Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 14, 2015

THE WORLD AROUND US

14

Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 14, 2015 


GOOGLE GIVES LICK OBSERVATORY $1 MILLION


Google Inc. has given $1 million to the University of 
California’s Lick Observatory in what astronomers 
hope is the first of many private gifts to support an 
invaluable teaching and research resource for the 
state.

 The unrestricted funds, spread over two years, 
will go toward general expenses, augmenting the 
$1.5 million the UC Office of the President gives 
annually to operate the mountaintop observatory 
for the 10-campus UC system.

 “This is very exciting,” said UC Berkeley astronomy 
professor Alex Filippenko, who has been beating the 
bushes for funds to operate the observatory after UC 
support dropped as a result of the recent recession.

 “Astronomy is the ‘gateway science’—kids are 
enthralled by cosmic discoveries, spectacular 
images, and far-out concepts, which can inspire them 
to pursue technical fields such as applied physics, 
engineering and computer science,” Filippenko said. 
“So there’s a real opportunity to make a difference, 
through the research, education and public outreach 
we do at Lick Observatory.”

 “I am delighted that Google is supporting the Lick 
effort and thus helping provide UC students with 
unique hands-on experiences in valuable astronomy 
research,” said UC Berkeley Vice Chancellor for 
Research Graham Fleming.

 Lick Observatory, located atop Mt. Hamilton east 
of San Jose, was established in 1888 and currently 
houses seven telescopes, including the Katzman 
Automatic Imaging Telescope run by Filippenko, 
which scans the sky each night in search of exploding 
stars (supernovae) and helps astronomers understand 
the accelerating expansion of the universe and dark 
energy. Another robotic telescope, the Automated 
Planet Finder, closely examines many stars each 
night to find planets that may be orbiting them.

 Faculty, researchers, postdoctoral scholars and 
students throughout the UC system can observe 
remotely on the main general-use telescopes, 
the three-meter Shane telescope and the one-
meter Nickel telescope. “These telescopes provide 
undergraduates with a unique opportunity to 
participate in substantial astronomical research,” 
Filippenko said. “I have about a dozen undergraduate 
students doing Lick research now, many more than 
ever before.”

 Before the recession, Lick’s budget was about 
$2.5 million annually to support astronomers and 
students from eight of the 10 UC campuses as well 
as the UC-managed Department of Energy labs. 
Most of the first 100 planets orbiting other stars were 
discovered at Lick using a forefront instrument that 
was the best of its kind at the time. Lick observations 
also helped reveal the presence of giant black holes in 
the centers of galaxies. 

 The telescopes are used not only for original 
observing in the optical and infrared, but also to 
design and test new instruments destined for larger 
telescopes, such as the 10-meter Keck telescopes. For 
example, development of laser guide star adaptive 
optics, which allows the world’s largest telescopes 
to stabilize their images to improve sharpness and 
achieve results in some ways superior to those of the 
Hubble Space Telescope, was pioneered at Lick.

 “At this time, UC is providing basic support at 
$1.5 million per year, but we really need at least $2.5 
million per year to improve the observatory, moving 
forward vigorously at the cutting edge of research and 
education. To maintain and expand Lick in the long 
run, we seek an endowment of about $50 million,” 
Filippenko said. The interest on that endowment 
would be used to provide annual operating funds. 
“This major award from Google should go far, giving 
us time to raise additional funds.”

 You can contact Bob Eklund at: b.eklund@
MtnViewsNews.com.

“Lick Observatory Refractor” by myyorgda - Lick’s refractor. 

CHILDHOOD’S END

by Christopher Nyerges

 

[Nyerges is the author of several books, including “Enter the Forest” and “How 
to Survive Anywhere.” He can be reached at Box 41834, Eagle Rock, CA 90041, 
or www.ChristopherNyerges.com]


FOREVER

 I hadn't been able 
to sleep much the night 
before, so I arose very 
early. It was Saturday, and 
the sun had not begun to rise over the hills to the 
east. It was very quiet, and I could actually feel 
the collective heave and sigh of relief as the city 
took a break from the madness of racing around 
day after day so you can afford to do whatever 
it is that you believe you'd rather be doing than 
racing around every day making money.

 The streets were still dark, and cool, and 
devoid of people. I began to bicycle through 
the streets of Pasadena, working my way first 
through the downtown apartment areas, and 
then gradually north where there were more trees 
and bigger yards. The mountains were glowing 
with the rising sun, and by now the sky was light 
and birds were chirping everywhere. A few cars 
were now on the road, and an occasional jogger 
whished by on the sidewalk. 

 The city was magical when everyone 
slept. Oh, I knew that there was some chance of 
encountering no-good criminals who would try 
to accost or rob me -- that's part of the tightness 
of the city. But everyone seemed to be asleep, 
even the muggers. I didn't even see homeless, 
for they too were tucked away in whatever spots 
they'd found for staying warm. 

 The sun took its time in rising and the sky 
was overcast and cloudy on this early Saturday 
morning. A cool breeze blew down the city streets 
as a mountain breeze might blow down a canyon. 
Where you'd expect to see hawks perched high in 
the tallest mountain trees, I saw pigeons perched 
on the edges of the tall buildings. No matter what 
man does, nature usually adapts, and ultimately 
overcomes. 

 I began to bicycle to the north, towards 
the mountains and Altadena, to nowhere in 
particular except north. What had been a truly 
casual and leisurely ride was now becoming a bit 
of work as I went uphill closer to the mountains. 
I slowly and eventually rode to the very base 
of the mountains and watched a group of Boy 
Scouts unloading from the family vans and 
station wagons and loading on their backpacks 
for a day or weekend of adventure. I could see 
the excitement in their faces and hear it in their 
voices. For most of them, this would be a first 
adventure in campcraft. 

 I turned my bicycle around and began to 
coast back down the hill, and after a few miles, I 
turned down a street where a family I knew lived. 
I slowly bicycled by and saw that only Jim, the 
young six-year-old, was out in the yard playing. I 
said hello, and he recognized me and said hello. 
He asked me if I wanted to see the dirt people. I 
got off my bike, and got down on my hands and 
knees, and he showed me the little tunnels and 
trails of the dirt people, and he showed me where 
they lived, and how they drove around on little 
pebbles. He pushed a pebble with a long stick, 
and made a sound like an automobile engine. 

 "See how they go?" he said, excited. "Make 
yours go," he commanded, and so I began to push 
a little pebble around with a stick. I had to make 
sounds like a car when the dirt people wanted to 
turn quick or stop suddenly, and I had to keep the 
pebble on the roads that Jim had built. Jim told 
me about the monsters that come out sometimes 
and the dirt people have to run and hide, because 
the monsters are so powerful. 

 He pointed to a little ant that had come 
out of a hole, and Jim gave voice to the monster-
ant, a slow, deep growl as it walked along the dirt 
people's road. I was informed that the monster 
always takes the easy path along the dirt people's 
road, because the monster was lazy. That was its 
weakness, and the dirt people could use that fact 
to their advantage when they wage a war against 
the monsters. 

 Each pebble, each leaf, each stick, each 
undulation of the ground had a name and a 
meaning in Jim's world into which I had entered. 
I was lying there in the dirt with him, pushing 
a pebble, making sounds, and truly enjoying 
myself when his mother came out.

 "What are you guys doing?" she asked.

 "The dirt people are all getting together 
because the monsters are getting ready to invade. 
We watched the monsters begin the war, and 
the dirt people are now all trying to defend 
themselves, right?" he looks at me.

 His mother looks at me sideways, noting 
that I am covered in dirt as is Jim. She smiles, and 
says only "Oh." She just stands there and looks, 
and I know that it means nothing to Jim, but I 
feel the censure of an adult in the adult world, 
and I realize that I should feel embarrassment. 
When I think about it, I realize that I did feel a 
little embarrassed, but mainly because somehow 
I've been taught that some things are for children 
and some things are for adults. Adults are not 
allowed entry into the make-believe world of 
children, at least not by other adults.

 So after a while, I got up, and shook off the 
dust. I told Jim's mother that I was just passing 
by, and I said goodbye to Jim. I rode on, and 
eventually headed back home.

 I had truly enjoyed myself lying there 
in the dirt, without video games or electronic 
entertainers. We were enjoying a simple pleasure 
of life that required nothing but an active 
imagination and the ability to believe. And that's 
what's wrong with adults. Our bodies got older 
and we allowed our minds to ossify. We put aside 
imagination for pragmatism, and we gave up the 
ability to believe for hard-earned cynicism. 

 

 That morning, I realized that childhood 
ends when you can no longer lie in the dirt and 
imagine.

 

 Can one remove all traces of one’s self from the Internet? It seems that once something has found 
its way online, it’s pretty much there forever. This seems to be the hard lesson that many are finding 
out through social media gaffes that enable personal messages and photos finding their way to places 
where the original owners never intended them to be. 

 This is the side effect of our living in an increasingly connected world where our digital identities 
are replicated and spread over thousands of online services and tens of thousands of servers located 
all over the world. For the most part this isn’t too bad of a thing, as our favorite sites keep track of 
our preferences but, in truth, the high price we pay is none other than our surrendered privacy and 
personal information. 

 Once our personal data is the hands of these online companies, they may then use our data 
as they see fit. Some of the more reputable companies often use our preferences to target us with 
directed advertising, but some of the less scrupulous companies often sell our details to the highest 
bidders. When this consumer behavior is viewed in the short term, it might not seem like that big of 
a deal since most people are at least somewhat careful with the information that they let out about 
themselves. But when viewed over a longer period of time, such as 10 years or so, who can really 
remember all the online sites and services one may have joined? Do you remember what you posted 
on a music forum in 2004? Or which services you tried for free email before Gmail? 

 We’re only human, so it’s only natural that we sometimes forget these services as we move on 
to newer and better ones. The problem is that these services don’t forget us. Tracking down these 
no longer wanted services can sometimes be tricky and tedious. Online Reputation Management 
services offer an array of products that claim to be able to give one a proverbial “digital clean slate” 
for a pretty penny. Sometimes one finds oneself in a case of “the-horse-having-already-left-the-barn” 
and what’s done can’t possible be changed. 

 What one can do going forward is take certain steps to protect one’s digital footprint going forward. 
Users are warned to be aware of the elements that make up your digital identity (PIN’s, IP Addresses, 
email addresses, names, avatars, photos, blog entries, etc) and to note that the concept of “managing 
one’s digital identity” means monitoring the use of these elements.

 When creating a user profile for a new site, always use an alias and do not post any personal 
information about yourself on the internet. Keep in mind that once an element of your digital identity 
has been posted on the internet you effectively lose control of that data.


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