Texas Star Party -- Meet up with Elessar
Posted: Tue May 18, 2010 5:31 pm
I'm back!
I'm back from the Texas Star Party. I expected to be able to check into Triaxian Silk (and the outside world in general) alot more than was possible. We had internet, but just barely.
So, I had a wonderful time. There were 5 mostly clear nights. I met new friends and reunited with the people I met last year. As you might guess, a convention of 400 plus amateur astronomers is alot like a convention of Trekkies. (And to be sure, many of them are Trekkies). One new friend lent me her 6-inch (of aperture) go-to telescope (points itself) and I had a fun time with that. Another night I was able to borrow another friend's 16-inch telescope with digital setting circles (it doesn't point itself, but it has numbers that go to zero as you move it closer to your target.) I saw interesting galaxies and galaxy groupings. I saw a globular cluster (of 100,000 stars) that is being thrown out our galaxy (it's 275,000 light years away). Plus all the usual eye candy. Someone visiting nearby McDonald Observatory shared a rumor that there was a supernovae in a certain galaxy (M101). That night I looked at that galaxy through the 16 inch and sketched it at the eyepiece, noting all the little specks I could see in it. Next morning, I compared my sketch to a map of the galaxy and, alas, all my little stars were accounted for. Later we learned that the supernovae rumor was only a rumor. Ah well, it was still fun (IF YOU ARE TOTAL NERD, which I AM!)
I was only moderately nerdy by the standards of the Star Party, which draws the most advanced observers from around the country. On the last day, one friend excitedly pulled me aside to describe various jets (emitted from the centers of active galaxies) he had seen the night before. And of course, there were long lazy lunches and dinners were we lingered to debate urgent questions like "What if technology were to radically extend the human lifetime?" And "Will humans ever colonize other planets and solar systems?"
I wore my Triaxian Silk t-shirt one day to advertise the site.
We may pick up one or two more readers. People seemed generally familiar with Enterprise and even with fanfic, (asking "Are these dirty stories?" lol). One person said she liked Farscape stories but couldn't stand the Aeryn\Creighton pairing. She liked the "more adventurous stories." I asked what could that mean? (It could mean anything, since half the aliens on Farscape are so alien they are played by puppets, lol . . .) She informed me that many people are really into the Crais/Talon pairing. LOL!!! 
(Talon is a living ship. A VERY YOUNG living ship. Oh my!)
On the 26 hour drive home we played a certain Eagles album a few too many times and I have a Peaceful Easy Feeling I might scream if I ever hear that song again. Still recuperating.
And last, but certainly not least, I met up with Elessar on the way home. We had an all too short reunion over dinner at Applebees. It was wonderful to see him again. He looks great and I would have taken a picture to post here. However that would have led to someone taking a picture of me, and we don't want to go there.
More later if I think of more to tell.
Apologies to people waiting for beta and answers to emails. I will be back here soon, reading and posting.
I'm back from the Texas Star Party. I expected to be able to check into Triaxian Silk (and the outside world in general) alot more than was possible. We had internet, but just barely.
So, I had a wonderful time. There were 5 mostly clear nights. I met new friends and reunited with the people I met last year. As you might guess, a convention of 400 plus amateur astronomers is alot like a convention of Trekkies. (And to be sure, many of them are Trekkies). One new friend lent me her 6-inch (of aperture) go-to telescope (points itself) and I had a fun time with that. Another night I was able to borrow another friend's 16-inch telescope with digital setting circles (it doesn't point itself, but it has numbers that go to zero as you move it closer to your target.) I saw interesting galaxies and galaxy groupings. I saw a globular cluster (of 100,000 stars) that is being thrown out our galaxy (it's 275,000 light years away). Plus all the usual eye candy. Someone visiting nearby McDonald Observatory shared a rumor that there was a supernovae in a certain galaxy (M101). That night I looked at that galaxy through the 16 inch and sketched it at the eyepiece, noting all the little specks I could see in it. Next morning, I compared my sketch to a map of the galaxy and, alas, all my little stars were accounted for. Later we learned that the supernovae rumor was only a rumor. Ah well, it was still fun (IF YOU ARE TOTAL NERD, which I AM!)
I was only moderately nerdy by the standards of the Star Party, which draws the most advanced observers from around the country. On the last day, one friend excitedly pulled me aside to describe various jets (emitted from the centers of active galaxies) he had seen the night before. And of course, there were long lazy lunches and dinners were we lingered to debate urgent questions like "What if technology were to radically extend the human lifetime?" And "Will humans ever colonize other planets and solar systems?" I wore my Triaxian Silk t-shirt one day to advertise the site.
We may pick up one or two more readers. People seemed generally familiar with Enterprise and even with fanfic, (asking "Are these dirty stories?" lol). One person said she liked Farscape stories but couldn't stand the Aeryn\Creighton pairing. She liked the "more adventurous stories." I asked what could that mean? (It could mean anything, since half the aliens on Farscape are so alien they are played by puppets, lol . . .) She informed me that many people are really into the Crais/Talon pairing. LOL!!! (Talon is a living ship. A VERY YOUNG living ship. Oh my!)On the 26 hour drive home we played a certain Eagles album a few too many times and I have a Peaceful Easy Feeling I might scream if I ever hear that song again. Still recuperating.
And last, but certainly not least, I met up with Elessar on the way home. We had an all too short reunion over dinner at Applebees. It was wonderful to see him again. He looks great and I would have taken a picture to post here. However that would have led to someone taking a picture of me, and we don't want to go there.
More later if I think of more to tell.
Apologies to people waiting for beta and answers to emails. I will be back here soon, reading and posting.
Partially because it's a giant 