Greetings from Tucson, Earthlings!

Hello from Tucson, Arizona, one of the hottest places I've ever had the pleasure of inhabiting! I will be spending my summer here for another REU internship, working for NOAO (National Optical Astronomical Observatory)! PS- you know you've been thinking in vi too much when you type a $ to get to the end of a line...

Anyway, I arrived in Tucson on Sunday, traveling from Indianapolis to Dallas/Ft. Worth then making the hop over to Arizona. Notable events on trip over include flying over a wildfire at the AZ/NM border and seeing an 'airplane graveyard'. (Some pictures, not mine, here and here)

After arriving and unpacking my two suitcases that I somehow fit my life into, the first thing I did in the city of Tucson (besides pity-crying a bit at the sheer overwhelming confusion) is get lost on the way to the store. As in, walking in the complete opposite direction I was intending. I guess it helps to know cardinal directions, sometimes, huh! :)

Monday I got to work bright and early, but it WAS ALREADY HOT. The first day of work was spent filling out paperwork and getting to know the NOAO building (it is as confusing as can be). I then met my research advisor, Dara Norman, and we went out to lunch. We chatted about life in Tucson, Indiana, research, the intensity of Chicago winters, and where I could buy trashcans for my apartment. She is a lovely and bright woman, and I'm excited to work with her this summer. I will be working on a project investigating the distribution of X-ray AGN (active galactic nuclei) galaxies in galaxy clusters. Mostly I'll be reducing spectra taken from GMOS (Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph in Chile) but once that is done, I'll be doing some actual analysis!

The NOAO building where I work!

Tucson is so far, a pretty cool place, but unlike anywhere I've ever been. First of all, it's HOT. I apologize for the next 11 weeks of incessant complaining about the heat here. But seriously, the average high for EVERY day in June is 100 +/- 2 degrees. Right now it's only in the 90's, and I shudder to think how unbearable it will soon become. Yeah, yeah, it's a dry heat, but why don't you come over to the Sonoran Desert and tell me that it's not (DRYLY) HOT? 

Ok, some good aspects of Tucson: there is a 360 degree view of mountain ranges surrounding the city! To the north is the Santa Catalina mountains, the west Tucson, the south Santa Rita, and the east Rincon. It's beautiful! 

The view from Target. Some mountains I don't know!

The landscape is definitely desert… Cacti and weird little shrubbies dominate the land here. There are 'mimosa trees' (as I call them), everywhere, as well as palm trees. There are some nice flowering trees and bushes, as well as roses around.... but no grass!!! There is just sand and dirt to reflect back the harsh heat of the sun... *grumble grumble* 

This is pretty much what Tucson looks like. Yup.

The unidentified 'mimosa tree' above... Any suggestions on its actual species? 

The campus is really nice. A couple nights ago I took a long walk around the University of Arizona. My apartment is a nice distance from work, about a 15 minute walk, although google maps says it's a little less than a mile, which in IU walking time means 20 minutes. Tucson, though, is flat as a pancake as far as I've explored!

Palm trees yo!

A big open field on campus and mountains behind.

Some garden or other... lots o' cacti!

Whoa!

The campus at night- RED FILTER LIGHTS! Yay astronomy and dark skies!!!! :)

This place is like another world! The landscape is completely different, the weather bears no resemblance to the midwest, and the Mexican food is SUPREME. While everyone back home is experiencing severe weather, thunderstorms and tornadoes, I would just like everyone to know that I have not seen a single cloud in the sky since arriving four days ago. This year's REU is going to be very different than last year's, but I'm sure it will be a great experience regardless :)

Some big items on my calendar this summer:

• Jenny is going to come visit and stay a couple days with me after she gets done observing at Kitt Peak in mid-July. (Eric too, but he's too lame to stay... something about wanting to spend time with his family or something, sheesh, what a selfish guy!) 
• Go observing at Kitt Peak (south of Tucson) using the 2.1m telescope.
• Visit Elaine in Irvine, CA where she has her own internship!
• My friend Eric P. from last year's REU is going to visit me from Boulder, CO (his REU).
• Eric and I are making a scenic road trip to Simi Valley, CA to visit our friend Nick from last year's REU.

Turns out all the cool people are in the west this summer… Come visit me! :D