Observing with Street Lights

Observing with Street Lights
Dark sky sites not always necessary to see the Milky Way (This image was taken ouside of a B&B in Julian, CA)

Sunday, July 28, 2019

MEPAG: Mars needs civil engineers; Evolution of puppy eyes; Our variable sun; 2019 UFO Symposium and Field Investigations

Greetings from Palmia Observatory,


Well this been another very busy week and I have been worn out by the confluence of conferences and workshops that just happened in the weeks following our trip to Chile for the solar eclipse. After the Ninth International Mars Conference we had the co-located meeting of the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) and the 2019 International UFO Symposium.

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Ninth International Mars Conference at Caltech; What have we learned about Mars, Dust and Biosignatures and where is the water?

Greetings from Palmia Observatory

Well just as soon as the Astrobiology for Astronomers Workshop ended, it is now time for the Ninth International Mars Conference held at Caltech.  I'm already exhausted and hoped to spend at least a couple of days on Mars.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Inside a lava tube on Rapa Nui; Double suns? Disequilibria and searches for life: Can't get away from microbiology

Greetings from Palmia Observatory

This week we have some more comment summaries from the Astrobiology for Astronomers Workshop from Caltech and a look inside a lava tube and strange illusion seeming to show multiple suns.  Also it is time to head back to Pasadena for the Ninth International Mars Conference.  See all of you Martians there!

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Some more eclipse in Chile comments and photos; Sitting in on the Astrobiology for Astronomers Workshop at Caltech and where's Sheldon; Handling a 4 billion year old rock; Time for a martini and livestreaming!

Greetings from Palmia Observatory

Well we are back from our fantastic visit to Chile and the 2019 total solar eclipse.  This post has a few additional comments on that trip and mainly provide a calendar update for upcoming conferences and some summary comments on the Astrobiology for Astronomers Workshop conducted at Caltech.

Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Post eclipse adventure on Rapa Nui; Finally captured a photo of SMC and LMC

Greetings from Palmia Observatory,


Well, here we are on our final leg of our Chilean adventure, during which we first saw the 2019 total solar eclipse and the toured the Atacama desert and now on the last portion of the trip,with a short visit on Easter Island (Rapa Nui) and finally some success with imaging the dwarf galaxies, SMC and LMC.