Launch Pad

I’m back from the 2013 Launch Pad Workshop, hosted by Prof. Mike Brotherton at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. It was simply an amazing experience, full of awesome SCIENCE!, fabulous people, and did I mention the SCIENCE! ?

First off, thanks to my new friends and classmates for such a great week: Liz Argall, Chaz Brenchley, Jenn Brissett, Jennifer Campbell-Hicks, Brenda Clough, Doug Dechow, Doug Farren, Claudine Griggs, Caren Gussoff-Sumption, Anna Leahy, Jay O’Connell, Jamie Todd Rubin, and Jeri Smith-Ready! Christian Ready (Jeri’s other half) and Andria Schwortz were our other instructors, dishing out space science with style and lots of patience for our cosmic questions. Good people, all ’round. I missed having breakfast at the Turtle Rock Cafe with you all this morning!

I’d also like to express my gratitude to our sponsors, notably Uwingu, who stepped up to help fund the workshop in the wake of the loss of the NASA and NSF grants that had supported it in the past. We also had some very generous sponsors without whom the workshop could not have happened. Thanks especially to Vonda, David, Ellen, Jody, Richard, Ali, Deborah, and Lori — as well as everyone who contributed to our Rocket Hub fundraiser. These folks really understand the important, positive impact of science education, and I’m grateful to be a recipient of their generosity.

I didn’t have time for much writing/blogging while at the workshop — burning the candle at both ends plus days full of space learnin’ left me little time for extra creative output. Some of my classmates live-blogged the event, and you can find the ever-updating link round-up over on Christian Ready’s site.

Launch Pad was one of the most intense weeks of learning I’ve ever experienced. It’s essentially a semester of Astronomy 101 crammed into about 6 days of lecture and lab. Mike, Andria, and Christian guided us through all the basics: the seasons of Earth, phases of the moon, formation of the solar system, the electromagnetic spectrum, binary stars and exoplanets, the life and death of stars, the life and death of galaxies (and our universe!), intriguing discussions of ethics in science, and applied science to writing fiction. Knowing how the phases of the moon work is vital to authenticity of a story whether you’re writing science fiction or fantasy, for example. FTL and time dilation was another classic topic for discussion, though I may have enjoyed our talk on what happens to the human body when exposed to the vacuum of space. (No, it does not freeze and it does not explode!)

Our days were bookended by group breakfasts (full of space & writing talk, geeky discussions of movies and games), and a group activity at night. We saw Pacific Rim (my verdict: visually awesome, mediocre story), went stargazing on the roof of the Science Building at UWyo (the Moon! Saturn! Andromeda Galaxy with Mike’s night vision goggles!), WIRO (Wyoming Infrared Observatory, precarious mountain drive to gigantic telescope! What’s your favorite Enterprise*?Satellite spotting! Control Room Spectral Analyses of stars!), O’Dwyer’s (Beer! Beer! Cheese Curds!), and a trip into town for dinner (Sweet Melissa’s awesome veggie food!) We also had a stunning 3-mile hike through the Vedauwoo forest one morning. It was great to get out and stretch the legs!

Being in the dorms and eating in the student commissary was a bit of an adjustment at first, but I slept well and the food fit my budget. I was lucky and escaped any issues with altitude sickness (except for the WIRO night, where I got some alti-somnia) The weather was fairly mild, and the skies were mostly clear on our observing nights. The first quarter/gibbous moon interfered with some of our observing more than the clouds did, though of course, it’s a lot of fun to look at through a telescope, or even a pair of binoculars.

Due to inventory running low in the supply room, it took me a day or two to get my own full-sized towel. When I finally scored one, I carried it around with me all day. That resulted in this picture: 

Mike hosted a great party at his house on Saturday night, where we got to mingle one last time and meet several of the grad students in the astronomy and physics department. Saying good bye Sunday morning was hard, but there was VanCon on the way to the airport, and then FoodCourtCon while we all waited for our flights home so I didn’t have to say good bye all at once.

My flight was delayed two and half hours due to storms in the east, so I didn’t get home until well after 1am. I’m a bit crispy today, I have to admit.

I highly recommend attending Launch Pad, especially if you’re writing science-fiction, but I think any writer or creative person can gain a lot from the workshop. Apply next year!

*this one