All Stars

     "Somebody once asked could I spare some change for cash I need to get myself..." Andrea-Dawn Sabino hummed tunelessly along to Smash Mouth's latest hit as she watched the land loom in closer to her plane window. Her drumming fingers betrayed her seemingly calm demeanor to reveal her extreme anxiety. Andrea-Dawn, also known as Andrea, also known as Andie, distractedly pulled at her black hair and rubbed her face in her effort to look excited (not tired and bedraggled as she felt).
     What the heck are you doing here Andie?! This is ridiculous. I must be the only Filipino girl in this state. Oh, why did I come?! The same thoughts had been running through Andie's brain ever since she had landed at the Los Angeles International Airport en route to Los Alamos, New Mexico. She arrived at 5:30 am, tired, cold, alone, and completely lost. The sun began to rise at Los Angeles, a strange fiery red from the smog hanging ominously over the city. Even that early in the morning, the LA airport was full of people coming and going, each lost in their own personal contemplation. This a perfect example of standing in a crowded room and being completely alone, Andie thought to herself as she wandered on to her next plane, but the whole aura of an airport is enough to put people in foul moods, I suppose. Her excitement and confidence dwindled away into nothingness as plane hopping, impersonal customer service, and the 2000 miles of land/ocean between her and home swallowed her up in one giant gulp.

     It has been a day since Andie had arrived at New Mexico's Los Alamos National Laboratory, infamous for its role in ending World War II and national security and nuclear weapons. She, however, has been installed as a general employee under Galen Gisler, Ph.D. Andie struggles to deal with the dry desert climate and the cold.

in Hawaii. I'm going to be speaking with brilliant people with PhDs and peers from Stanford and Yale and Cambridge... this is a disaster waiting to happen.
     Little did this girl from Hawaii know that disaster was not impending. She was soon to know the Bradbury Science Museum as part of her 'home' in Los Alamos, along with the Hilltop Hotel, Fenton Hill, Canyon School, and the-government-issued-white-van. Little did she know that these people who intimidated her so were not only become her teachers and mentors, but also her friends. Little did she know that her team members would become her family. Little did she know, little did she know...

     Fenton Hill sure did not feel like home to Andie on the team's first night of observing. She felt cold and less than intelligent. (Andie had yet to realize that she had absorbed vast amounts of knowledge in the past five days and she already knew more about astronomy than the average person.) In the face of Andie's grumpiness, was a beautiful night at Fenton Hill. It was perfect. Even she had to admit that from deep within the layers of her warm clothing. The brilliance of the stars surpasses all that any of the eight had seen before. The sharp points of light pinning the sky held all the lore of yesteryear. I remember now. This- THIS is what I came for, Andie could scarcely believe those stars were real. She crawled into a quiet corner against the REACT telescope to absorb the night alone. Aside from the excited talk of her peers, Fenton Hill was quiet save for the occasional purring of a passing car and the murmuring arsenic (arsenic?! Yes- ARSENIC) pond, remnants of the former hot dry rock plant. The moon was gone and the stars were shining at their brightest. Andie was soon lost with the others in binary stars, Hubble deep field graphics, the Milky Way and locating constellations.

     I swear I am going to act like an intelligent, educated adult tonight, Andie promised herself. Immediately following that thought was a childish giggle and a clapping of the hands as she suddenly was able to locate Scorpius and a M object for the first time. So much for acting like an adult. As the night progressed that promise, the cold, and the time were all but forgotten to Andie as she became permanently lost in the sky, somewhere near the Plieades.

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Magdalena Ridge: June 22-3, 1999
22:50-3:30
SEEING CONDITIONS

• approximately 10,800 feet high
• cloudy and patchy sky
• the clouds were gone when the moon set at about 2 am
• very windy and cold
• seeing improved greatly as the night progressed
• city lights visible to the SE (Truth or Consequences)
• the Summer Triangle can be seen

DATA AND CONCLUSIONS
     Well, tonight I spent most of my time with Matt and Maria working on Don's 10" Meade telescope. (Mariana and the rest were on Galen's telescope.) I can barely write anything now because my hands won't do what I'm telling them to because they're so cold. Maria is typing into the computer the coordinates given by Matt and as for me, I am writing data as best I can. Anyway, the sky is really starting to clear up now, but before we were having trouble seeing anything. We couldn't even resolve Casseiopia nor could we find Vega. But Casseiopia is still rising and now we can resolve a lot. Maybe it's because my eyes are bad but I cannot tell the difference of binary stars with a difference of anything less than about 5 arc seconds. The best diffence resolution I could see was located in Cygnus A, where I could even tell the stars color difference, blue and yellow.
     As for the difference between here and Fenton Hill, I have come to the conclusion that this place would be absolutely great to set up an observatory. (Although I must admit to myself I already have an attachment to the Hill.) Besides all the threats of bears, lightning, the HANTA virus, and the cold; it has great seeing. This place should definately be looked into as an observatory.

Fenton Hill: June 23-4, 1999
21:00-4:15
SEEING CONDITIONS

• approximately 8,700 feet high
• very clear, cloudless sky
• moon washed out most seeing until it set at about 3 am
• Milky Way not visible until the moon set
• cold, but bearable
• the Summer Triangle can be seen
• had about an hour in between moon set and sun rise
• did not need flashlights while moon was out
• seeing was excellent when the moon was gone

DATA AND CONCLUSIONS
     The brilliance of everything here takes my breath away. The moon is so bright it lights everything with this tingly silver light. It's all so beautiful, but I think now, I would prefer that dear moon to go away. The stars are all hidden by this moon. (The first night we were here- phew! talk about PERFECT seeing conditions.) And now that I am willing to call myself a good amateur astronomer, the moon comes out. But I was lucky enough to be allowed to align the telescopes tonight, so thats good. Tonight, however, I spent most of my time with Guthrie, Daryl, Mariana, and Kristen inside the REACT telescope searching out binaries. Guthrie was really good at finding binaries almost directly overheard and resolving them well...so this time I was able to see the difference (just oh-so SLIGHTLY) of binaries with a .9 arc second difference. It was really neat! Too bad that darn moon prevented any clearer resolution.

     The conference room was intimidating. More intimidating than any room she had ever been in. Or maybe it just seems like that because I'm more nervous than I have ever been in my life, Andie rattle on in her journal. She put her pen down and looked at her seven companions seeking reassurance. Slowly, people shuffled into the room behind her.
     And so, it has all come down to this, Andie thought. She stood with her team members flanking Matt as he told the audience his part of our conclusion. Two weeks worth of jam packed learning, bonding, and fun has come down to this moment. Andie stepped forward and turned on the actor inside her. Contrary to what the reader is inclined to believe, this was not to 'hide' but present herself to them. It was the sincerest thing Andie knew how to do.
     With her seven team mates supporting her, Andie was able to rally her courage and define the experience. Although this small group was unable to conclude which site was better (Fenton Hill versus Magdalena Ridge), they were able to unscientifically conclude that Magdalena Ridge was more advantageous. Personally, however, the team wanted to see Fenton Hill become a world class observatory.

     "Once I get home I'm going to sleep and just sit to ponder this whole experience." Kristen told Andie as they walked away from their hotel/'home' for the last time and towards the-government-issued-white-van.
     Was it all worth it? Andie asked herself as she stared out the van window unseeingly into the canyons so characteristic of the Jamez Mountains. Hmmm... I suppose I'll find out later. The only thing I am sure of is that I do not want to leave here. It is funny because I thought I could not wait to get back to humid city life but now I would give a lot to stay.

     Andie was the first to leave and she was all bent up inside over it. It was a hurried good-bye -- the very kind that Andie hated... not that there was any good-bye that Andie liked all that much. She wondered if her face betrayed how upset she actually was. Walking the few steps alone to the gate, Andie suddenly had a vision of her favorite blanket. Dark midnight blue with the fragmented stars that never (but SOMEHOW) fit. The blanket that brought her to New Mexico. She realized that this, too, fit. The whole experience was like one of those stars on her blanket. A handful of totally unrelated subjects, people, and situations coming together to create the Earthwatch experience. (Transient Phenomena in Astrophysics!) Different elements making our sun. "The sun is a mass of incandescent gas..." A million different might-have-beens making humans. Different people of ranging ages in the nation coming together. The funding from the Durfee Foundation. Seven different electromagnetic wavelengths making the heavens visible for astronomers. The rat maze called science. Excellent (and intelligent) educators from Russian to Hollywood. Different sites, locations, trips, and satellites. Varied knowledge on all subject matter from physics to mythology. For some reason they all came together and made a star. All stars, Andie thought. Was it worth it? That's a silly question. Of course it is! She smiled at all the stars she saw in the experience and at the people who had become an important part of her life. Kristen, Mariana, Maria, Matt, Nathan, Adam, Jim, Tim, Cathy, Guthrie, Daryl, Jake, Galen, Don, Donna, Mary, Ellie, Andrew, and Susan. Andie raised her hand in a final farewell and disappeared onto her plane home.

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     Hello to those who have made it this far. I just wanted to take the opportunity right now to thank first and foremost, Earthwatch and the Durfee Foundation for giving me the chance to go on this trip. Dee, I couldn't thank you enough. Everything was awesome!
     Galen, Don, Donna (#1 Mom), Susan, and Mary... and to all the people who took the time out to help the Earthwatch team: thank you! I have never had more fun or learned more in my life. It was all just really special...
     And to all the USGs: Cathy, Tim, Guthrie, Daryl, and Jake. Well, thanks for putting up with us. And taking us everywhere... and making everthing fun. =)
     Finally to Kristen, Mariana, Maria, Nathan, Matt, Jim, and Adam; my team mates... well, it was fun and keep in touch! You all know what I'm thinking and feeling.
     "Get in mah belly!" *wink*

  Click on the left image to write to me, Andie.

  Click on the left image to link to Kristen Young's page.

  Click on the left image to link to Mariana Rodriguez's page.

  Click on the left image to link to Maria Velazquez's page.

  Click on the left image to link to Nathan Bushey's page.

  Click on the left image to link to Matt Murray's page.

  Click on the left image to link to Jim Patek's page.

  Click on the left image to link to Adam Gerchen's page.

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What we actually did; the Project briefing

     Well, you have finally come to the end of my page. Thanks for reading. (If you are still in high school, apply to win this scholarship. It's REALLY worth it!) Take care! =)

     love lots, ;) Andie