Archive for May, 2011

  • Mars Rover Spirit

    Goodbye Mars Rover Spirit

    NASA officially ended communications with the Mars Rover Spirit today after an incredible 7 year mission.  The mission was designed to last only 90 days in 2004.  It is believed that the last martian winter, colder than it has encountered in the past 7 years,...

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  • Magnolias

    2011 Lilac Festival in Rochester, NY

    Another Lilac Festival has come and gone.  We were fortunate enough to go the first day when the weather was perfect and the crowds were light.  The lilacs weren’t in full bloom yet this year but most were on their way.   As usual, the air...

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  • Orion 130MM Short Tube

    It Begins

    I was given my first telescope for my fifteenth birthday.  For years before this I was fascinated with the stars.  Having a real telescope changed everything.  It made all the books I had read and pictures I had seen become real.  Seeing a picture of...

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  • M24 Sketch

    My First Astronomical Sketch

    This was my first attempt to sketch an astronomical object.  It created it on August 9, 2004 by simply by sketching what you see in a telescope eyepiece.  Astronomers used this practice for thousands of years to record their observations.  This practice was useful well...

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