Keep Looking Up 

Sky Phenomena

The Photographic Adventures of Rick Shaffer  

As our tour guide to the night sky, Rick has done his part in educating the rest of us about what's up there. Here are some of the images he has captured of unusual or beautiful or interesting phenomena.

Rick is certainly known to the members of this club as its former president and one of its leading intellectual lights. There is little he does not know about satellites and space missions. In the words of one reviewer, his book, "Your Guide to the Sky, is an excellent introduction to astronomy and astronomical observation. I recommend this book to anyone wishing to learn about the sky, its behavior, its residents, and how to observe them." The jacket of his book provides the following additional insight into Rick's past: "Rick Shaffer managed radio astronomy activities in NASA's Deep Space Network and served as a team chief on the Magellan, Ulysses, and Haley-Pathfinder missions. In addition to his writing, Rick also operates a consulting firm in Sedona, Arizona, which specializes in telescope and museum exhibit design." Of course, if you get him talking about his favorite subject, the process might never end. You are on your own as you contemplate the meaning of the words "space enthusiast".

Below is a sampling of his collection of images, compressed for rendering on the Web. He has kindly provided an annotation for each image.

If you are interested in any of the original images, please contact Rick directly at
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