So, I sent Peter Bayliss, my tutor, a text after spending some time trying to find his number. I've explained that the TMA is largely done, so I can either submit it as-is, or ask him for an extension. In preparation, I've emailed the TMA as it stands to Alan, and asked him if he would mind very much posting it for me, if I haven't heard back from my tutor. Tomorrow is absolute latest day that it can be posted, which makes getting the certificate of posting fairly important. If I haven't heard back from him by tomorrow mid-morning, then I will have to assume that an extension is not available to me, and I'll ask Alan to post it tomorrow lunchtime. Thank you Alan -- this is a huge help.
I decided that I ought to get out of the room, so I grabbed my clip board, notepad and the booklet for tonight (Project 1: Astronomical Spectroscopy), intending to sit in the lounge by the bar and work through the basics.
I ran into Roger ("Parklife!") O'Brien, looking seriously dishevelled. I picked up a cortado and joined him, and we had a very pleasant conversation about all things astronometrical. This ranged from chats about making sure everyone in a group gets a chance to do everything, to his theory about two star names (Betelgeuse and Bellatrix, both in Orion - a very interesting theory - see later), to the Rosetta project.
I could have sat there for hours but there came a point where I had to politely excuse myself so that I could get some work done. When you are sitting with someone that you don't know well, it seems rude not to have a conversation, so I removed myself.
I'm back up in the room, perched on the bed typing this. I'm just about to throw the patio door open to let some air circulate (to keep me awake), and to make a start on the project booklet. Tonight's project looks quite daunting to me.
More later.
Roger's theory about Betelgeuse and Bellatrix: Betelgeuse is on one shoulder of Orion, and Bellatrix is on the other. Although Bellatrix is Latin for female warrior (like imperiatrix and executrix), Roger has a theory that in fact this name is a linguistic corruption. With some little modification, the names could be written:
Bet-al-Geuse
Bet-al-rix
His idea is that these names derive from Arabic and/or Aramaic (which they do) and effectively mean left shoulder and right shoulder. It would be interesting if he were proved to be correct.
I could have sat there for hours but there came a point where I had to politely excuse myself so that I could get some work done. When you are sitting with someone that you don't know well, it seems rude not to have a conversation, so I removed myself.
I'm back up in the room, perched on the bed typing this. I'm just about to throw the patio door open to let some air circulate (to keep me awake), and to make a start on the project booklet. Tonight's project looks quite daunting to me.
More later.
Roger's theory about Betelgeuse and Bellatrix: Betelgeuse is on one shoulder of Orion, and Bellatrix is on the other. Although Bellatrix is Latin for female warrior (like imperiatrix and executrix), Roger has a theory that in fact this name is a linguistic corruption. With some little modification, the names could be written:
Bet-al-Geuse
Bet-al-rix
His idea is that these names derive from Arabic and/or Aramaic (which they do) and effectively mean left shoulder and right shoulder. It would be interesting if he were proved to be correct.
No comments:
Post a Comment