Trying to photograph the aurora from a cruise ship at sea; Clouds are the bane of the astronomer and the bar offers only short term consolation

Greetings from Palmia Observatory

Well this week we are planning on attending an OCA Astroimaging SIG where the speaker, Dave Kodama, will provide some guidelines for photographing aurora.  Now readers of this blog will know that we have been frustrated in our search for the northern lights many times now.  First we lost out on many nights in Norway and then on our second attempt in Fairbanks, Alaska, frustrated again by many nights of clouds.  So, for us, dealing with the frustration of clouds is the major issue.  You still might want to attend the OCA Astroimagers SIG on Wednesday, May 1!

UCI Professor Feng and FASER; Random thoughts from the APS April Meeting; Planning for 2019 total eclipse in Chile and southern skies; Labradoodles and Astronomers' beards

Greetings from Palmia Observatory

Well the clouds and a bit of rain are back with us this week, so no additional observing with the new Sky-Watcher mount, and the weather forecast soured an prospect of our proposed second attempted  search for aurora in Fairbanks, Alaska .  But there was an interesting physics colloquium to report on as well as some random recollections following the APS April meeting in Denver.

Seeing and orbiting a black hole with Schwarzschild; Evaluating Sky-Watcher mount in search for M87

Greetings from Palmia Observatory

Well we are back in OC after attending the APS April meeting in Denver were we heard many good discussions including the successful imaging of the black hole by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT)  collaboration, as covered in our post of April 14, 15, 16 and 17, and now wanted to review some black hole horizon physics and also try to image M87 ourselves using the new light weight Sky Watcher mount.

X marks the spot for the April APS Meeting in Denver; Andrea Ghez talks about the latest findings at the galactic center

Greetings from Palmia Observatory

Well it has come down to my last day at the American Physical Society (APS) April meeting in Denver, Colorado.  I just happened to look up at the cloudy sky and could see right away that there was a sign, sort of an "x" that marked the spot, that I was in the right place.

Gravity Collaboration presents at APS April Meeting in Denver; The Neutrino Sky; Elena Aprile and WIMPS; Silent Sky portreys Henrietta Leavitt

Greetings from Palmia Observatory

Well, here we are at another full day of presentations at the APS April Meeting in Denver, Colorado and first up on our brief review of some of the details is from the GRAVITY Collaboration.

Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration presentation at April APS Meeting in Denver

Greetings from Palmia Observatory

One of the most popular sessions today was the imaging of the M87 black hole recent announcement by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration.

First sessions of April APS Meeting; Amory Lovins; AstroKatie; Cosmic Ray Elemental Abundances; Katherine Freese, Cosmic Cocktail and Dark Stars

Greetings from Palmia Observatory,

I'm here at Denver for the start of the April Meeting of the American Physical Society (APS) and the theme of the meeting is "Quarks to Cosmos" and can offer this brief summary of events.

First night at Denver April APS; Janna Levin; Dark Matter Workshop; Axions, Sterile Neutrinos, Antimatter; Primakoff Effect and Compton Wavelengths

Greetings from Palmia Observatory,

Well its time for April American Physical Society meeting, so here I am in Denver, Colorado.

How Northern Lights might make sounds; Plasmons, Batteries, Computer Memory and Temperature with STEM; Has the EHT photographed a Black Hole?

Greetings from Palmia Observatory


Well here we are packing our bags for the upcoming April APS meeting in Denver but we can report on some of the events of this week and check the incoming mail, which hopefully will have the first photograph of a black hole.

Relic Cosmic Neutrino Background affects structure and can be observed; New lightweight goto mount and camera at OCA Astroimagers SIG; With clouds read Alice and Bob's adventures

Greetings from Palmia Observatory


Well relic neutrinos, leftovers from the Big Bang, have been in the news this week.