The weekend of March 25, we drove up to St. Paul. My childhood friend, Katie, was getting married, and as a big bonus, we also got to spend the weekend with Maretta and Kyle. Here we are in their home.
And here’s the happy couple:)
Kyle is a PhD student in astrophysics at the University of Minnesota. He’s been working on an experiment since he was an undergrad, and it sounds like it’s making strides toward the finish line. EBEX (see Wikkepedia article here or one with pictures here) is a super-special telescope that Kyle’s team has been engineering. Their plan is to attach the telescope to a stratospheric balloon and launch it in Antarctica. The data it gathers should give the scientists information about background microwave radiation that may help them determine how fast the universe is expanding and what the universe might have looked at soon after the Big Bang. At least, that’s my take on it. Kyle, feel free to correct me!
On Tuesday last week, Kyle and his team took off for Palestine, Texas, where they are working at NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility where they will be integrating their equipment with the balloon in preparation for the big flight from Antarctica. One of Kyle’s teammates is writing a blog about their work he’s also posting pictures here. The duration of this phase of the project is unknown. It could be months. So my sister’s a little sad this week with her hubby gone, perhaps for months. Hopefully evening Google chats and spinning will sustain her:) Good luck on this amazing project, Kyle!
While we were visiting Maretta and Kyle last weekend, I loved watching Maretta and Andrew snuggle and play. I’ll leave you with a few cute pictures to bring a smile.
