5 posts tagged “cincinnati”
We spent Saturday doing mostly practical things: grocery shopping, gardening (She), a thorough cleaning of my car (me... finally). Then, as the skies grew hazy with a layer of thin clouds, I headed off to the Observatory for a scheduled open house and public stargazing session -- it was national Astronomy Day.
Saturday evening the clouds gave the Moon --even through the telescope-- a hazy look. Yes, we could see detail, beautiful detail, in our views of Luna but the overall effect was one of looking through a thin blanket of fog. As the Moon sank behind our neighboring line of trees and the skies grew darker, I turned the big telescope to Saturn -- one of the few identifiable objects in the sky. It was beautiful! First we looked at the Ring World at 100X and it was good, though tiny. Next we saw the planet at 133X and it was still very good. Finally I bumped the power up to 266X and the view was glorious! We could see hints of color in the planetary body, glimpses of cloud banding, and the ring shadow across the face of that world more than 800 million miles distant. We also observed the planet's shadow falling across the rings as they passed behind that globe so far away. More than one visitor, on realizing what they were seeing, was awestruck. Over the evening we hosted 23 visitors of all ages and looked at Saturn again and again. It was a good night and perhaps my best-ever observations of Saturn.
Sunday was Mother's Day so, sleeping in a bit after a long night, we headed west and into a couple of hours of rainy driving. It was wet, chilly, and miserable but a fairly easy drive to see Mom and my sister with her family. All three of use kids brought or sent flowers: two planters and a corsage. Lots of flowers! Mom is doing great after her surgery, physical therapy, and balancing out of blood chemistry. My oldest nephew is excitedly preparing to move into a house he and his parents took from "delapitude" to coziness. We spent a pleasant afternoon catching up, had a pizza dinner --little work for anyone-- and headed east, homebound.
This morning's email brought an update from Cincinnati regarding Howie, the cat. It seems he was picked up from the vet Saturday and moved into his foster home. After the expected adjustments there, he seemed to calm down and enjoyed being petted and spoken to. He didn't like being picked up, however, according to his hostess. I wouldn't be too worried just yet about him being anti-social... after all, he got put in a cage, neutered, then locked in a strange house all within about 48 hours! I'm not sure I'd want a stranger holding me, either!
I received good news from Blue Ash, near Cincinnati, via email last night. The pitiable homeless cat that was hanging out at the Holiday Inn Express has been rescued. It looks like a network of individuals and organizations took action on my emailed pleas and "Howie," as he is now named, is hopefully headed towards a great new life. Here's the message I received:
I just wanted to give you an update on Howie. I caught him yesterday morning; well, I didn't really have to catch him. He just walked into the carrier, and I pushed his back-end in. :) He is a petite to medium size kitty and is just gorgeous. He has tiny eyes. He's a brown tabby with very bold, black stripes. His beauty is just breath-taking. Yes, I think all kitties are beautiful, but oh my goodness! :)
I dropped him off at the blue ash acc. They checked for the microchip, and he had none. So, they went ahead and microchipped him, vaccinated him, tested him (of course they did this first), and neutered him. Yes, he wasn't neutered. I can only imagine how calm he will be now.I will be picking him up on Sunday from the care center. I will be adopting out the other two fosters I have on Sunday and need to wait until they're gone to bring in Howie. But, at least for the time-being, he's safe at the vet's office. -- A.A.
There are actually two observatories at the Cincinnati Observatory Center. The original Cincinnati Observatory was located on Mt. Adams with a cornerstone (laid by John Quincy Adams) in 1843. That facility earned the moniker, "Birthplace of American Astronomy" was equipped with a 12-inch Merz und Mahler refracting telescope. The widespread burning of sooty coal sullied the air such that, by the 1850s, astronomy from Mt. Adams became impractical. A new site for the observatory was sought and that was Mt. Lookout, five miles away from the original location.
The new observatory was built in 1873. The original telescope was installed and used at the new location. To keep up with technological progress, a new telescope was purchased in 1904 -- the 16-inch Alvan Clark machine from the previous post. Happily for the original telescope, and for the public, the older and smaller Merz und Mahler instrument was still valued.
In 1904 a second, smaller, observatory facility was built --the Mitchel Building, named in honor of Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel, founder of the Observatory-- to house the fine old 12-inch which has a wooden optical tube assembly! The 12-inch was installed in the Mitchel Building where it helped maintain the tradition of public viewing begun at the original 1845 site and which continues today. How many generations of Cincinnatians have looked through that grand telescope, the same old glass as their forebears, and wondered at the starry realm above them?
During the conference along with other astronomers, historians, telescope experts, and preservationists, I was afforded full access to the Cincinnati Observatory grounds and facilities. It was a wonderful experience and a joy to see the institution flourishing in the 21st century.
The day of presentations seemed to go on forever at the Antique Telescope Society's workshop. There was really good content but way too many hours of it. So I got up and walked out of the classroom --the former meridian transit room of the observatory-- or shifted in my seat. Often. At times rain poured down in sheets as we heard discussions of the viability and survivability of "Vintage Observatories" in the 21st century. Don't get me wrong... the presentations were both interesting and informative. My bottom still got sore from all the sitting, though. Fortunately the sky began to clear off in the late morning hours and many of us enjoyed strolling around the grounds of the Cincinnati Observatory Center. I shot many photos both indoors and outdoors showing various views of the main observatory building and the smaller Mitchel Building on Mt. Lookout. After dinner I listened impatiently to presenters but was really anticipating sunset and a chance to look through the grand 16-inch Alvan Clark & Sons telescope, showpiece of the Center.
From inside the classroom I heard a rumble. Someone said that was the sound of the dome being rotated. So I ran up the stairs and into the dome room and got to see the huge dome rotate above me. The presenting astronomer for the evening offered me the honor of opening the shutter for the night's observing. He said to be careful to stand directly under the rope-operated pulley so as not to derail the rope and cause it to fall off. I got the shutter opened but managed to drop the rope! {Sigh.} Fortunately it was easy to fix: rotate the dome so that the aperture was over the observer's chair, climb up, loop the rope over the pulley -- fixed!
The astronomer also let me turn the crank to wind the drive weights into position. Or was that something like Tom Sawyer "letting" his friends paint the fence? No matter, I grabbed hold with both hands and turned the crank lifting 300 pounds of cold iron. Conversing with the observatory staff and just hanging around in the dome was a fine time for me, far from the yammering crowd below!
As luck would have it --this always seems to happen-- clouds began to roll in at about the time it got dark enough to spot Saturn. We all got at least one glimpse of the ringed world before solid overcast moved in and shut us down. I was allowed, and requested, to run the R.A. slow-motion control to center up Saturn before clouds could obscure it. That would allow some lead time should another opening appear in the cloud deck (and one or two did) whilst the telescope was tracking. The telescope is the largest refractor I've ever used and it moved smoothly and easily with the turn of a knob. I got one good, brief look at Saturn but that second or two hinted at how good the telescope is: I glimpsed at least three of Saturn's moons, some banding in the planetary body, and my first look at the Cassini Division -- the dark separation in the ring system. And that was on a night of poor seeing!
The conference ends tomorrow (Sunday) with a half-day of sessions, door prizes, and a fond farewell to the Observatory Center. I may post one more photo here, but I'll have much to think about and photos to share and enjoy for quite some time to come. It's been a good visit.
Today I traveled from Northeastern Ohio into Columbus. I ran a little delivery errand there, then headed out for Cincinnati. The trip went fine until I hit the Cincinnati ring road -- I-276. I'd done really well up til then -- not a single missed turn or problem. In Cinci, however, I watched for my first exit and did not find it. I found my motel (it will remain unnamed but it has a red roof) and didn't like the location or looks. So I set off cross-town in the best way I could seeking the address of my Cincinnati delivery errand. Well, if you've got business in two cities and you happen to be visiting both of those cities, why not make it a part of the trip? After long bouts with bad traffic, bad weather, bad neighborhoods, bad maps, I finally found my way to I-71 (thanks to my trusty hand-held GPS), eventually delivered my packages, canceled my previous reservation, and sought an alternative motel. I wound up at the Holiday Inn Express. It's very nice, moderately priced, and convenient to I-71 and, presumably, to my astronomy workshop location -- the Cincinnati Observatory Center. Good high-speed Internet access is included and the entire property is non-smoking which suites me perfectly! I decided to go out again to explore and to find dinner winding up at the gigantic Kenwood Towne Centre shopping mall. (Don't you just love their creative use of "olde-fashioned" and European spellings?). The place was huge. Didn't have enough parking. And is about the busiest shopping mall I've ever seen outside of the Christmas shopping season! Anyway I settled for baked ziti at Sbarro's. I know, ewwww... but I couldn't find anyplace else. That is, of course, until I went across the street to a smaller shopping center to visit and stroll around a Barnes & Noble store. All kinds of trendy and interesting dining places there. Oh well.
Heading back to the Holiday Inn the sky lit up with brilliant yellow-orange colored mammatus and cirrus clouds. I ran to the room to grab my camera as quickly as I could as the clouds were smoothing out and the light was fading fast. I managed to catch the last of the beautiful display but was left wishing I'd been back a few minutes sooner to record the splendor that I had seen.
Walking back to the motel entrance I was greeted by a four-footed resident -- a beautiful male tabby cat that, according to the desk clerk, hangs around this motel in an industry-laden area. He was very friendly and curious walking towards the camera every time I pointed it at him. The sweetie cried and cried and seemed to want to follow me inside. Loved being petted. Heartbreaking. He's so tame he certainly grew up as a pet. I hope he finds a good home but fear he never will.
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