First time on campus with the baby! I think he had a blast.

Today at the helm of my sailboat "Comet" during her maiden voyage.

Meet Comet, my first sailboat. She's a West Wight Potter 15, a classic design from the 1960s. This example was built in 2003 and is in fantastic condition. This sloop has a cabin with two beds for overnight adventures and her maiden voyage will take place later this month in Patagonia Lake.

Now if I could have some clear skies...

Art Deco in Tucson shot with Polaroid I-Type B&W film. #polaroid #b&wphotography #analogphotography #filmphotography

Mission San Xavier del Bac shot on Polaroid I-Type B&W film. #polaroid #b&wphotography #analogphotography #filmphotography

Looking at photographic plates with a loupe is the closet experience to looking through the eyepiece of a telescope. These were obtained by Gerard Kuiper himself.

Achievement unlocked. JWST observed one of my comets. This if from Colin Snodgrass et al. "First JWST spectrum of distant activity in Long Period Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos)" arxiv.org/pdf/2503.14071

Working on Kitt Peak tonight. Forecast is looking good.

Apple maps is still resisting.

Self portrait at work no. 2. This one is the Bok telescope on Kitt Peak (MPC code V00). May the night be clear because I'm itching to find stuff.

Replying to work emails from my backyard when I noticed this deer spying on me.

Well this took more work than anticipated, but my solo guitar EP "A Bouquet of Tunes" is out on vinyl :)

Having fun with Comet for Widows. The last time I used this software I wasn't old enough to vote. I used JPL's absolute magnitude and slope parameter to produce the light curve. Note that comets are notoriously unpredictable and nobody knows if it will reach that magnitude. #CometWatch

Keep Europe Elon-Free.

The night of May 10th brought a beautiful display of aurora borealis to Tucson and also a new comet. This all sky image was taken at Mt. Lemmon at the time of the discovery sequence of comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos). I marked the position of the comet upon discovery with a yellow cross.

Last night was something to remember. I have never seen the aurora borealis and seeing the sky turn red was spectacular. I also might have discovered something interesting shooting through the red-tinted sky. Stay tuned..

A man and his boat.

This is my telescope.
There are many like it,
but this one is mine.