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February 3rd, 2008
This is what I said today ...a heartfelt thanks to my friend and brother of the night sky, Dan Heim, who inspired and mentored this site.
February 9th, 2008
Inspiration comes from many sources, a teacher , a family member, or even a place, an object. Just about anything can become a passion that allows us to create, teach, or enjoy ourselves.
My inspiration came from my Dad, and a love of science. When as a child my Dad taught me under dark urban skies, San Antonio, Texas in the 60's, the constellations on a warm summer night on a blanket in my Grandmothers front lawn.
Today, I live in Phoenix, Arizona, an area once known as an Astronomers paradise, now covered in a dome of stray light. A measure of security, and safety, that no one can easily dismiss.
What I have a passion for are the inspirations brought forth from gazing at the night sky, looking at the Milky Way, the stars, the planets, all the wonders that have inspired so many people for so many centuries.
Change is a slow, but inevitable, process we sometimes believe to be beyond our reach, beyond our influence. Those of us in amatuer astronomy who believe we can make a differance are doing 2 things ; first we do outreach programs to teach others about the wonders of the night sky, and second we become involved in local government through meetings, and forums to influence regulations regarding the type of outdoor lighting fixtures used in our communities.
So, where is this all leading to?
Awareness that the night sky is a natural resource worth preserving.
Think about this, saving the night sky is saving money, energy, and ourselves through the efficient use of materials, and fossil fuels. Do some research.
February 24th,2008...In an article from Discover Magazine 12/12/07 pg. 26, S.S. Patel wrote "According to the Alliance to Save Energy, new standards for efficient lighting could save 158 million tons of carbon emissions each year...Compact flourescent lightbulbs, for example, use 75 percent less energy than standard incandescents and last 10 times as long".
In the 11/29/07 issue of Discover , LeeAnn Temescu wrote an article about "environmentally friendly construction" page 18.
So, what does this have to do with saving the night sky? Everything. To paraphrase Bell's Theorum : everything is inextricably connected. All that we do affects everything around us. How do we begin to alter these behaviors so ingrained in our daily life? Maybe not so much us as adults, but teach our children. They will inherit the responsibility to care for this blue marble racing through time and space. And here is the crux of the biscuit, teaching and becoming involved in the advancement of a child's mind, hence their understanding of the world around them.
The night sky is a treasure of beauty, knowledge, and inspiration. Wheather a child grows up to be an astronomer is not the point, it's the journey of wonderment, of discovery, of allowing the imagination to become inspired.
This task is too great to be regarded as simple, or easy. So, if anyone out there in the cyberrealm has ideas, comments, suggestions, please let me know. Our astronomy club does what it can, but as the saying goes "It takes a village to raise a child".
Is there anybody out there?
February 29, 2008...it was a clear, and moonless night. Having just received a couple of new eyepieces, and diagonal, I decided to take a look at some objects up that night. Orion's Nebula(M-42) had extended nebulosity in my new 50mm widefield, though I couldn't get all of the Pleides(M-45) or the Beehive(M-44) in the field of view, it was none the less a beautiful spray of stars. The best was Mars, my 12.5mm E.D. eyepiece gave me 162X, and as far as Mars is now(1.034 A.U) I still had moments of steady viewing. Then, I used a 2X Barlow that gave me 325X and let me tell you, the moments of clarity brought Sirtis Major, a dust storm, and the northern polar cap into view. That made my night! And yes I was in my backyard in north Phoenix. Imagine, all this ranting about the night sky, and here I get some great seeing. Well, today we might have urban amatuer astronomy, and yesterday it was better, but tomorrow who knows. That's the point, what are we leaving the next generation?
March 9, 2008...On this evening, our Desert Foothills Astronomy Club (www.dfacaz.org) set up scopes for a group of professional marketing people, as a night of leisurely activity. For a bunch of "suits," they acted like kids when they saw Saturn, a cresent moon, double stars, Orion's Nebula. Remarks like "that's not real, you put a picture of Saturn in the telescope!", How do you know where to find it?", "and that's how far away?". The biggest thrill is when someone asks a lot of questions, and seems truly interested in what we do. Outreach, the best way to get the word out. The night sky is a natural resource worth the effort to save.
April 12th, 2008...
This is what the night sky looks like from space...yes the Shuttle crew does see it as well.
It's not so much that there's lights, moreover the type of lighting used makes a world of difference not only in the light emitted,
but the energy cost savings would be enormous. Lights at night will never go away, but we can change the type of lights we use.
To download a high resolution image click here (448 Mb).l
The wait is over! I live, I breathe, (yada-yada)
July 1st, 2008...
My hiatus was due to a lack of motivation, a nasty computer virus, and my short term memory loss...
Now, having had a couple of lessons in the art of hyperlinks, and adding content to these pages, I'm ready to restart my rants and hopefully add some substance to the questions of light pollution, energy alternatives, and most important introducing young people to amateur astronomy.
A great 4th of July weekend...
The International Dark Sky Association(www.darksky.org) has done incredible work, and made great progress in presenting our government with evidence for the preservation of our dark night sky. Please support your local astronomy club(www.dfacaz.org), and join in the fun of amateur astronomy.
