Star Power

My mom had a star named for me!
It is near the Corona Borealis and is located at:
RA 15h 34m 18s D 28'26'.

Corona Borealis is the constellation of the Northern Crown. It is located in the Northern Hemisphere and its counterpart, Corona Australis, lies in the Southern Hemisphere. (Australis means Southern while Borealis means Northern.)

Mythology Behind the Northern Crown
The ancient myths vary from one telling to another, but the basic facts regarding Corona Borealis surround Ariadne, daughter of King Minos of Crete, and Theseus, a man with whom she was in love. King Minos had a monster, who was called the Minotaur, and it lived within a labyrinth. Theseus was sent in to be fed to the Minotaur. Ariadne gave Theseus a spool of yarn to take in the maze with him. He unwound it as he walked through the labyrinth and was able to follow the yarn in order to get back out and escape the monster. Theseus was grateful to Ariadne, married her, and gave her a crown. But after a time he abandoned Ariadne. The gods felt pity for her and placed her crown in the heavens.

How to Find the Constellation of Corona Borealis
Corona Borealis is best seen in spring and summer skies. In the spring, it rises in the evening after the constellation Bootes and in front of Hercules. These two large constellations with bright stars sandwich in the dim arced shaped of Corona Borealis.

The Stars of Corona Borealis
There are few bright stars in the Northern Crown. The brightest, Alpha Coronae Borealis, is also known as Alphecca. Alphecca shines at magnitude 2.22. The second brightest star, Beta Coronae Borealis, has the name of Nusakan. Nusakan shines at magnitude 3.66. Nukasan and Alphecca lies a little less than three degrees apart. Nukasan lies 114 light-years away, and Alphecca lies a bit closer at 75 light-years away. A dim galaxy of magnitude 15 lies just 19 arcminutes away from Nukasan. It can only be seen with very large telescopes.
The other stars that make up the curved shape of Corona Borealis are all 3rd and 4th magnitude. Theta lies on the other side of Nukasan and Gamma and Delta lie on the other side of Alphecca. Gamma is a double star but very close and requires high magnification and steady skies to see.
Deep-Sky Objects in Corona Borealis
The Northern Crown holds no good deep-sky targets for the casual observer. Clusters and nebulae are nearly absent, and the galaxies present are extremely dim. One of the only target seasoned observers go for in this constellation is called Abell 2065. Also known as the Corona Borealis Galaxy Cluster, this grouping is found between the two brightest stars and a bit to the south. Abell 2065 contains about 400 galaxies and lies more than 1 billion light-years from Earth. Even through photographs the faint smears of the galaxies can be hard to make out.

San Antonio

Mommy and I met John, Meli and Julia in San Antonio for Spring Break. We saw Sea World, the river walk, the temple, a mission and a botanical garden. My camera fell in a five-foot deep water feature at the gardens, which John went in to grab. John, Julia and I were all wet. A picture is worth a thousand words, or a thousand dollars; depending.

Scott, Bethany & Colin moments before museum security arrive

Before:

After:

Field Trip

I just got back from Tennessee. We looked at the millwork for the food court at BYU-Idaho being fabricated at American Food Corporation in Savannah, TN. It was a fun trip. We saw down town Nashville, and the Ryman Theater, which was hope to the Grand Old Oprie. A country music video was being filmed in one of the clubs on the main street. We also walked to a park that had a replica of the Parthenon, at the Acropolis in Greece. An up close look revealed screens to keep the birds out of the roof and precast concrete construction, which wouldn't have been in the original. The big deals there are Sun Drop Soda (Mtn. Dew Alternate) and Moon Pies. They eat a lot of grits. I saw an Amish horse and buggie in the Tennessee country side.

Ryman Theater in Nashville.

AT&T Building

Counter for the Pizza/Pasta Station in the food court.

Parthenon Replica

Important Notice:

Nashville Skyline

I've Lived Everywhere, Man

How many of you can top me? (The rule: You have to live a month somewhere to count it)



1. Rocking J Apartments at Pocatello, Idaho
2. A trailer in Pocatello, Idaho



3. Townhouse at Jeffery City, Wyoming



4. 219 Harrison at Grants, New Mexico



5. & 6. Dorm 6 and Bristol Manner at Rexburg, Idaho



7. Apartments in Tremonton, Utah



8. Cooking Dorms at University of Utah
in Salt Lake City, Utah (They've been torn down)





9. Tremont Street of Tremonton, Utah



10. Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah



11. Missionary Training Center In Sao Paulo, Brazil



12. Bayeux, Paraiba Brazil



13. Mangabeira of Joao Pessoa, Paraiba Brazil



14. Campina Grande, Paraiba Brazil



15. Torre of Joao Pessoa, Paraiba Brazil



16. Natal, Rio Grande do Norte Brazil



17. John Adams Parkway Idaho Falls, Idaho



18&19. Smurf apartments and grey apartments at Moscow, Idaho



20. Ketchum, Idaho






21. Elkhorn Village at Sun Valley, Idaho



22. 1400 South at Bountiful, Utah



23. 200 North at Bountiful, Utah

Caption Contest

Trilobites--The Fossil, not the Cereal

We really need to plan a fossil dig camping trip this summer.
Trilobites are from the Cambrian Era and can be found in Limestone or Shale.

Utah:

http://geology.utah.gov/surveynotes/gladasked/trilobites.htm


Delta Utah: (150 miles south of Bountiful) House RangeThe Wheeler Amphitheater in the House Range, Millard County is one of the more well-known collecting areas. (In the Wheeler Shale). Also located in the central part of the House Range is a fossiliferous limestone called the Weeks Formation, that crops out in North Canyon near Notch Peak. The Weeks Formation overlies (is younger than) the Marjum Formation and also contains trilobites.


Wellsville Mountains: Another trilobite-bearing unit is the Spence Shale Member of the Langston Formation in the Wellsville Mountains, Box Elder County. Here, trilobites can be found in Miner's Hollow, Cataract Canyon, Dry Canyon, and the area between Antimony and Hanson Canyons.


Idaho:


http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/geo/fossils/text/main.htm


Trilobites can be found at Spence Gulch, which is on the pass between Paris and Franklin (Bear Lake County).


Daddy took us trilobite hunting at a road cut near Inkom. We can look there, too.