I’m back from the Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop, a full week in Laramie, Wyoming (at the University of Wyoming), trying to cram as much astronomical knowledge as possible into the brains 14 writers and editors. It was an incredible, overwhelming week. I’ll be processing everything I learned in the coming days and weeks, and sharing some of it here as I turn it into coherent pieces.
Off the top of my head, I want to thank Workshop founder and leader Mike Brotherton, his partner in crime Jim Verley, and guest instructor Kevin R. Grazier, for dumping as much information on us as possible, but doing so in a palatable, fascinating way. I also want to thank NASA for funding it. And it wouldn’t have been nearly as interesting without the participation of my fellow students: John Joseph Adams, Kelly Barnhill, Monte Cook, Alice Henderson, Marjorie M. Liu, Bud Sparhawk, Rachel Swirsky, Cecilia Tan, Genevieve Valentine, Carrie Vaughn, Nick Wethington, David J. Williams, and Walter Jon Williams. There were also guest appearances by Travis Laurence, Sabrina Cales, Rebecca Stoll, Stephanie Slater, Jeremy Tolbert, Christine Stebbins, and Jessie Runnoe, all of whom contributed greatly to the learning and enjoyment. (The class photo, taken on the first day, is by Kevin Grazier.)
I’ve posted a few photos of the week on both my personal Facebook account and in this Flickr set. I expect to post more in the coming days.