". When addressing someone he could become carried away with the point he was seeking to make, and on one occasion, the King asked him to stop shaking his fist in his face. He was considered a "man who demanded to be heard, and one who didn't suffer fools lightly".


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: Throughout his life he was a religious man and attended church regularly when ashore. He had a passion for sermons and might attend two or three services in a day to hear them, which he would 'discuss afterwards with great animation'. However, he was discreet in expressing his religious views because he feared public attention might hinder his professional career.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: He was not keen on sport, but he was a highly proficient dancer. Fisher employed his dancing skill later in life to charm a number of important ladies. He became interested in dancing in 1877 and insisted that the officers of his ship learn to dance. Fisher cancelled the leave of midshipmen who would not take part. He introduced the practice of junior officers dancing on deck when the band was playing for senior officers' wardroom dinners. This practice spread through the fleet. He broke with the then ball tradition of dancing with a different partner for each dance, instead adopting the scandalous habit of choosing one good dancer as his partner for the evening. His ability to charm all comers of all social classes made up for his sometimes blunt or tactless comments. He suffered from seasickness throughout his life.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: Fisher's aim was 'efficiency of the fleet and its instant readiness for war', which won him support amongst a certain kind of navy officer. He believed in advancing the most able, rather than the longest serving. This upset those he passed over. Thus, he divided the navy into those who approved of his innovations and those who did not. As he became older and more senior he also became more autocratic and commented, 'Anyone who opposes me, I crush'. He believed that nations fought wars for material gain, and that maintaining a strong navy deterred other nations from engaging it in battle, thus decreasing the likelihood of war: "On the British fleet rests the British Empire." Fisher also believed that the risk of catastrophe in a sea battle was far greater than on land: a war could be lost or won in a day at sea, with no hope of replacing lost ships, but an army could be rebuilt quickly. When an arms race broke out between Germany and Britain to build larger navies, the German Kaiser commented, 'I admire Fisher, I say nothing against him. If I were in his place I should do all that he has done and I should do all that I know he has in mind to do'.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: John Arbuthnot Fisher was born on 25 January 1841 on the Wavendon Estate at Ramboda in Ceylon. He was the eldest of eleven children, of whom only seven survived infancy, born to Sophie Fisher and Captain William Fisher, a British Army officer in the 78th Highlanders, who had been an aide-de-camp to the former governor of Ceylon, Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton, and was serving as a staff officer at Kandy. Fisher commented, 'My mother was a most magnificent and handsome, extremely young woman...My father was 6 feet 2 inches..., also especially handsome. Why I am ugly is one of those puzzles of physiology which are beyond finding out'.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: William Fisher sold his commission the year John was born, and became a coffee planter and later chief superintendent of police. He incurred such debt on his two coffee plantations that he could barely support his growing family. At the age of six John (who was always known within the family as "Jack") was sent to England to live with his maternal grandfather, Charles Lambe, in New Bond Street, London. His grandfather had also lost money and the family survived by renting out rooms in their home. John's younger brother, Frederic William Fisher, joined the Royal Navy and reached the rank of admiral, and his youngest surviving sibling Philip became a navy lieutenant on before drowning in an 1880 storm.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: William Fisher was killed in a riding accident when John was 15. John's relationship with his mother Sophie suffered from their separation, and he never saw her again. However, he continued to send her an allowance until her death. In 1870, she suggested visiting Fisher in England, but he dissuaded her as strongly as he could. Fisher wrote to his wife: "I hate the very thought of it and really, I don't want to see her. I don't see why I should as I haven't the slightest recollection of her."


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: Fisher married Frances Katharine Josepha Broughton, known as 'Kitty', the daughter of the Rev. Thomas Delves Broughton and Frances Corkran, on 4 April 1866 while stationed at Portsmouth. Kitty's two brothers were both naval officers. According to a cousin, she believed that Jack would rise "to the top of the tree." They remained married until her death in July 1918. They had a son, Cecil Vavasseur, 2nd Baron Fisher (1868–1955), and three daughters, Beatrix Alice (1867–1930), Dorothy Sybil (1873–1962), and Pamela Mary (1876–1949), all of whom married naval officers who went on to become admirals. Beatrix Alice married Reginald Rundell Neeld in 1896, Pamela Mary married Henry Blackett in 1906, and in 1908 Dorothy Sybil married Eric Fullerton.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: Fisher's father ultimately aided his entry into the navy, via his godmother Lady Horton, widow of the governor of Ceylon to whom William Fisher had been Aide-de-camp. She prevailed upon a neighbour, Admiral Sir William Parker (the last of Nelson's captains), to nominate John as a naval cadet. The entry examination consisted of writing out the Lord's Prayer and jumping naked over a chair. He formally entered the Royal Navy on 13 July 1854, aged 13, on board Nelson's former flagship, , at Portsmouth. On 29 July he joined , an old ship of the line. She was built of wood, in 1831, with 84 smooth-bore muzzle-loading guns arranged on two gun decks, and relied entirely on sail for propulsion. She had a crew of 700, and discipline was strictly enforced by the "hard-bitten Captain Robert Stopford". Fisher fainted when he witnessed eight men being flogged on his first day.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: "Calcutta" participated in the blockade of Russian ports in the Gulf of Finland during the Crimean War, entitling Fisher to the Baltic Medal, before returning to Britain a few months later. The crew was paid off on 1 March 1856.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: On 2 March 1856, Fisher was posted to , and was sent to Constantinople (now Istanbul) to join her. He arrived on 19 May, just as the war was ending. After a tour around the Dardanelles picking up troops and baggage, "Agamemnon" returned to England, where the crew was paid off.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: Promotion to midshipman came on 12 July 1856 and Fisher joined a 21-gun steam corvette, , part of the China Station. He was to spend the next five years in Chinese waters, seeing action in the Second Opium War, 1856–1860. The "Highflyer's" captain, Charles Shadwell, was an expert on naval astronomy (subsequently being appointed a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1861) and he taught Fisher much about navigation, with spectacular later results. When Shadwell was replaced as captain following an injury in action, he gave Fisher a pair of studs engraved with his family motto 'Loyal au Mort', which Fisher was to use for the rest of his life.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: Fisher passed the seamanship examination for the rank of lieutenant, and was given the acting rank of mate, on his nineteenth birthday, 25 January 1860. He was transferred three months later to the steam frigate as an acting lieutenant. Shortly afterwards, Fisher had his first brief command: taking the yacht of the China Squadron's admiral—the paddle-gunboat —from Hong Kong to Canton (presently Guangzhou), a voyage of four days.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: He was transferred, on 12 June 1860, to the paddle-sloop where he saw sufficient action to add the Taku Forts and Canton clasps to his China War Medal. "Furious" left Hong Kong and the China Station in March 1861 and, after a leisurely voyage home, paid off her crew in Portsmouth on 30 August. Captain Oliver Jones of the "Furious" was entirely different from Shadwell: Fisher wrote there was a mutiny on board within his first fortnight, that Jones terrorized his crew and disobeyed orders given to him. For his part, by the end of the tour, Jones was impressed by Fisher.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: At the end of November 1861, Fisher sat his final lieutenant's examination in navigation at the Royal Naval College at Portsmouth, passing with flying colours. He had already received top grades in seamanship and gunnery, and achieved the highest score then attained under the recently introduced five-yearly scheme, with 963 out of 1,000 marks in navigation. For this, he was awarded the Beaufort Testimonial, an annual prize of books and instruments; but in the meantime he had to wait around, unpaid, until his appointment came through officially.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: From January 1862 to March 1863, Fisher returned to the payroll at the navy's principal gunnery school aboard , a three-decker moored in Portsmouth harbour. During this time, "Excellent" was evaluating the performance of the "revolutionary" Armstrong breech-loading guns against the conventional Whitworth muzzle-loading type. During free afternoons Fisher would walk the downs, shouting to practice his command voice. He spent 15 of the next 25 years in four tours of duty at Portsmouth concerned with development of gunnery and torpedoes.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: In March 1863, Fisher was appointed Gunnery Lieutenant to , the first all-iron seagoing armoured battleship and the most powerful ship in the fleet. Built in 1859, she marked the beginning of the end of the Age of Sail and, coincidentally, was armed with both Armstrong guns (breech-loading) and Whitworth rifles (muzzle-loading). Fisher noted he was popular amongst his brother officers because he frequently stayed on board when others went ashore and could take duty for them.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: Fisher returned to "Excellent" in 1864 as a gunnery instructor, where he remained until 1869. Towards the end of his posting he became interested in torpedoes, which were invented in the 1860s, and championed their cause as a relatively simple weapon capable of sinking a battleship. His expertise with torpedoes led to his being invited to Germany in June 1869 for the founding ceremony of a new naval base at Wilhelmshaven, where he met King William I of Prussia (soon to become German emperor), Bismarck and Moltke. Perhaps inspired by the visit, he started preparing a paper on the design, construction and management of electrical torpedoes, the cutting-edge technology of the time.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: On 2 August 1869, "at the early age of twenty-eight", Fisher was promoted to commander. On 8 November, he was posted as second-in-command of , serving under Captain Hewett, a Crimean War Victoria Cross holder. "Donegal" was a , with auxiliary screw propulsion. She plied between Portsmouth and Hong Kong, taking out relief crews and bringing home the crews they replaced. During this time he completed his torpedoes treatise.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: In May 1870, Fisher transferred, again as second in command, to , flagship of the China Station. It was whilst he was on "Ocean" that he wrote an eight-page memoir: "Naval Tactics", which Captain J. G. Goodenough had printed for private circulation. He installed a system of electrical firing so that all guns could be fired simultaneously, making "Ocean" the first vessel to be so equipped. Fisher noted in his letters that he greatly missed his wife, but also missed his work on torpedoes and the access to important people possible with a posting in England.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: In 1872, he returned to England to the gunnery school "Excellent", this time as head of torpedo and mine training, during which time he split the Torpedo Branch off from "Excellent", forming a separate establishment for it called . His duties included lecturing, and negotiating the purchase of the navy's first Whitehead torpedo. In order to promote the school, he invited politicians and journalists to attend lectures and organised demonstrations. This produced mixed reactions amongst some officers, who did not approve of his showmanship. He was promoted to captain on 30 October 1874, aged thirty-three, in time to be "Vernon"s first commander. "Vernon" consisted of the hulk of , William Symonds' 1832 50-gun sailing frigate, and the hulk of the 26-gun steam frigate provided accommodation. , a torpedo boat of 245 tons, was "Vernon's" experimental tender for the conduct of torpedo trials. They were moored in Portsmouth Harbour. In 1876, Fisher served on the Board of Admiralty's torpedo committee.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: Fisher was appointed to command as flag captain to the Admiral of the North America and West Indies Station, Astley Cooper Key, from 2 March 1877 to 4 June 1878. Bellerophon had been in the dockyard for repairs, so the new crew was less than perfect in carrying out their duties. Fisher told them "I intend to give you hell for three months, and if you have not come up to my standard in that time you'll have hell for another three months." Midshipman (later Admiral) A. H. Gordon Moore reported, "Fisher was a very exacting master and I had at times long and arduous duties, long hours at the engine room telegraphs in cold fog, etc., and the least inattention was punished. It was, I think, his way of proving us, for he always rewarded us in some way when an extra hard bit of work was over."


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: Cooper Key was transferred to a special squadron operating in the Channel formed to combat fears of war with Russia. Fisher went with him as flag captain of HMS "Hercules" from 7 June to 21 August 1878. From 22 August to 12 September he transferred still as flag captain under Cooper Key to . At this time Fisher first became a proponent of the new compass being designed by Sir William Thomson which incorporated corrections for the deviation caused by the metal in iron ships.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: From 9 January to 24 July 1879 Fisher commanded serving in the Mediterranean Command under Geoffrey Phipps Hornby. "Pallas" was in poor condition, having a chain passed around the ship to hold the armour plates in place. The tour included an official visit to Istanbul where Fisher dined with the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from gold cups and plates. He then returned to the UK for two months leave at half pay, visiting Bruges with his family.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: His next posting, starting 25 September 1879, was to as Flag Captain to Sir Leopold McClintock, commanding the North American squadron. "Northampton" was a new ship with a number of innovations, including twin screws, searchlights and telephones, as well as being armed with torpedoes. It was fitted with an experimental Thomson-designed compass, which the inventor was on hand to adjust. Three days were spent attempting and failing to adjust the compass, with Thomson becoming increasingly bad tempered, until it was noticed that by accident the degree card had been marked with only 359 instead of 360 degrees. The ship was fitted with a new design of lamp created by Captain Philip Colomb, who came on board to inspect them. As a joke, Fisher arranged for anything that could go wrong with the lamps to do so, sending Colomb away disheartened over his invention (although Fisher officially reported favourably about the lamps). On another occasion, the naval hospital at Halifax requested some flags to fly for the Queen's birthday. Fisher obliged, but sent only yellow and black flags signifying plague and quarantine. On the other hand, he worked hard at improving his ship. As reported by his second in command, Commander Wilmot Fawkes, the ship carried out 150 runs with torpedoes in a fortnight, whereas the whole rest of the navy performed only 200 in a year.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: Fisher's brother Philip was serving on the training ship , which disappeared somewhere between the West Indies and England, believed lost in a storm. "Northampton" was one of the ships sent to search for her, but without result. In January 1881 Fisher received news of his appointment to the new ironclad battleship . Admiral McClintock commented, "Everyone regrets the departure of Captain Fisher, but I fancy we shall not fully realize our loss until he is gone...Since his nomination to the "Inflexible", his spirits have returned and daily increased, and now he almost requires wiring down." The ship was still building, so Fisher was temporarily appointed to , flagship of the port admiral at Portsmouth between 30 January and 4 July 1881.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: Fisher was considered sufficiently able, with recommendations following all of his postings, to be appointed captain of the newly completed battleship . "Inflexible" had the largest guns and thickest armour of any ship in the navy, but still carried masts and sails and had slow, muzzle-loading guns. She had been seven years under construction and had many innovations built into her, including electric lighting and torpedo tubes, but with such a tortuous layout that crew became lost. The sails were never used for propulsion, but because a ship's performance was partly judged on the speed with which a ship could set sails, Fisher was obliged to drill the crew in their use.


title: John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

text: In spring 1882 "Inflexible" was part of the Mediterranean Fleet and was assigned to protection of Queen Victoria during a visit to Menton on the Riviera. This was intended as a reminder of British naval prowess to the French, but allowed Fisher to meet Victoria and her grandson, Prince Henry of Prussia, who later became admiral of the German navy. Victoria was impressed by Fisher, as she had been by his brother Philip who had served on royal yachts and for whom she had arranged the ill-fated posting to "Atalanta".