Fred plays around outside The Windmill at Stansted
SXR208: Observing the Universe, an Astronomy Residential, Mallorca - 19th-26th September 2009
Nosher - as part of what was intended to be a degree in physics - signs up for a week-long residential course doing Astronomy at the Observatorio Astronómio de Mallorca, up in the hills near the small town of Costitx. It's not exactly a holiday, as the course starts at 16:30 when the coach arrives to pick us up, and finishes at about 05:30 - 13 hour days, which don't leave a lot of time for anything else apart from sleep. It's good fun though, despite the variable weather, and there's even some added frisson given by the challenging conditions and the need to swing 12" Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain scopes on target with only a few minutes between clouds.
next album: A Postcard From Palmanova, Mallorca, Spain - 21st September 2009
previous album: Harvest Festival at Jimmy's Farm, Wherstead, Suffolk - 12th September 2009
Fred looks at planes
A Ruinair flight gets q food load-up
The engine says 'no people', which is fair enough
Fred and Isobel on the plane
The coast of Mallorca
A view of the fields and hills of Mallorca
An Air Berlin Airbridge
Fred and Isobel wait for bags at Mallorca Airport
An abandoned bag does the rounds
We arrive at the Planetarium
We scope out meteorites at the observatory
A view of the observatory
The Mily Way in a ten-minute photo
Scoping out Planispheres by torchlight
The observatory is under the flightpath
The Planetarium
Students hang out
Sunset-lit stormclouds on the horizon
Sunset by the planetarium
Inside the computer lab
We make observations on a telescope
Sitting around reading up on projects
Nosher's group check planispheres
Back on the motorway between Costix and Palma
A view of Mallorca
A reflected car on the way to Costitx
Analysing data in the lab
Some of the observing domes
One of the telescopes
The observatories in the olives
Midnight snack in the canteen
A 30-minute shot towards Polaris
Another light trail on the motorway from Costitx
Vibrating lights on the motorway
Kids play in the street in Costitx
Costix street life
The coach has to squeeze through the narrow streets
Olive trees
A sign to the observatori
Prickly Pear cacti
The astronomy crowd
The group after the photo
The group mills around after the photo session
Tutorial in the planetarium
1.5 hour star trail pointing towards Polaris
A much-needed beer
Hotel balconies
An end-of-course beer
Post-course debriefing
Hanging around at the hotel
Headlights: what does it mean?
A room at the airport is full of interesting stuff
Ars(e)
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Fred plays around outside The Windmill at Stansted
Fred looks at planes
A Ruinair flight gets q food load-up
The engine says 'no people', which is fair enough
Fred and Isobel on the plane
The coast of Mallorca
A view of the fields and hills of Mallorca
An Air Berlin Airbridge
Fred and Isobel wait for bags at Mallorca Airport
An abandoned bag does the rounds
We arrive at the Planetarium
We scope out meteorites at the observatory
A view of the observatory
The Mily Way in a ten-minute photo
Scoping out Planispheres by torchlight
The observatory is under the flightpath
The Planetarium
Students hang out
Sunset-lit stormclouds on the horizon
Sunset by the planetarium
Inside the computer lab
We make observations on a telescope
Sitting around reading up on projects
Nosher's group check planispheres
Back on the motorway between Costix and Palma
A view of Mallorca
A reflected car on the way to Costitx
Analysing data in the lab
Some of the observing domes
One of the telescopes
The observatories in the olives
Midnight snack in the canteen
A 30-minute shot towards Polaris
Another light trail on the motorway from Costitx
Vibrating lights on the motorway
Kids play in the street in Costitx
Costix street life
The coach has to squeeze through the narrow streets
Olive trees
A sign to the observatori
Prickly Pear cacti
The astronomy crowd
The group after the photo
The group mills around after the photo session
Tutorial in the planetarium
1.5 hour star trail pointing towards Polaris
A much-needed beer
Hotel balconies
An end-of-course beer
Post-course debriefing
Hanging around at the hotel
Headlights: what does it mean?
A room at the airport is full of interesting stuff
Ars(e)