In 1997 I upgraded the "Fly's Eye" photometer array that I had built the previous year to make high-speed optical observations of sprites and elves. |
In July and August I watched storms from atop Mt Baldy (3200 m), near Socorro, New Mexico. Some of them were nearby... |
When they were overhead, lightning was sometimes triggered by small rocket. |
However, my work revolved around very distant night-time storms. Here is the Fly's Eye, dormant during the afternoon, with the VLA far in the background. |
Very occasionally, I did descend from Mt Baldy, for instance to visit the VLA |
or even stand in it, |
or to climb on some outcrops amid varied cacti and flowers in the beautiful desert. |
Mostly, though, I was active at night, and after spectacular displays of Mexican sprites, I and the Fly's Eye would go to bed at sunrise. |