Saturday, December 4, 2010

Astrophotography, right in the middle of Chicago

Joe Guzman, astronomer extraordinaire and all-around really nice guy, shot some awesome pics of Saturn and Venus the other night. I love how supportive and encouraging the astronomy family is in Chicago - whether you're an Adler employee like Joe or just wanting to ask a hundred questions about a telescope before you buy it (ahem), these guys are so great. As a bonus, star parties are an extremely frequent event here in Chicago.

Even if you're not a local, you should check out Chicago Astronomer. Many of the posts there deal with observation information that is also relevant to the rest of North America,  the pictures are pretty, and the support is trememdous.



All photos by Joe Guzman

8 comments:

Chicago Astronomer Joe said...

A great appreciation to Cathy for posting the planetary pics I quickly shot on a cold early December morning - and for her wonderful interest in astronomy/space travel.

Many feel that due to Chicago's intense light polluted skies, that the wonders of the sky are off limits to it's citizens.  Not so.  With horrid mercury vapor street light pouring into my telescopes, I have been able to capture and pry secrets out of the cosmos. But with travel and darker skies...it's almost a spiritual event.

Thanks Cathy for following along with the Chicago Astronomer and our adventures.  We are here to enhance your astro experiences anytime.

Joe

Paulie said...

I LOVE THE "42" in the sidebar.

wardniner said...

And thanks to you, Joe, for answering all my dumb telescope questions and hosting all those star parties. I swear the planets will align and I'll get to one one of these days.

wardniner said...

Paulie,

I hope he's up there traveling the galaxy as we speak, with his towel and all.

jdegreif said...

I love the Saturn pics!

Atlantajan said...

Joe, You may be interested to know that Cathy and my sister, Mary, and I schlepped to Gila, NM, to see what turned out to be a not-so-great Leonid meteor shower last year. This year, I sat in my mom's back yard in Fernandina, Fla., for the Geminids, braving 30 mile-an-hour winds that made the temperature feel like something in the teens, but I saw over 200 meteors. My biggest regret: Cathy wasn't with me. So, I'm basically saying, Wow! Wow! Wow!" and there was no one with me to say, "wait, I didn't see that one!"

And, sitting there by myself I had lots of time to think, and here's what I thought:
"Damn, these bits of asteroid debris have been up here for millions or trillions of years, and I am happy to see them burn up and die; and then, "You know, if one of those babies were to come straight at me, I would be unable, given the layers of clothing I was wearing and the blankets I had on me, to run any distance away, and, you know, that would be fine, because to be incinerated by a shooting star would be a great way to die."

Cathy said...

When I was a kid (I guess everyone did this as a kid?) I used to actually look around for where they landed. Once we were lying on the beach and I kept listening for the splash.

=-X

Anonymous said...

Hi Everyone,

Just wanna say a quick hi and ask a silly question.

Is it possible to get updates of this site in the form of an RSS Feed? I tried looking for one but couldn't find it.

Thanks,
Blue