The Sky is Waiting.
Downtown Oklahoma City.
(All photos by the author).
If you’re like us, you’ve made that long drive across the state of Texas many, many times. The state is larger than many countries, and in fact was a nation long before joining the U.S of A. Anyone in the U.S. Air Force is familiar with Texas, as basic training starts off many a military career. [Read more...]
A U.S. Army launch vehicle on display at
Yuma Proving Grounds.
(All photos by author).
You just never know what you might find in your own backyard. This past week saw us transit from our Arizona adventures in Tucson to the town of Yuma. Located far in the southwestern corner of the state, Yuma sits right on the border with San Luis in Mexico to its south, and the town of Winterhaven, California to its west. [Read more...]
Eclipse!
All photos by the author.
I remember well the first time we laid eyes on Tucson and the desert southwest of Arizona way back in late 2001. As we came up over Texas Canyon from New Mexico and the expansive basin ahead stretched out before us, we were greeted by a terrain that was both alien and bizarre, as cacti replaced trees, and road runners and rattlesnakes seemed to be the dominant life form. [Read more...]
Astro-sculpture sighting:
Urania, the Muse of Astronomy in Salt Lake City
(All photos by the author).
They say that you can never go home again, but sometimes, you can still visit those old stomping grounds. This past week we’ve been heading in just such a direction as we crossed the border from Utah back in to Arizona.
Not that our stay in Salt Lake City wasn’t a much needed respite from the road. We actually used our week of ‘down time’ to write like the wind and catch up on those essentials, such as laundry, oil changes and bill paying. Yeah, those sorts of glamorous things tend to follow you, even on the road. [Read more...]
Hanging with Astro-Lab at Cathedral Gorge!
(All photos by author)
You just never know where the next saros cycle will find you.
We managed to wrap up the Nevada leg of our current journey over the past week and have since stopped briefly in Utah for a minor rest cycle. Of course, when travelling, this merely means that we’re taking the opportunity to stop long enough to catch up on chores and errands such as laundry, bills, oil changes, etc. Life doesn’t stop, even on the road. But we did manage to cram in some exciting visits in the past week: [Read more...]
Flight! Taking to the air with Soaring NV.
(All photos by author).
You’ve never truly flown until you’ve taken to the air in a glider.
This past week saw us cross the state of California from west to east, and depart Santa Rosa after last week’s adventures and cross over the Sierra Nevadas into the Silver State. Like most Americans, we’d “been to Vegas,” but soon found that we hadn’t truly been to Nevada. [Read more...]
Trotting across Long Beach…
(All photos by author).
Coming to the U.S. Northwest was strangely like coming home.
The past week of our travels saw us slow down a bit, as we crossed from the central part of Washington to its Pacific coast. You could almost smell the flannel in the air as we journeyed to the Mecca that is all things Grunge. [Read more...]
A waxing gibbous moon rises over the fields at Cherrywood Vineyards.
Think Washington is exclusively rainy skies, overpriced coffee and grunge rock? Think again…
Well, this past week we’ve wrapped up our Idaho adventures after a brief journey eastward to Wallace and the Center of the Universe and crossed the Evergreen State. And while Seattle gets all of the press, we can vouch for the fact that approaching the state from the eastern side of the Cascade Mountains can give you a whole new perspective. [Read more...]
Running the Payette River…
(all photos by author).
“Get set to get wet” should’ve been our mantra over the past week, as we journeyed north of Boise into the Idaho panhandle. Of course, we always thought of the northern stem of the state as more of a chimney, but hey, if you think of a pot hanging from a rack on its side… [Read more...]
A ‘heiligenschein selfie’ at craters of the Moon, Idaho.
(All photos by author)
Think you know Idaho? If you’re like us, up until about a week ago, you had visions of Idaho as the “other” potato growing state. But this past week has taught us otherwise, as the state hosts mountains, deserts, lava fields, and almost every other conceivable type of terrain… OK, we haven’t found the ‘jungles of Idaho’ yet! [Read more...]
The Wyoming Infrared Observatory atop Mt. Jelm.
All photos by the author.
Ever wonder where east meets west, geographically speaking?
This past week saw us hitting the road once again and crossing the great state of Wyoming, nicking Montana for a couple nights, and then entering the state of Idaho for the first time.
An old model-T car at the Carbon County Museum.
But first, we spent a night in Rawlins, Wyomingin pursuit of a little historical eclipse research. Edison made his way to the dusty frontier town in 1878 to test his new fangled tasimeter on the corona of the Sun, and the eclipse was also famously known as the planet Vulcan’s Last Stand. The Carbon County Museum has an exhibit dedicated to Edison, and a curious mural remains on the side of the Keg Saloon on main street that commemorates America’s most famous inventor as well.
Edison’s mural in downtown Rawlins, Wyoming.
We also had a chance to visit the Wyoming Infrared Observatory on Mount Jelm outside of Laramie. One of the first large telescopes dedicated to infrared astronomy built in the late 1970’s, WIFO’s 2.3 metre classical Cassegrain telescope is now mostly devoted to visual observations. Research is still being carried out from the observatory, and the University of Wyoming welcomes daytime visitors by appointment. And they very occasionally hook up an eyepiece to the ‘scope for general night time viewing sessions!
Reaching the new highs along the path of Interstate route 80.
Next, our adventures saw us cross the Continental Divide Basin and the heart of Wyoming to Yellowstone National Park. Hey, we had to cross off an eruption of Old Faithful from our life list, and it was worth the one and a half hour wait. (That “it erupts exactly every hour, on the hour,” thing they told you in elementary school is a myth).
Entrance to the park was spectacular as the colorful semi-desert terrain of central Wyoming gave way to the Grand Tetons. Our America the Beautiful annual pass has already paid for itself many times over, and we found that the Park Gate Lodges Explorer cabins in West Yellowstone Montana just outside the west entrance of the park were a great spot to relax and explore from.
Ziplining with helmet cam.
We made a day of checking out the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center and running the ropes at Yellowstone Aerial Adventures:
And be sure to check out the menu at the Branch Restaurant and Bar. Located on the site of the old train station, their cauliflower steak and beet salad make for a total veggie-fest!
Headed into Idaho, we were able to get another stunning view of the Grand Tetons from the other side. We were pleasantly surprised by the small town of Driggs, Idaho, complete with its new Geotourism Center, Thai (and Korean!) restaurants, and free downtown wifi. And hey, Driggs is also right along the path of the 2017 total solar eclipse…
The grandeur of the Grand Tetons!
Our current base of operations is the Sleep Inn in Idaho Falls. We always thought that the name “Sleep Inn” was a curious double entendre, but hey, we’re swiftly becoming a fan of the chain, as they offer uber-fast wifi and a splendid soup and salad supper…
What’s not to love?
Buffalo roam(ing)… All photos by the author.
Not all days on the road are created the same. We discussed this phenomena early on in our current sabbatical, of how movement days versus exploration days versus maintenance days stack up. [Read more...]
Grand Yerkes!
Ahhh, cooler weather at last… and while the sixth week of our North American adventure has yet to see us encounter a run on clear skies, we have gotten back out camping once again for the first time in six years. This week has seen us explore the great state of Wisconsin, from its southern Illinois hinterland across to its farmland heart. [Read more...]
The Knoxville Sunsphere. All photos by the author.
Well, week three on the road is now in progress, and the past week has seen us span from northern Georgia to eastern Tennessee. Unfortunately, weather hasn’t been our friend thus far during the trip, and while it is indeed cooler here in the Appalachian Mountains, it hasn’t been clear much either. [Read more...]
A properly ring’d Jupiter at the Wetherbee Planetarium in Albany, Georgia. Photo by Author.
Summer’s here and our thoughts have turned northward. Our first full week of Dark Skies 2014 has seen us traverse the great state of Florida into the wilds of western Georgia. And never fear… we’re just entering dark sky territory now.
First up was the Wyndham Orlando Resort on International Drive. Newly refurbished, the Wyndham is favorably located a short shuttle ride from Universal Studios. [Read more...]
Eclipse-Rise+VAB. (Photo by author).
Yesterday, we told the tale of our adventures in eclipse-chasing along the Florida Space Coast. The morning of Sunday, November 3rd 2013 found us on the Parrish Park causeway outside of Titusville, Florida shooting a frame of the eclipse every few seconds. We were fortunate that we had only a low cloud deck from the front that had passed through the day before, which provided us with just enough lingering clouds to be photogenic. [Read more...]
Eclipse-Sign! (Photos by Author).
It started with a tweet.
Towards the end of 2012, our thoughts turned, as they always do in the month of December, toward the top 100 astronomical events of the coming year. Eclipses always make this compilation, and we duly noted that totality for 2013 would only occur during the brief hybrid eclipse of Sunday, November 3rd. [Read more...]
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Pictured is a Delta IV rocket launch from Cape Canaveral on November 21st, 2010. The image is a 20 second exposure taken at dusk, shot from about 100 miles west of the launch site. The launch placed a classified payload in orbit for the United States Air Force.
Difficult but not impossible to catch against the dawn or dusk sky, spotting an extreme crescent moon can be a challenge. The slender crescent pictured was shot 30 minutes before sunrise when the Moon was less than 20 hours away from New. A true feat of visual athletics to catch, a good pair of binoculars or a well aimed wide field telescopic view can help with the hunt.
The Sun is our nearest star, and goes through an 11-year cycle of activity. This image was taken via a properly filtered telescope, and shows the Sun as it appeared during its last maximum peak in 2003. This was during solar cycle #23, a period during which the Sun hurled several large flares Earthward. The next solar cycle is due to peak around 2013-14.
Located in the belt of the constellation Orion, Messier 42, also known as the Orion Nebula is one of the finest deep sky objects in the northern hemisphere sky. Just visible as a faint smudge to the naked eye on a clear dark night, the Orion Nebula is a sure star party favorite, as it shows tendrils of gas contrasted with bright stars. M42 is a large stellar nursery, a star forming region about 1,000 light years distant.
Orbiting the planet in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) every 90 minutes, many people fail to realize that you can see the International Space Station (ISS) from most of the planet on a near-weekly basis. In fact, the ISS has been known to make up to four visible passes over the same location in one night. The image pictured is from the Fourth of July, 2011 and is a 20 second exposure of a bright ISS pass.
Next to the Sun, the two brightest objects in the sky are the Moon and the planet Venus. In fact, when Venus is favorably placed next to the Moon, it might just be possible to spot the two in the daytime. Another intriguing effect known as earthshine or ashen light is also seen in the image on the night side of the Moon; this is caused by sunlight reflected back off of the Earth towards our only satellite.
A mosaic of three images taken during the total lunar eclipse of December 21st, 2010. The eclipse occurred the same day as the winter solstice. The curve and size of the Earth’s shadow is apparent in the image.
Dark Skies 2014: The End of the Road… for Now.
Life on the road…
(All photos by the author).
The time has come.
Every alpha must have an omega, and this week sees us bringing our 2014 expedition to a close. Since June 1st, we’ve hit 37 of the 50 states in the U.S., and toured the four corners of the lower 48 contiguous states in search of stories, curiosities and dark skies. [Read more...]