(Continued from page 2)

It is so big, and bright and beautiful, and everyone can see it. I always get warm fuzzies inside when I think about the fact that no matter where you are on earth, you can still see the moon.  I could be in Miami, and call you, Louise, at your home in Arlington, and go, "Hey, did you see the moon tonight?" It's something that everyone on earth can always share, no matter where they are.  I just love it.

LG  Have you ever done any astrophotography or imaging?  What kind of equipment did you use.
TRISTA  Yes, I used rolls and rolls and rolls of  film. All with horrible results.

LG  Beyond basic equipment, what three things do you always take with you when observing?
TRISTA  I take NIGHT WATCH by Terrence Dickinson, my laminated Messier poster, and my red flashlight.  My favorite astro-toy is my 14 mW (not a wimpy 5 mW) green laser pointer.  It was an early birthday gift.

LG  What is your favorite constellation? Star?
TRISTA  Favorite constellation would have to be Orion because it is so big, bright, and so easy to identify. You can see it even in light-polluted skies. It's also a fantastic guidepost.   My favorite star is Sirius - ever since I saw it the first time through Burl Haley's 10" scope - so bright, beautiful, and blue-white.

LG  Do you think there is life, as we know it, out there somewhere?  Do you think we have ever been visited from beyond?
TRISTA  Yes, being a mathematician, I think the statistics are in favor of additional life in the universe.  "Life" could mean plant life or amoebas or something like that. There may even be "intelligent" life out there, but maybe not capable of communicating with us.  I certainly do not think that our little planet Earth is the only special place for life to exist.  I don't think we have been visited.

LG  Of what practical use is Astronomy?
TRISTA  Absolutely none  - but it does keep me off the streets at night!

LG  What does looking up into the night sky (through a telescope) do for you?  What do you get out of it?
TRISTA  I get a sense of our smallness and insignificance when compared to the vastness of the universe and at the same time, a sense of the miracle of our being - our place in the universe, on this planet, in society.  Cosmologically speaking, the things I understand fascinate me, and the things I don't understand keep me awake at night.

LG  Who is your "star hero"?
TRISTA   Probably the astronauts.  All of them.  No.  My real "star heroes" are all the people who have ever shown me something in their telescopes. For me, that's a big part of the enjoyment of astronomy. Sharing it with others. All those amateur astronomers who share their telescopes, and those who volunteer at star parties, so adults and kids can look through their scopes and see all the wonder that is in the skies, those people are my "star heroes".

LG  Complete this sentence "Every amateur astronomer should…?"
TRISTA    "…stay up until the sun comes up.  That is the only way I ever see a sunrise!"