Total solar eclipse

Look at the irony...For 22 years i was in India, there was no solar eclipse visible totally in India. Now the longest solar eclipse of the century is visible so well from India and i am stuck here. It is especially disappointing, since arizona has a huge astronomy scene. Out of 20 largest telescopes in the world, 3 are here. Kitt peak observatory in southern arizona has the world's largest collection of optical telescopes. The crystal clear night skies here are an astronomer's dream. It is on my list of 'must go' places before i leave arizona. There is a planetarium here at ASU as well in the physical sciences building which offers group shows. They are called 'ASU astronomy open house' and should be considered if you are interested in sky viewing. This is their official website: http://homepage.mac.com/agfuentes/openhouse.html

You might wanna check that if you want to attend their future sessions.

dust storm in tempe

For the first time during our stay here, we experienced a duststorm. I am surprised it took nearly 2 years for us to do that, since we are right in the middle of a desert. Thats probably because most of us were interning somewhere else last summer. The visibility had reduced considerably and most static objects were covered in dust. It lasted for a couple of hours. But dust storms are not uncommon in arizona. Quite a few huge dust storms have been recorded here. I found these pictures in a phoenix library, showing famous instances of dust storms in arizona:

Walkers in Dust Storm. 1972.

Dust Storm Over Residential Area on Labor Day, 1972.

No Rain Had Fallen in the Area for 153 Days, 06/1972.

Dust Storm Over residential Area on Labor Day, 1972.

No Rain Had Fallen in the Area for 153 Days, 06/1972.

Dust Storm Rises Over Phoenix on Labor Day, 1972.

No Rain Had Fallen in the Area for 153 Days, 06/1972.

Dust Storm Rises Over Phoenix on Labor Day, 1972.

No Rain Had Fallen in the Area for 153 Days , 06/1972.

*Dust Storm Pictures from Environmental Protection Agency.