SAO (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory)
A drawing by John A. Wood of the Extraterrestrial Petrology Center for Astrophysics.

Once I had a contract (Grant) to report to NASA what we learned from the Apollo Samples, my life changed! Now I had funding to support co-workers. Beginning with John Dickey, Ben Powell, Ursula Marvin and Janice Bower; new students, Post-docs, and support staff cycled through my research team. Photos were taken of the evolving groups.

Janice Bower standing at a podium speaking.

Shown are my Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) research groups in the years 1969-1988 plus outtakes of group members during those years. Also shown is a meteorite hunt that the group carried out in 1979.

A black and white group photo of the research team in the laboratory from 1969.
1969
A group photo of the research team standing outside from 1971.
1971
A group photo of the research team sitting on a bench outside from 1973.
1973
A black and white group photo of the research team standing outside in the winter in 1975.
1975
A black and white group photo of the research team sitting and standing outside in 1977.
1977
A black and white group photo of the research team standing outside in the grass in 1979.
1979
A black and white group photo of the research team sitting on a rock wall in 1980.
1980
A black and white group photo of the research team standing outside, with Ursula Marvin holding a piece of cake on a plate in 1982.
1982
A black and white group photo of the research team sitting inside the laboratory in 1985, where each member of the team is wearing their SAO shirts with the design John made.
1985
A black and white group photo of the research team standing outside in front of a building in 1988.
1988

Two group members that did not make it into any of these group photographs are Akihiko (“Gen”) Hashimoto and Cordula Robinson. I am showing these colleagues as outtakes (Figs. 19-25).

The Harvard Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory building.
Fig. 19. Harvard Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
Cordula Robinson smiling next to her horse.
Fig. 20. Cordula Robinson.
Brennan Klose smiling at the camera at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory RADIG Laboratory, Pasadena, California.
Fig. 21. Brennan Klose at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory RADIG Laboratory, Pasadena, California.
Gen Hashimoto posing for the camera.
Fig. 22. Gen Hashimoto.
John A. Wood and Mikhail Petaev posing for a photo.
Fig. 23. Mikhail Petaev and myself.
An action shot of Cordula Robinson riding her horse.
Fig. 24. Cordula Robinson riding her horse, Lakota.
Gen Hashimoto and Georgia Wood.
Fig. 25. Gen Hashimoto with Georgia Wood.
Meteorite Hunt

About 1979 a rumor reached SAO that something had punched a hole in the winter ice of a pond in the Massachusetts countryside. My group sensed a meteorite and planned an expedition. For the sake of science, but also because it offered an excuse to escape the Observatory for a few hours.

So once warm weather returned, we gathered supplies and set out for the pond in question. Friends of group members brought SCUBA gear and a waterproof magnetometer that might detect an iron-rich mass.

A good time was had by all, but alas, no meteorite. We concluded that the hole in the ice had been caused by some party playing with dynamite.

The research team conducting a meteorite hunt lounging next to a pond in Massachusetts.The research team conducting a meteorite hunt in a circle making observations.Two members of the research team standing in a pond wearing scuba gear.The research team conducting a meteorite hunt studying something nearby the pond.
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