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 [...]

I was fortunate to have one good night to put the MIT PICO camera through its paces on the 60″ (1.5m) Richey-Cretein telescope at SPM Observatory. I am grateful to be guided by fellow astronomer Raul Michel, who not only operated the telescope but provided expert tutelage through the data gathering and reduction process. Here’s [...]

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 [...]