McDonald Observatory Dodges Wildfire

By Ben on April 28, 2011 at 10:41 am | In Blog Posts | No Comments

missed it by just a mile.
scary pics with article.

–Ben

McDonald Observatory Dodges Wildfire

…for the past two weeks, McDonald Observatory’s mountaintop perch has
been under siege, as a catastrophic inferno dubbed the Rock House Fire has
decimated more than 300 square miles of the surrounding countryside. Dozens
of homes and businesses have been destroyed in Fort Davis, which is about
10 miles to the observatory’s southeast.

Last week, when the fire had crept to within about a mile of Mount Locke,
firefighters used a control burn on a nearby peak to consume tinder-dry
vegetation that would otherwise have provided the raging flames with a
pathway to the observatory. Most of McDonald’s 80-person staff and their
families evacuated. One of the few who stayed was senior program
coordinator Frank Cianciolo, who took the dramatic image seen here and
several others.

The National Forest Service reports that the fire is now 75% contained and,
fortunately, the observatory is out of danger…

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/skyblog/newsblog/120445424.html

Podcast: Kepler Slackerchat

By Michael on April 12, 2011 at 3:35 pm | In Audio Podcasts | No Comments

D’oh!

We posted this podcast to the feed many moons ago but forgot to post it here! We also have another one half in the can that will be hitting the feed soon. If you enjoy the podcast, definitely subscribe to the feed.

This podcast is a chit-chat show with yours truly (Michael Koppelman), Doug Welch, Mike Simonsen with a short cameo by Chris Watson, who is an amateur astronomer, friend and AAVSO activist who helps us with the editing from time to time.

As usual, we span a range of topics but end up talking a lot about Kepler and exoplanets.

Subscribe to the feed (the logical thing to do) or download and/or listen now with this handy link:

 

Download


This podcast is brought to you by Swinburne Astronomy Online, offering fully online degree programs in astronomy.

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