[meteorite-list] Adios Tucson

From: Richard Kowalski <damoclid_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2011 13:58:31 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <199005.6482.qm_at_web113605.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>

Glad you enjoyed your first visit to Tucson Brian.
This is always a bittersweet time, the last few days of the shows. Last minutes deals to be made, last few beers to be downed with friends who you won't see for another year.

Our telescopes are located on top of the Santa Catalina Mountains, bounding the city to the north. I was at our smaller telescope while my team mate Rik Hill (husband of the adorable meteoriticist, Dolores) was here at the 60" telescope. On the coldest night we were shut down not because of the cold, but because of the blowing ice crystals in the air. We can risk our instruments to that so we couldn't observe. On that night it got down to -10F at my telescope and Rik experienced -25F, 1300 feet higher at the 60. Windchill made it even worse. By far the coldest temps we've ever experienced at the telescopes.

And thanks for the kind words about my Harvey Award. It was completely unexpected! As it says on the award, the committee must have been drunk!

--
Richard Kowalski
Full Moon Photography
IMCA #1081
--- On Wed, 2/9/11, bmoore <bmoore at bigbangwidth.com> wrote:
> From: bmoore <bmoore at bigbangwidth.com>
> Subject: [meteorite-list] Adios Tucson
> To: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> Date: Wednesday, February 9, 2011, 2:23 PM
> This was my first trip to Tucson,
> Meteorite Central, and what a thrill it
> was.
> 
> Who do I run into first? In shorts and no socks, yet it was
> about 32F,? but
> the Big Kahuna (Gary Fujihara) himself.
> Must have lava flowing in those veins, Gary has a big
> spirit and you feel it
> when he lights up a room or even a sidewalk.
> Don't let that wild and crazy exterior fool you he is a
> 'Big Head' and
> extremely knowledgeable about meteorites and their value.
> 
> It was great to see the luminaries who light up the
> constellations of
> meteorites, Ann Black, Geoff N, Steve A and the self
> effacing
> (not)? Oregonians, Edwin Thompson (ET) and Patrick
> Thompson. It was also
> nice to meet some quieter (more like Canadians) but
> exceeding knowledgeable
> people like Jim 'Bones' Shorten and others.
> 
> This is the one place where you can have a beer with some
> Swede's (the
> Davidssons), Northern Africans (Mohamed et.al.), and some
> Russians (Serge,
> Dimas et. al.) all at the same table.
> I'm not sure what language was spoken, sounded to me like
> Klingon or maybe
> Esperanto.
> 
> The international aspect was great with Alain Caron who's
> shop I stumbled
> upon while in Paris years ago and Erich Haiderer and his
> overflowing room
> and courtyard of stuff.
> Oh for a seemingly quiet guy don't get Erich started about
> his harrowing
> meteorite expeditions, Africa, Norway etc. I'm sure he
> could write a book,
> maybe
> he should, giant radioactive spiders, etc.
> 
> I've enjoyed the relative heat of Tucson Az compared to
> Alberta Canada.
> Relative to Alberta even when Tucson just experienced its
> lowest
> temperatures on record. So cold in fact that several of the
> Kit Peak
> telescopes are out of commission. Hopefully the Mount
> Lemmon scopes Richard
> Kowalski uses fared better so he can find more asteroids
> cum meteorites for
> us to find. It was great to have him there at the awards
> night for the much
> deserved Harvey award.
> 
> Chao, back to Burrry Alberta
> 
> -Brian Moore
> 
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Received on Wed 09 Feb 2011 04:58:31 PM PST