Tag: Hilo

Fun at AstroDay

In the ten years I have lived on island I have never missed an AstroDay. This year was no change to that streak, I volunteered to do the last shift on the Keck Observatory table, 2-4pm. Show up at lunchtime, enjoy the activities myself for a while, say hi to everyone I know there, then do my shift on the table… Good plan.

Thermal image of a young guest at AstroDay
Thermal image of a young guest at AstroDay
We were using a thermal camera for our primary activity. Instead of borrowing the fancy, and very expensive, FLIR camera from the summit, our outreach group has bought one of the little iPad thermal cameras from Seek Thermal.

I was pleasantly surprised with this little thermal camera, it does a nice job costing only a few hundred dollars. Using the iPad linked to a large display using AirPlay the setup worked quite well in practice. I could handle the camera with no wires to tether me to one place.

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A Helicopter with No Doors

I had promised Deb a helicopter ride months ago. It is about time to deliver on that promise. Just waiting for the volcano to do something interesting. Will a new lava flow work?

The currently active Puʻu Oʻo vent on Kilauea
The currently active Puʻu Oʻo vent on Kilauea
Paradise Helicopter has a doors off Volcanoes and Waterfalls Extreme tour I really wanted to try. I have always been frustrated when shooting through a window on an aircraft, reflections or scuffed plastic windows always seem to spoil the shot. Not having a window, much less a door to shoot through was a huge incentive.

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