Images and Words about Astronomy
and the Environment by

Michael Stump, Jeremy Sawruk, Adrian Hernandez, and Gary A. Becker

Click on the photos to make them larger.

February 1999 Venus-Jupiter Conjunction

	We had been waiting patiently for February 17th when the moon was due to overtake Venus (below) and Jupiter (above). But to capture this image against the unique silhouette of Balance Rock in Arches National Park made this event truly memorable. After recording the image, it took us nearly forty minutes to find our way back to our van in the darkness. Oops!! Click to enlarge this photo taken by Michael Stump.
After our return from Canyonlands National Park the following evening, we scooted back to Arches National Park to photograph the continuing dance of Venus, Jupiter and the moon. Tonight the moon had moved to a position above Jupiter, and was photographed at Courthouse Towers, near the entrance to the park. In the photo, the brighter of the two starlike objects is Venus. Click to enlarge this photo taken by Gary A. Becker.
	The day before the closest approach of Venus and Jupiter (Feb. 22) was exceptionally clear in the Lehigh Valley. This digital photo was taken about 6:10 p.m. by Gary A. Becker from his front yard in Coopersburg, PA. Venus is still below Jupiter. The following day, which brought Venus to within 1/5 of a degree of Jupiter, was cloudy. Click to enlarge the photo.
It was cloudy on February 23, when Venus was closest to Jupiter. The following evening it was clear and Brownie Troop 965 visited the Planetarium for an evening program. Prior to the start of the presentation the girls and the conjunction were photographed separately. The following composite image was the result. Brighter Venus is now above Jupiter. Click on image to enlarge. Gary A. Becker photos...

	Astronomy Cadre of the Dieruff Academy, 1999 Field Experience posing for a quick shot at Stapleton Airport. From Left to Right: Adrian Hernandez, Michael Stump, Gary A. Becker, and Jeremy Sawruk. Little did we know about the major adventure that awaited us. Click on picture for more info.
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Very Large Array near Soccoro, NM. Its "Y" shaped distribution of 27 radio telescopes can be synthesized to create one radio telescope of 27 miles in diameter. The photo shows us looking down two of the telescope's arms. Click on picture for more info.
	Every observatory has to have a control center for operating the telescope(s). For the Very Large Array, this consists of a series of highly specialized computers to monitor the second by second operation of the telescopes. This in turn, is overseen by the telescope operator who is shown here. The equipment shown in the picture had just been installed yesterday. Click for more info.
At the Very Large Array, there are really 28 telescopes, one of which is always being maintenanced and upgraded. Once this is completed,this telescope is switched with the radio telescope next in line for maintenance. In this way, each telescope is maintained about once every four years. Click to enlarge photo.
	Anderson Overlook on the road to Los Alamos. The road is narrow and windy. The site for the town founded in 1943 was purposely designed to have limited accesibility. It was here that the victory for WWII became assured. Click to enlarge photo.
"Little Boy" Atomic Bomb on display at the Bradbury Science Museum in Los Alamos. This was the bomb dropped over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. In the background, you can see the "Fat Man" bomb, which was dropped over Nagasaki three days later. Click for more info.
	Bandelier National Monument, south of Los Alamos, was the site of major human habitation for thousands of years. The isolated Frijoles Canyon provided the security and water supply for Indians that lived here up until the Spanish conquest. Click for more info.
In the Rio Grande classic period, which ended in the late 1500's, Indians built pueblo dwellings along the cliff wall. They carved rooms from the loosely consolidated volcanic ash which forms the base of the cliff walls. Here, Adrian Hernandez (on ladder) climbs into one of the dwellings excavated into the wall of the canyon while Mike Stump looks on. Click to enlarge photo.
	During day trips to Los Alamos, Bandelier, and Santa Fe, we established our base camp at Star Hill Inn, near Sapello, NM. After the days' expeditions, the spectacular New Mexico skies beckoned us to continue exploring the celestial realm. The telescope on the right was our vehicle for our celestial journey. Click to enlarge photo.
"What happened to my one phone call?" Adrian Hernandez found himself arrested by the Las Vegas police department when he tried to hit on the sheriff's daughter. Luckily, the jail he was taken to was really the old 19th Century stockade where more hardened criminals did time in the early rough-and- tumble frontier days. The old jail is now housed in Tito's Gallery on Bridge Street, just down from the plaza. Click to enlarge photo.
	This sunset photo of St. Francis church represents one of the important landmarks of Santa Fe, capital of New Mexico. The town is a mixture of jetsetters and tourists who are drawn to this mecca of nouveau southwestern styles and exotic specialty shops. Among the shops were numerous galleries specializing in minerals, fossils and meteorites, with museum quality specimens for sale. Jewelry shops abounded. Click to enlarge image.
There are many ways of travelling to Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico. Most individuals take the interstates, but we decided to add a little variety to our trip by crossing the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and approached Chaco through a series of rural routes. On our way, we observed the transition from mountain forest to rolling hills dotted with pinion pines to the desert environment of Chaco Canyon. Click to enlarge image.
	Chetro Ketl was one of the great pueblos of the Anasazi people, and is now preserved within Chaco Culture National Historic Park. The picture shows several kivas, which were ceremonial rooms basically allocated to men in this matriarchal society. Click to enlarge image.
The greatest site at Chaco Canyon is undeniably Pueblo Bonito, Spanish for "Beautiful Village." The site was occupied between 800 and 1200 A.D. In its final form, Bonito housed over 600 rooms and forty kivas. Click to enlarge image.
	Anasazi architecture was precise and highly developed, as can be seen in this series of doorways, at Pueblo Bonito. Most rooms are inaccessible to tourists, but in Bonito the trail leads through these fabulous chambers, many reaching up three stories. In this region, where annual rainfall accumulations were under ten inches, it defies the senses as to how the Anasazi flourished for hundreds of years. Click to enlarge image.
Finally, after four days of being separated, the environmental and astronomy cadres joined forces for breakfast at the Chaco Canyon campgrounds. The camping experience has been a cold one, with most morning lows bottoming out in the single digits. Click to enlarge image.
	This rock painting known as a pictograph, shows a hand, star, and moon. It is thought to be a representation of the extraordinary supernova explosion of 1054 A.D. The hand has been shown to point to the location along the horizon where the supernova first appeared. Below the supernova pictograph may also be a representation of the 1066 apparition of Halley's Comet which was unusually bright. Click to enlarge image.
Above the cliff overhang which contains the supernova pictograph, is Penasco Blanco. It was probably the village shaman who first witnessed the 1054 supernova. His function was to observe the daily changes in the rising positions of the sun in order to keep watch over the calendar for agricultural, and religious purposes. The pueblo, now in ruins, is mute testimony to the greatness of a people long since vanished. Click to enlarge image.
	After breaking camp in a bone-chilling 8° F we still needed to make one more observation before exiting Chaco. That was the Sun Dagger, high atop Fajada Butte, which marked the summer solstice noontime position of the sun. The site is now inaccessible to hikers, but not under the scrutiny of a good telescope. Fajada Butte can be seen in the photo below. Click to enlarge each photo.
"I drink of the earth given me And realize what you've seen is what Now I see There so too the trail walked by you and yours Perhaps now intended for me and mine Can now and forever become ours" By: Adrian Hernandez
	The Castle, at Hovenweep National Monument, is a unique structure with regards to Anasazi architecture. Not only does it possess a medieval flair, but on the extreme right corner of the building, there was also a room which marked the times of summer and winter solstice, as well as the equinoxes. In the picture, Jeremy Sawruk peeks into the room through the summer solstice port. Click to enlarge photo.
Arches National Park is the true epitomy of the wild west. It was here at Park Avenue that the opening scenes of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade were filmed. The scenery of Arches has been sculpted over the last 100 million years. Click to enlarge photo.
	Delicate Arch stands alone on the edge of a cliff, defying gravity and the natural forces of erosion which continually weather its surface. By chance, the astronomy and environmental cadres met here and thought that their picture against this phenomenal backdrop would be highly appropriate. Click to enlarge photo.
Water, ice and extreme temperatures split rocks to create huge fin-like structures. Less resistant sandstone below wears away more rapidly to create the more than 2000 arches which have been discovered in the park. Here in Devil's Garden is Double O Arch. Click to enlarge photo.
	We had been waiting patiently for February 17th when the moon was due to overtake Venus (below) and Jupiter (above). But to capture this image against the unique silhouette of Balance Rock in Arches made this event truly memorable. After recording the image, it took us nearly forty minutes to find our way back to our van in the darkness. Oops!! Click to enlarge photo.
Needles District, Canyonlands National Park... Elephant Hill represents one of the most challenging four-wheel drive roads in the United States. It's a mile and a half of gut-wrenching bumps, hairpin curves and forty percent grades. You can walk it more quickly than you can drive it, but the real adventure can only be experienced in the thrill of the ride. Click to enlarge photo.
	The Needles District lies above a large salt dome. Water from the infrequent rains seeps into this layer, causing the collapse of the land above. To geologists, this structure is called a "graben." In the photo, the collapsed region is represented by the flat stretch of terrain bounded on either side by the cliffs. Click to enlarge photo.
Our full day Tag-A-Long Expeditions tour of the Needles District included lunch at Devil's Kitchen camp. Academy members chowed down to a feast of roast beef, turkey, and ham sandwiches with all the condiments after exploring some of the trails in the area. Click to enlarge photo.
	One of the highlights of our Canyonlands tour was a 1.25 mile hike along Joint Trail. After a half a mile of climbing and relatively steep terrain, the passage narrowed to only several feet, bounded by 50-foot vertical walls. The trail eventually emerged to a panoramic overlook of the Needles District. Click to enlarge photo.
Another four-wheel drive highlight of the day was our descent along the Silver Stairs road. The photo speaks for itself. Click to enlarge picture.
	After our return from Canyonlands, we scooted back to Arches National Park to photograph the continuing dance of Venus, Jupiter and the moon. Tonight the moon had moved to a position above Jupiter, and was photographed at Courthouse Towers, near the entrance to the park. In the photo, the brighter of the two starlike objects is Venus. Click to enlarge photo.
Today was our last full day on the road. After two strenuous days of hiking in Arches and Canyonlands, and little sleep, we stayed mostly in the van, but took advantage of the local scenery. Southwest of Blanding, Utah, the high mesa abruptly breaks away and the rock descends into the San Juan river basin. From the mesa top one can see 30 miles south into Monument Valley. Click to enlarge photo.
	As it reaches sea level, the San Juan River meanders lazily to the sea. Rapid uplifting of the San Juan Basin entrenches the meanders into their ribbon-like appearance. Along the distance across the Goosenecks is only one mile, the river courses six miles to reach its destination. It is probably the best example of entrenched meanders in the world. Click to enlarge photo.
Proceding southward from the Goosenecks by 30 miles brings one to Monument Valley Navajo Park. Here the famous "left" and "right" mittens beckons John Wayne to ride again. The astronomy cadre didn't have the time to brave the rutted dirt road near the bottom of the picture, but this familiar scene was evidence enough that the real west still lives on. Click on the photo to enlarge it.
	Four Corners Monument about 35 miles to the southwest of Cortez, Colorado is where the states of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico meet. It is on the Navajo Reservation and makes a great stop for those interested in purchasing Native American jewelry. Even funnier are the antics that people play exactly on the spot where the four states intersect. Hi mom! Click on photo to enlarge the image.
Allen senior, Jeremy Sawruk, takes one last look at the lava flows of El Malpais National Monument, about an hour's drive to the west of Albuquerque, NM. The park preserves 376,000 acres of spattercones, ice caves, and a 17-mile lava tube system. Earlier in the trip, the environmental cadre had hiked across the eight mile flow of lava pictured below.
	All's well that ends well. Dieruff students (L. to R.) Joshua Casillas, Mike Lettko, and Louis Braucci relax on the last leg of their return flight from Denver to the Lehigh Valley. The environmental group had traveled over 1500 miles in their explorations of New Mexico and Utah, while the astronomy cadre had traversed over 2100 miles during the 11 day field experience.