Colorado Life Magazine Preview: Inside the Estes Park Memorial Observatory
The Estes Park Memorial Observatory serves to tell a story not just of the stars and planets, but also of a journey filled with resilience and determination. Founded by Mike Connolly, the Estes Park facility is the product of a lifelong passion for the world beyond our own, and the will to carry on. Upon graduating high school, Mike Connolly packed his bags for Northeastern Community College in Sterling, Colorado. It was during this time that Connolly faced the first of many unexpected losses, that of his sister to leukemia. Although devastated, Connolly used the experience to fuel him forward, studying harder during this difficult time. It was a time of stopping, and seeing I could go right or left. I decided to take the right road, says Connolly.
With a strengthened G.P.A., Connolly was admitted to his first choice school, Colorado State University, and graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Fresh out of college, he took a job at Martin Marietta (Now Lockheed Martin), to work on the Titan Missile as a thermal engineer. During his career, Connolly worked on many memorable projects including the famed Apollo Mission and the Magellan, a spacecraft created to take radar images of Venus.
Throughout his career, his engineering projects fed Connolly's fascination with astronomy, a passion that he passed along to his children. I remember nights where we would all lay under the sky looking at starts and planets for hours. I love the stars and I loved showing them to my kids, says Connolly. He never could have imagined that they would not be sharing moments like this forever. In 2005, Connolly suffered yet another devastating loss, that of his son, Thomas, and daughter, Christian, who passed away in a tragic motorcycle accident.
With wife, Carole, and daughter, Michelle, the Connolly family honored their lives through the construction of the Estes Park Memorial Observatory. I really like this place. Even though you have to compete with XBOX, Mike says jokingly as he opens the 16-foot dome housing a telescope that can see 400 million miles into space.
Modeled after the Little Thompson Observatory in Berthoud, the dome rotates using a motorcycle chain that is driven by two oversized garage door openers. The telescope, which sat unused for 10 years inside a closet at Estes Park High School, now brings a clear vision of stars, planets and the moon to any level of astronomer.
Now retired, Connolly still works as a contracted thermal engineer. Currently, his attention is focused on the Osiris-Rex project. The mission: to capture a piece of an asteroid. Connolly is working on the thermal emission spectrometer, which will measure temperatures of the asteroid to help determine its composition. The spacecraft is scheduled to launch in 2016, reach the asteroid in 2018 and come back to earth in 2022. Whether through the observatory, or his work in space exploration, Connolly continues to share his passion for astronomy and bring each of us closer to the skies above.
The donation based Estes Park Memorial Observatory is open to individuals as well as school groups. So head on over, Mike Connolly would love you to introduce you to the sky you live under everyday.
Read the full story here:
Inside the Estes Park Memorial Observatory
A piece of an asteroid could soon be captured, by a man who was surprised he graduated
from Lakewood High School. I was voted most likely to end up in jail. It was just
too much fun to not study, laughs Mike Connolly. After he slid through high school,
Connolly's father drove him to Fort Collins to apply at Colorado State University. But
his GPA wasn't strong enough for admittance. They told my Dad 'Your son might go to
college, but it won't be here,' remembers Connolly. But I wasn't discouraged because
my Dad looked at me and said 'Failure is not an option.'
Packing his bags for Sterling, CO, Connolly took core classes at Northeastern
Community College. It was during this time that Connolly faced the first of many
unexpected losses, that of his sister to leukemia. Although devastated, Connolly used the
experience to fuel him forward, studying harder during this difficult time. It was a time
of stopping, and seeing I could go right or left. I decided to take the right road, says
Connolly.
With a strengthened G.P.A. and renewed determination, Connolly was admitted to CSU
and graduated three years later with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Fresh out of
college, he took a job at Martin Marietta (Now Lockheed Martin) in the 1960's, to work
on the Titan Missile as a thermal engineer. During his career, Connolly worked on many
memorable projects including the famed Apollo Mission and the Magellan, a spacecraft
created to take radar images of Venus.
Throughout his career, his engineering projects fed Connolly's fascination with
astronomy, a passion that he passed along to his children. I remember nights where we
would all lay under the sky looking at starts and planets for hours. I love the stars and I
loved showing them to my kids, says Connolly. He never could have imagined that they
would not be sharing moments like this forever. In 2005, Connolly suffered yet another
devastating loss, that of his son, Thomas, and daughter, Christian, who passed away in a
tragic motorcycle accident.
With wife, Carole, and daughter, Michelle, the Connolly family honored their lives
through the construction of the Estes Park Memorial Observatory. I really like this
place. Even though you have to compete with XBOX, Mike says jokingly as he opens
the 16-foot dome housing a telescope that can see 400 million miles into space.
Modeled after the Little Thompson Observatory in Berthoud, the dome rotates using a
motorcycle chain that is driven by two oversized garage door openers. The telescope,
which sat unused for 10 years inside a closet at Estes Park High School, now brings a
clear vision of stars, planets and the moon to any level of astronomer.
Now retired, Connolly still works as a contracted Thermal Engineer. Right now, his
attention is focused on the Osiris-Rex project. The mission: to capture a piece of an
asteroid to help determine its composition. The spacecraft is scheduled to launch in
2016, reach the asteroid in 2018 and come back to earth in 2022. Whether through the
observatory, or his work in space exploration, Connolly continues to share his passion for
astronomy and bring each of us closer to the skies above.
estespark colorado
I created this video with the YouTube Slideshow Creator (
August 21, 2017 Total Solar Eclipse 2017 Estes Park
The Great American Eclipse at the Estes Park Memorial Observatory Estes Park Colorado.
Stargazing in Colorado, Westcliffe and Silver Cliff are the state's first Dark Sky Communities
The International Dark-Sky Association awarded Colorado towns Westcliffe and Silver Cliff with an International Dark Sky Community Designation in March 2015, the first community designation in Colorado. The Dark Skies of Wet Mountain Valley organization is dedicated to reducing light pollution and promoting stargazing. The community organization built the Smokey Jack Observatory, a 12' by 12' building with a retractable roof observatory, located in the Bluff Park in Westcliffe. This summer, Dark Skies of Wet Mountain Valley are hosting free public stargazing parties, scheduled from May to October at the park. Video by Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post
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Larimer County Innovates Water Sharing at the Little Thompson Farm, Berthoud, CO
To address Larimer County's loss of agricultural lands and the rising demand for municipal water along the Front Range, County personnel negotiated a highly collaborative water sharing project or ATM (Alternative Transfer Method). The water sharing agreement partners Larimer County with regional entities such as the City and County of Broomfield to create a perpetual benefit for both a working farm and a municipality- the first arrangement of this kind in Colorado. Alexandrea Castino and Kerri Rollins were the primary staff members who brought this multi-year effort to fruition.
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Chamberlin Observatory Saegmuller RA repair
Repair of the Saegmuller mount at the University of Denver's Chamberlin Observatory in Denver, CO. The telescope is a 20 Alvan Clark refractor on a Saegmuller mount. Dr. Robert Stencel led a group consisting of members of the University of Denver, the Denver Astronomical Society and an amateur machinist in the repair. The Right Ascension drive was jammed after being more difficult to operate over the past few years. Rust in a shaft pillow block was found to be the problem.
Drone over Woodslanding Wyoming
Nice place to stop. Nice folks. Cool buildings. Lovely river, a bit high at the moment. Dancing sometimes too. Open mike Fridays.
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NEBRASKA Life Magazine - Norfolk , NE
November 23rd is Black Tuesday in Downtown Norfolk and Nebraska Life Magazine has some fantastic specials. $15 Book Sale (reg. $23 - $29)
Whiteface Mountain
Recorded September 11, 2016
In this video I take the Whiteface Veteran's Memorial Highway to the top of Whiteface Mountain, New York's fifth-highest peak at 4,867 feet above sea level. The paved road rises over 2,300 feet in five miles from the Toll House to the summit, with gorgeous views spanning hundreds of miles. The beauty and vastness of the Adirondack Park is breathtaking. At the summit, there are a few things you don't often find atop a peak: a castle built from native stone, a restaurant and gift shop and a truly spectacular 360-degree, panoramic view of unparalleled beauty.
Index...
00:01 Wilmington, New York
01:08 Toll House
01:59 Scenic Stop #1
03:13 Scenic Stop #2
05:17 Scenic Stop #3
09:57 Summit Parking Area
12:16 The Castle
13:17 Summit Trail
17:33 Complete drive down mountain (unedited)
From:
Holden Observatory Druger Dedication on WSYR-TV
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On-campus stadium may relocate CSU's horticulture program
Video by Lena Howland.
Students are sounding off over a proposed plan to build an on-campus football stadium directly where Colorado State University's Horticulture department calls home.
Although new Horticulture facilities have already been approved by the CSU Board of Governors, not everyone is happy.
If they want to tear it down for a stadium, it would hurt the research that is going on here, Shannon Coleman, a CSU Animal Sciences Graduate student, said.
Coleman is worried that her long-term research project might be put on the back burner.
So I thought, so are we going to postpone my project? Do we have to wait till they build a new greenhouse? Do we have to rush and get done before they tear down the greenhouse? Coleman said.
We brought those questions to Steve Newman, CSU's Director of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture.
One of the things that we've been assured is that before this facility is taken down, we will have operating facilities to move into, Newman said.
But uprooting history isn't always easy, this facility has been in the same place on campus for more than 60 years.
Most of my students that are interested in greenhouses—it's hard to get them to leave. They love working here; they love being here, he said.
Undergraduate students like Ryan Jaebker welcome the project after feeling the effects of working in an aging facility.
Things don't stay stable, environments change quickly, tools are scarce and hard to come by and so we kind of just have to work with what we have, Jaebker said.
As a final plan pushes forward, Newman assures his students their feedback will not be forgotten.
My passion is to make rue that whatever facility we build, has a strong long term impact on C-S-U, Newman said.
Suspense: Lady in Distress / Dead Ernest / Death at Live Oak
The program's heyday was in the early 1950s, when radio actor, producer and director Elliott Lewis took over (still during the Wilcox/Autolite run). Here the material reached new levels of sophistication. The writing was taut, and the casting, which had always been a strong point of the series (featuring such film stars as Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Henry Fonda, Humphrey Bogart, Judy Garland, Ronald Colman, Marlene Dietrich, Eve McVeagh, Lena Horne, and Cary Grant), took an unexpected turn when Lewis expanded the repertory to include many of radio's famous drama and comedy stars — often playing against type — such as Jack Benny. Jim and Marian Jordan of Fibber McGee and Molly were heard in the episode, Backseat Driver, which originally aired February 3, 1949.
The highest production values enhanced Suspense, and many of the shows retain their power to grip and entertain. At the time he took over Suspense, Lewis was familiar to radio fans for playing Frankie Remley, the wastrel guitar-playing sidekick to Phil Harris in The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show. On the May 10, 1951 Suspense, Lewis reversed the roles with Death on My Hands: A bandleader (Harris) is horrified when an autograph-seeking fan accidentally shoots herself and dies in his hotel room, and a vocalist (Faye) tries to help him as the townfolk call for vigilante justice against him.
With the rise of television and the departures of Lewis and Autolite, subsequent producers (Antony Ellis, William N. Robson and others) struggled to maintain the series despite shrinking budgets, the availability of fewer name actors, and listenership decline. To save money, the program frequently used scripts first broadcast by another noteworthy CBS anthology, Escape. In addition to these tales of exotic adventure, Suspense expanded its repertoire to include more science fiction and supernatural content. By the end of its run, the series was remaking scripts from the long-canceled program The Mysterious Traveler. A time travel tale like Robert Arthur's The Man Who Went Back to Save Lincoln or a thriller about a death ray-wielding mad scientist would alternate with more run-of-the-mill crime dramas.