Posts by Triple-J 13 publicly visible posts • joined 19 Sep 2014
But Apache Point Observatory and the other scopes a mile away are still open. And no one's been evacuated from the site, even though it's so close to the solar observatory. They also have an excellent view of WSMR and Holloman. For that matter, the "super scary helicopters" are pretty much normal for the area. I've seen lots of cool aircraft zooming by when I've been at APO.
The news saddens this Las Crucen but doesn't surprise her. I had been asking around to various friends to see if anyone knew anyone at the FAA who could put in a good word for LOHAN and all I got were stories of how awful the FAA is. Part of the problem, too, with the Spaceport end of things is that every time they do something even slightly off (for example, having school children launch model rockets out there), they get hammered in the phone-in opinion section of the newspaper about how useless they are and what a waste of our tax money it is. I am quite cranky now but still up for a road trip to Colorado if need be.
It was neither a nova nor a supernova. This particular bipolar nebula (M2-9 not M-29 actually) is a planetary nebula, formed from the end stages of a red giant as it becomes a white dwarf. One way to get the bipolar structure is if the central object is a binary star, and the outflow from the red giant wind gets channeled into lobes. "Butterfly Nebula". Harumph. When I observed it for my thesis, we called it Minkowski's Mustache. (Minkowskl being the 'M' in the object's name).
Organizers in Las Cruces, NM are trying to have a big celebration when New Horizons finally arrives at Pluto. In the astronomy department here at NMSU, we still use one of Clyde's telescopes for public events. I got to know Clyde before he died and I have never met anyone so fond of crow puns. I thought *I* was bad when it came to puns but he out-did me by a long shot.
Adding to the Texan's Armadillo Eggs: a local favorite in Las Cruces is green chile cheese fries (yes, the spelling of "chile" matters down here). It's like poutine minus the gravy but with some good sinus-clearing green chile on top. If the alcohol you've consumed doesn't make you regretful in the morning, the green chile cheese fries will.
I am also going to try my hand at making Scotch eggs, using Mexican chorizo. Thanks for the recipe!
Hope all goes well. Apropos of Spaceport America, though, there was a successful launch yesterday and one payload on the rocket was yeast for Ninkasi Brewery (Oregon-based, excellent brewery). They'll be making a space beer, though technically it's a sub-orbital beer (maybe Sub-Orbit-Ale?)
If you need any help from this end, give a holler. Among other things, I know one of the guys that does scientific balloon launches, I can recommend hotels, and, most importantly, suggest places where you might want to have a beer or 5. And chile. You can't come to New Mexico without having green and/or red chile.
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