Author: Andrew

An electrical engineer, amateur astronomer, and diver, living and working on the island of Hawaiʻi.

Thunderstorms Captured by the Keck CloudCam

Our new CloudCam is undergoing testing. It assembles a video each night, just like the original CFHT CloudCam. The website is not quite public yet, but I had to share this one…

Heather mentioned at breakfast that she had been watching thunderstorms on CloudCam as she ran the telescope through the night. Thanks to the new camera we can all enjoy the spectacle.

Astronomer Claire Max appointed interim director of UC Observatories

University of California press release…

The University of California has appointed Claire Max, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz, to serve as director of UC Observatories on an interim basis while an international search is conducted to appoint a permanent director. Max succeeds Sandra Faber, whose two-year appointment as interim director ended in June.

Claire Max
Claire Max, credit: University of California
Max is internationally known for her research in plasma physics, astronomy, and astronomical instrumentation. A pioneer in the field of adaptive optics, she has served as director of the Center for Adaptive Optics at UC Santa Cruz. Max is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Physical Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She received the U.S. Department of Energy’s E. O. Lawrence Award in Physics in 2004.

UC Observatories (UCO) is a multicampus research unit headquartered on the UC Santa Cruz campus. UCO operates the Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton and the UCO Technical Labs at UC Santa Cruz and UCLA, and is a managing partner of the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii. UCO is also the center for UC’s participation in the Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT) project.

Continue reading “Astronomer Claire Max appointed interim director of UC Observatories”

Hilton Lewis named Director of the W. M. Keck Observatory

W. M. Keck Observatory press release…

The board of the W. M. Keck Observatory is pleased to announce that Hilton Lewis has been appointed Director of Keck Observatory, effective immediately. He has served as the Interim Director since May.

Hilton Lewis
Hilton Lewis, Director, W. M. Keck Observatory, credit Ethan Tweedie
“The board is delighted that Hilton has agreed to take on this substantial responsibility,” said Ed Stolper, Chairman of the California Association for Research in Astronomy board, which manages Keck Observatory. “In his many years of service at Keck Observatory, and in the past four months as its Interim Director, Hilton has demonstrated his technical, managerial and leadership skills, and his commitment to the observatory. We are pleased that we have been able to attract such an outstanding and experienced leader to serve as our next Director”.

“We are delighted to welcome Hilton Lewis as the new Director of Keck Observatory. Hilton has a deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for the observatory, a thorough knowledge of its workings, and the strategic vision to keep Keck Observatory at the forefront of astronomical research,” said UC Santa Cruz Chancellor George Blumenthal, who also serves as the vice chair of the Keck Observatory board.

Continue reading “Hilton Lewis named Director of the W. M. Keck Observatory”

Total Lunar Eclipse 7 Oct 2014

A total lunar eclipse will occur on the next full Moon, Oct 8th. The eclipse will be visible across much of the western hemisphere, including the west coast of North America and across the Pacific. This is an excellent eclipse for observers here in Hawai’i, the entire eclipse will be visible from start to end.

Lunar Eclipse 28Aug2007
Total lunar eclipse, photo is a 8sec exposure with a Canon 20Da on a 90mm f/12 APO
Some references note that this eclipse will occur on the 8th, and so it will for much of the world. For Hawai’i this will start late on the 7th when considering the time zone correction.

The Moon will be thoroughly submerged in the umbra, the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow, with an umbral magnitude of 1.16. The Moon will not pass directly through the umbra, but rather through the northern section, thus the north pole of the Moon will remain somewhat brighter, even at maximum. The eclipse occurs at the Moon’s descending node in southern Pisces, two days after perigee (October 06 at 09:41 UT). This means that the Moon will appear 5.3% larger than it did during the April 15 eclipse (32.7 vs. 31.3 arc-minutes).

Observing a total lunar eclipse requires no special equipment, simply the desire to look up. The most useful piece of equipment will be a reclining chair or some other method of staying comfortable while watching the sky. A pair of binoculars or small telescope can provide beautiful views of the Moon during an eclipse. Photography is somewhat more challenging, but not that difficult. Focal lengths of around 1000mm will fill the field of most DSLR cameras allowing photos like that shown here.

Penumbral Eclipse Begins  22:15:33 HST   08:15:33 UT
Partial Eclipse Begins   23:14:48 HST   09:14:48 UT
Total Eclipse Begins   00:25:10 HST   10:25:10 UT
Greatest Eclipse   00:54:36 HST   10:54:36 UT
Total Eclipse Ends   01:24:00 HST   11:24:00 UT
Partial Eclipse Ends   02:34:21 HST   12:34:21 UT
Penumbral Eclipse Ends   03:33:43 HST   13:33:43 UT

Timing for the 7Oct2013 total lunar eclipse
The entire eclipse will be visible during the night, quite convenient for amateur and casual sky-watchers. This is an excellent eclipse to publicize and use for outreach purposes.

The final eclipse of 2014 will be a partial solar eclipse visible in late October across North America.