Painting a telescope

Painting the tower of the Swedish Solar Telescope, Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, La Palma
August 7, 2015

Yesterday I showed a group around the WHT, and I noticed that the Swedish Solar Telescope is being repainted. (Follow the link for more about the telescope.)

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Izaña part 2: stargazing

Venus and Jupiter and a different telescope, Izaña, Tenerife
July 21, 2015

  Since I got there early, I got a chance to try to photograph the nearest star – our Sun, through a small telescope with a filter which lets through a wavelength called H? (pronounced H alpha). It was tricky. I’m pretty short sighted, and I can’t see well with my glasses squdged up against the viewfinder. For normal stargazing, I take my glasses off and refocus the telescope, but…

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New enormous Cherenkov telescopes

The observatory at the Roque de Los Muchachos at night. Credit: Daniel Lopez. ASCII Kolor stitching | 4 pictures | Size: 8667 x 4915 | FOV: 120.27 x 68.20 ~ 24.43 | RMS: 2.75 | Lens: Standard | Projection: Spherical | Color: LDR |
July 18, 2015

  It’s not quite a done deal, but it looks as though La Palma will be getting another 20 Chrenkov telescopes. The board of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) met on the 15th and 16th of July, and decided that their two preferred sitres are La Palma and Chile (near the Paranal observatory). Negotiations will now start with the site owners, and are expected to take 6 months. Meanwhile, they’ll…

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Amazon links

The front cover for 'A Breathtaking Window on the Universe'
May 15, 2015

Well, I finally got my books on sale. I would very, very much appreciate reviews. I’m not asking anyone to lie, but if you liked any of my books, please put in a review. And if you didn’t like it, you are, of course, completely entitled to your opinion, but perhaps you’d like a cup of tea instead? And if you see anything wrong with the listing, please, please tell…

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Explaining Astrophysics to this year’s Transvulcania Winner.

Video of Sheila Crosby with Luis Alberto Hernando discussing astrophysics
May 9, 2015

One of the fun things about Thursday’s job was meeting Luis Alberto Hernando. Not only was he the favourite to win this year (which he did in an amazing 6:52:39), but he’s also my kind of bonkers.   (For those of you who don’t know Spanish, I’m translating myself into Spanish, and then he’s saying the same thing without the Mad Scientist accent. Very seriously.)

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Sunset at the Roque de Los Muchachos

Gran Telescopio Canarias at sunset, Roque de Los Muchachos observatory
April 29, 2015

  The Roque de Los Muchachos is a spectacular place to watch the sunset. For one thing, you’re usually above the clouds (which is one reason the observatory is there.) In fact, sometimes the clouds are so much lower than the Roque that the sun sets well below you. This means that your shadow on a wall is taller than you, and the shadows of your legs go on forever….

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