Another Must-Have Tool for Astronomers: A Shovel

By Nancy Atkinson - February 20, 2011 at 7:39 PM UTC | Observing

Ah, the glamorous life of an astronomer. Scott Kardel, public affairs coordinator for the Palomar Observatory, found himself on top of the dome of the 200-inch Hale Telescope -- not observing, but shoveling. Snow. Palomar Mountain has been getting its share of the white stuff this winter, and this weekend close to a foot of snow fell in the area. All that snow can cause problems for using the telescope.

"The basic problem is this," Kardel wrote on his blog,

Palomar Skies.

"If you open the dome with snow on the top, snow will fall in on the telescope and instrumentation. So a small crew, each secured with a safety harness, is sent up to remove the snow from the dome slit."

Kardel posted a

nice collection of scenic images

from his foray on top of the snow-covered dome, adding that, "At Palomar Observatory every day is an adventure."

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Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com