Time Signature

November 10, 2014

“I will love the light, for it shows me the way; yet I will love the darkness, for it shows me the stars.”
~ Augustine “Og” Mandino

Photo courtesy of ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)

 

I enjoy all of the seasons, but fall is one of my favorites, partly because we return to Standard Time.  After the chaotic celebration and intense heat of summer, I welcome the shorter days as an opportunity to slow down, to go within, to dream, and to observe the world around me.

Now, thanks to a huge collection of radio telescopes in the Chilean desert, the formation of the early Universe can be observed as it happened.

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) was built as an international partnership of Europe, North America and East Asia. ALMA’s mission is to investigate the early Universe, the first stars and galaxies and the formation of planets.

A new image from ALMA recently revealed, in never before seen detail, the formation of new planets around a young star known as HL Tauri.  Located in the constellation of Taurus, HL Tauri (a star like our own Sun) was born within clouds of gas and dust that collapsed under gravity.  Over time, the surrounding dust particles stuck together, growing into sand, pebbles, and larger-size rocks.  These pebbles and rocks settled into a protoplanetary disc (proto means “earliest” or “first”), a thin disc made up of stuff that eventually came together to make asteroids, comets, and planets.

The cool part is that observing the first stages of planet formation around HL Tauri can show us how our own planetary system may have looked when it began, more than four billion years ago.

So enjoy the fall season, the return to Standard Time and the earlier view of the night sky.  With the right kind of telescope, you can watch the world being made.

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For more about the ALMA and HL Tauri, you can see a five minute YouTube at this link.

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Sweet and savory slow-cooked Caramelized Carrots with Lime and Thyme are not your grandma’s carrots.

Caramelized Carrots with Lime and Thyme
These will disappear from your Thanksgiving table. 

16 oz baby carrots, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
(about 3 cups of chunks)
3 tablespoons salted butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon dried or 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Zest of one lime
1 teaspoon lime juice

In a large, heavy saucepan, frying pan or braising pan (carrots should cook in a single layer), melt butter with oil over medium heat.  Add thyme and season with a bit of salt and pepper.  Stir continuously to coat the carrots with the butter/oil and seasonings.  Reduce heat to medium-low and let sizzle, stirring only occasionally, until carrots are tender-crisp and beginning to caramelize (about 30 minutes).  Stir in lime zest and juice.  Taste and add additional salt and pepper, if desired (I didn’t).

Serve hot, with bread to mop up the extra butter and oil (yum!).

Serves 4 to 6

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