Hawaii – Page 7 – A Darker View

And Now Comes Madeline

And for the next hurricane to head for our island… I give you Madeline. Not quite a hurricane yet, predicted to strengthen to a full hurricane over the weekend.

The predicted track of Hurricane Madeline into the Hawaiian Islands as of Saturday, Aug 27

I am not really the rainbow and unicorns sort of guy, I am a bit more prosaic than that. That does not mean I do not notice the beauty of the world around me. Even on this beautiful island there are days that stand out.

After a spell of Kona weather the trades were back with a vengeance, blowing hard. This moved the Waimea mist wall halfway to Waikoloa. The result? Rainbows around every corner.

The first in sunrise light over the Kohala, the second in the mist as the sunlight pierced the low clouds near the airport, more of a fogbow actually. Another in the mist at Puhakuloa along Saddle Road, another on the summit road where heavier raindrops produced a brilliant bow. That was just the morning drive to work, the afternoon produced another set of rainbows for a total of seven, not counting the one I saw twice I as I drove into and out of Waimea.

Yeah, it was a rainbow sort of day.

Total Solar Eclipse March 8, 2016

On March 9, 2016 a total solar eclipse will sweep across Indonesia and into the central Pacific. This will be an late afternoon eclipse, with maximum occurring just before sunset at around 17:37 HST (5:37pm HST).

The 1999 Total Solar Eclipse from France, image credit Luc Viator

The path of totality passes well north of the Hawaiian Islands, just south of Midway Island. If you want to see this eclipse as a total your best bet is an eclipse cruise. For the islands this will be a deep partial eclipse, ranging from about 67% for Kauai and the around 55% for the Big Island. Of course, the exact amount of the Sun covered by the Moon will depend greatly on your location. See the table below for predictions and timing for your location.

Note, you might be confused by some references that state the eclipse occurs on March 9th. It does occur on the 9th! For our islands greatest eclipse occurs around 03:30 on March 9th universal time. If we convert to Hawaiian Standard Time this will be the 17:30 (5:30pm) on the afternoon of March 8th. You must remember that universal time is ten hours ahead of Hawaiian Standard Time.

Eclipse 20160309 — Diagram of the March 9, 2016 Total Solar Eclipse

There are several cruises scheduled to intercept this eclipse. Most look to observe the eclipse somewhere near Indonesia, where the eclipse will be at its maximum. This is where you will find the hardcore eclipse chasers, including a few island folks I know. Most of us will just have to settle for seeing this eclipse as a partial, including myself. The information presented here covers viewing the eclipse from the islands.

A deep partial can be very interesting. Even people not expecting the eclipse may notice a dimming of the Sun and an odd, subdued nature to the sunlight. Even a quick glimpse of the Sun will reveal that half of the disk is covered. Eclipse glasses or a welding filter will provide a nice image of a partially eclipsed Sun. Tree leaves and other makeshift pinhole cameras will show crescent images of the Sun on the ground. For best viewing a small telescope with a solar filter, or a pinhole camera will allow excellent images of the eclipse. My standard eclipse viewing setup is a 76mm refractor with a Baader film solar filter. I assembled this gear for the 2012 Venus transit and it has seen several eclipses since.

Solar Eclipse Data for March 8th, 2016
	Mag	Begin	Max	End
Hilo	55%	16:37	17:37	18:32
Honolulu	63%	16:33	17:36	18:33
Lihue	67%	16:31	17:35	18:33
Kahului	60%	16:35	17:37	18:33
Kona	56%	16:36	17:37	18:32
Mauna Kea	56%	16:37	17:37	18:32
Midway Is	97%	16:04	17:20	18:29

All times HST
Source: EclipseWise Interactive Map

The table at the right gives the eclipse timing for a few locations across the Hawaiian Islands. All times are given in Hawaiian Standard Time, just remember that 17:36 is 5:36pm in 12 hour time, just subtract 12.

As you can see the magnitude of the eclipse increases notably the closer you are (further north in the main islands) to the path of totality. The timing does not vary by nearly as much, with maximum eclipse occurring around 17:36 for the islands.

If you would like to see precise information for your location, or for someplace other than the islands, just use the interactive map and click on your location for data.

Observing a partial solar eclipse requires proper eye protection. If you can not look safely, do not look! Even dimmed by 50% or more the Sun can cause permanent eye damage if viewed without proper protection. A solar filter is required for telescopic or binocular use. A good view can be had without magnification simply using a welding filter (shade 13 or darker) or solar viewing glasses to look directly at the Sun. A pinhole camera can be made out of things lying around in your kitchen that provides a very good image. Read my Guide to Safe Solar Viewing for a lot more information on viewing the Sun safely.

There are no further solar eclipses near the Hawaiian islands until 2031 and 2035, the path of totality for both of which pass well south of the main islands. There is also an annular eclipse in 2024, for which the center line also passes well south of the islands.

‘Tis The Season

Mele Kalikimaka — A Christmas tree under palm trees on the grounds of the Fairmont Orchid

Paradise Pinnacle

Mark is at is again, publishing a couple fun videos of diving the Kona Coast. As I have been off island for a couple weeks I have not been diving, watching the vids has reminded me all too vividly of that! Need to get some bottom time!

Queen’s Bath

“We swam in the Queen’s Bath this weekend”

“Oh? Which one?”

Queen’s Bath is a name you will find scattered through vacation guides to the island of Hawaiʻi. The problem is that there is more than one, dozens actually. The name Queen’s Bath tends to be applied to any freshwater pool, particularly near the ocean. Some are small, some are quite large pools of crystal clear freshwater, a few are hidden in lava tubes.

There is the well known lava tube at Kihilo just a pebble’s throw from the surf. Enter through a skylight into the crisp, cool water. Bring a dive light and swim all the way to the back of the tube. Careful, there are boulders waiting to scrape the shins of an unwary swimmer, reef shoes or river sandals are the ideal footwear here.

Another Queen’s bath is found on the grounds of the Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historic Park. The park requests that you refrain from swimming in this one.

There are any number of pools along the Kohala Coast, particularly the low-lying section from Puako to Kiholo bay where enormous amounts of fresh water find their way into the sea. These often have reef fish trapped within, perhaps washed in by the winter surf. Other species of fish prefer these pools, grazing on the algae growing in the shallow, warm water.

The Puna coastline hosts many pools along the shoreline. Kaimū beach at Kalapana hosted one of the most famous Queen’s Baths. It was lost to the lava on the 1990’s as successive flows covered the area and destroyed the famous black sand beach. I have heard the pool at Ahalanui Park called a Queen’s bath, yet another example of the confusion.

Some of these pools are brackish, the salt water mixing with fresh. The result is a swirling view through a dive mask with the mixed refractive indexes, looking a bit like mixing water and oil. As one swims away from the ocean the water becomes fresher, you often find startlingly cool currents where the fresh water enters the pool. Often the tides will affect the depth of the water in the pool, even pools a hundred yards from the ocean rising and falling as the tide backs up the flow of water.

Many of the pools are local secrets, directions not available to outsiders. Places where a hot afternoon can be enjoyed, swimming in the cool waters. I know a few of these, don’t ask me where to find them.

Here we go… Yet Again

It is not a hurricane watch, but rather a tsunami watch that is currently in effect for the island. This afternoon’s 8.3 magnitude earthquake in Chile may have generated a tsunami that may arrive around 3am tomorrow morning. The early data from stations along the Chilean coast report a tsunami has indeed occurred of between ½m and 3m in height. Oh the fun of living in paradise…

Update: Tsunami watch downgraded to an advisory, minor effects expected.

Continue reading “Here we go… Yet Again”

Hurricanes all Around

The satellite views of the central Pacific are endlessly fascinating. Three major hurricanes surround the Hawaiian Islands. Social media continues to buzz, with re-posts of the imagery.

So far only minor effects in the islands… Major surf on the northern and eastern shorelines, closed beach parks, and lousy observing weather keeping the telescopes shuttered.

Central Pacific Hurricanes — Three hurricanes in the central Pacific, GOES West 4km IR image from 2Sep2015

Tag: Hawaii