I agreed to do a film shoot tomorrow for a university promotion thing, where they wanted me to set up a telescope and look "professorial".
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I'm extremely glad there are a couple of sunspots right now. This would be way funnier if there weren't any sunspots.
"Come look at.... a circle! Look how circular it is!"
@sundogplanets the 4 semesters I was teaching solar system astronomy, none of the planets were up during the semester...
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I agreed to do a film shoot tomorrow for a university promotion thing, where they wanted me to set up a telescope and look "professorial". I figured as long as I was setting up a telescope anyway, I might as well do some sidewalk astronomy with a solar filter for whoever walks by.
And then they sent out a university-wide email inviting everyone to come look through a telescope at the sun. I guess I'm going to set up TWO telescopes and hope that someone else will show up who can help me...
@sundogplanets I hope you have a tweed jacket with elbow pads for the occasion.
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@sundogplanets I once showed some very non-scientific friends the sun in H-α, near solar maximum, and they were just stunned by the view. White-light sun is cool (I even built a white-light solar telescope and saw a flare with it long long ago (evidence in sky&tel)) but H-α is the one true way.
Here's a view from another day.
Sun not impressed - why take picture when breaking out
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I agreed to do a film shoot tomorrow for a university promotion thing, where they wanted me to set up a telescope and look "professorial". I figured as long as I was setting up a telescope anyway, I might as well do some sidewalk astronomy with a solar filter for whoever walks by.
And then they sent out a university-wide email inviting everyone to come look through a telescope at the sun. I guess I'm going to set up TWO telescopes and hope that someone else will show up who can help me...
@sundogplanets i love how you’re making astronomy cool again to a whole generation of folks who were made to suspect it by techbros. it’s a great problem to have
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@oldclumsy_nowmad Haha thank you. (Also extra good because the amount of grant money I've actually gotten is hilariously tiny, and none of it went to the university, it all went to paying students and publication fees. Yay NSERC.)
A mathematician friend once said to me, "I'll never get any respect from the Admin. A big grant for me is a box of pencils and a stack of legal pads."
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> and look "professorial"
Is this their indirect way of saying "please leave your goats at home for this one"?!
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@sundogplanets i love how you’re making astronomy cool again to a whole generation of folks who were made to suspect it by techbros. it’s a great problem to have
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> and look "professorial"
Is this their indirect way of saying "please leave your goats at home for this one"?!
Surely not, having the goats present would make for an epic shoot. You can't top that.
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I agreed to do a film shoot tomorrow for a university promotion thing, where they wanted me to set up a telescope and look "professorial". I figured as long as I was setting up a telescope anyway, I might as well do some sidewalk astronomy with a solar filter for whoever walks by.
And then they sent out a university-wide email inviting everyone to come look through a telescope at the sun. I guess I'm going to set up TWO telescopes and hope that someone else will show up who can help me...
That would need special filters I suppose. I converted an old telephoto lens into an 'eclipse observatory' by putting a lid on the lens with just a very small hole and then projecting the image of the sun (minus what was covered by the moon) on a piece of paper.
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> and look "professorial"
Is this their indirect way of saying "please leave your goats at home for this one"?!
@neil Dang it would be SO MUCH FUN to have my goats on campus!
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@neil Dang it would be SO MUCH FUN to have my goats on campus!
@sundogplanets @neil do they not have a „bring your kids to work“ day?
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@sundogplanets @neil do they not have a „bring your kids to work“ day?
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@sundogplanets @neil do they not have a „bring your kids to work“ day?
This is an exceptionally good joke. Bravo.
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I'm extremely glad there are a couple of sunspots right now. This would be way funnier if there weren't any sunspots.
"Come look at.... a circle! Look how circular it is!"
Yay the physics department head called me this morning to confirm that he will be there and he will also round up some physics grad students to help me. Hooray for excellent department heads!
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I agreed to do a film shoot tomorrow for a university promotion thing, where they wanted me to set up a telescope and look "professorial". I figured as long as I was setting up a telescope anyway, I might as well do some sidewalk astronomy with a solar filter for whoever walks by.
And then they sent out a university-wide email inviting everyone to come look through a telescope at the sun. I guess I'm going to set up TWO telescopes and hope that someone else will show up who can help me...
Me: oh no a poor astronomer had a campus wide email sent out promising that she would do sidewalk sun astronomy.
@erl: sounds like something that would happen to @sundogplanets
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Me: oh no a poor astronomer had a campus wide email sent out promising that she would do sidewalk sun astronomy.
@erl: sounds like something that would happen to @sundogplanets
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I agreed to do a film shoot tomorrow for a university promotion thing, where they wanted me to set up a telescope and look "professorial". I figured as long as I was setting up a telescope anyway, I might as well do some sidewalk astronomy with a solar filter for whoever walks by.
And then they sent out a university-wide email inviting everyone to come look through a telescope at the sun. I guess I'm going to set up TWO telescopes and hope that someone else will show up who can help me...
Some years ago there was a total lunar eclipse, with nicely clear summer skies forecasted. And several major planets visible at the same time. @hausderastronomie announced that there would be a few telescopes downtown in a park – which got printed in the local newspaper.
I joined, so we had 3 scopes, and several 100 people turned up! With blankets and food and drinks. And so people queued for looking at planets and watched the eclipse through binoculars. Great experience!
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Yay the physics department head called me this morning to confirm that he will be there and he will also round up some physics grad students to help me. Hooray for excellent department heads!
Good news
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Sun not impressed - why take picture when breaking out
@DavidM_yeg @robpike @sundogplanets
"Just for that, I'm going to throw some plasma at you" -
Yay the physics department head called me this morning to confirm that he will be there and he will also round up some physics grad students to help me. Hooray for excellent department heads!
...and now I also have to meet with the university provost at the telescope too! And get headshots taken in addition to filming! (Special thank you to my queer fedi-friend who let me send her photos so she could vet my outfit for filming/headshots, because I am bad at choosing clothes).
How did today get to be so... MUCH...
