Astronomy News
Dr. Neal Sumerlin keeps us abreast of happenings in the night sky and the progress of the new Belk Astronomical Observatory.
Blogs we recommend
Other Posts:
Describing the Indescribable (07/22/2009)
Total Solar Eclipse in July (06/07/2009)
Other Earths (05/20/2009)
Save Those Old Computers! (04/13/2009)
Play With Pictures from Mars! (04/13/2009)
Saturn in 2009 (04/13/2009)
The New Worlds (02/04/2009)
Christmas at the Moon (12/10/2008)
Potpourri of Space News (12/10/2008)
Night Sky Happenings (11/17/2008)
Power Sources for Space Probes (11/17/2008)
R.I.P., Mars Phoenix Lander (11/17/2008)
Pictures of Planets (11/17/2008)
Ice Geysers of Enceladus (09/22/2008)
Constellations (09/22/2008)
Happy Equinox Day! (09/22/2008)
More News from Mars (06/04/2008)
Search (but no rescue) on Mars (05/20/2008)
Quiz winner! (04/29/2008)
Seeing and Patience (04/22/2008)
The World at Night (03/31/2008)
New Stars that are Really Old (03/14/2008)
Latest From Planetary Spacecraft (03/14/2008)
Lunar Eclipse Update (02/18/2008)
Aiming a Telescope (02/18/2008)
Observatory Update (02/04/2008)
Venus and Jupiter in the Morning (02/04/2008)
Total Lunar Eclipse (02/04/2008)
Messenger Mission to Mercury (02/04/2008)
We lose a friend
Posted on 05/03/2008People at Lynchburg College have already received this sad news, but many others of you have not. Jordan Kicklighter, who worked at LC as Institutional and Academic Grants Officer, was killed on Friday night. Jordan and his family were at the home of friends when a huge tree branch fell suddenly and struck him.
Jordan was instrumental in bringing the observatory to the Claytor Nature Study Center. He worked tirelessly to identify and pursue outside sources of funding, and excelled at turning the tech-heavy prose of this writer into something more attractive to foundation officers. It was he who first suggested that we make the case for upgrading the main telescope from sixteen to twenty inches. It was he who largely created and designed the observatory’s web presence, constantly looking for ways to make it more attractive and more informative, constantly pushing me to provide the content that you see there. My last conversation with him concerned this topic.
He was funny and fun to be around. He loved his Georgia Bulldogs, his wife, and his two daughters, and not in that order. What I will remember most fondly about him is how he took up astronomy, a subject that was new to him, and quickly learned enough to ask me penetrating questions. His excitement and enthusiasm for the observatory was matched only by my own. He will be sorely missed.