Mountain Views News          Saturday, June 6, 2015

THE WORLD AROUND USMountain Views-News Saturday, June 6, 2015 14 THE WORLD AROUND USMountain Views-News Saturday, June 6, 2015 14 
PLUTO’S MOONS SEEN IN HIGHEST DETAIL YET 
taproot. It’s very woody, but theskin can be readily peeled off. I


add to salads and other dishes as 
give each student a piece of this

a tasty garnish.
root, and let them smell again.

 The tender flower tips which

The odor of the root is much more 

includes the tender stems— 

pungent, and unmistakable. I

somewhat resembling Chinese 

encourage them to taste a bit.

broccoli—can be snapped free,

“Tastes like radish,” most will say.

steamed or boiled, and served 

Yes, indeed! It smells and tastes 

with butter, cheese, or a spicy

like radish because that’s what 

sauce. You’d serve this very

it is. This is the same botanical 

much like asparagus, except they

plant which is cultivated, except

are much spicier.

this one is feral. 
The green seedpods, which

For most people, the wild radish 

somewhat resemble jalapeño or

root bears little resemblance 

serrano chiles, can be nibbled 

to the little round red things

when they are still tender inside

purchased in supermarkets,

and haven’t gotten woody. You

and eaten at Thanksgiving. And

can add the chopped tender

because the wild root is so woody,

pods to soups and salads, or try

it really isn’t all that useful for

pickling them. Once they get

food, unless you want to take the

old, and white inside, they are

time to peel each root and use just

already too old to eat and should

the skin. 

be left alone to produce seed.
Occasionally, during wet 

 I make pickles very simply. I

winters and in very rich soil,

first wash a few cups worth of the

the radish plant will produce

tender pods, and then pack them

a root that is much less woody

into quart jars. I cover with raw

and more-or-less edible raw in 

apple cider vinegar, and just let

salad, if you slice it up. Yes, it is

them set in the refrigerator for

much spicier than its domestic

a few weeks before eating. The

counterpart, but it can be eaten

vinegar will preserve them for 

raw in rare cases. 

years. 
During one very wet year, I


RECOGNIZING THE WILD 

pulled an amazing 16 pound wild

RADISH 

radish root from out of the thick 
pile of wood chips in which it was

As the plant flowers, instead of

growing. No one could believe it!

the usual yellow mustard flowers,

In fact, I have never seen a root 

the flowers will be lavendar or 

that size since. It was bigger than

white, or very rarely a pale yellow.

a human head. We cut into it, and 

There is the typical Mustard 

it was hollow, with a mustard-

family flower formula of 4 petals,

smelling liquid inside. The flesh

4 sepals, 6 stamens (4 long and 2

Much ink has been spilled over Pluto’s 
reclassification as a dwarf planet. And yet, suchdiscussions have not diminished scientific interest 
in Earth’s most distant cousin. A new study is thefirst to reveal fascinating details about the orbitaland rotational patterns of Pluto and its five known 
moons. 

The study, published in the June 4, 2015,
issue of the journal Nature, describes a systemdominated by Pluto and its largest moon,
Charon, which together form a “binary planet.”
Four smaller moons orbit this pair. The paperreports the techniques used to discover the twosmallest moons, Kerberos and Styx, and alsoprovides a detailed description of the strange andunpredictable rotational states of the two slightlylarger moons, Nix and Hydra.

Later this summer, NASA’s New Horizons 
spacecraft will pass by Pluto and its five knownmoons, providing the most detailed look at thisplanetary system to date. Kerberos and Styx werediscovered in 2011 and 2012, respectively, whileNix and Hydra were first discovered in 2005.

“Like good children, our moon and most otherskeep one face focused attentively on their parentplanet,” said Douglas Hamilton, professor ofastronomy at the University of Maryland and a coauthor 
of the Nature study. “What we’ve learned isthat Pluto’s moons are more like ornery teenagerswho refuse to follow the rules.” 

The imbalanced and dynamically shiftinggravitational field created by Pluto and 
Charon sends the smaller moons tumbling inunpredictable ways. The effect is amplified by thefact that the moons are roughly football shaped,
rather than rounded spheres. The findings are theresult of a comprehensive analysis of Hubble SpaceTelescope data regarding the orbits and propertiesof the four smaller moons. 

In contrast to these seemingly random rotationalmotions, the moons follow a surprisinglypredictable pattern as they orbit the binary planetformed by Pluto and Charon. Three of them—
Nix, Styx and Hydra—are locked together inresonance, meaning that their orbits follow aclockwork pattern of regularity. The same effectcan be seen in three of Jupiter’s large moons.

“The resonant relationship between Nix, Styxand Hydra makes their orbits more regular andpredictable, which prevents them from crashinginto one another,” Hamilton said. “This is one 
reason why tiny Pluto is able to have so manymoons.” 

The study also revealed that Kerberos is as dark 

as charcoal, while the other moons are as brightas white sand. “This is a very provocative result,”
said lead author Mark Showalter, a senior research 
scientist at the SETI Institute. Astronomers had 
predicted that dust created by meteorite impactsshould coat all the moons evenly, giving theirsurfaces a uniform look. 

“Prior to the Hubble observations, nobodyappreciated the intricate dynamics of the Plutosystem,” Showalter said. The New Horizons flyby in 

July may help solve the mystery of Kerberos’ darksurface, and will refine scientists’ understandingof the odd rotational and orbital patternsuncovered by Hubble. The New Horizons teamis using Showalter and Hamilton’s discoveries tohelp guide science planning efforts.

Among other expected insights, a more detailedstudy of the chaotic Pluto-Charon system couldreveal how planets orbiting a distant binary starmight behave. Although many exoplanets have 

been found to orbit binary stars, these star systemsare too far away to figure out their rotationalpatterns using existing technology.

“We are learning that chaos may be a commontrait of binary systems,” Hamilton said. “It mighteven have consequences for life on planets orbitingbinary stars.” 

You can contact Bob Eklund at: b.eklund@ 
MtnViewsNews.com. 


By Christopher Nyerges 

[Nyerges is the author of severalbooks on self-reliance and survival, 
including “Guide to Wild Foodsand Useful Plants,” “ForagingCalifornia,” and more. He has 
led Wild Food Outings since 
1974. He can be reached at www. 
SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com, or Box 
41834, Eagle Rock, CA 90041.] 

When I encounter a field of wild radishes in the 
spring, I attempt to get my students to identify it by thearoma alone. I’ll first crush a bit of the stem, and let 
them smell it. 

“Oh, that’s very familiar” most of them will say. ThenI will pull up a root, which is a long carrot-like white


DISCOVERING THE WILD RADISH 


Raphanus sativus and R. raphanistrum 

are good in salads, you’d probably not care for a saladof only radish leaves. Mix them with other greens, andtoss in some tomatoes and avocado. 

The leaves can also be added to soups, egg dishes,
and stews, used in pretty much the same way you’d usespinach greens. 

The white to lavendar flowers are quite tasty andsweet when you first pick and nibble them, but yourmouth will get very hot. Eat them sparingly. Manytimes I’ve been out on a field trip with children, andthey taste a radish, and they like it. They eat another.
And another. And another. And before you know it,
they’re all yelling for water, which they all were askedto leave back in the school bus! 

You can pick the flowers and


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com 

was perhaps up to two inchesthick, and though a bit fibrous, was largely edible. Weall sampled a little of the raw, and very hot, root.

Normally, you won’t be eating the wild radish root,
but it’s still a very good find. Why? Because every partof the wild radish plant which is tender can be eaten!
And each part has a different texture and flavor whichlends it to different recipes. 

EATING WILD RADISH 

The leaves can be collected at any time in their growingcycle, cut into small pieces, and added to salads. Theyare hot and spicy, so add to other greens. Though they 

short), and 1 pistil. The flowersare followed by fleshy seedpods that resemble pointedjalapeño peppers. 

The root of wild radish is a white taproot, not at alllike the radish you might grow in your garden or buy inthe store. It is largely woody and inedible, though thereis a soft outer layer that can be peeled off. The taste ofthis outer root layer is so obviously “radish” that mostanyone can identify this plant by that aroma and flavor. 

Overall, wild radish can get up to 4 and 5 feet inideal conditions. You find it in fields, wet bottom lands, 
farms, vacant lots, and disturbed soils.