Keck Observatory – Page 3

Astronomy Team Releases Planet-Search Data

An international team of astronomers has released the largest ever compilation of exoplanet-detecting observations made using a technique called the radial velocity method. By making the data public, the team is offering unprecedented access to one of the best exoplanet searches in the world.

Planet Hunters Paul Butler and Steve Vogt — UCSC astronomer Steve Vogt (foreground) with collaborator Paul Butler at the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii. Photo by Laurie Hatch

The data were gathered as part of a two-decade planet-hunting program using a spectrometer called HIRES, built by UC Santa Cruz astronomer Steven Vogt and mounted on the 10-meter Keck-I telescope at the W. M. Keck Observatory atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii.

“HIRES was not specifically optimized to do this type of exoplanet detective work, but has turned out to be a workhorse instrument of the field,” said Vogt, a professor emeritus of astronomy and astrophysics. “I am very happy to contribute to science that is fundamentally changing how we view ourselves in the universe.”

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Dwarf Star 200 Light Years Away Contains Life’s Building Blocks

W. M. Keck Observatory press release…

Many scientists believe the Earth was dry when it first formed, and that the building blocks for life on our planet — carbon, nitrogen and water — appeared only later as a result of collisions with other objects in our solar system that had those elements.

Keck in the Dawn — The twin domes of Keck Observatory lit by the first rays of dawn

Today, a UCLA-led team of scientists reports that it has discovered the existence of a white dwarf star whose atmosphere is rich in carbon and nitrogen, as well as in oxygen and hydrogen, the components of water. The white dwarf is approximately 200 light years from Earth and is located in the constellation Boötes.

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Over 100 New Exoplanet Candidates Discovered With W. M. Keck Observatory

W. M. Keck Observatory press release…

Exoplanet GJ 411 — HIRES instrument helps detect potential exoplanets. Artist’s conceptions of the probable planet orbiting a star called GJ 411, courtesy of Ricardo Ramirez.

An international team of astronomers today released a compilation of almost 61,000 individual measurements made on more than 1,600 stars, used to detect exoplanets elsewhere in our Milky Way galaxy. The compilation includes data on over 100 new potential exoplanets. The entire dataset was observed using one of the twin telescopes of the W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea over the past two decades. The search for new worlds elsewhere in our Milky Way galaxy is one of the most exciting frontiers in astronomy today. The paper is published in the Astronomical Journal.

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Breaker

Snow Gallery

This winter has already seen quite a bit of snow atop our tropical summit. It seems appropriate to put together a few recent snow photos…

OLI Hawaii — Recent snowfall atop Hawaiian summits as captured by NASA’s OLI imager aboard Landsat 8 on Dec 25th, 2016

Snow at Keck Observatory atop Mauna Kea — A summit covered with snow to greet us on a recent morning up top.

Mauna Kea Blizzard — A snowstorm continues for a second day atop Mauna Kea, December 2, 2016

Fresh Snow — Fresh snow atop Mauna Kea blankets the ground behind Keck

Snow Drifts in Hawaii — Substantial snow drifts in front of the Keck Telescope, December 19, 2016

Heavy Ice — Heavy ice on the weather mast of Keck Observatory, December 19, 2016

A shot from a UKIRT webcam of the Hoku Kea student observatory

Yeah, this is going to be a problem… Eric gives scale to a rather large snowdrift in front of Keck Observatory

No View — The Keck 1 breakroom windows feature the view of the inside of a snowdrift

The MKSS snowplow crews remove snow from in front of Keck Observatory atop Mauna Kea

The MKSS snowplow crews remove snow from in front of IRTF Observatory atop Mauna Kea

Deep drifts in front of Keck Observatory cut through by the MKSS snowplow crews

The summit road choked with deep snows — It will be a fair bit of work to clear the road to the summit

The MKSS snowplow crews remove snow from the roads atop Mauna Kea

Loading Snow — Loading pickup trucks with snow for export from the mauna.

Subaru Observatory looms out of the fog and snow

Snow along the road as we approach the summit of Mauna Kea

Mountain Traffic — Winding our way down the mountain with snow day traffic

Servo Amplifier

SAA Cabinet — A sample of the control wiring and circuitry in the Servo Amplifier Assembly

Control Logic

Part of the Keck 2 logic board, this PCB assembly controls the various control and safety logic for the Keck 2 telescope.

Wiring

Christmas Morning on the Summit

Calls from the summit facility are not exactly what I want to see on my phone display on Christmas Eve. Heather was very apologetic about calling, but she had no choice, the Keck 2 dome would not rotate.

Christmas Sunrise over the Shoulder — Christmas Sunrise over the shoulder of Mauna Kea

Less than a minute into this conversation I realize the inevitable… This was not going to get fixed over the phone, I would be spending Christmas on the summit. I call John who is already scheduled to go up for the day… Pick me up on your way out of the village. 7am? I will be out front.

It was just before sunrise that we drove up the mountain from Waikoloa, the sun rising over the shoulder of Mauna Kea, casting long crepuscular rays into the sky. It is a beautiful Christmas morning, a clear sky, the snow capped summits of two volcanoes looming overhead. Heading to work on this morning is a bit surreal, while at the same time seeming a bit more festive for the snow.

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Mauna Kea Snows

We did make it up.

Late in the afternoon, after waiting at Hale Pohaku all day, we received word that the crews were beginning to clear the access road to Keck Observatory. While most of our crew had been released earlier in the day, a small group of us waited for our chance to make the summit facility. When we got word we piled into the vehicles for the attempt.

It was simply gorgeous at the summit, sunny and clear with no sign of the winds that had raged across the summit all week. The evidence of those winds was all to apparent, they had left a landscape of sculpted drifts. While the actual snowfall had not been that much, maybe a foot, the drifts were impressive.

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