My name is Rachel Theios and I'm a senior at Vintage High School in Napa, CA. I hope to study astrophysics in college, and I'm especially interested in cosmology and theoretical astrophysics. Space has always been a subject of great intrigue to me. I received my first telescope at the age of 8 after I professed a desire to see what was then the planet Pluto (of course, I learned later that I’d need a much larger telescope to actually see Pluto). I continued to stargaze with my father throughout the years, and about a year and a half ago we took up astrophotography, taking pictures of galaxies and nebulae first from robotic telescopes via the Internet and later from a home-built observatory in our backyard. Astrophotography requires great patience but yields an equally great result: the opportunity to see some of the great wonders of our universe which are difficult for the eye to see even with a telescope. Although it has taught me relatively little about how the universe actually works, my experience with amateur astronomy has given me an appreciation for the immense scale of the universe and all that it holds.
Note: This is a work in progress, so please return to view other images as I post them. For the past month or so I've been busy with my high school musical, Beauty and the Beast. First two weeks of rehearsals almost every evening, then two weeks of performances. It was great! I'm also working on my senior project, which is a study of the future of the space program. My Astronomy professor from Napa Valley College is my mentor. My dad just recently purchased a small refractor (72mm), so hopefully I'll get to use it soon. The weather here in Napa has been gettig better lately.