Oregon

Oregon will likely be one of our destinations once we finally shake these chains of long-term employment. Retirement is a huge change of life, but I think we are both ready. We have been working at various jobs for over 35 years and it's time to stop and smell the roses before our bodies totally fall apart. We're lucky in that we are able to quit working at age 60 and we won't be plunged into poverty.

Time to hit the road, Jack!

OREGON

Oregon has long been a very marijuana-friendly state, and it was the first to decriminalize cannabis in 1973. On November 3rd, 1998 Oregon legalized medical marijuana. Initiative 91, which passed in the November 2014 election, legalized recreational marijuana for anyone ages 21 and over. The implementation of recreational marijuana use began on July 1st, 2015.

SB-460 passed in July 2015, which allows Oregon Medical Dispensaries to make sales to anyone over 21, not just medical patients. Oregon is also one of the only states that allows out of state residents to obtain a medical marijuana card. The sale of marijuana to minors or within 100 feet of a school is still considered a felony offense.

The Oregon Legalized Marijuana Initiative, Measure 91 passed on November 4, 2014! This is the measure that legalized recreational marijuana for people ages 21 and older. Under the law, adults are allowed to possess up to eight ounces of dried marijuana and up to four plants. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission regulates marijuana sales.

A notable part of Oregon’s marijuana culture is the artist-driven movement of beautiful handmade glass pipes and bongs. Bob Snodgrass is one of the visionaries that lead the movement, which started during the Grateful Dead Era. To this day, Eugene, Oregon is known as a glass blowing mecca and the city’s art is sold all around the world.

Although there are not currently any vapor lounges or “coffee” bars that allow you to light up like you can in Amsterdam, there are a number of businesses in Oregon that fall into the speakeasy category and allow marijuana consumption. You will not find them listed publicly as they are operating in a legal grey area, but they do exist.

The best advice we can give for tourists looking to partake in the cannabis culture is discretion. It’s best to keep your marijuana use out of public areas, but if you must smoke out in the open, a discreet vape pen is your best option.

Can I get my Medical Card if I am not an Oregon Resident?

YES! Oregon is one of the few states that allow you to get a medical marijuana card even if you are not a resident of the state. To get one, you will need to pay a visit to one of the state’s medical marijuana clinics, fill out an application and see a doctor. Hundreds of people do this every year, and have since June of 2010 when the state first allowed it. If you have an Oregon Medical Marijuana Card, dispensaries in Michigan, Maine, Montana, Rhode Island and Arizona will also accept it.

Go here.

space.com

Here's a great site for space and science buffs - SPACE.COM.

Just say no to the bible thumpers!

They also publish a good calendar of space-related events which I may have to merge with the Stargazing calendar.  

April

April 8: SpaceX will launch a commercial Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida to send an unmanned Dragon cargo ship to the International Space Station for NASA. Liftoff is set for 4:43 p.m. EDT (2043 GMT). This CRS-8 flight is SpaceX's eighth resupply mission for NASA. You can watch the launch live on Space.com here courtesy of NASA TV.

April 10: SpaceX Dragon arrives at International Space Station. SpaceX's CRS-8 Dragon cargo ship will be captured by the station's robotic arm at 7 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT). Live coverage from NASA TV begins at 5:30 a.m. EDT (0930 GMT)

April 11-14: The 32nd annual National Space Symposium will convene in Colorado Springs, Colorado this week, with space policy makers and industry veterans meeting to discuss the latest and greatest in space technology, exporation and utilization. Space.com's Calla Cofield will be on the scene covering the event. 

April 12:  It's Yuri's Night! Celebrate the 55th anniversary of  Yuri Gagarin's historic first human spaceflight (and 35th anniversary of the NASA's first space shuttle launch) today. Yuri Gagarin's Vostok 1 mission launched today in 1961, with NASA's STS-1 flight on the shuttle Columbia blasting off on the same day 20 years later in 1981.

April 16: BEAM inflatable module installation on the International Space Station. Bigelow Aeropace's prototype expandable space habitat will be removed from the "trunk" of a SpaceX Dragon capsule and attacked to the space station. NASA TV coverage begins at 5:30 a.m. EDT (0930 GMT). 

April 16-19: The April meeting of the American Physical Society will meet this week in Salt Lake City, Utah. Space.com's Calla Cofield will be on the scene covering the event. 

April 18: That bright "star" near the moon tonight is Jupiter, which can be seen 2 degrees north of the moon for skywatchers with clear skies. Mercury will also be at its greatest elongation tonight.

April 22:  The European Space Agency's Sentinel 1B radar Earth-observation satellite, and the NORSAT 1 microsatellite built to to investigate solar radiation, space weather and detect ship traffic, will launch from South America's Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana on an Arianespace Soyuz rocket. Liftoff is set for 5:02 p.m. EDT (2102 GMT).

April 22: Full Moon – The April full moon is called the pink moon, Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and the Fish Moon.

April 22: Lyrids Meteor Shower Peak - Considered to be the oldest known meteor shower, the Lyrid meteor shower is an annual display of fairly fast meteors. The best time to watch will be after midnight and before dawn. The Lyrids are actually leftovers from the Comet Thatcher.

April 25: First Soyuz rocket launch from Vostochny Cosmodrome. Russia's Federal Spaec Agency (Roscosmos) is expeced to launch the satellite Mikhailo Lomonosov from the country's newest spaceport, the Vostochny Cosmodrome. According to Spaceflight Now the satellite will study high-energy cosmic rays, gamma rays and the Earth's upper atmosphere and magnetosphere. Spaceflight Now also reports that two smaller satellites, called Aist 2 and SamSat 218, will also launch on the Soyuz.

April 28: India will loft a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle carrying the IRNSS 1G navigation satellite in a mission to be staged from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India.

Or go here.

DC Eagle Cam

This is pretty awesome, and fascinating. And sometimes boring. The video signal is high def, so the picture is also amazing.

Mr. President (Mr. P) and The First Lady (TFL)

Washington, DC Bald Eagle Nest Cam

In 2014, a pair of mated Bald Eagles chose the most idyllic of nest sites within the United States’ National Capital (Washington, DC), nestled high in a Tulip Poplar tree amongst the Azalea Collection at the U.S. National Arboretum, which is operated by the United States Department of Agriculture. This is the first Bald Eagle pair to nest in this location since 1947. The two Eagles have been iconically named “Mr. President” and “The First Lady.” Join us in viewing the most patriotic nest cam in the United States, 24 hours a day.

DC2 hatched at 8:27 a.m. March 18, 2016 Eastern Daylight Time. DC3 followed 2 days later, hatching March 20 at about 3:00 a.m. EDT.

Want to help name DC2 and DC3? The D.C. Eagle Cam partners are entertaining name suggestions via social media! Hashtag #dceaglecam & #namethenestlings on Twitter and Instagram, or visit the American Eagle Foundation's Facebook page or the Department of Energy & Environment's Facebook page and voice your suggestions there!

Most frequently asked questions about these eagles.

Click here for the live cams.

This is a wild eagle nest and anything can happen. While we hope that two healthy juvenile eagles will end up fledging from the nest this summer, things like sibling rivalry, predators, and natural disaster can affect this eagle family and may be difficult to watch.

This is a wild eagle nest and anything can happen. While we hope that two healthy juvenile eagles will end up fledging from the nest this summer, things like sibling rivalry, predators, and natural disaster can affect this eagle family and may be difficult to watch.

POSTING VIDEOS AND PHOTOS FROM AEF CAMS

AEF and USNA invites anyone to share photo screen captures and video screen captures provided by these high definition cams. Since these photos can be copied and duplicated over and over, we request that when you post these up to Facebook, IG, Websites, Blogs, or another social media location, the following information be included at the end of your photo/video caption: © 2016 American Eagle Foundation, EAGLES.ORG. We cannot allow the embedding of the live feed on third party websites. We appreciate your cooperation!

THE DC EAGLE CAM PROJECT

After "Mr. President" and "The First Lady" raised one eaglet successfully in 2015, the 501(c)3 American Eagle Foundation partnered with the National Arboretum to install and stream two high definition video cameras from the top of the nest tree. The cameras are powered completely by a large mobile solar array that was designed and built by Alfred State College, SUNY College of Technology and was partially funded by the Department of Energy and Environment.

"The First Lady" laid her first egg of 2016 on February 10th, and laid her second egg on February 14th early in the morning. Both parents carefully incubated the eggs, and both eggs hatched in late March.

This is a wild eagle nest and anything can happen. While we hope that two healthy juvenile eagles will end up fledging from the nest this summer, things like sibling rivalry, predators, and natural disaster can affect this eagle family and may be difficult to watch.

420 @ the WH

Go activists! It's really cool when bunches of other people obviously think like you do, AND go out of their way to lobby for their position! 

Kudos to the brave protestors, although, IIRC, it IS now legal to have marijuana in the D of C, so the smokers weren't really worried about arrest of that kind. Which is itself a great stride, but marijuana MUST be removed from Schedule I. Preferably ALL the way off the list.

Reclassifying cannabis to Schedule II, as Hillary Clinton has advocated, won't really get the job done. But there's your typical incremental Clinton approach. And do I have to say it? Yes, incremental progress is better than no progress.

DOZENS OF PRO-POT PROTESTERS LIGHT UP IN FRONT OF WHITE HOUSE

Dozens of pro-legalization protesters lit up in unison at 4:20 p.m. in front of the White House, and tried to get President Obama to hear them out on relaxing federal laws against marijuana.

D.C. Police and Park Police as well as Secret Service were all on site, but there were no visible arrests. A few people were plucked from the crowd and appeared to be ticketed, however.

A Park Police spokeswoman told ABC News that they had no jurisdiction over the demonstrators since they remained on Pennsylvania Avenue and did not enter the park area.

According to DC Police, two citation were issued for public consumption.

Secret Service had not yet responded to ABC News' request for comment on the protest.

Earlier in the day, the Secret Service blocked the protesters from lugging a 51-foot inflatable joint onto Pennsylvania Avenue.

The protesters deflated the joint, and later were escorted off the premises when they blew it up against Secret Service's wishes in front of the White House.

The protesters shrugged off the fact that President Obama was not actually home and able to get a contact high. The president spent his day on the golf course.

Original.

child abuse

Don't kid yourself thinking that only the Catholic Church has a problem with their priests molesting children.  The Catholic Church has a HUGE problem in this regard, but a growing number of Christian preachers unmasked as molesters reminds us that the problem is far more widespread than just a particularly rotten branch of the religious world. It's also been going on for centuries in the Middle East and Asia, but we'll save that one for later.

Jesus wept: There were 12 reported incidents of Christian pastors molesting kids - in just the last month.

The arrest of a Christian school principal in Port Angeles, Washington for sexually assaulting two pre-teen girls brings to light, once again, what appears to be an epidemic of sexual predators in Christian churches and schools.

According to the Crimes Against Children Research Center, 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys is a victim of child sexual abuse. The exact number of actual sexual assaults is unknown since many victims never speak up or, in some cases like Florida, the sexual assault is hushed up.

Sexual abuse within the Christian community that either ignores it or attempts to sweep it under the rug became a hot topic in 2015 after it was revealed that popular Christian celebrities Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar attempted to hide the fact that their son Josh had molested several of his sisters when they were younger. The resulting scandal forced the family’s popular reality show off the air after sponsors fled.

According to Christian writer Tom Challies, sexual predators gravitate to churches because Christians are taught to submit to authority in an atmosphere that encourages trust. Church programs also offer easy access to the children of parishioners.

Quoting from writer Deepak Reju’s On Guard: Preventing and Responding To Child Abuse At Church, Challies writes: “Many Christians don’t know how to distinguish likability and trustworthiness. They confuse the two categories, assuming that if someone is courteous and nice, they must also be trustworthy. Moreover, some Christians behave as though the problem doesn’t exist, and some look with suspicion on reports of abuse. They believe children are lying and are more prone to take an adult’s word. Sexual predators know that these dynamics operate in churches, and they know they can get away with a lot on account of it”

Since the beginning of March 2016, there have been 12 assaults — including the Port Angeles principal — reported, or verdicts handed down.

• According to PennAlive, former pastor Raymond P. Buhrow, 65, of Calvary Temple Holiness Church in South Middleton Township pleaded no contest to molesting two pre-teens between 2009 and 2014.
• BDN-Maine reports that Lucas Savage, 37, of Youth Haven Ministries in Canaan was taken into custody on March 18, and accused of unlawful sexual contact involving a young girl.
• Former Las Vegas church pastor Otis Holland — already facing life in prison for sexually assaulting teenage girls in his congregation — was called up on similar charges in a separate case on March 23 in Henderson, reports KOLO.
• Youth pastor David Thorne, 35, of Goodyear Baptist Church in Picayune has been accused of sexually molesting a 15-year-old who police say may have been a parishioner at his church. Thorne is also sought in Pearl River County on a similar sexual battery charge, the Picayune Item reports.
• In California, youth pastor Daniel James Moreno, 25, has been charged with seven felony counts of sex crimes with a minor female as well as using force to keep his wife from turning him in, reports the Lompoc Record.
• Pastor Keith Frye, 54, of  the  Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church in Lilbourn, Mo. was taken into custody on March 21, and charged with raping a 4-year-old child, reports KFVS.
• The Tennessean reports that  Christopher Douglas Ross, 44, of Fairview Church in Lebanon pleaded guilty to two counts of statutory rape with a 15-year-old when he was a youth pastor there.
• Chad Apsey, a youth minister at Believers Christian Church in Eagle was convicted of sexually assaulting a teen under the age of 15 after the teen turned to the pastor for help with family problems, reports the Lansing State Journal.
• WCPO reports that Rodney Mathews, 24, a youth pastor at the Versailles Church of Christ was taken into custody on two counts of child seduction and two counts of possession of child pornography, tied to his relationship with a 15-year-old.
• Scott D. Stockton, 44, a youth pastor and mentor working with several churches in Tonawanda, New York was arrested on child pornography charges on March 28, reports WGRZ.
• Lloyd Schallenberger, a youth group leader with the First Baptist Church of Richland, in Polk County, Mississippi, was taken into custody for sexually abusing a minor, and having contact with a 9-year-old boy, reports The Ledger.

Original.

Minnie Fish

So here's another woman hero of the women's suffrage movement from Texas that I had never heard of.  Minnie Fisher Cunningham, nicknamed "Minnie Fish" by FDR, was born in New Waverly, Texas in 1882 and died in New Waverly, Texas in 1964. But she went places. Did she ever.

Frankly, it's a little disconcerting when I discover rather significant things and people in history that I probably should have known about but hadn't heard a frikkin' clue about. Didn't learn about Minnie Fisher Cunningham while growing up and going to school in TEXAS, where one might think you'd have a good chance of learning about her in school.

Can't help but wonder what other pieces of history I am unfamiliar with.  

A Suffrage Politician: Minnie Fisher Cunningham

Working as a pharmacist in Huntsville in 1901, young Minnie Fisher Cunningham discovered that her untrained male colleagues made twice her salary.  That unfairness, she later explained, “made a suffragette out of me.” Cunningham soon gave up pharmacy and put her energy and keen sense of justice to work for progressive causes. She helped pass pure milk laws and other public health legislation, but knew that truly to improve society, women must have the right to vote.

In 1910 Cunningham became president of the Galveston Equal Suffrage Association, and was soon leading the cause statewide.  Her efforts helped Texas women win the right to vote in state primary elections in 1918.  But the victory did not come easily.  She succeeded by forging savvy political alliances and spending endless hours building grassroots support.

American women achieved full suffrage in 1920, with the ratification of the 19th Amendment.  But for Cunningham, the right to vote was only a first step.  She went on to help found the National League of Women Voters, and in 1928, was the first Texas woman to run for the United States Senate.  During World War II, she worked for the Roosevelt administration, and it was FDR who gave her the nickname — “Minnie Fish.”

Jordan Company. The Portal to Texas History.

Sign reads “Minnie Fisher Cunningham for US Senate.”

Cunningham was active in the Democratic Party until her death in 1964.  But every woman who votes in Texas, regardless of party, owes “Minnie Fish” a debt of gratitude.

Original.

Wikipedia has a more full bio of her here.

April Stargazing

Do you feel jaded?  Do you need to experience a little bit of awe at something much bigger than yourself?  I'm not talking about a religious experience. That crap is totally man-made. 

Get your ass outside where you can see the night sky without the glare of city lights.  It's something that humans have done for centuries, for millennia, and it's awed and inspired anyone who takes the time.

Sparkling Galaxies

Thousands of galaxies make up the Coma Cluster, one of the largest and most massive clusters in the universe. This view shows hundreds of those galaxies, including the two most massive   a pair of giant elliptical galaxies just left and right of center. These galaxies contain a trillion or more stars, which spread across a million light-years. [Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/Univ. Arizona]

Stargazing Summary

The constellations of spring climb to prominence on April evenings. Leo is high in the sky as night falls; under fairly dark skies, it's easy to see the outline of a lion. Virgo follows the lion, highlighted by blue-white Spica. And Boötes, the herdsman, rises parallel to Virgo, highlighted by yellow-orange Arcturus, one of the brightest stars in northern skies. Most of the naked-eye planets are in great view as well. Mercury is low in the western sky for most of the month, brilliant Jupiter climbs high, and Mars and Saturn climb into the late-evening sky by month's end.

More stargazing information »

Support StarDate and the McDonald Observatory

Our educational and outreach efforts need your generous donation.

SkyTips donation

Radio Program Highlights

If you want to start hearing the StarDate program in your area, you can request a station to carry our program by emailing the request to stations@stardate.org.

April 4-10: Spreading Out. In the tightly packed confines of a globular cluster, it might be fairly easy for a civilization to spread across hundreds of worlds, and we'll have details. We'll also talk about the weather on an alien world, and much more.

April 11-17: Going High-Tech. A couple of constellations that scoot across the southern sky this week represent high technology — of the 18th century. We'll have details on these gizmonic constellations, plus an evening planet and much more.

April 18-24: Bright Flashes. The most brilliant flashes in the universe may be powered by the birth of some of the darkest objects: black holes. Join us for gamma-ray bursts, plus the Moon and a couple of bright planets and much more, right here.

April 25-May 1: Tech Talk. As with everything else in life, technology is playing a bigger role in astronomy — from robotic telescopes to giant cameras that'll photograph the entire night sky. Join us for this, plus the end of a mission of discovery and more.

Program schedule »

Hear StarDate every day on more than 330 radio stations nationwide. Find an affiliate »

Coming Up in StarDate Magazine

Next up is our Summer Reading Issue, where we'll bring you excerpts from new books in astronomy and space science. We'll also bring you skywatching tips and charts, plus the latest astronomy news.

Subscribe today

News from the Observatory

First Discovery of a Binary Companion for a Type Ia Supernova
A team of astronomers led by The University of Texas at Austin's Howie Marion has detected a flash of light from the companion to an exploding star. It provides the best evidence on the type of binary star system that leads to Type Ia supernovae. This study reveals the circumstances for the violent death of some white dwarf stars and provides deeper understanding for their use as tools to trace the history of the expansion of the universe.

Get Social with Us!

Keep up with all the news and video from McDonald Observatory on all your favorite social media platforms. "Like" us on Facebook, "follow" us on Twitter, and subscribe to our YouTube channel!

Like us on Facebook: McDonald Observatory | StarDate 

Follow us on Twitter: McDonald Observatory | StarDate 

Subscribe on YouTube: McDonald Observatory | StarDate

About SkyTips

SkyTips is a monthly email newsletter for visitors to McDonald Observatory and StarDate Online. Each issue features stargazing highlights, upcoming StarDate radio program descriptions, and other news. Please feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends and family.

SkyTips is a publication of the University of Texas McDonald Observatory Education and Outreach Office, 2609 University Ave. A2100, Austin, TX 78712. Reproduction of SkyTips content is permitted with proper credit given to McDonald Observatory.