The NASA SOFIA 747 SP and its 2.5 infrared telescope will deploy to New Zealand once a year in order to observe southern hemisphere targets and take advantage of the dry air over the Antarctic. This year, the GREAT instrument was aboard, and therefore, so was I!
Here is some of the local press coverage of the deployment:
Here is some more information on the deployment.
After enjoying the captions below, you can view larger versions of the photos by clicking on them. You can see even larger versions of the photos by viewing the slideshow in full screen (F11). You can also view the photos on a map, or download the GPX or even KML tracks of the hikes to fly through our hikes with Google Earth.
The port of Port Chalmers |
Port Chalmers in the mist |
The Crafty Banker with the church peeking between the buildings |
The church on the hill |
Looking down Stuart Street from the Octagon to the railway station |
St. Paul's Cathedral and Town Hall |
First Church of Otago |
The altar and pipes |
Stained glass window |
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Detail within the station |
Robert and Christof |
The mosaic on the floor |
Stained glass window of train |
Looking up Stuart St. towards the Octagon |
Saw a blue penguin after dinner at the excellent Portside Restaurant in Oamaru |
Penguin crossing |
Sheep near the entrance of Akaroa Harbour |
Friendly gull |
The Little Bistro was closed! |
The Catholic Church |
Boats on the Akaroa Harbour, with Bully Hayes somewhere in the background |
Looking over my shoulder at the Akaroa Harbour on the way home |
We didn't have any snow at the pass last time we were here |
I still love the architecture at Christ's College |
The conical roof of the Art Centre is back where it belongs |
The Central Rose Garden in the Christchurch Botanic Garden is pruned by an army |
The World Peace Bell |
The Avon River snakes through the botanic gardens |
Ehh, what's up doc? |
A lover's embrace by the Bridge of Remembrance |
The Bridge of Remembrance from the Re:Start Mall |
The Re:Start Mall has grown quite a bit |
New buildings rise from where the containers used to be located |
This restaurant is still in place, but with a different name |
An advert for the Quake City attraction amidst the cranes and steel |
The Majestic House is gone and the art changes to a broken heart |
Had a nice chat with the Kiwi in the blue while walking across town |
The Christchurch Cathedral and the Chalice |
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The Chief Post Office |
The statue of city founder John Robert Godley fell during the earthquakes, and he has been put back, well, upright |
Not much remains NE of the Cathedral Square |
The scene along Worcester St. looks pretty much the same |
A new building has emerged behind the Worcester bridge |
The Heritage Hotel seemed to have gotten through the earthquake quite well |
However, the Millennium right next door does not appear to have fared as well |
The Old Trinity Church was completely destroyed, and an interesting photo emerges from the ruins |
The Transitional Cathedral is also known as the Cardboard Cathedral as it is made with cardboard tubes as well as shipping containers |
Craft beer and good grub at Pomeroy's Old Brewery Inn |
Interesting neon art on the side of a building |
One of the several mini golf holes scattered across the city |
The Gloucester Arcade |
At first I saw a weird sci-fi sort of face, but then I saw it for what it really was |
The fibers changed colors, while in the background there was a stage with loud rap, bright lights, and a lone dancer (who was very good) |
Room 219 in the Commodore Hotel |
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Good night |
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Copyright © 2015 Bill Wohler Last modified: Sun Jul 26 18:20:20 PDT 2015 About photos |
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