Transient Phenomena in Astrophysics , as witnessed by Lauren Baylor

Brief Biographical Sketch: I am the oldest member of the expedition team since I have already graduated high school, while almost all of the other members are going to be high school seniors. I also seem to be the novice on the team. Actually, I know nothing about astronomy, almost nothing about astrophysics, and even less about cosmology. Therefore, this is the journal of the ignorant on the team. I am from Brecksville, Ohio, and will be attending The Ohio State University this fall, with the intention of earning a Doctor of Pharmacy.

20 July 1997:

After having my bag searched for a suspicious item, after having two people claim my seat, and after having the person next to me get sick, I finally made it to Albuquerque, and then to Los Alamos, New Mexico. My first impression of the team was that we got along incredibly well. For instance, at Pizza Hut, every single team member agreed and ordered a hand-tossed veggie pizza. I took a few pictures of Soda Dam and the landscape on the way to the hotel, and we spent the rest of the night talking and getting to know one another. There seems to be know tension between team members.

21 July 1997:

Today I got my crash course on astronomy and the project. However, it seems the weather is going to be a problem. We had thunderstorms, and the sky was not clear enough to see any stars. Alan Mincer gave us a fascinating talk and demonstration on the physics of karate, which was very similar to an episode of Jearl Walker's Flying Circus, but still very enjoyable. Rocky Kolb did an excellent presentation of "Primordial Soup and the Big Bang" which was very humorous, but also informative. His presentation made me very interested in astronomy/cosmology, which will make this entire expedition all the more significant. Since I am a morning person and, by far, not a night owl, I strained to stay awake until 12:30 A.M. while we used the CCD cameras (digital photography and basic image processing) to take pictures of all the team members for the Web page. We also played around with various filters, and learned about photons and pixels.

22 July 1997:

I discovered Furr's, the local grocery store, today and satisfied all my cereal needs. The Bradbury Science Museum was fascinating. In particular, I found the Manhattan Project history and the Defense programs to be the most interesting. I would have liked to sit in Oppenheimer's chair, but it was behind glass. What a shame. Dan Holden, who has been struck by lightning, gave us a lightning safety lecture. We promptly ignored everything we learned (like, if there is thunder, you are at risk) by going on an outdoor safety hike during the beginning of a thunderstorm. I loved the hike, especially the steep, rocky part to see the cavelets. I can't wait to get out in the field!!! New Mexico is absolutely breathtaking. The sun shines even when it rains. After dinner (which we had to eat in five minutes) we observed an Alexis pass and were informed about the project. Then we spent the rest of the night (until 12:30 A.M.) darkening a corridor with our creativity and then trying to resolve LEDs. We were very tired (some even fell asleep) and were about to give up, when we finally got the LEDs focused. Unfortunately, we only saw one star...maybe we deceived ourselves-it could have been an airplane, because the sky was too cloudy.

23 July 1997:

I am still living in the Eastern Time Zone. I cannot seem to sleep past 8:00 A.M., so I end up going running. This morning we went to Stirling Colgate's lecture entitled "Astrophysical Dynamos and the Liquid Sodium Experiment" - all of which was way over my head, but gave me a good feel for how science works in reality, not in accordance with the scientific method. I really enjoyed Gary Franklin's discussion about nuclear research, ethics, and his demonstration with superconductors. He has the best job!!! He gets to "play" for a living. Due to rain, our LANSCE visit was cut short. Since it was still light out and cloudy, I am now writing this journal for the Web site. However, this journal is nothing like my real journal (which Leo called a "book") which is filled with personal insights and personal growth which need not be published. So far, this expedition has been an unbelievable learning experience. I cannot thank EARTHWATCH enough. News from the front: the sky is clearing and some stars are actually visible. This computer lab is immersed in the smell of Nicole's French roast coffee. I have nothing left to say here, but I think tomorrow will be enormous fun!!!! We're going hiking now...we're on our way!

24 July 1997:

Carol Mooney (another LANL employee with an interesting hobby) gave us a geological of the Jemez Mountains. However, the white van (I think it's cursed) got a flat tire, so we were stuck at Soda Dam, where we hiked a little and wasted much film. Then we visited and learned about the Milagro project on Fenton Hill. I wouldn't mind coming back next summer to play on the inflated light-tight cover. Milagro, by the way, means "miracle" in Spanish. All the computers used are, in turn, named "miracle" in various languages. My dinner was somewhat spoiled by the smell of the latrines at Fenton Lake (where I saw the only handicapped fishing spot in my life - I wonder if you can get ticketed there?). Nicole taught me how to swing (dance) and the Charleston, providing much entertainment for everyone. After dinner, we set up our equipment at the Fenton Hill site. Although we had many little problems, we did get some data, and I, for one, learned much. The sky was absolutely beautiful; I had never seen so many stars. I observed meteors, the Milky Way, Jupiter, some binaries, Vega, Albireo, the Ring Nebula, and a couple satellites. Nicole, Jim, and I worked on a binary observing list, which provoked much laughter, as well as thought. I honestly believe that all of our relationships with each other reached a new level. This new plateau has made working and being with each other incredibly enjoyable. Some considered this night to be a "deep" night. We discussed our religious beliefs, and even sang together in the darkness ("Yellow Submarine"). I probably could have stayed out there all night, but made do with 3:00 A.M.

25 July 1997:

We had lunch at a local "hole in the wall" Mexican restaurant with Carrie Avery, a member of the Durfee Foundation Board, which sponsored us. This was a very eventful lunch, the contents of which I will spare you (although, it did involve hair and a bug). In our session at Canyon School, we trouble-shot and brainstormed improvements for our data-taking. Here, I learned of the importance of error in science - something which will be very valuable to me in my future scientific endeavors. At night we went to Shakespeare in Santa Fe, for which Galen plays the harp, various recorders, and the conch shell (pretty impressive). We called ourselves his groupies. The Winter's Tale was fantastic!!! The natural scenery and light provided by the outdoor theatre was perfectly suited for the play. I really enjoyed it; so much so, that I intend to attend other Shakespeare festivals. We all thought we would get to bed early, but boy, we were mistaken. We had a laundry party until 2:30 A.M. Who would have thought doing our laundry would be so much fun?

26 July 1997:

We hiked at Tsankawi, with Diane Roussel Dupre as our guide (another LANL employee with a "cool" hobby). The hiking was exhilarating, and Diane's discussion of Anasazi culture, artifacts, and solar calendar was fascinating. I think I took about fifteen photographs here. I had Chinese buffet for dinner at China Moon (which I highly recommend). This, I think, was the first times I've eaten Chinese food since I got food-poisioning (one of the worst experiences of my life) years ago. Anyways, we were supposed to participate in the Pajarito Astronomers Dark Night at White Rock Overlook, but it began to thunderstorm, so we wisely chose not to go. Instead, we went to see Contact at the local movie theatre. It was a decent movie (and relevant to our expedition), but I was in the mood for mindless violence, something like . . . Air Force One.

27 July 1997:

Nicole and I got up early and walked to church. However, we did not partake of the donuts and coffee served afterwards. We all learned what a menace the weather can be and how to be flexible - a very important lesson in the field of science. Thunderstorms destroyed all of our plans, so we played with the computers at LANSCE for a while, and then went out to dinner at Red Lobster in Santa Fe. I must admit we were rather loud and obnoxious at dinner - particularly with our puns. Our main purpose of going to Santa Fe, though, was to get camping supplies at Walmart for Tuesday's trip to Pajarito Peak. We returned to the hotel after 11:00 P.M. and held a brief organizational meeting.

28 July 1997:

I went over to Canyon School and worked on tonight's star observational schedule with Jim for almost two hours, beginning at 10:00 A.M. Every minute of my free time today was spent scheduling binary stars for the Meade telescope and Single bright stars for the LDRD telescope. I am not going to elaborate on all the difficult details we had to figure out, but we had to determine the correct times to image each star as it rose in the east, at its zenith, and maybe also as it set in the west. In order to produce valuable data, we needed wide ranges of position, separation, and magnitude. Tim instructed us in bear safety for tomorrow's camping trip, and then the whole team went shopping together at Furr's for tonight's food. Unfortunately, it began to thunderstorm as we set out for Fenton Hill. Then we were fogged in for a while at Fenton Hill, so we ate dinner there. The sky only cleared for a maximum of ten minutes, so we headed back to the hotel and had yet another laundry party.

29 July 1997:

Our most hated enemy - the weather - destroyed our plans once again. I was already packed and ready to go camping when Galen told me the trip to Pajarito Peak had been canceled due to the extremely dangerous road conditions. I must confess that I was extremely disappointed (and still am) because we were finally prepared for a night of data-collecting, something we really needed. So, we attended the Daughter of the Stars Planetarium Show at Santa Fe Community College. The chairs there were just a little too comfortable, and we lost a couple people to slumber. Then we ate and hung out at the Plaza and the Palace of the Governors until 7:00 P.M. The sky was still ominous and cloudy, so here I am again at Canyon School typing out my Web-journal halfheartedly. I want to get some data. I'm praying for clear skies tomorrow. Maybe then we will get up to Pajarito Peak.

30 July 1997:

Once again our camping plans were canceled due to thunderstorms. However, this enabled us to go to the VLA (Very Large Array) and tour the control room, etc. The general consensus was that it was worth missing out on camping. The VLA was really incredible - and the best part is that it can collect data even during thunderstorms! What lucky people! What I found most amazing was the telescope transporter, which weighed 90 tons and made right angle turns on railway while carrying 230 tons. Hydraulics are obviously very useful. On the way home we stopped several times to behold the most beautiful scene - a full double rainbow. I had never seen anything so naturally breathtaking!

31 July 1997:

After a very large lunch of unused camping food, Todd Haines lectured us on neutrino physics. I found it very fascinating, and it made me think about taking more physics in college. I have learned that real science id one step forward and two steps back. Todd's "pep" speech was very inspiring. We all needed it. (Thanks, Todd.) We discussed the following day's presentation to the Transient Phenomena Interest Group, but didn't get very far. So, we went on to Galen's for an evening of barbecue, music, and merriment. The Redi whip happened to be the hit of the evening. Once we discovered the sky was clearing near Fenton Hill, we all became very excited and raced to pack the vans. It felt like the tornado-chasing in Twister. We had much difficulty focusing the LDRD telescope and taking decent images, but the team making visual observations with the Meade were quite successful. (Thanks in part to Tim's unique data collecting on paper plates). We arrived at the hotel in time to see the sun rise, so I called my parents and wished them a hearty good-morning. Then I got a few hours of sleep.

1 August 1997:

We gave a brief presentation to the Transient Phenomena Interest Group, and then "Ed" gave us a great lecture on the nonexistence of the scientific method. This was one of the most interesting and useful lectures we've had. I learned that I should be my own best adversary and try to prove myself wrong, among other things. The lively discussion that followed with the astrophysicists was wonderful! That was how I imagined science would be - criticizing, defending, and learning. Then we made the journey to Pajarito Peak. The road was not nearly as bad as some had suggested. A group of us sat in complete silence watching the sunset amidst an awesome view. It was so beautiful!!! I took at least ten pictures. After establishing camp and eating, we observed Jupiter and its moons (I could see at least three bands and some structure) and Albireo until the clouds started rolling in. We had been watching the lightening and thunderstorms in the valley below, and getting rather nervous. It started drizzling so we took the Meade telescope down, and we talked amongst ourselves until the sky cleared at 3:45 A.M. I had tried to sleep, but was completely unsuccessful, so I stayed up the entire night and was able to see the magnificent sunrise. Just before dawn, while the sky was already pretty light, we focused on Saturn. I had never seen such a clear image of Saturn before! I could even make out structure in the rings. I believe the seeing is better at Pajarito Peak than at Fenton Hill because the images were much clearer, even with half the sky lit. However, there are trees and cables in the way, as well as an extreme glow from Albuquerque (actually you can see all the lights from the city). I was ecstatic that we got to go to Pajarito Peak; it was worth the risk.

2 August 1997:

After returning from camping, I slept for an hour. I thought everyone else would be awake, but bow was I mistaken. I don't know what I was thinking. Once everyone else was awake, we went to the Jemez Pueblo Feast Day. We shopped around a little, watched the dances, and shared a communal loaf of bread. It was extremely hot, and we all learned an important lesson: don't use your cameras there. Leo had his film destroyed by a resident. Luckily, I had had a discussion prior to this about how some cultures believe that you lose part of your soul when your picture is taken. This brings me to here, at Canyon School, typing the last entries of my Web Journal. I can hardly believe we're leaving tomorrow!!! I've learned so much (personal insights which will not be shared on a public forum) and had tons of fun doing so. I encourage everyone to participate in EARTHWATCH! It has been perhaps the greatest learning experience of my life.

3 August 1997:

Departure and tearful good-byes.

My sincerest thanks to all who made this expedition possible. I am very grateful.