For the last couple of months, Terry has been scouring the Internet in search of a female Rottweiler to rescue. He spends hours on the PetFinder web site. He has found several beautiful Rotties, but unfortunately they end up being two or three states away, and even then, when we call, they’ve already been adopted. We may even take a roadtrip one of these weekends to Omaha to a Rottweiler rescue organization up there.
Terry’s frustration with the search for a female Rottweiler has been first and foremost the poor quality of photographs taken of the adoptees. His second gripe is misclassification of dogs as Rottweilers. He has almost reached the point of purchasing a pure-bred female from a breeder.
I can understand how difficult it can be to capture a canine in a photo. Especially if they are young (puppyish and frisky) or even old (and tired and lazy and not wanting to be bothered). A Rottweiler looks best in profile, usually standing. This shows off the breed’s distinctive characteristics to best effect. Over the seven years we enjoyed with Roxy, I managed to capture her in profile numerous times.
Roxy (Feb 2005)Roxy (May 2005)Roxy (May 2005)Roxy (Dec 2005)Roxy (May 2006)Roxy (May 2006)Roxy (June 2006)Roxy (May 2007)Roxy (Apr 2008)Roxy (May 2010)Roxy (Dec 2010)Roxy (May 2011)Roxy (Nov 2011)Roxy (Mar 9, 2011 – two days before she died – and the last photo I ever took of her)
I received the honor of selecting the Member’s Choice reading selection for July 2012 at the GoodReadsScience Fiction & Fantasy Book Club. I reviewed the bookshelf of read books for the club (over a hundred since January 2008) and then reviewed my five star rated books. I narrowed the selection down to just three, two of which I’ve read (multiple times) and one I have wanted to read for many months.
Choices Three
The Silent Tower by Barbara Hambly
The group has only read one other book written by Barbara Hambly, but she is a prolific fantasy author that deserves more attention.
I honed in on The Silent Tower because it remains one of my favorite Hambly novels. Here’s a brief synopsis to tease you:
In a world where wizards are relegated to ghettos, it is no surprise to see one murdered in the street. But for Stonne Caris, a young warrior monk who sees the killing and gives chase to the culprit, there is nothing ordinary about seeing a murderer disappear into a black, inky portal. The Archmage sends him in search of Antryg Windrose—a half-mad mage who understands the nature of these passages between dimensions.
On the other side of the Void is Joanna, a programmer as mild as Caris is deadly. She has spent her life in cubicles, staring into computer terminals, as far from heroism as she can get. But when the power that is crossing between dimensions draws her through the Void, she finds herself battling to save a world she never even knew existed.
Average GoodReads Rating: 3.92 stars (on a five star scale) based on 819 ratings
Availability: Only the ebook edition is currently in production (I found the best price at Kobo for $7.69; not DRM-free).
The Diamond Throne by David Eddings
It shocked me to learn that the SF&F book club had not read any of David Eddings‘ works; not even from his hugely popular Belgariad series. He also happens to be one of the two fantasy authors I can get my husband to read and I give full credit to the voice of Sparhawk.
Synopsis/Teaser:
Sparhawk, Pandion Knight and Queen’s Champion, returned to Elenia after ten years of exile, only to find his young Queen Ehlana trapped in a block of ensorcelled crystal. Only the great sorcery of Sephrenia, ageless instructor of magic, kept her alive — but the spell would only last a year, and it’s cost was tragically high.
Now a Prince Regent ruled Elenia, the puppet of Annias, ambitious Primate of the Church who planned to seize power over all the land.
As Sparhawk and Sephrenia set out to find a cure for Ehlana, Sephrenia revealed that there was only one person in the west who could defeat the evil plots against Ehlana. That person was Sparhawk.
Average GoodReads Rating: 3.83 stars (on a five star scale) based on 8,983 ratings
Availability: A mass market paperback edition is still in production. No ebook edition is available.
Last Light of the Sun by Guy Gavriel Kay
And last, but definitely not least, I settled upon a novel I have wanted to read for months, but can never seem to squeeze into my reading queue: Guy Gavriel Kay‘s The Last Light of the Sun.
I’m not sure of the protocol with respect to recommending and leading the discussion of a book that I haven’t actually read yet, but Kay has never disappointed me. In fact, he always inspires me and leaves me awestruck.
Synopsis/Teaser:
From his very first books, the trilogy known as the Fionavar Tapestry, Guy Gavriel Kay was recognized as one of the world’s finest and most innovative writers working with the fantasy tradition. In later works he has taken on, with striking success, an alternative history of Europe, which reached a pinnacle with 2004’s The Last Light of the Sun. Set at the hinge moment of Britain’s Alfred the Great’s enlightened reign (he’s known as Aeldred in Kay’s parallel Europe), Last Light is a drama of cultural clash and change in a world shadowed by the presence of faerie but deeply engaged with human questions of ethics and honour.
Average GoodReads Rating: 3.79 stars (on a five star scale) based on 2,291 ratings
Availability: Several versions are in print, including mass market paperback and trade paperback editions. An ebook edition is also available, but quite pricey at $12.99.
Selection Conundrum
My dilemma remains. I cannot decide which of the above novels to put forth to the group for next month’s Member’s Choice selection. I selfishly lean towards the Kay novel, because I really would rather read something new. But I equally yearn to introduce more readers to either Hambly or Eddings (at least his less well known Elenium series). I have a few days (less than a week) to make up my mind, so I’m soliciting your opinion through this blog post and the poll below. Votes and comments welcome.
Well, obviously (to me anyway) the twenty-third anniversary of the birth of my daughter, Rachelle, that’s what.
I want to take this opportunity to stroll down memory lane and share a few memories with you.
Rachelle ‘climbing’ the ‘mountain’ … one of my favorite early photos of her (c. 1990)Silly family photo (c. 1989 or 1990)Flower girl, Rachelle, and ring boy, Derek, at my brother’s wedding.
We’ll skip ahead a few years (the years during which I took mostly video to VHS-C tape and not film photos), to the time when Rachelle perfected ‘the look’ of exasperation because I loved taking candids of her with a digital camera.
Rachelle giving me the ‘look’ during vacation Bible school (c. 2005)On the tennis court (c. 2004)
Of course, there was the ever changing (sometimes by the week) hair color:
Blonde, First day of School as a Freshman (c. 2004)Reddish Blonde (c. Sumer 2004)Black and Teal (c. Summer 2005)
Rachelle played various team sports, including soccer at a young age (and I can’t find any of those photos, probably because they are in a box in the basement with the videotapes of the games). She also learned some judo and jujitsu, but never competed. Besides tennis (shown previously above), she also played fast pitch softball for a couple of years:
Rachelle on the field during the season opener (May 2003)
Rachelle played lacrosse for three years, the only female in an all-male league, who went undefeated that last year and she earned the Player of the Year award from her coaches.
Bulldogs Goal Tender (c. 2005)
But singing became her first love and most beautiful talent, joining a youth choir in third grade and continuing to perfect her voice through a succession of choirs and voice instructors.
Performing her solo at the Honor Recital (c. 2006)
Rachelle graduated from high school with honors.
Graduate Rachelle (May 2007)
Rachelle received two full scholarships (one academic, one music) to attend a local community college, where she continued her pursuit of vocal performance in various choirs and voice studios, including the Jazz Choir (notice the dark hair color).
Rachelle performing with the Jazz Choir (Mar 2008)
She gradauted with honors, but declined to attend graduation, so I have no photos of that non-event. In August 2009, just three months after graduating, she moved to North Texas (as did her brother and his wife). Rachelle enrolled at the University of North Texas and Derek joined the Guildhall at SMU. Terry and I found ourselves empty nesters rather abruptly.
Funny Face (Apr 2010)
Rachelle studied abroad in Europe (Germany mostly) during the Summer of 2010.
Rachelle with her Dad before leaving on the plane for Europe (May 2010)
For the last three years, Terry and I have made the annual Thanksgiving trip to North Texas to visit them.
Rachelle transfers the ‘look’ to her boyfriend (finally, I’m spared) (Nov 2010)
But she still tries to hide from my camera.
Rachelle and Terry hiding from my camera while tailgating at the UNT v KSU football game (Nov 2010)
And both my kids know how to ham it up for a photo.
Rachelle (smiling sillily) with Derek (Dec 2010)
For Christmas, Rachelle comes home (usually by plane) and Derek and Royna rent a car and drive up to visit. Usually, she helps me trim the Christmas tree.
Setting up the Christmas Treet (Dec 2010)
This past spring has taken us to North Texas twice. First to visit for Easter and second to attend Rachelle’s graduation (again with honors – manga cum laude) from UNT.
Rachelle hamming it up with the Easter eggs (Apr 2012)Derek congratulating Rachelle with a bear hug (May 2012)
Rachelle really needs to overcome her shyness problem when I point a camera (any camera, including my cell phone) at her.
Soon-to-be Graduate Student of Vocal Performance (May 2012)
And so I reach the twenty-third photo featuring my daughter, on this her twenty-third birthday.
Rachelle performing at her Senior Voice Recital (UNT, May 2012)
Visually stunning, yet pathetically deficient in plot and character development. I’ve experienced better thrills from old school Hitchcock films. I found myself completely unconcerned if any of the characters survived, except perhaps Shaw. For the crew of a scientific expedition, I cringed at their crudeness and lack of anything resembling common sense or the scientific method. I also found it hard to swallow that we could achieve near FTL speeds in just eighty years (the time of launch the Prometheus being in the early 2090s).
The question I most want answered, dealt with the first scene in the movie. Here’s a brief description of that scene from the Wikipedia article referenced by the link above and the photo at right:
A humanoid alien stands above a waterfall as a hovering spacecraft departs. The alien drinks a dark liquid, then starts to disintegrate. As its bodily remains cascade into the waterfall, the alien’s DNA triggers a biogenetic reaction.
If we take the Prometheus analogy literally, then this alien created man on Earth in our distant past. This jives with the myth of the Titan Prometheus, who “is credited with the creation of man from clay and the theft of fire for human use, an act that enabled progress and civilization. He is known for his intelligence, and as a champion of mankind.”
But did he destroy himself voluntarily? Was he our champion, bringing not only fire, but life to our planet?
Or, as most of the movie implied, did he create us only because he could?
If this lone alien was a rebel among his kind, this would explain the behavior of the alien we meet towards the end of the film. His quest appeared to be the extermination of mankind, but his motivations remain unclear. Were we a failed experiment? an embarrassment? Or a possible threat in the eons to come?
Such rich clay to work with, yet the director muddied the plot with cliched ineffective unoriginal thrills, leaving the larger questions ineptly explored.
Mesmerizing cinematography fades quickly through the mind-sucking black holes in the plot. I should have waited for the DVD. Don’t repeat my mistake.
As ditzy as Roxy could be (I often mused she should have been a blonde), she could occasional be a typical Rottweiler; the perfect example of the definition of hardheadedness: obstinate, stubborn, willful (sort of like the daughter who rescued her from the dog pound). But I’m not going to talk about the softer, more abstract aspects of hardheadedness today. I need to expound on something just a bit more concrete, and significantly harder: The density and unyielding properties of Roxy’s skull.
Have you ever been headbutted by a Rottweiler? I have, more than once (and I saw stars flash before my eyes almost every time). I didn’t go seeking contusions and concussions, but Roxy happily dished them out, most of the time as a byproduct of her exuberance to greet me or play or, come to think of it, if anything remotely resembling food became involved. And while I held my aching head between my hands and moaned, Roxy continued on, oblivious to the aura of destruction emanating from her thick cranium. In fact, she would stare at me, the picture of innocence, even while my eyes struggled to refocus through the haze of double or triple images generated immediately after impact, completely oblivious and waiting expectantly for me to interact with her.
Have you ever almost bitten through your tongue because a Rottweiler uppercut you unexpectedly with her head in her excited rush for attention? I have (and I took precautions to never repeat that experience).
When I asked Terry if he had any fond memories of being bashed by Roxy’s skull, he related an incident where he had called Roxy to jump up on our bed, where he had been reclining. She ran across the room, launched herself into the middle of our queen sized bed from a location roughly midway between the door and the bed and barreled into Terry. I hope he didn’t have his glasses on (I forgot to ask him that) but he did say his vision went black for a couple of seconds after the collision.
I spoke to Rachelle, who couldn’t remember ever running afoul of Roxy’s hard head. She must have been more agile than her aging parents and the ditzy train-wreck of a Rottweiler named Roxy.
Rachelle and Roxy (Christmas 2010)
It’s been three months, come Monday, since Roxy left us. On a much happier note, Rachelle celebrates the anniversary of her birth on Tuesday.
I decided to take a day of vacation from work yesterday. Even though the Transit of Venus wouldn’t start until shortly after five o’clock in the afternoon, I didn’t want to miss any of it, especially the beginning. I wiled away the day reading, baking bread and making strawberry shortcake. I also tested the scope (but not the camera) around noon, getting a clear picture in my mind of the current configuration of our nearest stellar neighor.
As the clock approached four in the afternoon, I laid out all my equipment, sunscreen, sunglasses, umbrella and collapsable chair, making sure I had everything I would need for an observing session that would last several hours on a slightly warmer than normal and sunny June afternoon. My prayers had been answered in part, at least, for clear skies (releatively clear, except for some humidity, haziness and wispy stratus clouds). I proved to be my own worst enemy, though, because while washing my hair, I managed to get an entire palmful of shampoo in my right eye, which happens to be my ‘good’ eye – the one I use to focus and observe with. My eye watered for the rest of the day, but at least didn’t appear to have any problems focusing.
Observing Venus Transit from Lansing, Kansas
I packed everything in the car and had my husband drive me to my previously selected observing spot. It’s my new favorite location for observing and photographing day-time astronomical events that require an unobstructed view of the western horizon (and it’s close to home so I don’t spend time and gas money to get there). In the last few weeks from this spot, I’ve observed a solar eclipse, earthshine on the moon (with Venus nearby), a lunar eclipse and yesterday my first (and only) Venus transit. I unpacked the equipment, said goodbye to my husband (who would return later to catch a glimpse of the ‘black dot’ that would be Venus crossing the sun) and started setting up the scope. My dad joined me, sometime between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m., as he got tied up with rush hour traffic on US-73 southbound from north Leavenworth to south Lansing.
I had parked the scope when I used it around noon, leaving it in a polar mount configuration. I knew I wouldn’t be able to re-align it to Polaris when I transported it from my backyard to this other site, but I could get ‘in the ballpark’ enough to track the sun and take photographs. The most challenging aspect of taking photographs through the Meade ETX-90 with the Pentax K100D attached to it is focusing. The viewfinder on the camera presents a very small ‘live’ view of the object (in this case the filtered image of the sun). The sunspots, which appeared very large and distinct when observing through the telescopes eyepiece under magnification, were tiny pinpricks through the camera. Focusing became easier once the large black dot of Venus appeared, but before that, resolving the sunspots proved troublesome. With that in mind, here’s a photo from immediately prior to the transit of Venus commencing:
Sun immediately prior to Transit of Venus (5:04 pm Central) – click image to see the rest of the album (39 photos)
I choose this location also in the hopes that people would see me on the hill overlooking Main Street and stop by to have a look (or at least ask me what the heck I thought I was doing so I could then explain and convince them to take a look). Over the course of the next three hours, I had between fifteen and twenty people stop and take a look at the transit through my telescope. The first group to stop had seen me there before, back in May for the solar eclipse. I asked them to wait a couple of minutes because I was taking a serious of photographs to capture the first and second contacts of Venus:
Cropped series of photos taken of the first and second contacts of Venus (spanning time from 5:05 to 5:23 pm Central) – click image to see slideshow
One of the last group included an entire family who had seen me on their way to a baseball game (for their young son) and stopped on the way back after the game. They pursuaded their grandmother to leave the car and take a look. By that time though, the sun had entered some thicker clouds and was close to setting, so the light getting through the solar filter created a dim red hazy image, but Venus’ black sillouette was still clearly visible.
Sun setting, but the black dot of Venus clearly visible to my naked eye through the 200 mm telephoto lens of my camera
After the sun set, Dad and I packed up the equipment and said our goodbyes. We were both tired, from standing, sometimes bending over, occasionally sitting, but always baking in the late afternoon June sun. I went home, ate some leftovers, grabbed 140 photos off my cameras memory card and selected one or two to upload and share with friends and family. I didn’t have the energy last night to review so many photos. I called my daughter, who lives in Texas, to see if she had a chance to witness the transit. She reported she did, as her university setup several scopes near their Environment Sciences lab building and she got to see the sun through a hydrogen-alpha filter (which I am saving up for as they are not cheap). I also tuned in to NASA’s live feed both on my laptop and via DirecTV (channel 289) for a few minutes before succumbing to my need for sleep.
First thing this morning when I awoke, I began sifting through the photos and settled on thirty-nine good shots to upload and share. I discovered, though, that I have some debris on my camera mirror and will need to have it cleaned. See if you can find the debris that looks like a sunspot but travels around the surface of the sun (but not the frame of the picture).
Later this week, I will attempt to qualify for an observing certificate from NASA using the Paralax Activity Method #1 (I can’t do the other two because I only witnessed about half of the transit before the sun set). But first I’ll read and review the Mathematics of the Transit of Venus to make sure my aging brain remembers college math.
I am so glad I had the opportunity to witness the Transit of Venus. I sincerely hope you took advantage to sneak a peak. Only our grandkids (or great-grandkids) will see the next one, in 2117.
I set my alarm for 4:30 a.m. before I fell asleep Sunday night. The alarm woke me and I stumbled to the west facing window in my bedroom and couldn’t find the full moon. I assumed, blearily and incorrectly, that the moon must be hidden by clouds. I crossed over to my library and its east facing window and couldn’t see any stars (not unusual though that near to dawn and with the amount of light pollution I suffer from). I went back to bed.
My regular alarm woke me at 5:00 a.m. sharp like it always does. I checked my windows again, but this time my east facing window showed a mostly blue sky. That gave me a jolt, almost like a hot cup of coffe. I immediately began rushing around the house, throwing on clothes and grabbing my camera bag. I jumped in the car and drove to my closest vantage poitn with an adequate western horizon view. I could see the moon, already partially eclipsed, but obscured by some thin clouds and lots of haze.
Clouds obscured the moon (click on image for rest of album)
I wondered to myself why the moon seemed to be setting in the southwest. I stood in the same spot from where I watched and photographed the solar eclipse just two weeks before and at that time, both the moon and the sun set almost due west. I did spend some time today trying to find an explanation or graph or plot to explain to me visually why the moon’s orbit diverged so greatly over a half month. I’m still searching for a satsifactory answer.
Moon (far left) and camera (far right). Two weeks ago, the moon and sun set to the right of my camera (out of frame).
I settled in to a routine, snapping photos every few seconds or minutes, sometimes adjusting the shutter speed, or the aperture. I occassionally switched back to autonatic mode, letting the camera decide for itself what settings to use (usually producing photos I didn’t care for). By 5:30, the moon had almost set behind the hill to the southwest of my location.
Partial Lunar Eclipse as seen from Lansing, Kansas (click on image for rest of album)
I took a total of sixty photos, not including the one above taken with my call phone, so if you are a true glutton for punishment, click on the photos above to review the entire album. I didn’t have time this morning before leaving for work to review and filter out the obvious duds.
If I had realized the moon would set so early, I would have driven to a better site where I didn’t have a tall hill between me and the southwestern horizon. I mistakenly assumed the moon would set in the west and opted to use a location only a few blocks from my home.
Tomorrow, I will be at the same spot, but at a different time, to observe and photograph the Transit of Venus. You should be able to see me and my telescope from Main Street in Lansing during rush hour tomorrow afternoon. Stop by and have a look at a once-in-a-lifetime event. If you live in the Kansas City metro area, you have multiple locations from which to view the transit (click here for more information thanks to the Astronomincal Society of Kansas City).
John Reed leads a workshop on widefield astrophotography with a DSLR at MSRAL (Sun 03 Jun 2012)
After a handulf of hours sleeping, I drug myself out of bed early Sundy morning. Rather than eating breakfast, I composed my blog post recapping Saturday at the MSRAL convention. I published at ten after eight o’clock, leaving me less than an hour to drive to UMKC from Lansing. The last day of the convention consisted of a morning dedicated to three workshops. Not knowing what I might need, I packed up my laptop and my DSLR camera and zipped down I-70, arriving with about ten minutes to spare.
I burdened myself with my laptop bag, camera backpack, purse and water bottle and trudged up the stairs to the Student Union. I opted not to take the additional four flights of stairs on the interior of the building, taking full advantage of the elevator to the top floor. I planted myself on the first row (as I’ve done each day of the convention) so I wouldn’t have any trouble hearing or seeing (or taking photographs like the one above).
First Workshop: Widefield Astrophotography with a DSLR by John Reed
Very interesting workshop on using consumer camera equipment (a Canon DSLR and a 200 mm telephoto with an AstroTrac mount) and some post-production work with Photoshop for stunning astrophotography.
Second Workshop: Variable Star Research with Modern Amateur Equipment by Jim Roe
The middle workshop presented by Jim Roe dealt with variable stars and doing some hands on scientific observation and research. I got to know his old friend Z Umi (a variable star in the Little Dipper).
Third Workshop: Successful Web Cam Astronomy by David Kolb
David Kolb answering questions after his Successful Web Cam Astronomy workshop at MSRAL (Sun 03 Jun 2012)
The final workshop of the day got really hands on, for those who wanted to participate in the step-by-step process of massaging web cam videos taken of Saturn to produce a nice crisp stacked image. The entire presentation will be uploaded to David’s website (Sunflower Astronomy) in the near future.
Final Musings on the Convention
I learned so much and met some great people. I have many fascinating ideas and concepts revolving through my brain and many new projects I’m inspired to pursue. I look forward to attending similar conferences when they pass through the area again.
Beautiful, clear morning from atop the UMKC Student Union (looking northwest ~ June 2, 2012)
I survived the second day of the MSRAL convention. I think I overdosed on science, as my brain worked overtime while I slept to process the fascinating concepts, breakthroughs and forthcoming projects in astronomy and astrophysics I absorbed Saturday.
I arrived just in time to wait for the business meeting (scheduled for the eight o’clock hour) to run over into the first session. I strolled around the fourth floor of the UMKC Student Union, watching the venders setup their tables in the room adjacent to the main conference one. Several conference attendees also brought their solar telescopes and began setting them up on the rooftop deck of the building to facilitate solar observing throughout the entire day (and we had crystal clear skies for the duration).
Public investment in science led to a boom in our economy.
In the 20 year history of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), more than ten thousand (10,000) scientific papers have been published.
Out of our huge $3.7 trillion federal budget, only 0.85 percent of it relates to science funding (NSF, NASA, DOE, etc.) or about $60 per year per family.
Is Science a Good Investment? It inspires dreams, drives innovation, new technologies (just a few of NASA’s 6,000 patents and 2,000 spinoff ventures: water filters, cordless tools, shoe insoles, memory foam, scratch resistant lenses, UV sunglasses, cell phone cameras), which lead to economic growth and we, the public, come to rely on the new technology (GPS, weather, communication satellites).
Local amateur astronomer discovers comet (skipped most of this session because I saw it at a club meeting in March).
I returned to the stairs leading from the third floor to the top floor of the Student Union for the group photo just before we broke for lunch. I ended up standing in the second row directly behind Fred Bruenjes (see local comet discoverer mentioned above).
Solar observing
Afternoon sessions:
Location of the Kepler Mission FOV on the Sky
Helioseismology leads to Asteroseismology via the Kepler satellite aka Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star: The End of Wondering in the Era of Asteroseismology. presented by Dr. Bruce Twarog. This session really stretched my flabby scientific brain muscles. The professor presented his topic with great enthusiasm. I took copious notes, because I knew I needed to research and review most of what he talked about. The first portion of his talk dealt with some history, including a crash course in Fourier transforms. Once we were all on the same page, he could talk about helioseismology. Finally, we connect the dots of how the data gathered by the Keppler Mission can build upon our discoveries in our own sun and apply them to other stars in a leading edge branch of astronomical research called asteroseismology.
Webcam Imaging by David Kolb: Interesting, but it seems like an awful lot of post-production work involving a myriad variety of software packages. I will learn more this morning during a workshop with this presenter.
Another interesting topic, where paleontology was used to find our Nemesis (or not), presented by Dr. Adrian Melott and I even found the publication from 2010: Nemesis Reconsidered
NASA’s Night Sky Network – There actually is an app for that (stargazing that is). All these tools, kits, videos and services provided free by NASA to astronomy clubs around the country.
Evening Keynote: LSST by Dr. Barbara Anthony-Twarog. Wow, just wow. This telescope, when it becomes operational (currently proposed completion and operational in 2022), will survey the sky like never before. All the data (15 terabytes per night) will be freely available to everyone (not just the US public, but the entire world). By the time it finishes its ten year run, there may be nothing left for traditional observers (both professional and amateur astronomers alike) to discover. The future of astronomical research will no longer rely on observations, but will need computer scientists and data miners to sift through the avalanche of data produced by the LSST.
I moved my vehicle from the parking lot next to the Student Union to the parking garage next to Royall Hall, parking on the fourth level to take the sky bridge across to the building and then a couple of flights of stairs up to the rooftop observatory. The nearly full moon shone exceptionally bright on a clear, calm evening. We trained the 16 inch telescope on it, at least until the sky darkened enough to move on to other targets. I snapped a quick photo with my cell phone of the bright moon through the eyepiece:
We moved on to Saturn and stayed there until I had to leave (around 10:30) because I had a forty minute drive home and had been up since five.
I saw my first iridium flare last night. What is an iridium streak, you ask? Check out the Heavens Above web page to find out and to search for a streaker in your neighborhood (sky that is).
I enjoyed my second day at the convention. I learned more than I can possibly absorb on just five hours of sleep. In just a few minutes, I return for the final half-day of workshops. I’ll post my final thoughts later this afternoon, perhaps after I’ve had a nap.
Since the late 80s, I have attended many conventions, all across the country. All of those conventions had one thing in common with the convention I’m attending this weekend in Kansas City: Science. Well, that’s not entirely true, those other conventions also included stars, but I’ll let that rest for a moment and wait for the shoe to drop.
Yep. I frequently attended science fiction conventions, mostly of the Star Trek flavor, but more recently of a more eclectic variety, culminating in a trip to Atlanta last fall to attend one of the largest in the country called Dragon*Con. I won’t be repeating the experience this fall. In fact, I could have attended the local science fiction convention, ConQuest, hosted annually over Memorial Day Weekend by the Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society. But none of the guests of honor intrigued me, so I decided to embark on a harder challenge.
The convention started Friday evening at six o’clock with the Star-B-Que, catered by Jack Stack, at Union Station, followed by a program at the Gottlieb Planetarium.
Friday, of course, was a work day for me. Normally, I can make it home to Lansing by 5:25 p.m., after dropping off all my vanpool riders. Fortunately, one of my riders left early for a weekend trip, and it just happened to be the person whose home is fifteen minutes off my direct route home. So, I managed to make it back to Lansing by 5:10, giving me enough time to change clothes, put some gas in the car, and fly back to midtown Kansas City. I made it to I-670 and within sight of my goal by five ’til six. Then all traffic became a parking lot and I began to panic. I exited I-670 midway across the bottoms and took a slight detour around Kemper Arena, approaching Union Station from the west-southwest. I could not believe the amount of traffic! Something was going on, because streets were barricaded and people were flocking to the midtown and/or Crown Center area in droves. I wanted to scream! I finally wound myself through the mess, using an old shortcut I knew from my days of working next to Union Station (in the Two Pershing Square building) and arrived only ten minutes late.
I picked up my registration packet and got in line for the barbecue. I sat at a table and met some new astronomers and reacquainted myself with some ASKC club members. Seven o’clock arrived quicker than I thought it would, and we all migrated to the planetarium for several very interesting programs presented by Jack Dunn of the Mueller Planetarium in Lincoln, Nebraska. He awed us with parts of several shows, including a moon tour via the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Jupiter via Science on a Sphere projection and a beautiful one created by Kagaya (a Japanese artist) called A Starry Tale. He closed the evening with a teaser trailer on the seventh planet, by popular request.
Cloudy Sunset from Union Station
Announcements and updates followed and the disappointing news that neither Powell nor the Warko observatories would be opened up this evening, thanks to the clouds (see photo of sunset from Union Station at the left). So, I found myself heading west towards the sunset and home much earlier than I anticipated.
Today will be full of sessions and workshops. I can’t decide whether to take my laptop with me or not, as suggested during the announcements last night. It’s heavy and bulky and I’d have to worry about it and lug it around with me all day. I think I’ll forgo the hassle and rely on pen and paper and my Nook Color tablet for notes and research.
My only disappointment today will be not entering in the astrophotagraphy contest. I did not review the MSRAL Convention website well enough in advance to obtain quality prints of a few of my best photos from the last few months. The photos I would have entered are shown below (click images for larger versions).
Prometheus
