Kitt Peak Trip
June 2005


Jay and Phil climbed to the top of the mountain to seek out the famous wise man they call Adam Block. There they would find that Adam meditates in front of a 21" monitor, and sometimes in the presence of a RCOS 20" telescope atop a Paramount ME. The 20" resides in one of the 26 domes that are atop the mountain. Most of the domes are nestled in the trees, yet remain visible. The dome holding the RCOS 20 is connected to the visitors center so that it can serve as a public observing scope. The observing guides conduct early evening seminars and allow the visitors to view the night sky through the powerful RCOS 20.

The dormitory facility is actually quite nice. The evening meals are provided by a nearby cafeteria, which serves the operational employees and visiting scientists. Phil and Jay joked that wearing a shirt in the cafeteria with the following phrase might gain some attention: "Arp is right."

Be sure to click on each picture for a closer view.

Jedi CCD Master Adam "Yoda" Block enlightens his apprentice, the esteemed Jedi CCD Padwin Jay B. Jay learned much and is nearing the completion of his Jedi CCD Master training.



On the final day, Jay and Phil headed out to the PIMA air museum, located at the edge of the AMARC aircraft boneyard. The AMARC houses hundreds of retired military aircraft. Click here to see an aerial photo of the AMARC boneyard.

The PIMA museum features miliary planes across all generations. The most recent planes on the site were the A-10 tank hunter, the F-15, and several B-52 bombers. Also present: B-29, B-24, and a nice MIG collection. Several proto-types, including one-of-a-kind and one-of-two were on display. These were planes that never made it into production.

There was only one thing that impressed Jay more than the RCOS 20: the SR-71.