Trick or Treats, Sidewalk Astronomy and Candy

Well, it's been a busy year. Busier than I expected and I've not spent nearly as much time on astronomy. Tonight I did something about that.

Although the next full moon is a few days off, the view through our 60mm Parks refractor with a 26mm lens was still spectacular tonight. I set the scope up on the front yard just off our sidewalk. As kids came up to the porch yelling "trick or treat!", we'd pass out candy and then invite them to check out the moon through the scope. Some passed - usually the high school kids in large groups, too concerned about looking cool to listen to their inner kid and look through the scope - but most took a look, the response usually being "ooh", "ahh" or "that's awesome!". Many times parents came up from the street to take a look, too. Usually with the same response.

We always have a good time passing out candy on Halloween. Tonight was extra special, though. Usually we hear lots of "thanks", but there's nothing like listening to kids go running down the street yelling "Ma! I got to look at the moon!"

Clear skies!

Musings on My Granddaughter's Bright Future

As anyone who knows me will tell you, I'm a typical doting grandfather when it comes to the first of our kid's kids, Kaili. At almost 2 years old, she's a bright, curious, happy girl. And the fact that I don't have any daughters of my own surely doesn't influence my attitude towards her.

Anyway, while listening to a 365 Days of Astronomy podcast recently it occurred to me how lucky Kaili is to live in a time when women can achieve almost anything. The podcast, Women on the Moon, highlighted a number of women who were pioneers in astronomy from Caroline Herschel to Christa McAuliffe. Even though I'm sure there is still a glass ceiling in astronomy and astrophysics, girls who have an interest in science don't have nearly the barriers to success that they had 200, 100 or even 50 years ago.

Not to say that Kaili will show any interest in astronomy (though it won't be from lack of exposure - she'll get to spend plenty of time under the stars with her grandparents as she grows up), but if she does then it's good to know the barriers are lower than they've ever been.

How is Astronomy Like Sailing?

There are actually a number of parallels...

• Both can be experienced simply and casually: a relaxing day sail where you wander where the breeze takes you and the laziness of laying out under the stars tracing the constellations and watching meteors flash across the sky.
• Or, as a highly technical and challenging past time or way of life: for sailing, everything from local circuit racing to the Olympics, America's Cup and round-the-world races and, for astronomy, challenges such as comet and NEO hunting, planetary and deep sky imaging using advanced scopes, mounts and cameras and, of course, professional astronomy. At this end of the scale, sailing and astronomy have something else in common: both can be incredibly expensive.
• One thing shared by both astronomy and sailing is the opportunity to get a little closer to nature, to experience a sense of awe at the majesty of the world around us and the universe beyond.

Unfortunately, there's at least one more thing they both have in common: being at the mercy of the weather. Just as you can't sail if there isn't enough (or there is too much) wind, earthbound astronomers can't observe if it's too cloudy. Yes, I know advances in technology have changed that to a degree - I've written here about using Slooh to image/observe on nights when I can't get my own scope out because of the weather - but even remote observing sites are still at the mercy of local weather conditions.

This subject came to mind after our trip last week to Yosemite National Park and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park. I had hoped to take advantage of the lack of light pollution to experiment with some star trail photography using my Nikon D40, possibly even getting some starlit shots of some of the icons of Yosemite such as El Capitan or Half Dome.

As it turned out, it just wasn't to be. The first couple of nights we'd had long, long days in valley and because the Park Service had evening programs scheduled for later in the week we turned in early each night. We did try catching a glimpse of the sky from our cabin but looking up through the trees all we could see was Ursa Major, almost straight over head. Unfortunately, over the course of the remainder of the trip there were thunderstorms almost daily. Never a lot of rain - usually about an hour or so a day - but each night it was so cloudy there was nothing to see.

Most amateur astronomers I know are as pragmatic about the weather as most of the sailors I know... being so dependent on the weather, you get used to enjoying clear weather when you have it and finding something else to do when you don't. So, although we didn't come home with any star trail shots, we did come up with a few shots like this one of a beautiful sun pillar (read more about them here). I won't say I wasn't disappointed that we didn't get to spend time under the sky during this trip but it passed quickly. After all, now I have another reason to return...