Hey, the sun is waking up and has a spot; OCA amateurs look at Mars; OCA Bob says you can measure lunar phase from your backyard; Entropy of gravitating systems?

 Greetings from Palmia Observatory

Well here we are after spending most of last week tied up in front of the computer screen watching the 23rd annual Mars Society convention.  Next week we, including you, can be tied up for the AAS 52nd Division of Planetary Science (DPS) meeting conducted online on October 26-30.

Rising together to Mars; Some comments on the technology and status of human settlements that were explored at the 23rd annual Mars Society Convention

 Greetings from Palmia Observatory

Well the 23rd annual Mars Society Convention was held online this year from October 15-18, 2020.  It was quite different from the in person meeting previously held in Irvine, CA, but we can still make some brief comments for those Martians of you who could not attend online.

APS Far West 2020 Annual Meeting Session on Molecular Motors; Using Brillouin Light Scattering to image spin; Intro to Spintronics

 Greetings from Palmia Observatory

Well here we are just after finishing up a fantastic set of presentations and discussion at the Mars Society 2020 Convention, but for now we need to go back and comment about the recent APS Far West Annual Meeting and on a recent physics colloquia.

Searching for the Milky Way in the city with a light pollution filter; Galileoscope kit moves on to young astronomer wannabe

 Greetings from Palmia Observatory

Well here we are getting way behind in describing the previously attended physics colloquia and APS Far West Meeting and now the wonderful Mars Society 2020 conference.  Ok, ok, we still plan to offer some comments and slides from those events, but in the meantime, we now report on going out into the night sky with a camera and trying to find the Milky Way in the city lights with a light pollution filter.

New Astronomer Assistant joins the Observatory Staff

 Greetings from Palmia Observatory

Well this week has been busy with online zoom meetings from OCA, Golden Webinars and the APS Far West Conference, more about that later, but for now we have hired a new observatory assistant.

California wildfires and Mt. Wilson Observatory; Elon Musk, Tesla, battery day and SpaceX Starship SN8 gets her fins; Quantum emergence, UHECR and colloquia; Peter Woit on QM

 Greetings from Palmia Observatory

Well, we just got back from our road trip and have been busy keeping up with the latest news and getting back into the swing of attending physics colloquia at CSULB, UCI and UCR.