APOD: Geminids over Kit Peak (2010 Dec 16)

[APOD Robot]

Geminids over Kit Peak

Explanation: Two large telescope domes stand in the foreground of this night sky view from Kitt Peak National Observatory, near Tucson, Arizona, USA. The dramatic scene was recorded early Tuesday morning, near the peak of December's Geminid Meteor Shower. With dome slit open, the building closest to the camera houses the 2.3 Meter (90 inch) Bok Telescope operated by Steward Observatory, University of Arizona. Behind the Bok is the Mayall 4 Meter telescope dome. Of course, no telescopes were needed to enjoy the meteors streaking through the sky! The composite image consists of 13 exposures each 15 seconds long, taken with a wide angle lens over a period of about 2 hours during Kitt Peak's warm, clear, night. An annual celestial event, this meteor shower is the result of planet Earth plowing through dust from mysterious, asteroid-like object 3200 Phaethon.

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[lenka]

I tried to catch Geminids too but it wasn't great success like this one:) Have a nice day Everyone!

[neufer]

Geminids over Kit Peak

This fish-eyed lens image shows the night time sky as seen from Kitt Peak. The new study measured the amount of light pollution at an elevation of 30 degrees (shown by the red circle) and overhead (in the middle of the image), finding it currently has minimal impact on astronomical observations made at Kitt Peak.

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Sells or Tucson in the background?

<<Sells, the largest town on the Tohono O'odham Reservation, serves as tribal headquarters. The dependable water here has made the place a popular stop for travelers since prehistoric times. Originally known as Indian Oasis, the settlement took its present name in 1918 to honor Indian Commissioner Cato Sells. The town lies 58 miles southwest of Tucson via AZ 86, 20 miles past the turnoff for Kitt Peak. Offices, schools, and a shopping center (Basha's supermarket/bakery and a post office) line a business loop just south of the main highway.

Tohono O'odham All-Indian Rodeo and Fair
Tohono O'odham cowboys show off their riding and roping skills in the tribe's big annual event, usually held on the first weekend of February. The Tohono O'odham put on a parade, exhibit crafts, serve Indian fry bread, and perform songs and dances. Obtain the dates from the tribal office in Sells (520/383-2588, ext. 5) or the Visitors Bureau in Tucson (520/632-6024 or 800/638-8350).
Before camping or exploring the backcountry, check to see if you'll need a permit from one of the 11 districts of the reservation; the Tohono O'odham Tribe Administration (Sells, AZ 85634, 520/383-2028) can advise you on which district to contact and give you its telephone number. The administration office is in an all-white building with a man-in-the-maze symbol, near schools on the north side of the business loop; enter from the back. Ask about road conditions if you plan to venture off the main highway; dirt roads can become impassable after rains.>>

[skippy]

DULL

[neufer]

DULL

Love's Labour's Lost > V, ii

BIRON: All wanton as a child, skipping and vain.

The Merchant of Venice > Act I, scene II

PORTIA: The brain may devise laws for the blood,
but a hot temper leaps o'er a cold decree:
such a hare is madness the youth,
to skip o'er the meshes of good counsel the cripple.
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DULL, a. [AS. dol foolish; akin to gedwelan to err, D. dol mad, dwalen to wander, err, G. toll mad,
Goth. dwals foolish, stupid, cf. Gr. turbid, troubled, Skr. dhvr to cause to fall. Cf. Dolt, Dwale, Dwell, Fraud.]

1. Slow of understanding; wanting readiness of apprehension; stupid; doltish; blockish. Dull at classical learning." Thackeray.

. She is not bred so dull but she can learn. Shak.

2. Slow in action; sluggish; unready; awkward.

. O, help my weak wit and sharpen my dull tongue. Spenser.

3. Insensible; unfeeling.

. Think me not So dull a devil to forget the loss Of such a matchless wife. Beau. & Fl.

4. Not keen in edge or point; lacking sharpness; blunt. Thy scythe is dull." Herbert.

5. Not bright or clear to the eye; wanting in liveliness of color or luster; not vivid; obscure; dim; as, a dull fire or lamp; a dull red or yellow; a dull mirror.

6. Heavy; gross; cloggy; insensible; spiritless; lifeless; inert. The dull earth. Shak.

. As turning the logs will make a dull fire burn, so changes of study a dull brain. Longfellow.

7. Furnishing little delight, spirit, or variety; uninteresting; tedious; cheerless; gloomy; melancholy; depressing; as, a dull story or sermon; a dull occupation or period; hence, cloudy; overcast; as, a dull day.
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[Beyond]

Duller!

[neufer]

Duller!

<<John Foster Dulles (February 25, 1888 – May 24, 1959) served as U.S. Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959. He was a significant figure in the early Cold War era, advocating an aggressive stance against communism throughout the world. He advocated support of the French in their war against the Viet Minh in Indochina and it is widely believed that he refused to shake the hand of Zhou Enlai at the Geneva Conference in 1954. He also played a major role in the Central Intelligence Agency operation to overthrow the democratic Mossadegh government of Iran in 1953 (Operation Ajax) and the democratic Arbenz government of Guatemala in 1954 (Operation PBSUCCESS).

Born in Washington, D.C., he was one of five children and the eldest son born to Presbyterian minister Allen Macy Dulles and his wife Edith (Foster). His paternal grandfather, John Welsh Dulles, had been a Presbyterian missionary in India. He attended public schools in Watertown, New York. After dropping out of Princeton University, (Phi Beta Kappa, 1908), and The George Washington University Law School he joined the New York City law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell, where he specialized in international law. He tried to join the United States Army during World War I but was rejected because of poor eyesight. Instead, Dulles received an Army commission as Major on the War Industries Board.

Both his grandfather, John W. Foster, and his uncle, Robert Lansing, served as Secretary of State. He was also the older brother of Allen Welsh Dulles, Director of Central Intelligence under Eisenhower. On June 26, 1912, he married Janet Avery, with whom he had two sons and a daughter. One of their sons, Avery Dulles (1918–2008), converted to Roman Catholicism, entered the Jesuit order and became the first American priest to be directly appointed a Cardinal. His other son, John W. F. Dulles (1913–2008), was a professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin. His daughter, Lillias Hinshaw (1914–1987), was a Presbyterian minister.

On December 1, 1958, Dulles and Dr. Milton Eisenhower attended Mexico's new president Adolfo Lopez Mateos' inauguration, where Dulles made the candid quote, "The United States of America does not have friends; it has interests". At the time the quote was actually interpreted positively, but has with time become infamous in some sectors due to the country's future foreign policies.

Carol Burnett first rose to prominence in the 1950s singing a novelty song, "I Made a Fool of Myself Over John Foster Dulles"; more recently, Gil Scott Heron commented "John Foster Dulles ain't nothing but the name of an airport now" in the song "B-Movie." In the book Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates, Switters and Case both spit whenever they refer to John Foster Dulles.>>

[Nitpicker]

What an irritating perspective. Seeing observatories sprouting from the ground at a 45 degree angle bothers me. Also, the description of how the composite image was taken bothers me. While 3 minutes and 15 seconds of exposure time may have caught twelve Geminids in a small fraction of the sky, I rather doubt it as that corresponds to a ZHR of over 500 assuming less than half the sky is shown in the photo. Such a photo would also show stars as 13 elongated dots as the Earth rotated and created dashed star trails. Since a clock drive was obviously used, why aren't the building and horizon smeared.

[AnonymousCoward]

Those who can, do. Those who can't, critique. HAND

[Chris Peterson]

Those who can, do. Those who can't, critique. HAND :D

I'd replace "critique" with "criticize".