The paper on 2002 TX300 or KBO 55636 was (finally) published in Nature magazine.  It’s exciting for me, because even though I was one of many researchers involved in the project, it was a first in science and a first for me, though I hope it won’t be the last. Jim Elliot and his team were able [...]

UPDATE: 6/17/10 – Paper published in Nature magazine gets worldwide scientific attention. UPDATE: 10/23/09 – Sky & Telescope Magazine picked up this story and featured it in their online magazine!! Check it out – http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/65538577.html Last week I traveled to Mexico, specifically to Mexico’s Observatorio Astronomica Nacional’s San Pedro Mountain Observatory in North Baja California [...]

Well, here we are, about 2 hours drive from the Ensenada Campus of Universidad Nacional Aut?noma de M?xico. We’ve recently stopped at a petrol station and switched drivers, ?which means we have about 100km of steep, up and down, (mostly up) side-of-the-mountain, no-guardrail ride ahead of us to reach the observatory. There was occasional conversation [...]

Rain today, but I was able to give te FLI Camera to Telescope adapter a fresh coat of Krylon Ultra-Flat black today in order to minimize light path reflections. I’m on-duty at the ATMoB observatory tonight so mayby I’ll use the time to practice camera setup and operation some more. I only get one chance [...]

Well, preparations for the trip are just about complete. I fly out on American Airlines on Monday, October 5th to San Diego, pick up a car and drive to Warner Springs to visit some friends and spend the night. Looks like their neighbor Val has a dome so maybe if the weather’s OK on Monday [...]