Every month, when the moon is rising late or in new moon phase, Steve watches the weather and evening sky very closely to see if it will be clear for observing. If it looks like it might be a clear night sky, he packs up the car with all his observing gear - telescope, folding chair, table, books, and a thermos of tea - and sets out. He has found a site to set up about 25 minutes away from our house, near the town of Wainuiomata. It is in a valley and the mountains block most of the light pollution from Wellington. The part of the sky with the least light pollution is to the south, which is the richest part of the sky for finding nebulas, the southern milky way, and countless fuzzy galaxies. He sets up at the end of a long dirt laneway, owned by a man named Nigel. When Nigel first met Steve, parked at the side of the road near his laneway, he quickly told Steve the combination to the locked gate so that Steve could drive right in and set up. Steve has shown him a few of the more impressive night sky objects, and Nigel is always interested to have a peek. A couple weeks ago, we decided to walk up the long laneway to take in the view from the other side of the valley.
Most of the hillsides have been or are still used for logging, so we followed a logging road and ate our lunch at the top.
This little bird was posing for us, against the beautiful steep mountainsides to the southeast.
One of Steve's latest projects was to make a wheelbarrow for moving his telescope base. Usually we both lift it together to take it to the car, but he often has to unload it by himself, and it weighs about 50lbs. So he made arms and wheels that attach to the box base and he can wheel it around. He also made that little ramp to help with the stairs in/out of the house and getting into/out of the car; the whole system works very well.
Last but not least, here is a more recent picture of me and my growing belly at 23 weeks. I've started wearing a few more maternity clothes, and I'm thankful that I can wear uniforms to work each day. I continue to feel really good and enjoy this time a lot. I've taken up swimming and have been going to one of the outdoor pools a few times a week to do lengths. The outdoor pools close at the end of summer (mid-March) so then I guess I might have to make do with an indoor pool, but I love being outside while exercising.
Steve is in a really busy phase of his PhD project right now - finishing off designing parts, getting them made, assembling the spectrograph, and testing it in the lab. This all needs to be completed before April when he will be taking the instrument to the Mt John Observatory on the South Island. They have two weeks booked on the large telescope down there to do some "real star" tests with the spectrograph. Hopefully the baby does not come while he is away!