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Alpha Centauri

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How humans will travel to

AlphaLong thought Centauri to be the province of science by Bill Andrews fiction, interstellar flight might not be as impossible as you think.

ago. Starting just eight years later, a dozen men trod on the surface of another world, the , for the first time in history. We were, briefly, a multi- pace, we all know, is the final frontier. But world species. Since 1972, the closest mankind has given our current technological state, it gotten to the is low . might stay that way for some time. Unlike We’ve done much better with our unmanned climbing the next mountain or sailing the probes. When the New Horizons mission explores next sea, exploring the next planet — let and its surroundings in 2015, it will complete Salone the next system — will surely take humanity our tour of the . All the major planets and quite a while. The warp drives and wormholes of sci- the biggest (along with the and certain ence fiction make for interesting stories, but in the real asteroids and ) have already had at least one world the immensity of space appears unconquerable. robotic probe study them in detail. No one has set But does it have to be that way? It’s easy to shrug foot on ’s moons, but scientists can explore off the convenient but impossible propulsion systems them virtually through these missions and learn of fictional , but let’s not be too quick to dis- almost as much. count our real achievements. In just over 100 years, We’ve done all this despite the daunting distances our species has learned how to fly, how to launch into between planets. In many cases, the key is simply wait- space, and how to begin working and living there. If ing. Although the 2.97-billion-mile (4.78 billion kilo- we put our minds to it — if humanity prioritizes meters) trip the New Horizons probe has to take to aboveα all) Centauri, else — what the wouldclosest itstar take reach Pluto is a long one, it’ll get there given enough for us to reach Alpha ( time — in this case, about nine and a half years. Of system outside our own? course, that’s still a long wait, and this happens to be the fastest spacecraft ever launched, speeding away First steps from Earth at some 35,800 mph (57,600 km/h). After millions of years confined to the ground, Other probes have gone even farther, but it’s taken humanity first left our planet in 1961, more than 50 them decades to do so. Currently, the space- craft is the farthest man-made object, an achievement Bill Andrews is an associate editor of Astronomy. He’s earned from nearly 35 years of constant movement. always enjoyed pondering the various fictional and nonfictional forms of interstellar travel. How humans will travel to Alpha Centauri

Traveling to another star has long been a sci-fi dream for humans, but such a trip may be closer than we think. Don Dixon for Astronomy

www.Astronomy.com 23 is possible,” says Ian O’Neill, founder of Astroengine.com, Space Science Producer for Discovery News, and the holder of a Ph.D. in solar physics. “But is a mission to another star practical? Probably not.” Let’s start with a familiar space travel technology, the space shuttle. Its main engine used a liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen mix with an energy density of approximately 100 megajoules per kilogram; relatively speaking, that’s not much energy (about a tenth of what a refrigerator uses in a ). “To fly to Alpha Centauri in a shuttle in 100 years would require fuel tanks 55 times larger than the of the observable uni- verse,” says Andreas Tziolas of the Univer- sity of Alaska Anchorage, and also a vice president at Icarus Interstellar, a nonprofit The nearest star to Earth, (at center), is still an enormous distance away: research organization aiming to create a 4.22 light-years, or 24.7 trillion miles (39.9 trillion kilometers). Australian Astronomical Observatory/David Malin realistic unmanned . “For a reaction engine, which carries its fuel, And despite passing Pluto’s orbit, the probe’s farther away. But Proxima’s proximity to us heats it up, and expels it for propulsion, we current distance of more than 11 billion still makes it a useful destination: It’s far would want to use something with very miles (18 billion km) from the Sun remains enough away to require a new mindset for high energy density.” firmly within the solar system, which space travel, but still close enough to be Nuclear power, specifically the fission extends out to the some 4.6 tril- conceivably reachable. (or splitting) of uranium and plutonium lion miles (7.5 trillion km) away. So, we already know that a decades-old nuclei, provides much more energy, about Given enough time, the probe will cer- probe could, technically, reach the Alpha 100 terajoules/kg (TJ/kg), or a million times tainly leave our neck of the and Centauri system if we’re willing to wait long better than the shuttle’s system. This would begin an interstellar trip. That’s when the enough and it continues functioning. But require hundreds of thousands of tons of real journey begins. could we do any better with today’s tech- gas (most likely hydrogen) to fuel the reac- nology? And, more importantly, could tions. And due to the extremely high tem- The nearest destination humans survive the trip? peratures the components would be The closest star to the Sun is a exposed to — on the order of hundreds of called Proxima Centauri, which lies 4.22 Getting there thousands of degrees Celsius — this tech- light-years away — 24.7 trillion miles (39.9 The best answer right now: perhaps. “Using nology requires more-advanced materials or trillion km). This dim star is likely a mem- the technology available to mankind today, ingenious cooling systems than we currently ber of the Alpha Centauri system, which yes, I’d say a manned interstellar spaceship have. Nonetheless, Tziolas says, “As a power includes the binary stars Alpha Centauri A and B, themselves 4.44 light-years away. To reach distances like that would take Voyager 1 a lot longer than a few decades. Even with the speed boosts it got from slingshotting around the most massive planets, the probe’s present velocity is just 37,100 mph (59,700 km/h). Assuming Voy- ager was headed straight for the system, it’d take about 76,000 years to arrive. For con- text, that’s longer than any known civiliza- tion has stood and almost half as long as Homo sapiens have been around. And that’s just to the nearest star! It has no known planets, and even if it did their habitability would be questionable at best because of Proxima Centauri’s dimness and other unfavorable characteristics. The near- The Voyager 1 probe is now the farthest man-made object, some 11 billion miles (18 billion est known “interesting” stars, with possibly kilometers) from the Sun, after traveling through the solar system for nearly 35 years. NASA/JPL Earth-like planets in orbit, are many times

24 Astronomy • July 2012 Exploring the neighborhood source, nuclear fission is very promising, Current location of Voyager I: The solar system is already vast, especially for interplanetary transits.” 11 billion miles (18 billion km) but it’s only a fraction of the Even more promising, and problematic, immense interstellar gulf to the is a nuclear fusion-powered propulsion nearest star, Proxima Centauri, method, which combines light atomic likely a part of the Alpha (α) Centauri system. Astronomy: Roen Kelly nuclei and can reach energy densities of 300 TJ/kg. Tziolas says deuterium-helium-3 fusion was “the reaction of choice” for Proj- Uranus ect Daedalus, a 1970s study that first Saturn showed that interstellar flight is possible with current or near-future technologies. (Project Icarus is a follow-up to Project Daedalus.) Unfortunately, Tziolas says a big problem is “the extreme scarcity of helium-3 Kuiper Belt on Earth, which would require us to mine the atmospheres of gas giants to accumulate sufficient quantities.” Orbit of Pluto: On average, 3.7 billion miles O’Neill also points out that fusion pro- (5.9 billion km) pulsion may be too violent for any passen- gers on such a ship. “Humans are soft and squishy, so accelerating an interstellar craft to huge speeds rapidly may be detrimental to the health of those on board.” And then there’s the issue of radiation (also a problem Oort “Edge” of the solar system, for fission-based propulsion), which would the Oort Cloud: require significant shielding. These all Cloud 4.6 trillion miles (7.5 trillion km) amount to engineering issues, though, meaning they’re likely to be overcome sooner rather than later, making fusion the To Proxima Centauri propulsion method of choice. 1.2 trillion miles Other technologies, such as solar sails (1.94 trillion km) and matter-antimatter reactions, also have their merits, Tziolas says, but they all have fundamental physics problems that would need to be solved first. Alpha Nearest star, Centauri A CaptionCaptionCaptionCaption- Proxima Centauri: Alpha CaptionCaptionCaptionCaption Centauri B CationCaptionCaptionCaption- Surviving the trip 4.22 light-years, CaptionCaptionCaptionCaption or 24.7 trillion miles 1.0 billion miles CaptionCaptionCaptionCaption- Having thus established that humans could (39.9 trillion km) (1.65 billion km) CaptionCaptionCaptionCaption- get to the Alpha Centauri system, the next Cap- tionCaptionCaptionCaptionCaptio problem is getting them there in one piece. nCaption CaptionCaptionCaption- CaptionCaptionCaptionCaption- “In the particular case of a crewed interstel- CaptionCaptionCaption lar voyage, the trip time is, of course, the with a futuristic-sounding “optimized interstellar travelers may have more in primary design concern,” says Tziolas. “The antimatter-catalyzed fusion scheme, accel- common with the early settlers of America longer the voyage, the more resources the erating and decelerating at full thrust.”) than modern astronauts — they’d be living crew would occupy, making the spacecraft It’s an optimistic figure, to be sure, but a out an existence always looking toward a heavier, which makes it require more fuel, possible one using current physics and new land while trying to survive.” and thus the journey takes even longer.” It’s near-future technology. It would still take Because of researchers’ years spent per- a perfect catch-22. five decades, but, O’Neill says, “Crew mem- fecting off-Earth, they would be able to While we’ve already calculated an upper bers that started the journey may live out provide the travelers a moderately com- boundary on the possible trip time — some their to see an alien world.” fortable ride. Rotating cylinders could pro- 76,000 years — under ideal circumstances, A long-duration journey like this vide artificial gravity. Growing zero-g that figure could decrease significantly. would be less of a traditional space mis- foodstuffs is already possible. Artificial “Some estimates indicate a fusion-propelled sion and more like a grand social experi- intelligence could handle simple tasks like may reach 10 percent the speed of ment, according to O’Neill. To begin with, automated repairs and minor course cor- light,” says O’Neill. “In this case, the 4.4 the “crew” should be an entire community rections. A thick layer of ultra-light gra- light-year trip to Alpha Centauri could be to better handle and adapt to the rigors of phene, first suggested by Adam Crowl for accomplished within 50 years.” (Tziolas a long trip. “The starship would need to be Project Icarus, could protect the ship from specifically suggests for the mission a ship a self-contained town,” he says. “Our collisions with the sparse gas and dust in

www.Astronomy.com 25 An astronomical price Project Daedalus,, The cost of sending humans to another a predecessor to the star might seem staggering at first, but the current Project Icarus tremendous sum wouldn’t be an unheard- study, determined in of expense. Further, the myriad spinoff 1978 that interstellar technologies that such an endeavor would flight was achievable certainly provide could help the project using current or near- pay for itself. Astronomy: Roen Kelly future technologies. The resulting plans Space Shuttle Program called for an unmanned $194.6 billion probe weighing 55 tons U.S. Interstate Highway System to make the 46-year, $466.0 billion 5.9-light-year trip to Outstanding U.S. student loan debt $955.8 billion Barnard’s Star, where it would achieve a Project Daedalus in 1978 $1 trillion maximum speed of Global spending on consumer technology products 12.2 percent the speed $1.04 trillion of light. Concept: Project U.S. nuclear arms spending during Cold War Daedalus design team; Design: $2.8 trillion Adrian Mann (bisbos.com) Project Daedalus in 2011 dollars $3.45 trillion U.S. spending on World War II $4.1 trillion U.S. gross domestic product (2011) $15.1 trillion In other words, such an ambitious U.S. oil reserves (at November 2011 prices) $20.6 trillion expedition may be possible, but it clearly Total U.S. debt (2011) wouldn’t be easy. And that’s not even tak- $36.6 trillion ing into account the cost of such a mission. Is the price right? the , which would oth- how the interstellar colony will identify O’Neill pegs the price tag of such an erwise erode its hull. itself,” says O’Neill, especially for longer endeavor at “gazillions of dollars.” In other Communications with Earth prove a voyages. What relevance does Earth have to words, he has no idea. Tziolas points out bigger problem, though, with no clear solu- people born inside a huge spacecraft, with that the Daedalus team, in 1978, “estimated tion in sight. Tziolas suggests deploying no attachment to their ancestors’ birthplace? the cost of an interstellar mission to be on “powered relay stations along the way” to “The real wild card of a long-duration the order of $1 trillion. Some say that esti- maintain signal strength over the vast dis- mission would be social rather than tech- mate was extremely conservative.” Adjusted tances. But, even then, it would take years nological,” says O’Neill. Will the crew pro- for inflation, that’s $3.45 trillion in 2011, for any messages to travel such large vide a large enough gene pool to keep about as exact a current figure as he or any- expanses. “What would be the point of two- future generations healthy? Is there a pos- one else can determine. No matter what, an year-old messages being sent from Earth to sibility of social unrest? What if the travel- interstellar trip wouldn’t be cheap. a starship that is a couple of decades into its ers change their mind about the mission The reason for the astronomical cost is mission?” asks O’Neill. after 20 years? And, as O’Neill points out, that building the ship requires not just enor- The communications issue may feed into “The ethics behind such a trip would be iffy mous resources and expensive technologies, a problem that could be greater for such a at best.” How fair is it for those born on but also the infrastructure necessary to project than any of these technical matters: board, who have no choice but to carry on combine them. “The energy requirements the sense of isolation. “It’s hard to imagine the “mission” begun by their parents? for a starship to travel to a nearby star How far is the nearest star?

Earth Jupiter Neptune KUIPER BELT Voyager 1 1 AU 5.2 AU 30 AU 120 AU

Beginning of Voyager 1 Oort Cloud OORT CLOUD 120 AU 2,000 AU

Proxima Alpha Beginning of Oort Cloud End of Oort Cloud (AU) = 92,956,000 miles Centauri Centauri A 2,000 AU 50,000 AU 149,598,000 kilometers 266,000 AU 279,000 AU

26 Astronomy • July 2012 30 AU Interstellar Fusion propulsion system Communications relay stations would deploy Strong shielding for periodically tools nuclear radiation Thick graphene shielding protects against interstellar medium To safely transport human beings to Rotating sections another , provides artificial gravity a ship faces several Smaller fusion physical requirements. braking system Not all of these technologies currently exist, but we’re close enough to developing them to keep this a currently viable design. Such a ship Artificial might be able to intelligence travel the 4.4 light- handle Working sustainable years to our nearest routine upkeep and ecosystem provides star system in a Huge stores simple tasks renewable food, drink matter of decades. of supplies Don Dixon for Astronomy

Enormous scale provides sufficient resources for an entire community

would be 100 times the energy output of our this order of jobs and profit should be on But there’s always the chance that those entire planet,” O’Neill says. The costs would any politician’s roadmap.” attitudes could change. Should some sort quickly add up. of catastrophe strike our planet, the value But perhaps the initiative could pay for Will it happen? of knowing how to reach other worlds itself. “If the thousands of technologies So, in the end, what’s the verdict? If we would immediately skyrocket. For Tziolas, derived from interstellar spacecraft make it a priority, could our species reach this possibility should be enough to moti- research are patented, traded, licensed, and another star system? Right now, it doesn’t vate us now. “Consider only how much commercialized, then an entire industry of seem likely. “Perhaps such a mission will be care we take to secure data on our com- technologies will emerge,” says Tziolas. possible in the distant future, but using cur- puters,” he says. “The very first thing we Fusion systems could power the world rent technologies to push mankind to the do is make a backup. A similar argument cheaply and cleanly, advanced-materials stars, although feasible, would be very slow can be made here.” research could have myriad commercial and laborious,” says O’Neill. “Sadly, I don’t So whether it takes 76,000 years or 50, applications, and new scientific fields (such think a manned interstellar mission would the possibility of traveling to another star is as interstellar engineering) could provide a become a reality until we make a break- closer than ever before. And given another new avenue for understanding the . through in propulsion technology.” 100 years or so, who knows? As Tziolas Then there’s the sheer economic ben- And that’s assuming fairly unlikely levels says, “Through reaching for the stars, efits. “The technology-induced increase in of public and governmental support for the humanity will incite a new era of thought 1975 on the Gross National Product was idea. After all, we currently have the tech- and capabilities with potential to transform $7 for each $1 on research and develop- nology, but not the will, to colonize much our culture and technology, heal the Earth, ment,” says Tziolas. A billion-dollar invest- of the solar system. “The main reasons why and enrich the human experience.” ment resulted in 20,000 jobs back then, we aren’t currently an interplanetary race,” Whether or not we ever make the trip, it with an increase in manufacturing output says O’Neill, “are purely political and finan- seems at least a discussion worth having. on the order of $150 billion. Today’s esti- cial — mostly political.” It would simply be mates put it closer to $40 back on every too hard to justify the costs of taking on Learn more about Project Icarus at $1. “Any endeavor which can even imply these goals right now. www.Astronomy.com/toc.

Traveling 4.22 light-years, the distance to the nearest star, wouldn’t be easy. Still, the dim red dwarf Proxima Centauri Earth Jupiter Neptune KUIPER BELT presents a useful hypothetical destination for thinking about the challenges that would accompany humanity’s Voyager 1 1 AU 5.2 AU 30 AU 120 AU attempts at interstellar travel. Astronomy: Roen Kelly

Beginning of Voyager 1 Oort Cloud OORT CLOUD 120 AU 2,000 AU

Proxima Alpha Beginning of Oort Cloud End of Oort Cloud Astronomical Unit (AU) = 92,956,000 miles Centauri Centauri A 2,000 AU 50,000 AU 149,598,000 kilometers 266,000 AU 279,000 AU

30 AU www.Astronomy.com 27 America the beautiful Imaging heaven Earth Astrophotographer Wally Pacholka has made an art of capturing amazing landscapes and skies. All photos by Wally Pacholka &

uring the wee morning money, I purchased a camera at a pawn Hawaii’s Mauna Kea, Kitt Peak National hours of a Canadian shop and began to show my parents Observatory in Arizona, and through- winter in 1958, my and six brothers and sisters — who all out the Western national parks. They’ve parents heard again a thought I was “some kind of nut” — appeared in publications like Astron- mysterious sound on the photos of the things I was seeing in the omy, National Geographic, and TIME Droof. Eventually, my dad went to check while they magazine, as well as what was going on. Finding me on the slept. My equipment was online at NASA’s Astron- second-story fire escape, he asked, pretty basic: a 35mm omy Picture of the Day. “What are you doing, Wally?” I an- camera, standard 50mm For 10 years now, taking swered, “Dad, I enjoy looking at the lens, and a tripod. I’d star photos has gone from stars! Don’t you?” been taking exposures of being my lifetime hobby My dad didn’t know what to make of about 30 seconds. to granting me a career as the whole situation, but my parents Today, many decades a “professional amateur soon discovered that their son had a later, I still use a 35mm astronomer.” strong interest in the stars and planets. camera (a Canon 5D A few years later, with paper route DSLR) with a tripod, Landscape love slightly shorter exposure Wally Pacholka From the onset, I always Wally Pacholka is a member of the times, and no lens with a liked the idea of captur- international astrophotography team The focal length longer than 50mm. But ing both the night sky and the terres- World at Night (TWAN). His specialty is now, amazingly, my photos are for sale trial landscape in a single shot. This shooting the national parks at night. For in the gift shops at Palomar Observatory method was just a simple extension of more information, visit www.astropics.com. in California, the Keck Observatory on how I naturally saw the night sky with my unaided eyes. We don’t see the Big Taking star photos has gone from being Dipper in the sky by itself; we see it over the neighbor’s house or rising above a my lifetime hobby to granting me a career as lake. This technique, self-taught by a “professional amateur astronomer.” countless amateur astronomers the

52 Astronomy • August 2012 The stretches from the Southern Cross (at right) to the Northern Cross in this shot from Hawaii’s Mauna Kea.

Orion the Hunter rises over Utah’s famous Rainbow Bridge National Monument on Lake Powell (arch lit by flashlight).

www.Astronomy.com 53 Lessons learned

Over the years, I’ve learned a thing or two about landscape astrophotogra- phy. Here are a few tips that you might find helpful, though you should never be afraid to experiment and discover for yourself what works best in a par- ticular situation.

Location, location, location. If you want to take beautiful photos, you must go to beautiful places. Staying home and shooting the stars between the telephone wires in your backyard won’t get your photos into TIME magazine or a national park’s gift shop.

Take care in composing the shot. Capture interesting features in both the night sky and on the ground. That way you get a double win.

It might be easier than you think. Sometimes it all comes down to having the guts to get out there and do what- ever it takes to get that one-of-a-kind shot. Today’s digital cameras are light- years ahead of anything offered just a short time ago, and it’s possible to do today in 10 minutes what took me 10 years to learn.

Know your equipment. All of today’s cameras have a zillion settings in auto mode, but only four settings in manual mode: exposure, f/stop, ISO, and focus. Start by setting your camera to manual mode and trying a 30-second tripod-mounted exposure. If that doesn’t Mars shines over a rare moonbow from Hawaii’s Haleakala Crater. work, experiment with different times until you get pinpoint stars. Use the wid- From the onset, I always liked est f/stop to get the most stars, but if they look like seagulls, cut back the the idea of capturing both the night sky and the f/stop until they appear sharp again. An terrestrial landscape in a single shot. ISO of 1600 works well on most cameras, but if it doesn’t on yours, work to find world over, is now officially known as are “America’s gift to itself.” This is par- your camera’s sweet spot. The proper landscape astrophotography. ticularly true for amateur astronomers, focus is easiest of all to determine: The After my dad moved the family to as the parks, especially the ones in the stars are more than 200 feet (60 meters) Southern California in 1965, my night West, offer unparalleled beauty and pris- away, so just use the infinity setting. sky easy-access viewing was gone. But tine dark night skies. The combination of despite living in the bright Los Angeles heavenly and earthly delights is unbeat- Learn the essentials of photo- area, I soon discovered the beauty of the able for landscape astrophotography. graphic techniques. To summarize: local deserts, along with the value of For a film camera, try something like nearby national parks (such as Joshua Safety first Tree and the Mojave National Preserve). Doing what I do is rewarding and fun, — Continued on page 56 As filmmaker and historian Ken but it’s not always easy or safe — kind Burns says, our country’s national parks of like the icy rooftop night-sky

54 Astronomy • August 2012 The Milky Way looms over Palomar Observatory in California. Here, the landscape is lit by surrounding cities hidden behind clouds.

Old Faithful erupts in Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park (illuminated by local hotel parking lights).

Sequoia National Park in California boasts a view featuring Venus, , and their reflections in Hume Lake.

Starkweather Lake in the Mammoth Lakes region of California’s Eastern Sierra National Preserve reflects Jupiter and the stars of the Milky Way.

www.Astronomy.com 55 Lessons learned

— Continued from page 54 Fuji 800 film, with a 30-second exposure, as near to f/2 as possible, and a 50mm, 35mm, or 24mm lens (no zoom lenses, which are generally not fast enough). This will record every star visible to the unaided eye. I left my film camera behind in the past century and now use a digital camera, setting the ISO to 1600, the f/stop to f/2.2, and tak- ing a 25-second exposure through a 24mm lens or a 20-second exposure with a 35mm lens.

Lighting is critical in any good photograph. If you want your fore- A monster Geminid meteor streaks over the Mojave Desert in California. ground subject to be visible and not appear as a silhouette, then you must figure out a way to light it. Unless the composition features nearby city lights (as in my Palomar Observatory picture at the top of page 55), you should get your shooting schedule to coincide with a crescent Moon, so it can light up your foreground (as in my Devils Tower photo at right). One approach I use is illuminating close foreground objects like rocks or hills with a flash- light while taking the star shot (as in my Rainbow Bridge shot at the bottom of page 53).

Embrace the power of panorama. Perhaps the most powerful tip I can offer is to transform your 12-megapixel 35mm camera into a 100-megapixel tool simply by shooting a panoramic sequence of side-by-side shots. Each one should include both the sky and land as you cover the entire horizon before you. Then, you can stitch the individual shots together using digital panoramic software.

Above all else, have fun! No one is born a perfect photographer, so just Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming, lit by moonlight, stands before the Milky Way. go out and capture whatever you’re most passionate about. I have discov- viewing that my dad had to put a stop Folks say I should write a book ered that I am really good at going to to. In order to photograph national about my nighttime close encounters, great lengths to be in the middle of park landmarks at night, I need to which include bears, snakes, large cats, nowhere in the middle of the night actually hike the parks at night, usually small cats, skunks, porcupines, bugs, with no one else around. Whether it’s alone. (After all, who would be crazy tarantulas, bears, unknown creatures on an icy rooftop or in a national park, I enough to join me as I drive 500 miles walking in the shallow water toward see it as my mission to show others the [800 kilometers] to one location, shoot me, green eyes looking at me from the beauty I find there. — W. P. all night, and then go 300 miles darkness, and did I mention bears? [500km] to the next location?) Add in the fun of getting lost about a

56 Astronomy • August 2012 The sky over Hawaii’s Haleakala Crater at sunrise reveals Scorpius, Alpha (α) and Beta (β) Centauri, and the Southern Cross.

The Milky Way rises over California’s scenic Manzanita Lake in Lassen Volcanic National Park. Despite living in the bright Los Angeles area, I soon discovered the beauty of the nearby deserts.

past midnight, and I had two cameras Babak had the car running (he was going; I manually took close-ups of the in full getaway mode) and swung the statues with one and had the other door open for me as I arrived. But, automatically taking 30-second shots of because I was carrying two camera tri- the whole area from about 50 yards off. pods with six legs going every which Suddenly, out of the distant darkness, way, I had trouble getting in. we heard something shouting, “Furo! Finally, I forced my way through. Furo! Furo!” We looked up to see a Unfortunately, a tripod leg kept the frightful, tattooed, nearly naked figure door open, and I almost flew out as zillion times, and it’s clear some walking toward us throwing stuff. Babak rounded the first corner. Both of nights will be a little bit more exciting We didn’t know what he was saying, us were scared out of our wits until the than others. but Babak got the message loud and bed and breakfast manager calmly told My most unforgettable experience clear, and he screamed at me, “Run! us, “Oh, that’s Fetu. He’s the assigned was on a shoot at one of the darkest Wally, run!” Babak ran straight for the security guard out there!” sites on Earth, imaging the stars with car, which was about 300 yards away, my associate Babak Sedehi over the but I had to grab all of my scattered gear. See more of the author’s wide- field imagery online at huge Moai stone statues on ’s I fell once but managed to keep going as www.Astronomy.com/toc. Rapa Nui (Easter Island). It was just our assailant’s projectiles landed nearby.

www.Astronomy.com 57 Put your eyes to the sky with ASTRONOMY MAGAZINE

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