Region 4 . . . and Beyond
by Pete A’Hearn
One of the biggest earth science events of the year is not technically in region 4, but just across the Colorado River from Blythe in Quartzite, Arizona. This is the site of one of the world’s biggest rock and mineral shows every year. The “Main Event” takes place from January 8 -23rd. The website for the Quartzite Gem and Mineral Club at http://www.quartzsitegemandmineralclub.org/ gives good information as well as a list of rockhounding field trips.
Winter is a great time for astronomy, if you can stand the cold. Here is a report on sightings from Dr. Robert Victor at the Abrams Planetarium:
The Abrams Planetarium January 2011 Sky Calendar and evening sky map, as well as a finder chart suitable for locating Uranus with binoculars, are available at http://www.pa.msu.edu/abrams/CSTADec-JanSkies/.
Uranus appears only half a degree from Jupiter on the evenings of Jan. 3 and 4. These planets are still within a degree apart when the crescent moon overtakes them on the evenings of Jan. 9 and 10. In the morning sky, the waning crescent moon appears near Venus on Jan. 29 and 30. (On those two mornings it will be easy to find Venus in the daytime, using the moon as a guide.) All these events are illustrated on the January Sky Calendar.
Pete A’Hearn is science specialist at Palm Springs Unified School District and CSTA’s region 4 director.
January Events:
Project Learning Tree Workshop, January 26, 2011, Chino
The Santa Ana Watershed Association invites you to a FREE Project Learning Tree workshop on January 26, 2011 from 9:00am to 3:00pm. Lunch and curriculum guide will be provided. Chino Creek Wetlands and Educational Park in Chino, CA. Contact Carrie Bryant at carrie@sawaedu.org for more information.
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What is it April Explanation
It is a photo of:
“SOL Grotto, 2012. 1368 glass tubes, paint. Fabrication: Matarozzi Pelsinger, Rael San Fratello Architects. SOL Grotto is a contemporary take on a grotto or Throeau’s cabin – a spartan retreat that is a space of solitude and close to nature – where one is presented with a mediated experience of water, coolness and light. The SOL Grotto also explores Solyndra’s role as a company S#@t Out of Luck. 1,368 of the 24 million high tech glass tubes destined to be destroyed as a casualty of their bankruptcy, are used in the installation. The tube’s original role as a light concentrating element is extended to transmit cool air into the space via the Venturi effect, to amplify sounds from the adjacent waterfall via the vibrations of the tubes cantilevering over the creek, and to create distorted views of the garden. The form of the electric blue array evokes Plato’s Allegory of the Cave where shadows, light and sounds can call reality into question.”
http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/whatsnew/NaturalDiscourse/artists.shtml
Responses from Readers:
Peter A’Hearn: Rush hour in little blue circle land.
Full image:
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