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My parents always blamed my grandfather for getting
me started in looking at the sky, as he'd hold me
on the porch seat and point out the rising Moon
too often. By the time I got to high school I was
hooked, and started doing things such as photographing
the edges of the Moon's nearside and following the
changes of an eclipsing variable star from the back
yard. I went on to Vanderbilt
University (which is where I first met NGC 3314,
courtesy of some photographic plates taken at Cerro
Tololo by Prof. Dan Weedman) and UC
Santa Cruz for graduate work, following a summer
stint at the National
Radio Astronomy Observatory (analyzing data
from what was at the time only a Pretty Big Array).
My dissertation work at Lick and Mt. Lemmon Observatories
concentrated on the spectra of galactic nuclei.
I went on for three years at Kitt Peak National Observatory and
a two-year international fling at Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands.
My research has taken me from the Caucasus to Mauna Kea to Chile
and many points between to gather
data, and I've been able to make use of data collected
in Earth orbit and from almost the distance of Mars.
I've been lucky enough to work with HST data since
the first cycle (originally getting involved because
of experience in deconvolution of ground-based images),
and am still amazed at the kinds of observations
that have become possible after so many years of
speculation. My research deals with both nearby
and distant galaxies. Interacting galaxies have
been a perennial favorite, with dust in galaxies
and galaxy evolution strong recent interests. You
can see and read more about it at my homepage, www.astr.ua.edu/keel, and my
picture collection.
Unlike many professional astronomers, having started
out as a backyard amateur, I still have a yen for
eyeballing the universe, and have 6- and 10-inch
reflectors sitting by my front door. Once in a while
I do research on a galaxy that I can actually see
with these, which is especially cool. Some of my
favorite sights in the sky over the years have included
a total solar eclipse (Oregon 1979), seeing the
center of the Milky Way overhead from Chile, the
globular cluster 47 Tucanae, the dark spots left
on Jupiter by Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9's demise, and
watching the orbital movement of Comet Hyakutake
minute by minute. Closer to home, I've been impressed
by the escaped tether from STS-75 (the eeriest
thing I can recall seeing in the sky), the brilliant
Iridium flares (which did give astronomers mixed
feelings), and seeing HST and shuttle orbiters during
the servicing missions. From the scheduling of two
of them visible on Christmas, if that wasn't Santa
Claus, it was close enough for me!
Away from work, our two boys keep life quite busy
enough. I also fancy myself one of the better classical
bass trombonists among members of the International
Astronomical Union, and occasionally wish that Bach
had written more for the trombone. I'm active in
the Wesleyan Church (especially with music) and
with the Cub Scouts (in my capacity as the spouse
of Pack 8's Cubmaster). In my abundant spare time,
some favorite authors are C.S. Lewis, Poul Anderson,
and Arthur C. Clarke. And what kind of minivan (with
180,00 miles on the odometer) do I tool around in?
A Silhouette, of course...
- Supplementary Pages by Bill Keel:
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About 3314
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NGC 3314 Variable Object
(also authored by Lisa Frattare)
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