Science | Fotoeins Fotografie

The strange and familiar (BA11)

(nerding out at SETI)

I hadn’t seen J and J in almost 13 years.

The last time took place in La Serena, Chile at the end of 2011. Not only was it goodbye to Gemini South and Chile after 5 years, I said farewell to astronomy after almost 20 years.

But time is a tricky thing, and the moment had arrived: I had another promise to keep.

Fast forward to 2024, and I’m in the Bay Area. After reaching out a number of weeks ago, it’s wonderful to see them again after many years. They’ve kindly invited me to the SETI Institute where they work. I split from day-to-day science, but science never left, because I’m nerding out in a big way at the home of a big scientific effort: the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence.

*Cozy wide-open space, to house a number of multidisciplinary scientists to explore and study SETI themes.*

*J&J, whom I met at Gemini, moved onto SOFIA: Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy, fitted into a modified Boeing 747SP.*

*Dr. Frank Drake: 1st pres., SETI trustees board.*

*I’m nerding out in a big way: Leonhard Euler, and the famous Euler identity: e^(i•pi) = -1.*

1593: Giordano Bruno suggests possibility of life on other planets; tried & executed for heresy. 1610: Galileo Galilei discovers 4 moons orbiting Jupiter, evidence against geocentric universe; convicted of heresy & sentenced to house arrest.

I have fond memories of seeing this on the big screen. 1997: the movie “Contact” is released with Jodie Foster in the lead role as Dr. Ellie Arroway, based loosely on SETI Institute co-founder Dr. Jill Tarter.

*“To the SETI Institute gang, all my best! Jodie Foster.” (Arecibo)*

*“To the SETI Institute: live long and prosper! Leonard Nimoy.” (Celebrating 40 Years of the Drake Equation)*

*2020: COSMIC SETI installed at the VLA in New Mexico. 2022:* 🇨🇦 *CHIME in operation at SETI Institute’s HCRO in northern California.*

*Model of a segment for the 6.5-metre (21.3-foot) primary mirror of the JWST (James Webb Space Telescope).*

*Meeting room with SETI timeline on the wall.*

*Dr. Frank Drake and his equation to estimate the number of civilizations in our Galaxy.*

I made all photos above with an iPhone15 on 8 Nov 2024 (travel day 11 in the Bay Area). This post composed with Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.

Drumheller AB: badlands, dinosaurs, oh my!

(Relatively short drive from Calgary)

In south-central Alberta, a leisurely 1.5 to 2 hour drive northeast from Calgary takes me past trucks, farm equipment, drilling rigs; through undulating hills and open fields of grain.

Population at a touch under 9-thousand, the city straddles the gentle flow of the Red Deer River. I’m led here by the notable attractions, and integrated over a couple of days here, they do not disappoint.

*“Welcome to Drumheller”: sign and pullout next to highway AB-9, on approach into town from the south. Photo, 25 Sep 2024.*

Aurora borealis, 49°N (11 Oct 2024)

Northern lights over New West

Notices quickly went out, even saw alerts from scientists whom I follow on social media. Big solar storm detected, big aurora display expected.

The colours: reds & blue-greens for oxygen & nitrogen, respectively.

Structure: pillars, curtains, wavy strands.

Location: New Westminster, BC 🇨🇦 ; 49.2° North, 122.9° West.

Time: from about 12am to 1am PDT (7 to 8h UTC), on 11 October 2024.

*Northwest horizon, 0003h PDT. Visible: Vega (Lyra), Draco, Ursa Minor.*

*East horizon, 0010h PDT. Visible: Jupiter, Aldebaran (Taurus), Pleiades, Cetus, Orion.*

*Northeast horizon, 0027h PDT. Visible:*

*East horizon (towards the Port Mann Bridge), 0030h PDT.*

I made all photos above with an iPhone15 on 11 Oct 2024. This post composed with Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.

24T89 Giessen, to say hi and goodbye

(E88)

On a quiet overcast Sunday morning, I’m on a regional train for an hour north from Frankfurt to the university town of Giessen (Gießen). At their old cemetery Alter Friedhof is the grave site of Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, discoverer of X-rays. I visited his birth town of Lennep two days ago on travel day 87. Röntgen was also professor of physics at the University of Giessen from 1879 to 1888.

It’s where I’ve come to say hi and goodbye: both to Röntgen, and to 90 consecutive days “on the road”. Tomorrow, I must (but reluctantly) fly out from Europe to Canada.

*Modest entrance to Giessen’s Alter Friedhof (Old Cemetery).*

*There’s plenty of signage leading the way.*

*Memorial grave for Wilhelm Konrad Röntgen, Professor in Giessen from 1879 to 1888.*

*The first two names are Wilhelm’s parents, followed by his wife Berta, and lastly, Wilhelm himself.*

*In Giessen’s Theaterpark is a memorial statue to Röntgen (north side).*

*South side, with Röntgen’s calm cool gaze.*

I made the photos above with an iPhone15 on 4 Aug 2024. This post composed with Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.

24T88 Frankfurt: beginning and end

(E87)

Travel day 88: double eight, double happiness!

Europe day 87.

Three days remain, and I end where I began when I arrived in Europe on travel day 2: Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

The familiarity of the train station, the sight of the city’s towers, the taste of “Frankfurter Grüne Sosse”.

I have a few project goals in mind, but it’s become apparent these past few days that I’ve reached the end after my self-imposed breakneck pace of the last few months. But I still look, and I still want to document what I see. These below are some of the final observations from Frankfurt.