Lake Odell, Munds Park, AZ, Monday, Sept. 23, 2019

We walked down from our rental to the street where homes overlook Lake Odell.  Some owners have visions of grandeur.

Also, many people have a love for the local wildlife.  Homes on one side of the street look out to the lake, while homes on the other side back up to Coconino National Forest.

The trail was very easy to walk.  The lake is man made and is part of the flood control system.  The golf course is on the other side of the dam and is all considered flood plain.  One home we looked at (only a drive by, not inside) had a really good price - turns out it was just barely included in the flood plain.  We were told that none of the homes have ever flooded, but all of the condos and homes anywhere near the golf course are all considered as requiring flood insurance.

The Pinewood Property Owners Association (not an HOA, just a non-profit organization that tries to improve things around town) have raised money and placed benches around town.  One was out on the trail.  We stopped there and could hear and see the ducks and geese on the lake - but they were too far away to take photos with the cameras in our phones.

We had a pleasant three mile hike in good weather before the remnants of Hurricane Lorena hit the area - midday temps dropped into the 40s, and we had a lot of rain and wind.  I also got alerts on my phone about the storm, including one from the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix telling all guests, volunteers and staff to take shelter.

Lowell Observatory at night, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019

Since we became members of Lowell Observatory, we were able to attend a members only preview of the opening of the new Giovale Open Deck Observatory.  Most telescopes are inside a dome and then you open a door in the roof of the dome so the single telescope can look out into the portion of the sky visible through that door.  With the open deck here, the walls and roof slide back from the deck and the half dozen telescopes are completely open.  As a dark sky city, the view from the deck was amazing, both with and without the telescopes.

One of the scopes was focused on a ring nebula, the glowing remains of a star that is dying.  It was some 2,000 light years away.  The image was put on large computer screen, as was the analysis of the light.  The image was refreshed every fifteen seconds.

The hundred or so visitors, lined up at the different telescopes and could see the many different objects.  One scope had the Messier M-19 object.  I learned about them: The Messier objects are a set of 110 astronomical objects cataloged by the French astronomer Charles Messier in his Catalogue des Nébuleuses et des Amas d'Étoiles ("Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters").  Another was focused on Jupiter and three of the moons orbiting it.

There were also many educational signs visible in the red light.  The ones on this side of the building showed what makes up our solar system and galaxy.  I knew about the planets, asteroid belt and Kuiper Belt, but also learned about the Oort Cloud:  The Oort Cloud is an extended shell of icy objects that exist in the outermost reaches of the solar system. It is named after astronomer Jan Oort, who first theorised its existence. The Oort Cloud is roughly spherical, and is thought to be the origin of most of the long-period comets that have been observed.  There was also a docent with a 300 mw laser pointer educating us about things we could see without a telescope: the planet Jupiter, the star Arcturus, and a variety of constellations, as well as some satellites and space junk passing overhead.  And of course, we also saw a couple of "shooting stars" - Flagstaff is a dark sky city, and Lowell Observatory is on top of Mars Hill, so it is much easier to see things.  I also learned about the rating scale for dark sky cities:  The Borter scale ranges from Class 1, the darkest skies available on Earth, through Class 9, inner-city skies. It gives several criteria for each level beyond naked-eye limiting magnitude (NELM). In 2001, Flagstaff became the world's first International Dark Sky City.

A very pleasant evening was had by all - I need to return and learn more about the night sky.

Lowell Observatory, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019

We visited the Lowell Observatory before, probably at least ten years ago.  We stayed in hotel in Flagstaff and Lowell was one of the places we explored.  After parking, we were greeted by this colorful creature (I think it is a mountain lion, as the shape reminds me of the mountain lion we saw last month in Gila, NM).

 

This time, we went into the visitor center and started with the Lowell Tour.  "Explore Lowell Observatory’s past and present research efforts during this 45-minute guided walking tour of the historical campus. This tour includes a stop at the renowned 24” Clark Refracting Telescope, built in 1896 and still in use today."  The tour leader spent about 15 minutes in the auditorium telling us about Percival Lowell and his family.  Among other things, his sister Amy was a Pulitzer Prize winning poet and his younger brother Abbot went on to become President of Harvard University.  Here is a short bio about Percival Lowell, 1855 - 1916, copied from the observatory's website:

Percival Lowell was a mathematician, businessman, travel writer, and astronomer. The Lowell observatory in Arizona was the first permanent observatory built solely for its viewing conditions: high altitude to minimize atmospheric distortion, minimal cloud cover, and remote from the light pollution and smoke of cities.

Lowell discovered an enormous network of canals and oases on Mars, from which he deduced the existence of an advanced Martian civilization. Later studies by astronomers with larger telescopes found no canals and no oases. The canals were an illusion – Lowell’s aspirations led him to ‘see’ a landscape his telescopes lacked the power to resolve. However, he was not the only astronomer to see canals on Mars!

Early triumphs for the Lowell Observatory were the discovery of galactic redshifts, hinting at an expanding universe, and the discovery of the rotation of spiral galaxies.

Lowell’s search for a ninth planet, he called it Planet X, led to the discovery of Pluto.

We then headed out where our first stop was the Lampland Telescope, named for Carl Lampland.

Lampland spent his entire 50-year career as an astronomer at Lowell Observatory, participating in many important research projects including the search for a 9^th planet that led to the discovery of Pluto and measuring the temperature of planets. He also kept a daily diary, which today serves as a valuable resource for documenting both research and personal activities around the observatory. Yet his name is not well remembered even in scientific circles.

Then it was on to the famous Clark Telescope built in 1894, recently renovated and still functional today, and is used for viewing on evening tours.

This is chair where you sit to look through the telescope.

Outside the Clark Telescope, there is a spot to view downtown Flagstaff.

After Lowell died, his wife had a mausoleum built.  The inner windows are blue (they are protected by the clear exterior windows) so that Lowell will looking up at the blue night sky for eternity.

The original water tower is near by (and they have to warn people not to climb on it).

The John Vickers McAllister telescope is also nearby and can be seen through the windows (the tour did not go inside).
 

After a short break we went on the Story of Pluto Tour starting in the Rotunda Museum.  The wings of the building are not open to the public, as they house offices for the many astronomers who still work here.  The Rotunda Museum is housed in this magnificent old building.

In the middle of the domed room is a large ball which is actually a screen on which the tour leader projected numerous things to help us better understand how Pluto (with its five moons) was discovered.

We then set out on the walk that demonstrated the distances in our solar system, staring with the sun and ending with Pluto and the telescope used to discover Pluto.

Outside, there is a statue of Clyde William Tombaugh - his observations of changes on slides were the actual discovery of Pluto.

As we were leaving, we passed by the new Giovale Open Deck Discovery.  We became members of the Lowell Observatory and have tickets to a members only event coming up in a couple of weeks from when I wrote this post.