Current Events

  • Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm
    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm rep...Read more

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    Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm

    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm repeatedly. Daily levels of CO2 can vary due to weather, and there are seasonal trends as well. The level of atmospheric greenhouse gases continues to increase, now over 120 ppm since the Industrial Revolution began. For more on the Keeling Curve, see http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/. Find out more about greenhouse gases and warming.
  • Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley
    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Io...Read more

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    Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley

    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. On May 20th, a massive tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, devastating communities - destroying over 100 homes and hitting two elementary schools and a hospital - with many casualties and deaths. Our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues suffering from these storms. For more on the May 20th storms, see the NOAA Storm Prediction Center Storm Report.
  • Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education
    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of ...Read more

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    Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education

    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of sustainability. Here is a link to the one-page bill: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/documents/hb2366_00_0000.pdf. See report on Bloomberg News.

   Image courtesy of Katrien Uytterhoeven

From: Katrien Uytterhoeven
McDonald Observatory, Texas, August 1, 2010

Stellar Properties and Lone Star Monsoons

Hi from McDonald Observatory in Texas! From the Lone Star State I am observing several dozen targets of the Kepler space mission. All the stars are asteroseismic targets, which means that they show stellar oscillations, and that it is possible to infer information about the stellar interiors by studying the pulsations. To be able to model the stellar interiors we not only need a good characterization of the stellar oscillations, but also an accurate estimate of general properties of the stars. The general properties include surface temperature, surface gravity, rotation rate, and a description of the chemical composition of the star. Stars consist of huge amounts of hydrogen along with helium, and smaller amounts of heavier elements. By decomposing the star light into different wavelengths with a spectrograph, it is possible to study and determine all these properties.

Tonight is my last night of eight nights of observations with the cs23 echelle spectrograph on the 107-inch telescope. The goal is to obtain a good quality spectrum for a selection of Kepler stars to derive general stellar properties. Unfortunately, my observing run has been plagued by thunderstorms and clouds. It is the Monsoon season! So far, I observed 3.5 nights out of seven. Currently, the sky looks promising!

The hills around McDonald observatory and Fort Davis look exceptionally green this summer due to the Monsoon rains of past weeks, and the views are amazing. There are also several interesting insects and birds to spot such as ladybirds, grasshoppers, crickets, butterflies, hummingbirds, and flycatchers. Why don't you come and visit McDonald Observatory and see the telescopes, nature and wildlife yourself? The observatory has a visitor center and organizes tours to visit the telescopes. You also can enjoy the night sky by experiencing a real star party!

Postcards from the Observatory

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