A Little History of Our Flag

On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed the First Flag Act:  "Resolved:  That the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation."  The exact design is frequently attributed to Congressman Francis Hopkinson of Philadelphia.  However, when he petitioned Congress for payment of his idea, he was turned down on the bases that others had contributed to the design.  Today the first official US flag is referred to as the Betsy Ross Flag (pictured).  However, the claim that she sewed the first flag has never been substantiated.  Since the Betsy Ross Flag, the official American flag has changed 26 times.  With the admission of Vermont and Kentucky, the second flag was approved in 1795. It not only added a star but a strip for each of the new states.  It is referred to as the Star Spangle Banner because it was the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key during the bombardment of Fort McHenry in 1814.  In 1818, with admission of 5 new states, the next change was made but it was decided that only stars would be added and the strips would stay at 13 for the original 13 colonies.  Between 1819 and 1877 the flag changed 17 times with the longest continuous time for one flag being 10 years.  During both the administration of Presidents Monroe and Polk it changed 5 times.  In 1890 it jumped from 38 stars to 44 and then changed 4 more times by 1912.  This flag stayed at 48 stars for the next 47 years.  Alaska added the 49^th star in 1959 and Hawaii completed the present flag at 50 in 1960.  Today National Flag Day is celebrated on June 14^th in commemoration of the First Flag Act.  We can thank BJ Cigrand, a schoolteacher from Fredonia, WI for being behind the holiday.  In 1885, Cigrand started promoting June 14 as “Flag Birthday or Flag Day”.  However, even though localities and some states picked up on honoring the day, it wasn’t until 1949 that President Truman signed an Act of Congress making it a National holiday. 

June 2013 Constellation of the Month – Corona Borealis

Almost directly overhead an hour after sunset, is a compact,  U-shaped constellation, Corona Borealis --  the Northern Crown.  (There is also a Southern Crown, Corona Australis, which is visible to people living in the southern hemisphere.)

  Coronal Borealis is just east of kite-shaped Bootes (our June 2012 constellation of the month).  It is about halfway between two very bright stars – Arcturus, which marks the bottom of the kite, and Vega, which is, the westernmost star in the Summer Triangle.

Its brightest star, Alpha Coronae Borealis, is 2^nd magnitude -- as bright as most of the stars in the Big Dipper.  The other 6 stars are considerably fainter, but still visible with the naked eye.  Alpha, like so many stars, is actually a double star, in which 2 stars orbit each other.  Our vantage point on earth is lined up with the plane of the orbit, so that one star will regularly pass in from of the other.  When the fainter star is in front of the brighter star, the pair will appear slightly fainter,  This happens every 17 days. This type of star is called an "eclipsing binary."

The constellation also contains 2 rarer types of variable stars.  T Coronae Borealis is an exploding variable star also known as the Blaze Star.  It is usually a very faint star, but once every 80 years or so it explodes, like a nova  In a matter of hours, it can increase its brightness 1,500 times – from magnitude 10 to magnitude 2.  

Another variable star is R Coronae Borealis.  It  periodically experiences drops in brightness, which can sometimes be very dramatic.  Scientists speculate that a buildup of carbon particles is the cause.

Corona Borealis has no easily seen nebulae or galaxies.  But it does have some attractive binary stars, which can be separated by small telescopes like those used at Discovery Center astronomy events.

The DC Women's Hiking Group will hike Tues., June 11th and Thurs., June 13th at Topstone Park in Redding, CT.
Take Rt. 7 to Topstone Road.
Follow over railroad tracks staying on Topstone Rd.
Keep going just past where it turns to a dirt road.
Parking area will be on right side of road.
Meet at 8:30am.

The DC Women's Hiking Group will hike Tues., June 4th and Thurs., June 6th at Saugatuck Falls Natural Area in Redding, CT.
Saugatuck Falls Natural Area entrance is located between mail box # 65 and 73 on Diamond Hill Road, Redding. Follow straight in until you see the large sign (entrance marker) on your left.
Meet at 8:30am

Late May's Woodland Song

This time of year you’ll hear a long high pitched trill at night in the woodlands.  This is the mating song of the gray treefrog (Hyla versicolor).  Only about 2 inches long, this little critter comes in a variety of colors from gray, green or brown, solid or with blotches.  There is always a large, white marking below each eye. The inside of each hind leg is a bright yellow-orange.  Its strategy for survival lays in its ability to quickly change colors to match its surroundings.  It has large sticky toe pads that help it cling to tree bark and other surfaces.  This little frog doesn’t live in a pond but in the trees or shrubs.  There it spends the day resting.  At night it crawls among the branches and leaves looking for moths, tree crickets, ants or other insects.  It can be very acrobatic in its search.  However in late May or early June, it will descend down to woodland pools looking for a mate.  The female, who is much larger than the male, does not sing but will select a mate based on its call.  Each female can lay as many as 2,000 eggs in groups of 10 – 40 on vegetation near the water’s surface.   It takes about 2 months for the tadpoles to fully change into frogs.  During the winter, these frogs hibernate under the leaf litter, bark or rocks.  Like its cousin the wood frog, it will freeze solid.  From the glycerol in its system, it can produce antifreeze which protects its cells from the freezing process.  Even though its heart and breathing stop, come spring it will thaw out and return to the trees.  There it will hunt until the nights warm up to 60°F when it will fill the woodlands with its song once more.  Photo:  beauty-animal.blogspot.com

The DC Women's Hiking Group will hike Tues., May 28th and Thurs., May 30th at Wilton Town Forest in Wilton, CT.

The Town Forest is right down the road from Weir Farm. Drive south on Nod Hill Rd past Weir Farm to Patrick Lane, on the left. Follow to Boas Lane where there is a parking area.

Or drive eastbound on Rt. 102 to Nod Rd to Whipstick Rd,.

Turn left on Nod Hill Rd, to Patrick lane on right.

Meet at 8:30am.

The DC Women's Hiking Group will hike at Pine Mountain in Ridgefield on Tues., May 21st and Thurs., May 23rd.
Take Ridgebury Rd. to George Washington Highway.
Make right on to Pine Mountain Rd.
Parking area will be near end of road.
Meet at 8:30am.