2017 – A Darker View

2017 featured many adventure recorded in the photos of the year. Fun to look back and relive the expereince…

A heavy plume of gases trail from the 61G lava flow ocean entry

Christmas Lights — Christmas lights on the front lanai

St. Augustine Church at Puehuehu, Kohala

Ohia Blossom — ʻOhiʻa in blossom along the Puʻu Oʻo Trail

Sakura (cherry blossoms) — Sakura or cherry blossoms at the 2017 Waimea Cherry Blossom Festival

Pakoda — A big pot full of pakoda (corn fritters) bubbling away at the Kamuela Hongwanji Mission for the Cherry Blossom Festival.

Keck at Night — The Keck telescopes open and working under the dark Mauna Kea skies

On the Keck 2 Dome — The view of IRTF and CFHT from part way up the Keck 2 dome

KCWI being lifted off the trailer at Keck Observatory on the summit of Mauna Kea, Jan 20, 2017

A low ground fog covers the hollows with Mauna Kea in the background

Mauna Kea Wreck — A wrecked Toyota pickup truck about a mile below Hale Pohaku

A fogbow formed from drifting fog blowing across the Mauna Kea access road. Click on the image to peruse the panorama properly.

Dome Control Relays — A bank of relays that relay commands from the dome radio controller

Power supply indicator lights for the primary mirror active control systems in Keck 1

Various types of hammers await use in the Keck machine shop

The rear of the Keck 2 primary mirror, processed in Prisma

Waiting for Moonset — Deep Violet set up under Mauna Kea skies waiting for moonset and full darkness

Pōhakuloa Solar Telescope — A solar telescope set up at Pōhakuloa Training Area for Earth Day.

Thermal image of a young guest at AstroDay

Mauna Kea Telescope Moonrise — The Moon rising directly behind the telescopes on the summit as seen from near Waikoloa

Alaska 850 Redeye — Boarding Alaska flight 850 for the overnight flight to Seattle from Kona

Locomotive 4449 under steam at Horsethief Lake — Steam locomotive 4449 under steam at Horsethief Lake near The Dalles in transit to Bend

Tsagaglalal or She-Who-Watches at Horsethief Lake

A Spedis Owl in the rock art collection at Horsethief Lake

F-6 Wheel — The dash and steering wheel of a Ford F-6

Hay Baler Engine — The engine on a hay baler offers a view of mechanical paraphernalia

Harbor Seals — Some harbor seals lounge on an abandoned bit of dock in the Ketchikan harbor.

Bubble Net Feeding — A humpback whale feeding along Chatham Strait

Petersburg Wharf — A large wharf in Petersburg harbor on a calm summer night

Petersburg Fireworks — Fireworks over the Petersburg docks on the 4th of July

Craig Docks — The north Shelter Cove docks in Criag

Shooting Timelapse — The camera set up and shooting a timelapse sequence from Saddle Road

A pile of old hardware gathering rust and spiderwebs

Ruins of an Old Ranch House — Ruins of an old ranch house

Post Eclipse Sunset — Sunset from Grant’s Spring on the evening after the total solar eclipse 21Aug2017

Sun on Aug 10, 2017 — The Sun as it appeared August 10, 2017 with sunspot AR2670

Total Solar Eclipse 2017 — The 2017 total solar eclipse as photographed from central Oregon

Eclipse Watching — Watching the solar eclipse using proper eye protection

Eclipse 2017 Montage — A montage of the 2017 total solar eclipse

Eclipse Prominences — Large prominences visible along the edge of the Sun during the 21Aug2017 total solar eclipse

Solar Scope — A solar telescope setup to photograph the total solar eclipse 21Aug2017, iPhone photo processed in Prisma

Gecko Close Up — A gold dust day gecko (Phelsuma laticauda) on a pineapple leaf

Looking ahead to 2017 it appears that the skies will be kind to us this coming year. We have good meteor showers, a total eclipse of the Sun, a bright comet or two, and the usual planetary conjunctions to look forward to. Below you will find some on my notes to what we can look forward to during the coming year.

Jupiter 14Apr2016 — Jupiter on April 15, 2016, stack of the best 2000 frames of 7600, Celestron NS11GPS at f/20 and Canon 60D

As is my practice I have spent more than a few evenings loading up DarkerView with scheduled posts for the year. Well over a hundred posts are set as reminders for the interesting astronomical events for 2017. It is a useful effort, as I can see for myself what the year will bring and begin my planning.

Covered are elongations for Mercury and Venus, interesting conjunctions, oppositions, eclipses and meteor showers. Posts include notes for visibility in the Hawaiian islands for those events that are location dependent.

Continue reading “The Sky for 2017”

Tag: 2017

2017 Gallery

The Sky for 2017