Tag Archives: star

The Day of Grand Sceneries

  By | |
Leave a comment

14.08.2017
Jānis writing:

On the 14th of August we woke up at the very reasonable hour of 6 o’clock. However, this time we were pleasantly surprised by being offered breakfast. In all honesty we knew that breakfast was hoped for, but it being edible was still a pleasant surprise. After eating, packing and washing we were ready to get going by 7:20.
This day we had a single stop planed – the Grand Canyon. I must say that the Grand Canyon is not a case of marketing or sarcasm. I can truly say that it is one of the most impressive, beautiful and unique natural objects that I have ever seen and the 6 hours that we spent there where nowhere near enough.

It is quite indescribable. Now, one can overhear a lot of interesting things if one keeps his or her ears open. Two quotes by a ranger comes to mind, as I am writing this. Number one: “a picture will never do it.” No matter where or how you may have seen replicas, pictures or movies containing the Great Canyon I can guarantee that they did not do it justice. Number two: “I came here when I was eight or nine and just never got over it.” The quote makes perfect sense after visiting the canyon.

It is exceptionally hard to put in words the steep, broken cliffs promising a slow and painless death to anyone who ventures to close to their edges. The shear history contained in its slopes, uncovered by millions of years of erosion, wherein a billion years of Earth’s history are laid bare. The rare views of a muddy river hiding in the depths of the canyon slowly, gradually continuing its age old duty.

Anyway, we did not have the time explore the whole canyon and had to satisfy ourselves with only a couple of viewing platforms and a, comparably, short walk to the shuttle bus by the edge of the canyon. Still, the walk offered several opportunities and angles from which to view the canyon, as well as several exhibits, for example several rocks where placed along the path displayed with their names and information about how long ago they were formed.

After exiting the canyon we visited two more points. The first was Grand view vista that provided an impressive view of the Grand Canyon, but nothing truly unique after the day we have just had.
The second was a place called “Desert view” which had a tower that, while not the tallest building, provided an excellent view of the canyon. Although, the experience was slightly ruined by the mass of people trying to get into, as well as take pictures from the same small room.

After visiting these viewing platforms it was time to head to our campsite in the stunning Monument valley. Before I finish, I feel it appropriate to mention that August 14th is the birthday of Inese, so we had ourselves a little celebration.

Our campsite had two major advantages. Number one – it was located on a slight slope facing the Monument valley with its rustic beauty and awe inspiring peaks. Number two – it is located ever so slightly in the middle of nowhere giving us a very clear sky. Despite the biting wind and the ever-present red sand we left the top of our tent off and slept under the clear sky.

The joys of astronomy enthusiasts

  By | |
Leave a comment

08.08.2018
Ausma writing:

It’s August 8th and the tenth day of our trip. Today – full science program: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena and Mt. Wilson Observatory.
We leave the motel at 7.30am and reach the Jet ter in already an hour. The visitor parking space is full, we place the cars quite far. Everyone quickly goes to the entrance, but it turns out that our time is only at 9.20am. In briefing the time, we are discussing the first health problems and the adventures of the previous night: someone has his feet swollen from heat, someone else slept for only two hours. The rest entertain themselves by giving clever tips, and judging the missed opportunity to sleep for at least half an hour more.
Everyone is having their documents checked and issued a promotional tour of NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory sign to put around our necks.

We are a group of about 80 people. First, we are lead to the big Professor Pickering Hall, where we get introduced to safety regulations, a tour plan, and shown a video about the creation and operation of the Jet Propulsion Lab called “The Journey to the Planets and the Universe.”
The US has 10 such NASA laboratories responsible for various flight related matters: Houston is the flight control center, Kennedy in Florida is manned flight center, JPL is unmanned flight center etc.
Then the big group is divided into two parts, and we learn both about the mission management center and the how the Mars 2020 mission is prepared. At the flight control center you can follow each mission in real time by pressing its icon. To view real-time flights online, you can open DSN.now.
The visitor center has a retrospective and informative view of the laboratory’s activities. Everyone has the opportunity to view and take a photo of oneself in the infra-red version.
Morning quote: You can not become rich by selling gold, but you can become rich by selling tools for gold digging.
We drive next to Mt. Wilson Observatory. It is hot outdoors – over 30 degrees Celsius. We have arrived too early need to wait for one hour. The cafe only works on Saturdays and Sundays, when there are official tourists. We entertain ourselves by looking for a shadow, filling bottles and reading posters at the Observatory Museum, not yet knowing that guide Bruce Padget will lead through them in a binding story.
Many members of our group filled their dream of visiting the 100-inch telescope with which several significant discoveries of the 20th century have been made – Hubble using the 100-inch telescope confirms that there are other galaxies and the universe is expanding (1924).
In 1931, Albert Einstein visited the observatory, as evidenced by photography on the bridge before the telescope building. We must also take a photo there, of course.
Of course a group photo at the telescope.
The founder of the Observatory is George Ellery Hale, who built four telescopes, each of which at one time were the largest in the world. Two of them are on Mt. Wilson in Los Angeles.
We were lucky because the telescope was being maintained and we could observe how the telescope mechanics works.
In the evening, a quote from the guide, Bruce Padget, “The work in radioastronomy is boring because they explore rainbows and listen to stars.
Evening at Budget Inn Motel in El Monte.