Sun – A Darker View

Mercury Transit 2019

It was a clear predawn sky that greeted Waimea this morning, perfect to watch the transit of Mercury across the Sun.

The transit of Mercury on the morning of Nov 11, 2019

An alarm set for o-dark-thirty and a drive to Waimea with the first glow of dawn behind the mauna. I did not have to pack a ‘scope as I would be using an observatory outreach telescope, just make sure I have camera gear ready.

Realistically I was expecting only a few folks in addition to the club members I knew were coming. A light crowd maybe? Thus I was rather surprised to find the parking lot filling quickly and our big conference room buzzing at 6am.

It was quite the crowd considering the Sun had not yet appeared over the shoulder of the mauna!

Transit of Mercury Reminder

Mercury Transit 9May2016 — Mercury transiting the Sun on May 9, 2016

Tomorrow morning, November 11th, there is a transit of Mercury. For observers here in the islands the event will be in progress when the sun rises, only the last hour and a half of the even visible.

You can read a full post with all of the event details here.

This is the last transit of Mercury until 2032, you might want to get out to see this one.

A Second Chance for Lāhainā Noon

Lāhainā Noon is that moment when the Sun is directly overhead. At the moment of Lāhainā Noon shadows disappear.

The first Lāhainā Noon of the year occurs in May as the Sun is moving northwards in the sky. The second chance to see Lāhainā Noon is in July as the Sun moves back to the south.

The table below gives the dates and times for this second Lāhainā Noon across the islands.

Lahiana Noon for July 2019
City	Long.	Lat.	Date	Time	Elevation
Naalehu	155°35’W	19°03’N	Jul 27	12:29HST	89.9
Hilo	155°05’W	19°42’N	Jul 24	12:27HST	89.9
Kona	155°59’W	19°39’N	Jul 25	12:30HST	89.9
Waimea	155°40’W	20°01’N	Jul 23	12:29HST	89.9
Hawi	155°50’W	20°14’N	Jul 22	12:30HST	89.9
Hana	156°00’W	20°46’N	Jul 19	12:30HST	89.9
Kihei	156°27’W	20°45’N	Jul 19	12:32HST	90.0
Kahalui	156°28’W	20°53’N	Jul 18	12:32HST	89.9
Lahaina	156°40’W	20°53’N	Jul 18	12:33HST	89.9
Lanai City	156°55’W	20°50’N	Jul 18	12:34HST	89.9
Kaunakakai	157°01’W	21°05’N	Jul 17	12:34HST	89.9
Honolulu	157°49’W	21°18’N	Jul 16	12:37HST	89.9
Kaneohe	157°48’W	21°25’N	Jul 15	12:37HST	89.9
Waialua	158°08’W	21°34’N	Jul 14	12:38HST	89.9
Lihue	159°22’W	21°58’N	Jul 11	12:43HST	89.9
Data from US Naval Observatory Data Services

Waimea Lāhainā Noon Reminder

Today at 12:19HST will be Lāhainā Noon in Waimea on the Big Island, the moment when shadows disappear.

The exact date and time varies significantly across the islands and from year to year. The table below shows the time of Lāhainā Noon for various cities in 2019.

Lahiana Noon for May 2019
City	Long.	Lat.	Date	Time	Elevation
Naalehu	155°35’W	19°03’N	May15	12:19HST	89.9
Hilo	155°05’W	19°42’N	May18	12:17HST	89.9
Kona	155°59’W	19°39’N	May18	12:20HST	89.9
Waimea	155°40’W	20°01’N	May20	12:19HST	89.9
Hawi	155°50’W	20°14’N	May21	12:20HST	90.0
Hana	156°00’W	20°46’N	May23	12:21HST	89.9
Kihei	156°27’W	20°45’N	May23	12:23HST	89.9
Kahalui	156°28’W	20°53’N	May24	12:23HST	89.9
Lahaina	156°40’W	20°53’N	May24	12:23HST	89.9
Lanai City	156°55’W	20°50’N	May24	12:24HST	89.9
Kaunakakai	157°01’W	21°05’N	May25	12:25HST	89.9
Honolulu	157°49’W	21°18’N	May26	12:28HST	89.9
Kaneohe	157°48’W	21°25’N	May27	12:28HST	89.9
Waialua	158°08’W	21°34’N	May28	12:30HST	89.9
Lihue	159°22’W	21°58’N	May31	12:35HST	90.0
Data from US Naval Observatory Data Services

Hilo & Kona Lāhainā Noon Reminder

Today will be Lāhainā Noon in Hilo and Kailua-Kona, the moment when shadows disappear.

The event will occur at 12:17HST in Hilo, and three minutes later further west in Kailua-Kona at 12:20HST.

The exact date and time varies significantly across the islands and from year to year. The table below shows the time of Lāhainā Noon for various cities in 2019.

Lahiana Noon for May 2019
City	Long.	Lat.	Date	Time	Elevation
Naalehu	155°35’W	19°03’N	May15	12:19HST	89.9
Hilo	155°05’W	19°42’N	May18	12:17HST	89.9
Kona	155°59’W	19°39’N	May18	12:20HST	89.9
Waimea	155°40’W	20°01’N	May20	12:19HST	89.9
Hawi	155°50’W	20°14’N	May21	12:20HST	90.0
Hana	156°00’W	20°46’N	May23	12:21HST	89.9
Kihei	156°27’W	20°45’N	May23	12:23HST	89.9
Kahalui	156°28’W	20°53’N	May24	12:23HST	89.9
Lahaina	156°40’W	20°53’N	May24	12:23HST	89.9
Lanai City	156°55’W	20°50’N	May24	12:24HST	89.9
Kaunakakai	157°01’W	21°05’N	May25	12:25HST	89.9
Honolulu	157°49’W	21°18’N	May26	12:28HST	89.9
Kaneohe	157°48’W	21°25’N	May27	12:28HST	89.9
Waialua	158°08’W	21°34’N	May28	12:30HST	89.9
Lihue	159°22’W	21°58’N	May31	12:35HST	90.0
Data from US Naval Observatory Data Services

Lāhainā Noon

Lāhainā Noon is that moment when the Sun is directly overhead. At the moment of Lāhainā Noon shadows disappear.

As the islands lie south of the Tropic of Cancer there is a day when the Sun will pass directly overhead as the summer solstice approaches, generally in late May. There is a second noon as the Sun’s position moves south again in July.

The term Lāhainā Noon is unique to the islands, being adopted by the Bishop Museum in the 1990’s to describe this event. The Hawaiian term lā hainā translates roughly as cruel Sun.

The exact date and time varies significantly across the islands and from year to year. The table below shows the time of Lāhainā Noon for various cities in 2019.

Lahiana Noon for May 2019
City	Long.	Lat.	Date	Time	Elevation
Naalehu	155°35’W	19°03’N	May15	12:19HST	89.9
Hilo	155°05’W	19°42’N	May18	12:17HST	89.9
Kona	155°59’W	19°39’N	May18	12:20HST	89.9
Waimea	155°40’W	20°01’N	May20	12:19HST	89.9
Hawi	155°50’W	20°14’N	May21	12:20HST	90.0
Hana	156°00’W	20°46’N	May23	12:21HST	89.9
Kihei	156°27’W	20°45’N	May23	12:23HST	89.9
Kahalui	156°28’W	20°53’N	May24	12:23HST	89.9
Lahaina	156°40’W	20°53’N	May24	12:23HST	89.9
Lanai City	156°55’W	20°50’N	May24	12:24HST	89.9
Kaunakakai	157°01’W	21°05’N	May25	12:25HST	89.9
Honolulu	157°49’W	21°18’N	May26	12:28HST	89.9
Kaneohe	157°48’W	21°25’N	May27	12:28HST	89.9
Waialua	158°08’W	21°34’N	May28	12:30HST	89.9
Lihue	159°22’W	21°58’N	May31	12:35HST	90.0
Data from US Naval Observatory Data Services

The Island Sky for 2019

2019 is looking to be a pretty ordinary year for events, with a few decent events to look forward to. The highlights will be a sunset total lunar eclipse on January 20th, the η-Aquariids meteor shower in early May, a transit of Mercury in November, and a nice set of planetary conjunctions in the sunset and sunrise.

Awaiting dark with the 20" telescope — Andrew Unger beside the 20″ Obsession while waiting for properly dark skies at Kaʻohe

There are dozens of posts scheduled here on DarkerView to remind my readers of these and many more events before they occur. Frankly, I need the reminder myself. Stay tuned for all of the great events the sky of 2019 will offer us.

The remainder of this post is a quick summary of the events our sky has to offer in 2019.

A Point Without Shadows

I have run into a significant problem I did not expect.

Flying in the Humuʻula Saddle — Flying the drone in the Humuʻula Saddle region on the way to work

I love to fly the drone in the Humuʻula Saddle in the morning and afternoon. It is an area that I find endlessly fascinating, with spectacular scenery in a dramatic landscape.

Even better, I need only stop off on the way to or from work at the summit to find time to fly here. Leave for work early, discharge a few flight batteries, join the rest of the crew for breakfast at Hale Pōhaku.

Just after dawn or just before sunset the light accentuates this dramatic landscape, intensifying the colors, the low sunlight angle creating shadows that reveals the stark terrain.

The low sunlight angle causes some problems as well. One I expected… The drone camera does not deal well with glare. Take an image pointing near the Sun and the image is often ruined by the glare. This is discussed in some of the review videos I watched before I bought the drone. Easy to avoid, just point away from the Sun before you start that panorama sequence.

The second major issue I did not expect… Many of the images feature a very bright spot directly opposite the Sun in the sky. This spot is intense, creating a peculiar feature in the photograph that I find distracting.

Continue reading “A Point Without Shadows”

Winter Solstice

Winter solstice occurs today at 16:28HST. Today the Sun will occupy the most southerly position in the sky of the year. The term solstice comes from the Latin terms Sol (the Sun) and sistere (to stand still). On this day the Sun seems to stand still as it stops moving southwards each day and begins move to the north. This is the first day of winter as marked by many cultures in the northern hemisphere. Alternately, this is the first day of summer for those folks in the southern hemisphere.

2017 Solstices and Equinoxes
	UT		HST
Perihelion	Jan 4	14:18UT	Jan 4	04:18HST
Vernal Equinox	Mar 20	10:29UT	Mar 20	00:29HST
Summer Solstice	Jun 21	04:24UT	Jun 20	18:24HST
Apehelion	Jul 3	20:11UT	Jul 3	10:11HST
Autumnal Equinox	Sep 22	20:02UT	Sep 22	10:02HST
Winter Solstice	Dec 21	16:28UT	Dec 21	06:28HST
Source: USNO data Services

Meadow Telescope

Solar Scope — A solar telescope setup to photograph the total solar eclipse 21Aug2017 in the meadow at Grant’s Spring, Oregon