Mary and I stopped in Alpine, Texas for a couple of days to visit Ft. Davis and the Davis Mountains. This area is known to me as the home of the McDonald Observatory of the University of Texas. I know this because the NPR Star Date programs originate from there. If you listen to National Public Radio I know you would recognize the voice of Sandy Wood. Her daily program is just a few minutes of astronomy facts usually centered on what’s currently happening in the night sky.
McDonald Observatory was created in the 1930’s. The site is very remote and therefore has very dark skies. The main telescope was instrumental in preparing for the moon landings. As part of the moon missions a small reflector was left on the moon. Scientists can shoot a laser beam to the reflector to get a precise measurement of distance and have been able to conclude that the moon is moving further away from earth.
The newest telescope uses a series of mirrors that are shaped like mosaic tiles and put together to form the light gathering surface, rather than a single optic mirror like most traditional telescopes. The old days of looking through eyepieces are gone. The information is now fed directly to computer screens.
It is still unbelievable to me how they can determine mass, distance and composition of distant celestial objects just from analyzing light.
Speaking of unbelievable things, Alpine is just up the road from Marfa, Texas, home to the famous “Marfa Lights”. The Marfa Lights are UFO’s that occur quite regularly (several times per year), and at the same location. The highway department has even erected a very nice concrete and stone viewing platform complete with restrooms and red lights to preserve your night vision. We did see some of the Marfa lights…off to the southwest a winding highway runs through the hills and car lights seem to move mysteriously and go on and off as the cars go around curves. But the real Marfa Lights are oddly moving balls of lights to the south and east. While we were there, a researcher and author was set up with his recording cameras and he said the real lights are not cars or anything else easily explained or faked. People have observed them since the 1930s. Even though we didn’t see them, we still believe, and look for UFO’s every chance we get. Because of the exceptionally clear skies here, we were able to catch great views of the recent super moon, and some very starry skies in the days following before moonrise.
Ft Davis National Historical Site is a very well preserved frontier fort along the Butterfield Overland route between San Antonio and El Paso. The fort was active during the Civil War, and after protected the locals and travelers from Indian Raids from out of the North. Following the Civil War, regiments of black cavalrymen, known as Buffalo Soldiers were stationed here from 1867 to 1885. The first black graduate of West Point, Henry O. Flipper, was one of the soldiers. In other places on the trip we have seen references to the Buffalo Soldiers, but not a lot details. Here, they had many photos, artifacts and explanations of the black soldiers’ way of life. They often endured racism from white officers and townspeople, but they served with distinction.
The Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center and Botanical Garden is just outside Ft Davis. It was very windy the day we visited, so that limited our enthusiasm for hiking, but we had a great walk along their nature trail to the cactus greenhouse. The nature trail was fantastic because almost every bush and tree was labeled. I can’t tell you how many “botanical gardens” we have been to that don’t even label most of the plants! The cactus green house was a particular delight with several cacti in bloom. They had over 200 varieties of cacti in the greenhouse. As you know by now, Mary and I have grown quite fond of cacti and other desert plants.
The weather is warming up we are getting a lot of sun with temperatures in the mid 80’s+. We are liking the heat, but the wind and dust is not a lot of fun.
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