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About Us
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Bob Antol is from Des Moines, Iowa.
He graduated from Iowa State University
in 1978 with a bachelor's degree in Mathematics. You can see his paper entitled
"The Perfect Numbers and Pascal's Triangle" here:
[ html |
pdf ]
Bob is a member of the
Advisory Council for the Department of Mathematics at Iowa State [ Members | Bob's Bio ].
Bob was recently recognized at the Iowa State Liberal Arts and Sciences Honors and Awards Ceremony and received the Distinguished Alumni Award [ LAS | link | Math ] in the Department of Mathematics. The recognition speech from the award presentation can be found here.
Bob and the Stargate 4173 observatory were in the summer 2009 edition of the
Iowa State publication known as Math Matters.
See the Iowa State University Mathematics Department Weekly Reader for the weeks of
October 5th and
October 12th
for
photos and
information on his presentation at ISU.
Bob retired from IBM in East Fishkill, New York after 35 years of service.
In 1985, Bob went on an expedition to the
North Pole with Society Expeditions.
You can read about this fantastic
experience in his
Polar Journals.
On May 9th, 1987,
Bob and Barb were married.
Bob can be contacted at antol@stargate4173.com.
From October 3rd, 2017 to February 5th, 2019, Bob hosted a radio show
called "The Astronomical Almanac" on WPWL 103.7 FM Pawling, NY.
You can listen to any of the 57 episodes
here.
On April 26th, 2024, at 4:20 PM Eastern / 3:20 PM Central, Bob will give a
presentation prior to the Mathematics Department Awards Ceremony (held
in the main auditorium of Troxel Hall [Iowa State University]) entitled
"Perfection in a Scarred Mathematical World".
This presentation can be streamed from
here.
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Barb Antol is from West Haverstraw, New
York.
She graduated from Pace University
in 1980 with a bachelor's degree in
Mathematics.
Barb retired from IBM in East Fishkill, New York after 33 years of service.
Some of Barb's
Photo Albums are available for viewing.
Barb can be contacted at antolb@att.net.
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About the Stargate 4173 at Grimaldi Tower Observatory
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About the Equipment
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Information on the
equipment
in the Stargate 4173 at Grimaldi Tower observatory can be found here.
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About the Book My Heavens!: The Adventures of a Lonely Stargazer Building an Over-the-Top Observatory (Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series)
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Expedition to the North Pole
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In April of 1985, Bob Antol went on an 11 day expedition to the North Pole with "Society Expeditions". This journey was documented in these Polar Journals.
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About Our Pets
Our cats are named after craters on the moon (unless they were adopted and then we kept their original names). Their
Photo Albums are available for viewing.
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Ramsey - Adopted from Mid-Hudson Animal Aid.
Since this was his name at the shelter, we
kept it (so he is not named after a crater on
the moon). But, we decided to give him a middle
name.
Ramsey Ptolemaeus - Greek astronomer, author of the
Almagest. Geocentric model of the universe.
On the moon, the crater is 153 km in diameter
and has a very prominent walled plain with numerous
pits and depressions on its floor.
Sharon Challand
did a portrait of
Ramsey.
This portrait is currently hanging in our Oak Room.
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Grimaldi (deceased [28May2005]) - Italian
physicist and astronomer, author of a
map of the Moon which was used by
Riccioli as a basis for his nomenclature.
On the moon, the crater is a basin
whose flooded centre is surrounded by
an inner wall 222 km in diameter; the
damaged external wall has a diameter of
430 km.
Sharon Challand
did a portrait of
Grimaldi.
This portrait is currently hanging in
the lower octagonal room. In
Grimaldi's honor, we named the 2 story
structure after him. It is known as
Grimaldi Tower.
Grimaldi was Cat of the Day August 20, 2006.
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Kepler (deceased [21Aug2013]) - German astronomer and ingenious theoretician
who, on the basis of Tycho Brahe's ovservations, formulated
the three Laws of Planetary Motion that bear his name and
which describes the motions of the planets around the Sun.
On the moon, a very prominent crater (32 km in
diameter) with an uneven floor and is the center
of an extensive bright ray system.
Sharon Challand
did a portrait of
Kepler.
This portrait is currently hanging to
the right of the western windows in our Oak Room.
Kepler was Cat of the Day March 9, 2014.
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Copernicus (deceased [25Nov2013]) - the renowned Polish
astronomer, one of the founders of modern
astronomy. His heliocentric system was
explained in his main work
De Revolutionibus Orbium Celestium (1543).
Sharon Challand
did a portrait of
Tycho and Copernicus.
This portrait is currently hanging above
the fireplace in our Oak Room.
On the moon, the crater is a ring
mountain, 93 km in diameter and 3760 m
deep; terraced walls, relatively flat
floor with a group of central peaks
(heights up to 1200 m); the height of
the wall above the surrounding terrain
is 900 m.
Copernicus was Cat of the Day December 29, 2013.
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Mothra (deceased [25Oct2017]) - Adopted from Mid-Hudson Animal Aid.
Since this was her name at the shelter, we
kept it (so she is not named after a crater on
the moon).
Sharon Challand
did a portrait of
Mothra.
This portrait is currently hanging in our Oak Room.
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Tycho (deceased [3Oct2018]) - Danish astronomer, prominent
observer and organizer of scientific
research. His accurate observations
enabled Kepler to discover the laws of
planetary motion.
On the moon, the crater is 85 km in
diameter and 4850 m deep with the most
extensive ray system.
Sharon Challand
did a portrait of
Tycho and Copernicus.
This portrait is currently hanging above
the fireplace in our Oak Room.
Tycho was Cat of the Day April 17, 2014.
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Sterling (deceased [9Jul2019]) - Adopted from Mid-Hudson Animal Aid.
Since this was his name at the shelter, we
kept it (so he is not named after a crater on
the moon). But, we decided to give him a middle
name.
Sterling Picard - French astronomer, the first
person to measure the size of the Earth to a
reasonable degree of accuracy. He also developed
what became the standard method for measuring
the right ascension of a celestial object.
On the moon, the crater is 23 km in diameter
and is located in Mare Crisium.
Sharon Challand
did a portrait of
Sterling and Capella.
This portrait is currently hanging in our Oak Room.
Sterling was Cat of the Day March 29, 2014.
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Blue Eyes (deceased [28Jun2023]) - Brought back from Des Moines, Iowa.
Since this was her original name, we
kept it (so she is not named after a crater on
the moon).
Sharon Challand
did a portrait of
Blue Eyes.
This portrait is currently hanging in our Oak Room.
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Capella (deceased [15Sep2023]) - Adopted from Mid-Hudson Animal Aid.
Martianus Capella was a fifth century AD Carthaginian lawyer.
Copernicus refers to his theory that Mercury and Venus orbit
the Sun, and that the Sun, together with the rest of the
planets, revolves around the Earth.
On the moon, the crater is 49 km in diameter
and is located on the northern edge of Mare Nectaris.
Sharon Challand
did a portrait of
Sterling and Capella.
This portrait is currently hanging in our Oak Room.
Capella was Cat of the Day December 7, 2014.
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