Time Stands Still...

Time passes more slowly, almost seeming to stand still, when one is surrounded dark skies, bright stars, and the near deafening racket of frogs, crickets, and other creepy crawlies.

I was up late last night; in fact, I was up much later than I had expected. I was working on presentation I will give today in the Earth Science and Biology Department at UCM. Our topic is Successful Teaching (aka Classroom Management) and my presentation is for graduate teaching assistants.

I finished getting my thoughts, ideas, and activities organized at roughly 1:00 a.m. this morning. Nola and I stepped outside for a quick walk through our darkened back yard. In a matter of few minutes we saw two very bright meteors zipping across the sky. I wasn't sure but I thought that I several more, but faint in the hazy sky. Joy!

Nola and I decided that since we were already up, we would go a head and wait another hour for the moon to set. And at 2:00 a.m. I turned off all the lights in the house and we stumbled into the back yard.

It was a near perfect 65 degrees last night and the skies had cleared up considerably. I was unable to see the eastern horizon (for my house and the large trees in my back yard) but I had a good view of the rest of the sky. It was dark, but the faint haze seemed to reflect some of the 'Burg's light back to us.

Nola and I sat. And we sat some more. Quietly waiting for our eyes to adjust to the darkness. Allowing our eyes to relax. Opening our eyes to the night sky.

Quietly yet brightly, several meteors flashed across the dark sky. Most of them headed southwest. Several more, dim and stealthily meteors marked their paths through the stars. Even more appeared as faint tracers, perhaps they were nothing more than some shadow of a youthful indiscretion.

Still we sat. My back was beginning to complain from sitting too much during the day and from now being scrunched down in an unforgiving, metal patio chair. The grass was wet on our feet. The mosquitoes were oddly underrepresented. Or perhaps it was all that garlic I have been consuming?

After each flash of light I would wait. My hand on Nola's back. Just one more. I'll go inside after one more. But another would reveal itself, and then another. I stifled a yawn and considered pulling an "all-nighter." I reminded myself that I had work in only a few hours.

Slowly I got up. Stretching my back. Thinking, next time I'll put a tarp out and lay on the sleeping bag. Nola and I made our way back to the house. Carefully I shined the flashlight at the kitchen clock. It was only 2:30. I had seen over 30 meteors in about 30 minutes! And I wasn't counting the 'tracers' that I was uncertain about. How many could I have seen if I had driven 10 minutes to the south of town? Would the camera have cooperated with the hazy night? How lucky I am that it cleared up and that I was able to catch a few 'shooting stars'?

I was so excited and enthralled that I forgot to make a wish. If it's not too late for that wish: I wish for great viewing of the Leonids in November.

Misconceptions of Astronomical Proportion

What have I done? I participated in a Writer's Workshop, that's what "I done." I decided to participate for two hours graduate credit so that I may easily renew my Missouri Teaching License. Part of the requirements for graduate credit included creating, revising, and submitting a manuscript for publication. Holy smokes!

And as of today, August 12, 2008 I have completed my first book proposal. After my professor evaluates my manuscript proposal I will submit it to NSTA Press (National Science Teachers' Association) for consideration.

My proposed book is called "Misconceptions of Astronomical Proportion: An Illustrated Guide" and I will rope my friend, Sally Zellers, into being co-author. The book will target school teachers. I have suggested ten chapters. Each chapter will cover a common misconception in astronomy, provide the current scientific understanding complete with illustrations (gotta find an illustrator!), and lastly offer teachers developmentally appropriate (bases on National Science Education Standards) activities and demonstrations that teachers may implement in their classrooms. What fun!

Sally and I had often talked about writing a series of these books over misconceptions in biology, earth science, and possibly chemistry. But both of us seriously doubt our content knowledge in at least two of those areas. However, through the process of creating my manuscript proposal, I realized that Sally and I could serve as editors for books over areas that may be beyond our 'cognitive scope.'

I've not give much thought to chemistry, but for biology I will be looking for misconceptions about evolution, plant life, reproduction, and more... If you're interested in writing a chapter for my common biology or chemistry misconceptions books drop me a line. I'm so excited! Some of you may be hearing from me via email in the very near future!

Wish me luck!

Meteor Shower Blues

Well folks, it's just about 11:30 in the 'Burg and I'm thinking I just might cash it in and call it a night. The Perseid Meteor Shower really gets cranked up tonight and viewing after 2:00 a.m. is supposed to be spectacular as the moon will have set and my side of the planet will be face forward in the debris of Comet Swift-Tuttle. Of course, Mother Nature has other plans. Late this afternoon giant cumulus clouds started puffing up; it looks like rain is on the menu for the next seven or eight days. I'm not complaining. I love the rain. Especially mixed with loud thunder, bright lightning, impressive winds, and a bit of hail. However, I had hoped to catch a few meteors during this year's Perseids. Seems like there's only been three or four, seriously clear and successful Perseid events for me in the past twenty years. Talk about patience! Perhaps it will clear up in a day or two before the next front rolls in and I'll be able to catch a few late bloomers.

For those of you with clear skies, find a dark spot, have a seat, look up, relax, and enjoy the show.

Space, the Final Frontier

Sunday, August 3, 2008

(Air and Space Museum foyer.)

Up at 8:00 and out the door by 9:30. We were determined to get to the Air and Space Museum by 10:00. We were there by 9:50 and waited with about fifty other people for the doors to open. It was worth the wait.

(Planetarium and IMAX tickets! W00T!)

By 10:03 I purchased tickets to the Planetarium Show and a 30 minute IMAX show about Black Holes. Of course, these tickets were spaced apart throughout the day and were nothing more than thinly veiled excuses to SIT for a few moments.

(American Astronaut Space Suit, National Air and Space Museum, D.C.)

We started on the first floor with monuments to astronauts who have given their lives in the name of exploration and science. The exhibits that really got me bawling were the ones dedicated to Apollo I, The Challenger, and The Columbia. I should have brought Kleenex. Who would have thought that pictures of old astronauts, galaxies, planets, and stars would cause such a visceral reaction?

(Don't take pictures of me when I'm bawling!)

We paused for an early lunch (Closer to noon than 3:00 pm.) at the food court. We had three value meals priced at about $7.50 each. They didn’t taste any different than the $3.80 value meals here in the ’Burg. It was a chance to sit and a chance to eat.

(Orion enjoys Chicken McNuggets in style!)

Energized we returned to the exhibits and just soaked it all in. There were probably just as many folks at the Air and Space museum as there had been at the Natural History Museum the day before, I believe that the openness of the Air and Space Museum made it feel less crowded at times. There was still a great deal of ‘look and run’ which made me wonder why people even bother coming to the museum. Are they afraid they might learn something?

(Lunar Landing Module, National Air and Space Museum, D.C.)

(Orion seems a wee bit lost.)

The gift shop was quite interesting. But I was disappointed to find that they didn’t have 3X tee shirts here either! Does the Smithsonian not want fat people to sport their goods? They had an impressive toy store where Orion found a plane and a mini-kite. We left at 5:00 via a cab as I had to make my way back to the hotel, freshen up, and make it to our official opening ceremonies for the conference by 5:30.

(I thought it would a nifty treat if the public restrooms had been equipped with these instead!)

ATE welcomed new comers and then we proceeded to dine on beef, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Desert was the best. Several choices of cake or pie and some very good coffee. Dinner left me hungry. I should have eaten two pieces of pumpkin cheese cake, but I refrained.

It was nearly 10:00 before I returned to the hotel room. Orion was dying to go swimming. He and J had marched up to Union Station to have dinner. I think at a place called Johnny Rocket’s. Orion loved it. I think we may have to check that joint out together.

John escorted O to the pool and I took a long shower and then a longer bath. It was time for bed. Tomorrow we'll visit the National Gallery of Art.

(The National Gallery from the steps of the Air and Space Museum)

Things I learned on Sunday, August 3, 2008

• I miss pumpkin cheese cake. It shouldn’t just be served in October and November.
• I still want to be an astronomer.
• Orion’s head is filled with all these weird ideas for contraptions and inventions. I wonder if he will be instrumental in our colonization of Mars or the moon.
• I still hate crowds.
• Astronauts have chutzpuh.
• Calculators and slide rules played an important part in our race to the moon. I wonder what would happen if Astronauts now had to rely on Wikipedia?
  

(To the moon, Alice!)

(Yes Tree, this pictures for you!)

Summer Solstice

Happy first day of summer. Tomorrow our days will begin to shorten in length. This photo is from one of my all time favorite sites: Astronomy Picture of the Day! Learn about the cosmos one picture at a time!

O is for...

... Orion, of course!

Whimp!

I was a total whimp last night.

Our first and last total lunar eclipse (for 2008) occured last night at roughly 10:00. Our observance of the event consisted of me and Orion, in PJs, wrapped in robes and jackets, rushing out to look up till we couldn't feel our legs or fingers, then rushing back in to warm up. We did this several times and watched as the moon was covered by the earth's shadow.

It was beautiful. A clear evening. The crisp air would have been great for photographing the eclipse.

But it was soooo cold!

Eclipse Photo

Here's proof that I stayed up all night Monday/Tuesday watching a glorious lunar eclipse from my front yard in downtown Warrensburg! Monday afternoon I napped briefly before Orion came home from school. After dinner I sent him to bed around 7:30 and told him I would wake him around 3:00 a.m. for the eclipse. I was too excited to sleep. I finally dozed a bit after 1:00 a.m. and the alarm went off at 2:30. Brrringgg! I was up, albeit groggy! Sometimes a little bit of sleep is worse than no sleep at all. By 3:00 we were outside with Orion's small scope and the camera. What a morning! Orion danced around like a pet monkey as we watched the moon being swallowed by the Earth's shadow. The weather was perfect. The moon reached totality around 4:50 a.m. and shortly after that I sent the pet monkey back to bed. I fiddled with more pictures before showering and heading off to work. Tuesday was a very long day! But worth it! I only wish the telescope attachment for the camera had arrived. I would have had some truly impressive photos. Perhaps in February!

Lunar Eclipse

The Leslies are hopeful that the upcoming lunar eclipse will make up for the disappointment of the Perseid Meteor Shower earlier this month. I've got my chair, my tripod, and my camera. Let's hope that Mother Nature cooperates and that my astrophotography skills aren't so dusty as to be useless. (I'll be channeling you, big Brother!)

August 28th promises an astronomical event you won't forget! Tuesday morning, very early, the moon will be eclipsed by the Earth's shadow. Just about 3:00 in the morning (Yes, when "normal" people are sleeping!) the moon will begin entering the penumbra, also known as the faint, outer part of the Earth's shadow. Nearly 50 minutes later, the moon will then begin entering the umbra, or darkest part of the Earth's shadow. The moon will be totally eclipsed around 5:00 that morning and totality will last for about 90 minutes. The sun will begin rising just before 6:00. With this in mind, we will not be able to view the moon as it exits umbra and penumbra.

This event needs no special instructions or equipment for viewing. Just take a walk outside and look up! If you plan to spend some time watching the changes, bring a lawn chair, a beverage, and some insect repellent. Have fun! Let me know what you see! I hope to have pictures to let you know what WE see!

Perseid Shower Blues

We were all set. Ready to go! This year promised to be one of the best Perseid Meteor Showers in a while. The new moon would provide us with a very dark sky- perfect for meteor viewing. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had her own ideas. After several weeks of 95-100 degree temperatures with heat indices to be calculated exponentially, the peak was amazingly disappointing. Despite all of our preparations - bug spray, camp chairs, bottled water, the darkest of skies, the haze was too much. Alas, I was able to spot three or four, but not the 50-60 an hour we were hoping for. Here's hoping somebody in Arizona or New Mexico had a good, clear evening of viewing! Since I have no photos of my own this time around, I will share with you one from the NASA site by Wally Pacholka from the shower of 1999. Maybe next time I will have one of my own to share!

Astroscan

It's just after midnight and I have returned from a wee bit of stargazing and lunar observing! What fun. Today, Orion's birthday present finally arrived! Having been out of stock for nearly a month, made for a terrible wait on the part of both a 10 year old boy and a 40 year old boy.

The Astroscan is an odd looking telescope. But what it lacks in 'looks' it makes up for in other ways. It is very portable. It takes very little technical skill to use. It's very easy to set up. It requires no maintenance of the mirror! And it provides a pretty clear image with it's parabolic (instead of spherical) mirror.

This wide-field scope allowed us to view several awesome sights from our yard in the middle of town. We spent several minutes checking out the crescent moon. The shadows on the surface of the moon were crisp. I cannot wait to figure out how to attach my camera! Until then, this is what the moon looked like this evening.

I then trained the scope on Alcor and Mizar, visual binary stars in the handle of the Big Dipper in the constellation Ursa Major, the Big Bear. Impressive. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to catch any of the numerous Messier Objects in Ursa Major with the scope. I think it had to do with all the lights from the downtown area.

Last, but hardly least, we took a gander at Jupiter. Awesome. No, we didn't see the great spot or swirling dark clouds, this is a small scope, not the Hubble! But what we did see was breathtaking. We saw Jupiter as a tiny point of light and to either side we saw four of Jupiter's moons. The Galilean Moons: Europa, Io, Ganymede, Callisto were named for Galileo who first observed them in 1610. If we're patient, we can track the orbits of these moons during the summer. It would be an interesting project. But mostly I cannot wait to take some awesome lunar photos.

Orion totally enjoyed his scope. He looked at every pinpoint of light he could find! He didn't want to come in. But he's sleeping soundly now! Happy Belated Tenth Birthday Orion and thank you Meme and My Bob in Conway for Orion's special gift.