* Astronomy

University of Arizona astronomers had been preparing for days for this mission to verify the recent apparent discovery of water on the surface of Pluto's only known moon. Atop Mount Hopkins in the Santa Rita Mountains on April 3, 1987, astronomer George Rieke, above, went through a final instrument check so their observations could begin. What was then the world's third-most-powerful optical telescope, the Multiple Mirror Telescope, was poised to search the sky. But a weekend storm moving through the area had other plans for the scientists. On an evening that had begun with mostly clear skies, the mountaintop was socked in by 8:30 p.m. There was nothing for the disappointed team to do but retreat to the kitchen and commiserate over coffee, crackers and brie.

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