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Thomas Haas Chocolates & Patisserie
vancouver, canada
A fourth-generation pâtissier and chocolatier, Thomas Haas has apprenticed and worked with top chefs in Michelin-starred restaurants across Europe en route to earning his stripes as Konditormeister, or Master Pastry Chef. During his tenure as executive pastry chef at famed New York City restaurant Daniel, Thomas was also named as one of the Top Ten Pastry Chefs in America by Chocolatier and Pastry Art and Design magazines, and made several appearances on Martha Stewart Living, and other international television shows. Since 2005, Thomas and his wife Lisa have operated two very busy patisserie and chocolate shops in Vancouver.
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Today’s Message from Dr. Nordgren
TODAY’S CELESTIAL EVENT
Deneb & Cygnus + Leonids
Our journey through the dark skies of December begins with the constellation Cygnus the Swan and its brightest star, Deneb. This blue-white supergiant, one of the galaxy’s brightest, marks the Swan’s tail or the top of the Northern Cross. Throughout winter’s early darkness, Cygnus is low in the western sky in late evening, flying westward along the Milky Way’s diffuse river of starlight into fading twilight.
While the Leonid meteor shower (known for its radiant point — the area of the sky from where meteors appear to originate — in Leo), peaked in mid-November, sporadic Leonid meteors may still be visible in early December. These celestial remnants of the comet Tempel-Tuttle create a stunning display as they streak across the night sky. Tonight, be sure to appreciate the Winter Triangle, formed by the stars Betelgeuse, Sirius, and Procyon, rising in the eastern sky during the evening. Amid these winter marvels, Deneb remains a constant guiding light in the firmament, welcoming the last month of the year with its steady glow.
TODAY’S NATIONAL PARK
Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah
Recognized in 2007 as the world’s first International Dark Sky Park by DarkSky International, Natural Bridges comprises over 7000 acres of high-desert landscape. People repeatedly occupied and abandoned Natural Bridges during prehistoric times, and today it is widely known for its natural bridges, carved by water and wind erosion over thousands of years — turning the site into one of historic and geographic importance. Until its 2007 Dark Sky designation, Natural Bridges was a park tourists simply drove through on their way somewhere else. In the more than fifteen years since, its dark skies and astronomy programs have hugely influenced people to search out this once- sleepy park. When Dr. Nordgren visited in 2008, it was one of the darkest places he’d ever been — with the Milky Way overhead the brightest thing visible in any direction.