Space Topics: Planetary Analogs
Stars Above, Earth Below
Astronomy and Space Exploration in America's National Parks
Interlude
by Tyler
Nordgren
November 14, 2007
Art and Sciences
Redlands, CA -- I’m back home in Redlands
for several weeks before heading out again; this is my biggest break during
this year of traveling through the parks. At the moment, I am busy trying to
finalize plans for where I’ll be staying and what I’ll be doing
at the parks coming up starting in December. My next park is Chaco Culture
National Historic Park in northwestern New Mexico. It’s going to be three
weeks of cold weather as I get up before dawn to help identify possible celestial
sunrise markers for the winter solstice.
Actually, the next park I’m visiting is Disneyland. My wife, Julie Rathbun,
and I have been invited to give a talk there next week in the private Club
33. We will be talking on "The Science Behind the Scenes." A few
years ago she developed a class on the physics of amusement parks and I have
always been a fan of the Disneyland TV show episodes with Werner von Braun.
The Mars and Beyond episode from 1957 (available in a two-DVD set
called "Tomorrowland") considers what a future mission to Mars will
find. The most disappointing outcome that’s presented is that nothing
more than some low form of plant life will be found. Too bad the future
isn’t
what it once was.
I have also just found out that I have been accepted as the Artist-In-Residence
for Glacier National Park next summer. While I
was there for one week this September, the nice folks at the park asked
if I could return for three weeks next summer to work more closely with them
on public talks, stargazing programs, an astrophotography class, and finally
to provide them with astronomical images for their interpretive program. I’m
very excited at the prospect of combining art and science to increase astronomy
education in the park. As a result of being accepted in the Artist’s
program, I will be working on putting together an art exhibit made from my
nighttime travels through the parks. I’ll let people know more about
how that turns out, and plans for exhibiting as time gets closer. In the meantime
here are a couple of images I really like from the trip so far.
Lunar eclipse over the Grand Tetons
The night of August 29, 2007 I spent camped out at just the right spot
where I knew I could watch the eclipsed moon set just to the right of the
Grand Teton. I took an exposure of the moon every
10 minutes until it disappeared and the sun lit up the mountains with alpenglow.
Credit: Tyler Nordgren
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Nocturnal storm
The faint light of twilight illuminates the sunrise point overlook in this
20-second-long exposure that captures a single lightning strike from the
storm. Credit: Tyler Nordgren
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