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Kathy's Corner
by Kathy O'Connell
Space: The Final Frontier
Space has always fascinated me - and thanks to our 'Sky Guy' Derrick Pitts of the Franklin Institute, I've learned a lot about the cosmic world above our heads! For example, stars twinkle - planets don't. I've also learned you can see more than you think - if you know what you're looking for.
Derrick recommends you start at this interactive website - Chromoscope is an accessible, easy tool that anyone can use to explore and understand the sky at multiple wavelengths. Visit chromoscope.net and check it out!
Recently NASA has released some new images of the galaxy - and they are incredible to look at and study!
The WISE mosaic atlas of the infrared sky http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/WISE/news/wise20120314.html
The VISTA image
http://www.space.com/14973-galaxies-photo-deepest-infrared-sky-image.html
Technology is always improving, so now is a perfect time to explore deep space from the comfort of your own home. Remember to keep watching the skies!
TOPA Day On, Not A Day Off
I’ve been volunteering my whole life. I started my career by volunteering at a radio station. My interest in American history started through my mother’s volunteer work for a Presidential campaign when I was a kid. As a Girl Scout and a student, volunteering brought me to new experiences and introduced me to all kinds of people. As an adult, I volunteer at my church. Volunteering brought me lifelong interests, friends, and a career. Those are all great gifts. But the greatest gift of volunteering is the joy that is produced when people help people.
The song asks the question, “what can one little person do?” The answer is: volunteer. Your volunteer work today could change your life, change the world, and set a great example for kids younger than you. Celebrate the spirit of Dr. King’s life every day by volunteering in your community. For more information, visit http://mlkdayofservice.org
TOPMy Summer Vacation
Even though it's been a few years, it still ranks as one of my all-time favorite vacations. On June 21-28, 2009 I cruised through Alaska on the SS. Statendam. There was lots of great music and food on the boat, but it was when I looked outside the boat that things got truly amazing. Alaska is a gorgeous mix of mountains and glaciers and animals---both real ones and pretend ones in front of stores. I saw the glaciers calving, when pieces fall off the front of the glacier because of the movement of the glacier. I saw a building in Skagway covered in a mosaic of driftwood collected during the days of the Gold Rush in the 1800’s. I saw eagles, a bear, moose, ravens, Dall dolphins, Dall sheep, and I learned about the guy named Dall who they’re named for. The sky never gets completely dark during the summer in Alaska, so I didn’t see stars. But I saw a place so beautiful that I will always say: thank you, Mr. Seward, for purchasing Alaska in 1867 so I could visit in 2009.
here is a small sampling of pictures from my Alaska photo album
