Island Hop

After five years of living on the Big Island we finally took a few days to hop to another island and do some exploring. The selected target was Oahu, a place we have never properly visited before, changing planes at the airport does not count.

First impressions… Oahu can be a nice place to visit, but the traffic is beyond terrible! The roads packed with cars playing by aggressive city rules. Even the North Shore and Windward were bad, not just Honolulu. After years of driving on the Big Island, where there are no interstate freeways and the driving is quite relaxed, it was an unpleasant experience. I managed, and we got around with little real trouble, re-learning the old skills of dealing with heavy city traffic. I am so glad to be back to Hawai’i and out of that traffic.

The Fourth of July is a pretty good day to visit patriotic monuments like the battleship Missouri and the Pacific Aviation Museum. This was the plan and it executed well.

Battleship Missouri
The 16″ guns of the Battleship Missouri in Pearl Harbor
I had wanted to visit the Missouri for some time, I love museum ships, such tangible remnants of the past. This battleship is simply big, everything about her was big, from the enormous guns to the massive anchors. The exception was the average crewman’s bunks, which were stacked in ranks throughout much of the first deck. There was a tangible sense of history here, the silent guns spoke of the fierce battles of WWII. A simple plaque in the deck marked where that terrible war finally ended.

For the Fourth all of the ships in the harbor were decked out in flags, including the Missouri, the many US Navy and foreign ships gathered for the upcoming RIMPAC exercises. Another treat was the Mississippi Lions All State Band performing pier-side the battleship.

Continue reading “Island Hop”

Postcard from the Universe – Galactic Center Grande

On request I am publishing a larger version of my galactic center shot. I really do need to re-shoot this with an Hα sensitive camera.

As usual, click on the image for the larger version…

Galactic Center
The galactic center region on the Sagittarius-Scorpius border, 37 x 1min exposures with a Canon 60D and a Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens stopped to f/2.8

Postcard from the Reef – Protopalythoa?

Hawaiian reefs are well studied, so much so that identification of what I find is often fairly easy. Various resources from popular guide books to professional papers list most of the species one is likely to encounter. There are also several excellent online references that I make regular use of.

There will be situations when identification is not quite so easy… There are critters that are difficult to identify from a simple photograph. Such is the case with this small group of cnidarians I found in a crevice. They caught my eye enough that I took the photo, but proved a bit more difficult when I hit the books. The best I can guess at is the family Protopalythoa, among the zoanthids. I have no need to collect a specimen and find an expert, thus these will most likely remain unidentified…

Protopalythoa sp?
Most likely a member of the zonanthid family Protopalythoa, just a handful of animals in a reef crevice at Puako

Venus and Aldebaran

Tomorrow morning, July 8th, Venus will pass less than 1° from Aldebaran. The Eye of the Bull may be one of the brightest stars in the sky at 0.9 magnitude, but it is no match for Venus at -4.4 magnitude.

On the morning of the 8th the planet will be 59′ from the star, just an iota under 1°. On the morning of the 9th the distance will be slightly closer at 55′. The pair will rise about 03:18, to be well up in the sky before sunrise.

Apehelion

Today the Earth is furthest from the Sun, a point called apehelion. We will be about 152,098,232km (94,509,459miles) from the Sun. Compare this to the 147,098,290km (91,402,639miles) we were at perihelion on Jan 4th, a difference of about 5,411,169km (3,362,344miles) occurs throughout one orbit.

It may seem odd that we are actually at the furthest for the middle of northern summer, you just have to remember that proximity to the Sun is not the cause of the seasons. The seasons are caused by the axial tilt of the Earth, creating short and long days throughout the year, with a resulting change in the angle and intensity of the sunlight.

2012 Solstices and Equinoxes
  UT HST
Perihelion Jan 5 03:59UT Jan 4 17:59HST
Spring Equinox Mar 20 05:14UT Mar 19 19:14HST
Summer Solstice Jun 20 23:09UT Jun 20 13:09HST
Apehelion Jul 4 23:59UT Jul 4 13:59HST
Fall Equinox Sep 22 14:49UT Sep 22 04:49HST
Winter Solstice Dec 21 11:12UT Dec 21 01:12HST
 
Source: USNO Data Services Website and the NASA Sky Calendar

 

Employment at Keck – Infrastructure Technician-Electrician

W. M. Keck Observatory Position Announcement…

The W.M. Keck Observatory operates two of the world’s largest and most scientifically productive optical/infrared telescopes located on the summit of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. A highly capable and motivated staff operates, maintains and develops the complex telescope systems and infrastructure on the summit. We seek an Infrastructure Technician-Electrician to join this high-caliber team.

Keck 1 Laser
Utilizing the Keck 1 Laser Guide Star during the night
This position is primarily responsible for industrial electrical work including installation, modification, repairs and maintenance of electrical systems and equipment up to 480V to ensure they are in good operating condition, safe and conform to the applicable version of the National Electric Code. The work is primarily at the observatory facility on the summit of Mauna Kea with occasional work at the headquarters facility in Waimea. Minimum requirements are 10 years of experience as an industrial electrician and a valid Journey Worker Industrial Electrician License in the State of Hawaii.

Commitment to WMKO’s core values, working well with others, and the ability to handle multiple tasks and priorities within a fast paced environment are all essential. For a full listing of duties and qualifications for this position, please go to: www.keckobservatory.org/about/employment