One of my favorite targets was tapped
by Hubble Heritage (HST program
9983, Observations of a
beautiful
Ring Galaxy in the constellation Volans). I was also a co-I (sorry guys, it doesn't have
any moons--dynamically impossible over millions of years) on
9171,
FGS observations of the
first discovered transiting planet around the star
HD 209458. My role
was minor and only noteworthy in determining an improved period for
the later observations. The remarkable aspect of these observations is
that Hubble has a 40-Hertz photometer--not widely known.
Shortly after assuming the role of lead-planner, a "Right Ascension fight" between the
Ultra Deep Field and the COSMOS 2-degree survey occurred. This was an
unfortunate episode where we learned that it is possible to tip over
the HST narrow-keeled boat (first suggested by Adam Reiss, at an April 2003 TIPS meeting).
RA fights are well known at ground-based observatories, but even
space telescopes are not immune to them.
The conflict could have been handled more gracefully, but i
did what was possible to inform and help the observers explore mitigation options.
Follow the links from the STScI homepage
to find out what these two great survey
programs have uncovered about the deep- and large-scale character of the universe.
In 2003 after the Columbia accident, i became fascinated (some might
say obsessed) with understanding
what happened from an engineering point-of-view. I performed some
analyses of the
Starfire photographs and articulated how Columbia's
final moments might have transpired based upon what was known.
That analysis drew the attention of
a New Mexico reporter who placed me in touch with Robert Fugate. I
exercised this contact to leverage transfer of the two Columbia images
in order that Rick White might perform image enhancement of them.
The first photo is famous, however the second more distant one is not.
This second one is in many ways more remarkable because it shows a view
over the top of the wing as Columbia receded toward the horizon passing
above thin clouds. The brightness of the left wing is several times
greater than the right, and material on the top of the wing may well have been
burning to produce this extra light. I was able to extract a brightness
profile along the plume that could yield clues to the chemical reactions in
the plume.
In 2004, when Sean O'Keefe gave up as a result of the flak
he was taking for the 2nd shuttle accident and cancelled SM4,
i participated in an institute working group to look at options to extend
HST's lifetime. My role was minor, with my contribution
an analysis of the plane-change-to-ISS option. That analysis demonstrated that
the orbit-change would take a factor of 2 longer than generally quoted, but that
there were several orbit-change profiles which were practical nonetheless.
The working group
produced a fine document on the
science case for extending the life of HST.
I finally received my masters in applied physics (cum laude, which would never have
been obtained without the support of my ever-patient spouse Linda) in Applied Physics from
Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering in May of 2005.
Fortune has long been with me to receive continued
research support on advanced techniques for observing extrasolar planets.
That research has focused on external occulters (star visors, star shades,
etc.), and was the subject of term papers in two graduate courses and
numerous publications.
I co-designed the optically scaled ground test along with other members
of the UMBRAS/WASI team. The test was first carried out at a practical
scale on a real star in 2004 with the support and involvement of the
Westminster Astronomical Society, Inc.
Paul Henze and George Sauter are particularly commended for their ideas
and work that brought this to reality.
I've given numerous talks on this technique, and if you'd like to hear/see
one of them and have a high-bandwidth connection and RealPlayer,
check out the December
2005 Hubble Talk. This technique has recently
received a second-look by the terrestrial planet-finding community,
but only time will tell whether this way is actually easier than
internal coronography for the study of terrestrial analogues around
other stars.
My two boys are now 5 and 7. The elder, not one to use more words than necessary,
shows a continuing love-affair with computers. He has lots of
talent, is very competitive and an excellent long-distance runner.
The younger is adept at charm and
memory, loves numbers, and is fascinated by time. Both are good at crafts
and academics. Their amazing mother works tirelessly with the boys to
continue their education beyond the classroom.
2001, Sometime in April, page creation...
Although born in Indianapolis, i spent most of the first dozen years of my
life 6 miles outside of the burgeoning metropolis of
Cherryville, Missouri (population 42 at the time, don't you
know)...about a hundred miles southwest of St. Lo. Most of the next dozen
years was spent in Las Vegas
(Nevada, not New Mexico...and yes, people do live there), but along
the way a couple handfulls of schools found me attending their classes at
one time or another, with most of those in Tucson, Arizona.
I took my time getting a B.Sc. in physics from UNLV (a picture of the original
"Tumbleweed Tech" is seen at left). I confess--I love the desert and was in no hurry to leave.
After some time spent wandering around, haunting (err, i mean visiting) California canyons, Florida beaches and friends
across the US, Tom Corbin offered me a job as an observing astronomer on the 6-inch transit
circle at the U.S. Naval Observatory in (believe it or not) Washington, D.C.
It was like a mechanico-electric video game: using a handpaddle with joystick-like functionality to track stars as
they wheeled across the sky, analyzing the output, finding out how the instrument behaved, and measuring star positions
at the same time...but DC just didn't grow on me.
As luck would have it, someone was needed to work at Black Birch
Astrometric Observatory, about an hour's drive south of Blenheim, New
Zealand, where i spent 5 years building observing schedules, performing monthly maintenance on the 7-inch automated
(no focal plane detector, I) transit circle and a brief stint as a plate tender at the end of the twin astrograph's
duty.
Most co-workers probably think i am
obsessed with the earth's magnetic field, since
"SAA" (
South Atlantic Anomaly)
is probably one of the most frequent acronyms to pass my lips. Nevertheless,
utilization of the half of the physical HST orbits which are intersected by
passages through the magnetic depression is key to efficient use of a ~$10/second observatory
(amortized, full-cost accounting). The USNO's transit-circle
in New Zealand was less costly (~$10/observation), but was not so publicly
acclaimed (except, perhaps, by anti-base protestors). The SAA is a depression in the
earth's magnetic field and a manifestation of the offset Earth
dipole that may be the result of the onset of a
magnetic reversal.
But not to worry--it won't happen in our lifetimes.
Now i'm a dad twice over with perhaps the world's youngest 
