127 FCM COVER - Fox Cities Magazine

HIDDEN
in plain sight
Do you recognize this
local architectural detail?
Submit your answer along
with your name and address by
July 11, 2011.
If you are correct, you will be
entered in a drawing for
$25 gift certificate to
The largest selection of beads in
Northeast Wisconsin!
1011 W. College Ave., Appleton
920.733.2853
www.glassonion.biz
MAY ANSWER
First English Lutheran Church, Appleton
WE STUMPED YOU!
Submit entries to:
P.O. Box 2496 Appleton, WI 54912
info@foxcitiesmagazine.com
Summer months blow by with the help of storms
sweeping across northeastern Wisconsin. While the rest
of us are holed up in our basements, storm spotters like Bill
Schulze are out weathering the elements to provide the
particulars for those updates.
Appleton resident Schulze says that many people don’t
realize that there is a difference between the storm spotting
he does for the National Weather Service and the job of
people who chase those storms down.
“With storm spotting, safety is the most important thing
as opposed to chasing, where getting the shot or getting
super close is the most important thing,” Schulze says.
Schulze braves adverse driving conditions through
heavy winds and rain to watch storms roll in and then
provides the reports on conditions that are issued by the
NWS and used by local media. He’s always been fascinated
with weather and has had an interest in volunteering since
high school.
After obtaining his amateur radio license,
Schulze began his volunteer position with the
NWS in the spring of 2006. While he says that
seeing the havoc that these storms wreak is the
hardest part of the job, the best part is feeling
that he is contributing to the public safety of
Fox Citians.
“It is very rewarding knowing that what you
are reporting could be saving lives as that piece of
information is what could generate a warning,”
he says.
— By Karilyn Robinson
The Summer of Saturn
In May 4 of the 5 visible planets danced in
the sky just prior to sunrise: swift and dim
Mercury entering the morning sky, brilliant
Venus after spending most of 2011 as the
“morning star” is now preparing to swing
behind the Sun to become the “evening
star” by the end of summer, Mars continues
on its orbit biding its time until slightly
faster Earth passes it yet again (as it does
every 26 months) to herald its return into
the evening sky; and finally, Jupiter, having
just exited the evening sky will return again
to the evening sky in the fall. The sole
planet in the evening sky this summer is
Get to Know…
Name: Bill Schulze
Residence: Appleton
Occupation: Storm spotter for
the National Weather Service
Years on the Job: 5
Barlow Planetarium SkyWatch
A methane/ethane sea on Titan, Saturn’s largest
moon, as compared to Lake Superior.
Fox Cities at work
By Alan J. Peche, Director of Barlow Planetarium
Saturn – the magnificent ringed planet. As
summer takes its hold on the residents of the
Fox Valley, Wisconsin (and the northern
hemisphere), activities begin to include
swimming, boating, water and beaches it is
interesting to think that the Earth isn’t
unique in the solar system when it comes to
beaches – there is another “world” that has
beaches in our very own solar system:
Saturn’s moon Titan. However, that is pretty
much as far as the comparison can be taken
since the liquid on Titan is not the
refreshing, life-giving H2O that we know,
like and need. Titan’s analogous liquid is
CH4 with some C2H6 – commonly referred
to methane and ethane – at a chilly 300
degrees below! During the warm summer
evenings take a moment to gaze up at
Saturn in the evening sky. However, if you
have a chance to view Saturn through even
a small telescope, usually there will be a
bright “star” in the same view – a bright
“star” that actually has BEACHES (next to
hydrocarbon seas).
For additional information regarding SkyWatch or
Barlow Planetarium, please visit barlowplanetarium.org
FOX CITIES Magazine
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