The Running Man Nebula

Granite GapBy Don Van Akker, Victoria Centre(dvanakker@gmail.com)New Mexico is ribbed by ranges of rugged mountains thatrise abruptly from flat desert plains. It has a lot of clear sky, alot of wind, and not a lot of people. At night, it has a lot ofstars. Elizabeth and I spent much of the winter snow-birdingthere. We did a lot of travelling but eventually wound up asguests of Gene Turner at Rancho Hidalgo. Gene is an ex-Floridadeveloper who apparently made his fortune paving paradiseand putting up houses. I suppose he became disenchanted withthe Florida he helped to build, and in 2002 decided to move toNew Mexico. The attraction was the sky, for Gene is an avidamateur astronomer.He is not a tall man and he doesn’t need to be. His stocky frameand friendly open face give him the kind of commandingpresence that dominates any conversation. His blue eyes lookstraight at you and he bubbles with enthusiasm for his currentprojects. He runs cattle and horses on an enormous ranchthat includes a lot of property he owns, and grazing rights tothousands of acres of adjacent government land. But, he is adeveloper and promoter to the core, and when he came toNew Mexico, he hit the ground running.Figure 1 — The standard observatory is 4.5 m (15′) square with two piersand a warm room at the roll-off end. These will be ready to use after powerand Internet have been connected. The view is to the southeast.Figure 2 — These are the first of many planned small cottages. They will besold as six-month time-shares with a 99-year ground lease.The first project, and the one that brought him here, wasArizona Sky Village near the town of Portal on the Arizonaside of the Simon Valley. There he partnered with CanadianJack Newton to build a community of like-minded peoplewho wanted to live under dark skies filled with stars. The resultis a scattering of homes against the foothills of the ChiricahuaMountains, each with an observatory beside it; each withshades that prevent white light from spilling into the night.The next project was Rancho Hidalgo, his own place near thetown of Animas. There the scope is broader. Astronomy remainsa central theme but hand-in-hand with the stars are riding,birding, rock hounding, archaeology, and even a hand in avineyard yet to be planted.Figure 3 — This is the first of a system of lakes that will stretch up the valley.Already it is attracting a great number and variety of birds. The water comesfrom an aquifer.June / juin 2011JRASC | Promoting Astronomy In Canada109