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Sometimes I just can’t concentrate at home with all the distractions, so today, I decided to head out on the road and find some place nearby to study. I mean I know I could head to the bookstore or the trails behind my house, but I was looking for someplace more serene and pristine in some sense. As such, I began to drive towards Catalina, AZ (only 5min down the road) and from their I drove up the roads towards the mountains. Eventually I found a beautiful road leading right along the Santa Catalina Mountains (to which I believe, may be on some state trust land) but either way it was absolutely gorgeous and I found this little pull out that was absolutely perfect for my needs. So I sat out and studied for tomorrows Economics test (and of course while at it, I needed to take a photo….or 126 of them )

Here is a video we found today while working in the office. Its funny how we manage the public outreach and communications about the Mirror lab yet we haven’t found this video until today!

I’m going to be speaking this Saturday at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center as a part of the Ad Astra Kansas Initiative. The program is called the Galaxy Forum and is a part of an ongoing series of informational programs seeking to enrich science education in Kansas.

I am scheduled to talk about science (specifically astronomy, along with some physics.) education, and how to get students interested! This is truly quite a hard topic to cover as there is no “One Solution-Fits-All” answer, but from my own experience as an astronomy communicator/educator for 3 years, and the fact that I too am teenager (target audience), I should be able to provide helpful tips and information the teachers can use in their classrooms.

Right now, I am still working on the presentation and haven’t even gotten past slide 4 (I’ve been a bit picky about the layout ) but everything should, will be done by Saturday. If any of you are availble please do come out! It will be worth it for the trip, as after the event you can spend sometime in the beautiful museum/planetarium/IMAX theatre, and then head out to the BIG star party!

I just received and read my complimentary copy, which I’ve been eager to read for months! (Since I was traveling, I wasn’t able to check my mail ) Below you can read a scanned in copy of “On the Web: Stargazing with SLOOH” by Carolyn Gramling of Earth Magazine.

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“LCD LED Flat Screen TV Monitor Wall Mount Bracket CE9 http://bit.ly/clVVxC via @YoTwits #auction”

Many wondered if, ‘Obama’s NASA Budget cuts were hitting the agency that hard, that they sold the space station to Best Buy’. But truthfully the account was simply hacked….or maybe it was something more.

———-

IT’S THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION LOW EARTH ORBIT SUPER-SALE!!!
PRICES SO LOW THEY’RE OUT OF THE WORLD!

As you may have heard, the 2010 budget is hitting NASA hard. So now we’re making station cutbacks. Sucks for us but it’s great for you!

This 64″ plasma television – was $2999.99. NOW JUST $2000.00

This Sony 7.1 Home Theatre System – was $999.99. NOW JUST $600.00!!

This Microsoft XBox 360 Home Theatre setup with sound system, flatscreen tv, and surround sound system – was $2499.99. NOW JUST $1800.00!!

How can we do it? We’re rocket scientists! We did the math, we crunched the numbers, and now we’re passing the savings to you!

This Recession can’t last forever so come on down to Cape Canaveral and prepare to BLAST OFF FOR SAVINGS!

Finally the skies had cleared here in Dirmerzheim, Germany for me to take some photos. Sadly, I don’t have an equitorial mount with me, or a barn-door. So I’ve had to deal with limited exposures and star trails. Anyways, I was still pleased seeing some Milky Way to show up in the image, with all the light pollution from Koeln (Cologne).

To view the gallery simply click on the “Astrophotography” tab in the top right hand corner.

Only the image and the object are displayed on the page, while the image details can be viewed by clicking the link which brings you to the Flickr page of the image.

I will try and update the gallery as much as possible, so be sure to check back every so often!

The Dome

I just recently visited my first German public observatory, the Volkssternwarte Köln. The telescope and dome were absolutely beautiful, but the experience was completely different. Though I know from experience in the US, that observatories all operate differently in their own way, this one was quite different from any other experience I had.

The first big change for me was that it wasn’t the typical location of an observatory (okay it was in the big city which isn’t very usual for many observatories, but I know a few of those). The real difference was that it was located atop a school! It was really cool to go to the 4th floor of the school, go in a class room for the demonstration and walk up a winding stair case to the telescope dome!

The Outside View

The program started at 19:30 and we went right away up the stairs and into the telescope dome. Their were about 11 people including 2 volunteers/staff members. The dome was just big enough to fit us all it and had a nice sitting area along the wall for all (Except for me, I had to stand!).  As for the dome and scope itself, it was beautiful! The scope was nothing special, but the dome was a beautiful wooden interior with a metal outer shell.

The Interior

The Dome itself was the main highlight of my visit to the observatory, as the telescope was nothing too special. As we entered we listened to an introduction about the observatory as we waited for the sun to pop out of the clouds. After about 20min of talking about the observatory, and 20min of talking about the sun we finally had a chance to take a look. First a quick view through White Light (No Sunspots of Course), then a view through H-alpha (Which should us three beautiful prominences). After that we were done with the dome. I took a few more pics and then back down the stairs to the class room for the presentation.

Once downstairs we all gathered into a room and sat in front of a projector. The wall projected a large view of the famous planetarium software, Stellarium. We first received an introduction to the presenter and then he started talking about the night sky of Koeln. The program was said to be of the Solar system and meant to explain the types of bodies and review the planets. Well, after 30min of seeing what venus looks like going down in the sky in the planetarium software, we looked at how the motions of planets vary from those of star (for 20min), then we moved on to Saturn and reviewed its rings and heard about its moons. Sadly, this was the breaking point for me in the room. The presenter was a very nice guy, only the presentation was the driest, plainest, dumbed-down version of what the solar system is ever. Everyone in the room was bored and tired, two couples even left! Though I felt absolutely terrible about leaving, I didn’t want to sit there for another 2 hours.

Me at the VSWK

All in All, I must say the trip to the observatory was quite nice. I missed seeing a large telescope, and it was wonderful to see such a beautiful dome. The program was nothing special, and thanks to the experience I had, I doubt I would go back. But of course, it all depends on who present it and what should be presented. So maybe when someone else goes they might get a much better experience!

Pros: Beautiful Dome, Nice telescope, easy access, small groups, a lot of question time, more one on one experience.

Cons: Do not like photos to be taken, long explanations, Bad Program, Not Handicap accessible, Local Light Pollution is strong, some unfriendly staff.

When I heard the learn’d astronomer;
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me;
When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them;
When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick;
Till rising and gliding out, I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.

—Walt Whitman, 1891

The ATT is one of Europe’s largest astronomy conventions with hundreds (if not thousands) of people in attendance. According to their website, “You will find state-of-the-art telescopes and accessories as well as used and homemade instruments. Here you meet manufacturers and experienced amateur astronomers from all over Europe to share your thoughts with. Furthermore the ATT offers a platform for public presentation of observatories and astronomy clubs. In short, this is the place to be for anyone who is interested in astronomy.” As this sounds like something completely different to what I have been to, it should be a blast! I will surely be taking a bunch of pictures, and possibly tweeting if I have the ability. Other than that I will be sure to update later on about the ATT.

More information about the ATT is available at: http://www.att-boerse.de/ (In English: http://www.att-boerse.de/index_uk.html)