Mt. St. Helens Video in Google Earth

While reading the news this morning, I stumbled upon a nice set of Mt. St. Helens before and after shots, and a link to a time lapse video of the building of the new lava dome. Some of what I saw in the video sent me to Google Earth for a closer look, and as usual things are not quite as simple as they seem.

I put together this kml file http://stevekluge.com/geoscience/ges/Mount St. Helens Questions.kmz , with the video and links embedded, and some placemarks with questions and my amateurish attempts at interpretation.

If you open the file in GE, expand the folder that appears in Temporary Places, and click the icons for the video and each placemark, in order, you can follow my convoluted train of thought.

I welcome any and all comments and interpretations.

(maybe we need a field trip? - the snow is FINALLY melting there)

A Really Neat Way to View Global Statistics

I thought you all might have some fun, and learn something too, watching this guy talk about global health, economic, and pollution trends over time.

The best part is that you can get that software and play with it yourself. I spent WAY too much time in there, but it is really fascinating to watch trends evolve.

Seeing Stars?

You can contribute to an international scientific study of the nighttime sky! The 2008 GLOBE at Night Campaign will run from 25 February - 8 March.
Your participation involves taking about 20 minutes to observe the sky one evening, and to report your observations on line. See the link above for details. Last year about 20 kids from Fox Lane participated.
2008 marks a monumental shift in human history when more than half the people on Earth are expected to be living in cities. Because of the background light in urban area, many city dwellers have never seen a sky full of stars.
During the 2007 event there were 8,491 observations reported from 60 GLOBE countries, almost doubling the observations from 2006.

Well, Ms. Zhou, Carl T., and I saw it.....

Here's a shot of the Moon in Earth's umbra taken from Pound Ridge Reservation. The star at Leo's "heart", Regulus, is near the top center of the image, and Saturn appears at the lower left.
More photos are on my flickr page

Eclipse Tonight! Maybe......

The forecast for this evening is for "mostly cloudy" skies, and it's going to be COLD! I have the telescope packed in my truck, and the coleman stove is fueled up to make hot chocolate, but I'm going to wait until around 7:30 PM to decide if I'm going over to the Pound Ridge Reservation.
If you're planning on joining me there, check back at this blog at 7:30 PM for an update.

Participate in a Climate Study project

For most of my adult life, I've kept track of the date that the maple trees around me first provide shade as their leaves open in the spring. I've noticed that it is happening 2 or 3 days earlier now than it did 30 years ago.

The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) is sponsoring a truly interactive project to monitor when the leaves and flowers of certain plants "pop" in the spring, and they're looking for help from, well, everyone! The project is called BudBurst, and the 2008 season kicked off on February 15. Everything you need to know is on their web page, but essentially you'll be watching specific species of plant, and reporting the dates of bud burst, flowering, etc on an interactive web page. I've already registered, and picked several plants in and around my yard to monitor. The Fox Lane Campus is a great place to find many of the species listed at the BudBurst site, too.

The picture accompanying this post is of pollen released from pitch pines on Schunnemunk Mt. near Newburgh, NY. It was windy the day I was up there, and I came home with a yellowy green tint on my clothing and hair from all the pollen blowing around up there. Pollen release is one of the events the BudBurst team is looking for.

Join the Westchester Amateur Astronomers at Pound Ridge Reservation...

..on the evening of February 20 to view the Lunar Eclipse (see previous two posts to this blog, and Fred Espenak's eclipse page). The Westchester Amateurs are regulars at the Res, and have gotten the cooperation of the County in making the Res available to all that night. They'll gather at the Meadow at the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation at around 8:30 PM. Weather permitting, I and some of the FLHS staff will be there too, with a telescope! This is not a school sponsored event, but if you (and perhaps your family) decide to participate, kill the headlights as you enter the parking area, and limit flashlight size and use - people's eyes will be adjusted to the dark, and bright lights upset that adjustment. Dress warmly (hat and gloves!). I'll bring a sleeping bag and pad for myself so I can be comfortable as I watch the sky that night.
Bring binoculars if you have them, and a camera and tripod if you want to photograph the event (and telescopes, too - but not unless you know how to use them - it won't be a good time to learn).
Hope to see you there!