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Astrophotography from the Deck: my La Paloma Observatory

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  When people think of astrophotography, they usually picture someone trekking out to a remote desert or a pitch-black mountain peak, miles away from civilization. But for me, the gateway to the cosmos was right outside my door—on my deck when I lived in North Park, San Diego. Instead of backyard astrophotography, mine was strictly  on-deck astrophotography . I lovingly dubbed my setup  La Paloma Observatory . Shooting from North Park came with a massive hurdle:  light pollution . Trying to pull faint planetary details or crisp lunar craters out of an urban sky saturated by city lights, streetlamps, and neighborhood glow is a serious exercise in patience. Every clear night was a battle of contrast, dialing in the exposure, and hunting for that perfect, steady pocket of air.  As the images show, you don't need a remote mountaintop to capture the wonders of the universe. A detailed, close-up shot of  Jupiter . You can clearly make out its iconic horizontal at...
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Sony TC-645 Stereo Tapecorder (1974-80)

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  Sony TC-645 Stereo Tapecorder (1974-80)
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Retirement July 29, 1993 LCdr. Michael A. Mohn

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  Twenty-two year career ends for LCdr. Mohn By Barry McDonald Editor When he took the lectern at his retirement ceremony July 29, LCdr. Michael A. Mohn told a little story about how he first heard of China Lake. When he was a fairly new enlisted man attending a school in the eastern part of the country, during a discussion, one of his fellow students asked what it meant to be "relieved for cause." The instructor said, "It means you get sent to China Lake to hand out tennis racquets." He admitted that back east they didn't know a lot about what went on at China Lake. Before giving Mohn the floor, Capt. Roger Hull , NAWCWPNS Vice Commander, pointed out that the lieutenant commander was the only surface warfare officer aboard NAWS, China Lake. But he didn't start out that way. Hull noted Mohn enlisted in 1967 as an aviation recruit. "At least he started out right," the vice commander joked. But then at three months into the Navy his career took a tu...
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The Night of the Viking Blue Fairlane

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The Night of the 1963 Viking Blue Ford Fairlane In 1985, I had just turned seventeen. We were living in the Radford Terrace Navy housing on Sanders, just north of the Honolulu Airport. My dad was likely away on a deployment at the time; if he had been home, he would have been using the car for work and I wouldn't have dared to take it. I didn’t have a driver's license yet, but was not doing the smartest things back then, Anyway, the adventure that night was in a Viking Blue  1963 Ford Fairlane, My dad kept it parked in front of the house on Anderson Avenue , we lived on Sanders Avenue, under a massive Monkeypod tree to shield it from the sun. The car was a magnet for the tree’s tiny leaves, which would tuck themselves into the trim and stay there until I hit the freeway, where they would all blow off at once. The street was dark and lacked decent lighting; the dense canopy of the tree made the car almost invisible unless there was a full moon. The neighborhood roads were weath...
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From Sunny San Diego to the Windy City: My SBM 2026 Adventure in Chicago!

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The SBM 2026 conference in Chicago is all wrapped up, leaving behind a whirlwind of fresh inspiration and purpose. Presenting a poster went smoothly, even had a few persons seeking it out based on the content, The sessions were mostly packed with the kind of content that makes the trip from San Diego feel entirely worth it. Chicago really made for a memorable this week. Staying at Sentral on Michigan Ave provided a front-row seat to the city: the lake, the park, and the towering Sears Tower were right outside the window (I think it's not called Sears Tower anymore). Staying right next to the Hilton made the daily trek to the conference a breeze, allowing for more time to wander after hours. The best moment happened while walking to a talk, there was Laramie, a fellow San Diegan was also attending the conference. What started as a chance encounter turned into a fantastic night of hanging out and catching up. It’s funny how a familiar face can make a massive city feel a little more l...
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