Sad to say, the Winter Star Party is over. However, we had great viewing on our last night, in spite of clear sky reports to the contrary. Because of this year’s cold weather in the Florida Keys, many amateur astronomers had left, giving those of us remaining, the pick of the places to set up our telescopes. Actually, because it was so windy, the most sheltered spots were the best. And, to tell you the truth, many of us spent much of the night visiting with each other knowing that we wouldn’t see each other until next year. I feel happy to be part of this group. And, since I had the digital photos of the Galactic Center that I had came to take, it was easy to relax and reminisce about the week. I will be using the photos in my movie investigating the 2012 phenomenon.
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I’m happy to say that the photographs that resulted from that part of my brain that wakes me up to take photographs are fantastic!
Both images of the Galactic Center sandwiched between Sagittarius and the circular tail of Scorpius with palm trees below and also the constellations – including all of Scorpius – turned out beautifully.
The digital photographs were taken at the Winter Star Party in the Florida Keys.
I took the photographs to illustrate the location in the sky of the center of the Milky Way Galaxy because there will be an alignment of the sun and earth with the Giant Black Hole at the Galactic Center on December 21, 2012.
I am very happy. And, I thank that part of my brain that wakes me up to take photographs!
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We’re on Highway 1 in the Florida Keys where the speed limit is 45 miles per hour. It’s 4:54 PM. We have over 50 miles to go. Registration closes at 6:00 PM. We’d like to get to the Winter Star Party before registration closes for the day. Registration started at 1:00 PM. We wanted to avoid the line up of hundreds of people waiting to get in. However, there’s a good chance we’re not going to make it by 6:00 PM.
Nonetheless, hope springs eternal. We’ve been through the mangrove swamp, crossed a number of bridges over azure water, and passed people fishing. A pelican just flew over our car.
From my point of view, I am happy that we’re going to get there on registration day. In the past, we have occasionally arrived a couple of days late. Of course, those were days when it was raining and, frankly, those years, we postponed arriving because it is not much fun camping out when it’s raining. Much nicer to hole up in a warm, dry motel and wait for the rain to end.
But, today the sun is shining as it slowly sinks toward the horizon. Although there are clouds in the sky, there is also a lot of blue – hope of a good viewing sky tonight. There’s always such a rush to set up and get a glimpse of Saturn or the moons of Jupiter.
Even though there are many gorgeous photographs of these heavenly objects in books, movies, and on the internet, still, it is so special to see them in real time and real life, suspended in space, really and truly, looking so alive and vibrant. It’s always a thrill.
The real issue is not whether we will make it to the Winter Star Party before registration closes or whether we will have our first glimpse of Saturn tonight. We can always register and set up our telescope tomorrow. It’s all about the gate. At 7:00 PM, the gate slams shut. You can’t get in. It’s guarded by a police officer.
Headlights are not allowed once the sky gets dark and it’s simply too dangerous to drive in the campsite without headlights. If we don’t get inside the gate before 7:00, we’ll have to park on the road and haul our bed linens in on our backs.
Definitely, not preferred. It’s not much fun making up a bunk bed by a dim red-colored flashlight.
Everything and everyone uses only red-colored mute lights after dark. Otherwise, night vision would be compromised. The communal bathrooms are lit with red fluorescent lights. Mickey’s onsite grill switches from white to red lights. Many people wear a tiny red light that hangs from a lariat around their neck so other people can see them walking in the dark.
Uh oh! We’ve just hit a line of cars barely moving. What is it? An accident? A flea market? The stop and start traffic has got John sighing. It looked good until this traffic slow down. Will we make it through the gate in time?
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My brother has called my husband Mr. Gadget. I can see why. During this trip to the 25th Annual Winter Star Party in the Florida Keys, I am, for the first time, writing on my laptop and, at the same time, connected to the internet.
I’m using a broadband cellular modem. It is mine so I guess I’m a bit of a Mrs. Gadget.
However, here’s the part about Mr. Gadget. It wasn’t enough for John to use the laptop on battery. He needed to charge its battery as we went along with this gadget he bought at a Roger Wilco truck stop service center. It’s called (and I quote) “It’s a 200 watt power inverter that takes 12 volts DC from the car’s electrical system through the cigarette lighter and provides 120 volts 60 HZ AC. So, it’s like being plugged in! And, it runs cool as a cucumber. It’s got a fan in it. The inverter sits in the drink holder so it remains in a fixed position when you have lateral G forces induced by cornering and longitudinal G forces from braking or acceleration.”
John wanted me to use the laptop while we drove along as an experiment to see if we would have any interruption in internet service as we cruised past cell phone towers. I am happy to report that we seem to be having NO trouble seamlessly receiving signals from one cell phone tower after another as we go barreling down Florida’s I95 toward the Florida Keys.
As I said yesterday, we’re taking our yearly 1000 plus mile trek to the Keys to attend the 25th annual Winter Star Party hosted by the Southern Cross Astronomical Society. I hope to interview people specifically on the Milky Way’s galactic center and its association, if any, with the last day of the Mayan Long Count Calendar on December 21, 2012.
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