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| Photographer & Not-So-Willing Significant Other! |
www.dennismook.com
This morning it was downright cold! In Flagstaff it was 36 degrees when we were loading the car and, to compound the cold, the wind was blowing about 25 mph. The previous three days the temperature had ranged from a high in the 90s to highs in the low 80s. The wind was incessant, first from the south, then west, then yesterday afternoon, the north. I understand north and east of our location, it has been cold, snowy and miserable for this time of year. Though all of our last 4 days, it has been very sunny with blue skies and, of course, that incessant wind! Enough about the weather.
Today was a good day mainly devoted to science and nature. First, let me make two recommendations when you travel. Don't be afraid to take those commercial trolley tours around the area in which you are visiting. In my experience, they are the fastest way to get to know an area so you can formulate your plans for subsequent days. Also, don't neglect spending time and asking questions at the local visitor's center. They are a wealth of information which can reveal interesting attractions that otherwise you may never know about.
That very thing happened to Vance and me this morning. We wanted to see some of downtown Flagstaff before we drove to the Grand Canyon. We visited the Visitor's Center and came away with some ideas to visit local places we didn't know about. One of those was the Lowell Observatory.
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| Lowell's 42" Clark Reflecting Telescope he Used to Study Mars |
We decided to drive to the nearby Lowell Observatory to see what may be there. We were very pleasantly surprised by what we found. While waiting to attend a "Mars" tour, we visited their exhibition hall which consisted of the history of the space suit. Sounds bland, but the technology that goes into making space suits, from the pre-NASA days of high altitude flight to the current International Space Station suits was fascinating. They call the space suit the smallest capsule there is. It is totally self-contained and is capable of withstanding extreme temperatures.
On the Mars tour, we learned about the namesake of the observatory, Percival Lowell. He was from a wealth Massachusetts family and he had a fascination with astronomy. In his early years, he became obsesses with the theory of the day that Mars held life and had canals. Being wealthy as an adult, he decided to build his own observatory, telescope and associated infrastructure, to prove there was life on Mars. He had built the 42" Clark telescope, which we visited, and set about studying Mars. Of course, the is no present life on Mars, but that quest started a career in astronomy that generated many discoveries by him and those who used his observatory.
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| Clyde Tombaugh's 13" Telescope used to Discover Pluto |
We also took the "Pluto" tour. The guide took us to another on-site observatory to show us the telescope that was used to discover the dwarf planet Pluto. (Note: a few years back, Pluto was downgraded from a planet to a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union since science showed it didn't meet the three criteria to be classified a planet. This is still very controversial. So, if someone asks you how many planets orbit our sun, the correct answer is 8. Pluto is located in the Kyper Belt at the extreme edge of our solar system along with many other objects the same size or lager. Last count there were 17. In any case, the three criteria that must be met to be classified a planet are: 1) it must orbit the sun, 2) it must be big enough for gravity to make it a round ball and, 3) it must be able to clear other objects [slingshot] out of its way and into outer space. Pluto doesn't meet the third criteria.) Standing there, in the semi-darkness, next to the 13" telescope that was used to discover Pluto, I could imagine Clyde Tombaugh working diligently, looking at glass plate after glass plate, hoping to find a pin prick of light that moved between exposures. Incredible patience and tenacity would have been required.
After leaving the Lowell Observatory, we decided to eat lunch in town. Vance remembered a place he saw near out hotel so we ate a nice lunch at Miz Zip's Route 66 Café.
Afterward, we drove north the 80 miles to the Grand Canyon. I was last here in October, 1995. Much has changed. Here it is May 2 and the crowds are large, the parking lots are full, and many people were milling around looking at that big, big, giant, huge, humongous, GINORMOUS hole!
Vance had never been here so I wanted to see his expression when we first walked up to the rim. I saw and heard amazement! We walked around and make some images, visited the Visitor's Center, stopped by the El Tovar Hotel and had a glass of wine while looking out over the rim and enjoyed the last remnants of the day.
We will be here tomorrow and will explore the Canyon.
Today we stayed in Arizona and only drove about 100 miles.
Enjoy!
Thanks for looking.
Dennis Mook
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