Memberships and CM Diagrams of the Open Cluster NGC 7243

The results of astrometric and photometric investigations of the open cluster NGC 7243 are presented. Proper motions of 2165 stars with root-mean-square error of 1.1 mas/yr were obtained by means of PDS scanning of astrometric plates covering the time interval of 97 years. A total of 211 cluster members down to V=15.5 mag have been identified. V and B magnitudes have been determined for 2118 and 2110 stars respectively. Estimations of mass (348Mo < M < 522Mo), age (t=2.5x10^8 yr), distance (r=698 pc) and reddening (E(B-V)=0.24) of the cluster NGC 7243 have been made.Comment: 24 pages, 15 figures. Submitted to Astronomy and Astrophysic

Lichens of Cypress Island, Washington: The Seen and the Unseen

A group of Northwest Lichenologists explored the lichen biodiversity on Cypress Island in the San Juan Islands on the Pacific coast north of Seattle, hosted by the Washington Department of Natural Resources. We compiled our observations separately by habitat: (1) uplands with serpentine bedrock, (2) uplands with basalt bedrock, and (3) rocky saltwater shorelines. Combining our results with previous efforts, we report 243 lichen species from Cypress Island. Despite the respectable species list, we were struck by the absence of numerous species that are regionally common. We report those here, but were unable to be convinced by various hypotheses for their absence. They fall in several functional groups, including nitrophiles, cyanolichens, oceanic species, and widespread green algal foliose species. In addition to a traditional species list, we present two artistic expressions of the lichen biota