Starizona And The Gem Show.

Last of the trip photos.

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Friday night I was able to drop by Starizona, a wonderful telescope shop.  Dean the owner is also the maker of the Hyperstar system (which I use), the microtouch focuser (which I use) and the Hyperion telescope line (which I want).

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Most weekends Dean keeps the store open and has star parties right in the parking lot.

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You can see the traffic whizzing by on the street about 10 yards away.

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Yet, you can still take images like this 20 second, hand held shot with my Canon EOS M with a 3.5mm focal length.

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A little processing (very little on the jpg only) and it doesn’t turn out half bad.  Editing the RAW image would have been better, but hey, I gotta work sometime.

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They have a projector and screen set up for people new to astronomy to get a better look at what they see through the telescopes.

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A budding young astronomer reading away.  She was NOT happy when Mom made her go home.

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After coming back from Kitt Peak, we stopped by the Gem and Mineral show that was being held ALL over Tucson.  There was like 36 venues to choose from.  I went to the main one at the civic center in downtown Tucson.  The place was well lit (or I smudged the lens on my cell phone).  An artist who made fantasy and crystals meld into something beautiful.

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Chewie, the dino fossil won first prize for best display in his category.

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Some VERY cool florescent rocks and minerals under black light.

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A very expensive ($18,000) Amethyst back lit table, one of many impressive pieces from this company.

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Gorgeous polished petrified wood table tops for sale as a reasonable $800-1,500 apiece.

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One of my favorite artist who takes ironwood and makes these amazing works.  The vase in front was $10,000.

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Big assed geode (crystal egg not included).

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One of my other favorites were these Australian sand sculptures.  The sand flows through a barrier of air to make these one of a king images.  It is like a colorful etch-a-sketch.

Really too many images to show, but I didn’t even get to see the crown jewels on display from the Smithsonian (the crowd was tremendous).  All in all I estimate that there was between 2-3 billion dollars worth of art, semi-precious and precious stones on display in this one location.  I haven’t gone rock hounding since my youth, but I found out that Harbor Freight sells a rock tumbling kit.  I may just have to get in contact with my High School friend Mark (a geology major) and see about rounding up some rocks…..

– Ex astris, scientia –

I am and avid amateur astronomer and intellectual property attorney in Pasadena, California and I am a Rising Star as rated by Super Lawyers Magazine.  As a former Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy, I am a proud member of the Armed Service Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association working to aid all active duty and veterans in our communities. Connect with me on Google +

Norman