Tag: observing

An End to Observing at the MKVIS?

As we are all aware, the TMT protests are having direct consequences for everyone who goes to the mountain. Regular mountain users and tourists alike are dealing these consequences. The summit road closed to the public for a second week, the MKVIS also closed, even before these closures the protests had curtailed many activities.

Mauna Kea Observing
My 18″ telescope Deep violet set up under the stars at the MKVIS.
It looks to get worse.

An agenda item that will appear before this week’s DLNR board meeting contains significant rule changes regarding use of the lands surrounding the Mauna Kea access road. For the local amateur astronomy community this looks to be very serious, a complete closure of a place we have all come to value very highly.

Go the the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station on the weekends nearest new Moon and you will find telescopes. While the MKVIS telescopes get put away at 10pm there are ‘scopes that are operating late into the night, often still there when dawn colors the sky. These telescopes belong to local amateur astronomers who bring them here to enjoy perfect Mauna Kea skies.

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Shattering the Silence

It has been over three months since the protest began. Three months of standoff with the protesters who would not see another telescope built on Mauna Kea.

Mauna Kea Observing
My 18″ telescope Deep violet set up under the stars at the MKVIS.
It has been my habit over the last eight years to spend a night under the stars, high on the mountain, each time the new Moon arrives. On the nights when there is no moonlight the sky is dark, truly dark. The stars shine undiminished, the universe is open to be explored. I have used binoculars, small telescopes, cameras, or simply my eyes.

It is with my handmade 18 inch telescope that I can truly gaze into the depths of space. This simple device of plywood and glass allows me to see galaxies millions of light years into the past. With this telescope I have seen hundreds of galaxies, giving me a glimpse of the indescribable vastness of space.

Often I would set up in the patio right at the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station. The first couple hours spent talking with visitors, showing them the wonders our universe has to offer. After the VIS closes the visitors depart, driven back to their hotels by the cold mountain air. I have a heavy winter jacket, ski-pants, a thermos of hot tea, everything I need to be comfortable under the night sky. I would have the rest of the night to myself, just me, the mountain and the stars.

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A Night of Shooting in the Dark

The plan was to do some astrophotography Saturday night. The weather forecast forced a re-schedule, a winter storm arriving Saturday afternoon, Friday it was to be.

The Pleiades
The Pleiades, M45, with the Canon 6D and TV-76mm
The timing proved to be excellent, Mauna Kea providing glorious skies Friday night. Clouds hovered over the side of the mountain on arrival, but there was no worry. These were the sort of clouds that would vanish with the daylight. Anxious tourists wanting to see through the telescopes repeated the same question, will the clouds go away? I answered the questions with the relaxed assurance of experience of years on Mauna Kea, and continued to set up the gear. The clouds didn’t even last as long as I expected, dissipating as the sun settled into the horizon.

Setting up at the Mauna Kea VIS means a crowd of people. Hundreds of tourists that have come to enjoy a dark Mauna Kea Sky. I was joined by Raymond, a Hilo amateur also looking to take some photos. We setup side by side in a parking space just off the patio where the VIS was setting up their telescopes for the night. We would be in the center of the crowd for a while.

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Naked Eye 100 Challenge

Amateur astronomers love lists… The Messier observing list, the Hershel 400, the Hershel II, and on. Some lists can be complete on a night or two, some lists may take years, or even a lifetime to accomplish. Amateur astronomy is not the only avocation to use lists like this. Birders attempt to see all of the birds known to occur in their home country. Aircraft spotters love to see each model of aircraft in the air. Divers keep lists of species seen underwater.

Rainbow Wheel
A rainbow and cloud shadows produce a rainbow wheel
Lists like these are not only fun, but allow the list chaser to sample the wonders our universe has to offer. The challenge of finding and observing each of the items is worthwhile. Each object is a lesson into the science, hunting each object allows skills to be practiced.

Most of the astronomy observing lists require a small telescope to accomplish, or at least a pair of binoculars. One list is a bit different, it does not require any optical aid at all… The Naked Eye 100.

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Observing Comet ISON after Perihelion

When will we again see comet C/2012 S1 ISON in the morning sky?

Much depends on how bright the comet has become, thus how far it must be from the Sun’s glare before we can see it well. If the comet has become truly spectacular we may see the tail rising before the comet quite early. If it has disintegrated, we may see nearly nothing.

It is probably on the morning of Dec 3rd that we can start looking for the comet to be above the horizon at dawn. On this morning the comet will be 14° away from the Sun, rising at 05:58 HST as seen from the island of Hawai’i. On the 4th this will be 05:51 and 16°, on the 5th the angular separation will be 19° while rising at 05:43HST.

When planning your comet viewing keep in mind that the comet will rise nearly 25° north along the horizon when compared to where it was rising before perihelion. This is closer to due east, at about azimuth 100°.

Unlike some comets, the comet will not emerge into the evening sky after perihelion. It remains in the morning sky for earthbound observers. It will eventually be visible in the evening sky, but not for some time, a few weeks or more depending on the observer’s latitude. The high inclination of the comet’s orbit will take the comet through the northern constellations, into the circumpolar sky at the end of the year.

What morning will you first see the comet?

ISON After Perihelion
Comet C/2012 S1 ISON rising after perihelion at 6am on the morning of December 3rd, 2013

ISON Webcast

We put it together in very short notice. Fortunately a webcast is pretty easy to put together.

Keck is hosting a sizable team of folks who are here to observe comet ISON. Astronomers from several institutions are participating in the NASA Comet ISON Observing Campaign. They have a total of 6½ nights, but only the last few hours of each night as the comet rises in the dawn. Comet C/2012 S1 ISON is starting to encounter significant publicity, we may as well take advantage of this.

It was a lot of fun. I particularly like the spot (41:00) where I made the mistake of saying spectra were not very pretty to look at in a room full of spectroscopists. These folks love spectra and quickly corrected me, leading to a nice discussion on why spectra are so valuable to astronomy, often more valuable than photos.

The video is embedded below. A lot of good information about comet ISON, indeed about comets in general. Nothing like having a room full of comet experts…