It was a beautiful morning! Alarm set for 4:30am, out of the house at 5am, setup just at sunrise on the old Saddle Road. The sun rose through low clouds over the grasslands of Parker Ranch with Waimea to one side and Mauna Kea on the other.
Mercury transiting the Sun on May 9, 2016. Celestron C8 and Canon 6D at f/10.Setting up a telescope as the Sun was rising seemed just wrong. I am used to breaking down a telescope as the Sun comes over the horizon at the end of a night’s observing. It is not often that an observing session results in my risking sunburn!
The seeing was pretty horrible at sunrise but rapidly improved as the Sun rose. As the transit ended the seeing was quite sharp and the photos not all that bad. At least as long as I kept the shutter speeds high. Visually the view was quite nice, a sharp black dot against the Sun, a far cry from the dancing blur you usually see when trying to view Mercury in the glow of Sunset.
Jupiter passed through opposition back on March 7th. Thus the giant planet is high in the sky through much of the night, well placed for observations.
Jupiter on March 24th from WaikoloaI was thinking of going to bed, but it was a hot windless evening in Waikoloa, not much point in trying to sleep before it cooled off a bit. The dead calm conditions made me think… What is the seeing like? A question only an amateur astronomer would ask.
Turns out the seeing was pretty good. The typical horrible seeing in Waikoloa is 2 to 3 arcseconds or worse, when the trades are blowing it can be quite bad. I suspect the seeing was 1 arcsecond or better last night, the view of Jupiter in the eyepiece was quite pleasing. Putting a camera in place of the eyepiece yielded video worth the effort in processing.
Yeah, I did another Messier marathon, You know, that crazy exercise where you attempt to find all 110 Messier objects in a single night. A bit crazy, but also rather addicting. I am a somewhat of a purist, I use no computerized telescope, just a chart, a Telrad, and my knowledge of the night sky. This makes a Messier marathon a real challenge.
A few clouds wandering across the western horizon, some near, some far. At least there is some blue sky!I had invited a few other folks to join me at the Kaʻohe observing site on the side of Mauna Kea. A few other observers had indicated they would be there, I even had a DLNR permit for a small group to join me and a few extra checklists printed out. It was the clouds that convinced the others not to make the attempt. Thus, in the end I had the night to myself. Mostly.
Even if the clouds spoiled the event there was not much to risk. May as well pack up and drive to the site, as the organizer I pretty much had to be there in case any of the others responded to my invitation. This outing would not take much preparation, a cooler packed with munchies and drinks to get me through the night and one of my smaller telescopes. There is not much question as to which telescope I will use… Primero, my 6″ RFT and the veteran of many Messier marathons. it is this instrument with which I achieved my one perfect 110 score at the All Arizona Messier Marathon many years ago.
My first attempt at a proper Milky Way arch photograph. Not easy to stitch properly, but worth the effort! Click on the image for a file size large enough to properly enjoy…
The winter Milky Way arches over Hualālai with Orion and the setting Moon at the center, taken from the Kaʻohe observing site, panorama of five images taken with a Canon 6D and a Rokinon 14mm lens with over 300 degrees of horizon
We are good to go! I have the DLNR permit for using the site. We will hold the Mauna Kea Messier Marathon 2016 on the evening of March 12 at the Ka’ohe observing site.
The 11″ NexStar GPS telescope, GyPSy set up at Ka’OheSunset: 18:31 HST
Astronomical twilight ends: 19:44 HST
Astronomical twilight begins: 05:19 HST
Sunrise: 06:32 HST
Please arrive before sunset so as not to annoy other observers with lights and dust, allowing a few extra minutes to find the setup site. This will provide plenty of time to set up gear and have a picnic dinner. I hope to be at the site around 5:30pm. I will sign the group in at the check-in station with the permit number, you need not sign in.
For those who wish to marathon I will have a checklist available for the effort. There are a lot of MM checklists, the one I provide is optimized for our 20N latitude which changes the priority of the evening and morning objects. If you do not want to participate, just come to observe.
If you are participating in the MM I would also suggest a low-power, wide field instrument. Smaller telescopes are actually better at this pursuit than larger. For MM I leave the 18″ at home and bring a 6″ telescope. Any finding aids are acceptable, including GOTO. If you are a purist like me? I will use nothing but a chart and a Telrad to locate the objects.
The site is to be found along the old Saddle Road just above the Kilohana hunter check in station. There is a line of pine trees a couple hundred yards above the gate, I plan to set up on the makai side of the trees where you will find a large flat area and a big pile of gravel stockpiled. A precise location and Google map for the Ka’ohe site can be found here.
A reminder that the DLNR permit has a few restrictions, nothing we would not do anyway… No open flame, no hunting, and please keep the area clean.
Now all we need is clear weather for a successful Marathon!
You have heard it before, but it really is true! Looking at the Sun for longer than a few brief moments with an unprotected eye can lead to permanent damage. Looking at the Sun with any sort of optical deceive that has not been properly filtered can lead to instantaneous eye damage.
The complex sunspot AR2192 visible on 24 October, 2014
Discussed below are the only safe methods I am aware of to view the Sun. There are some dodgy methods out there. Take chance with your irreplaceable eyesight? I think not. Be careful and do it right if you want a look.
For the unaided eye there are a couple options to view the Sun safely…
The 11″ NexStar GPS telescope, GyPSy set up at Ka’OheI have been observing from the driveway quite a bit lately. But I really wanted to escape the neighborhood lights and get some real dark time. Add the vog factor, a thick layer was dimming the stars as seen from lower elevations. A few thousand feet of altitude would solve a lot of problems.
I needed some altitude! But I did not want to go to the VIS, it was cold and windy up there. A compromise was decided upon, if the clouds proved low enough I would go to the Ka’ohe site on the old Saddle Road. Only 5’800 feet elevation is a compromise between getting above the clouds, it is usually just high enough, and staying warm. On the west face of the mountain the winds are usually mild. This is only the second time I have used the site. Not that the site is new, I had noted this place as a possible observing site many years ago, it is only recently I have begun using it.
I have also been working on the ‘scope a bit. Now over a decade old the 11″ NexStar is in need of some TLC. A replaced GPS battery, a new power connector in the base, a little lube in the slip rings, a repaired solder connection also in the slip rings, etc., etc. She is working pretty well now, the GOTO system hitting target after target with precision. Thus I was looking to use the 11″ instead of the 18″, though this limited my magnitude a bit. I set up my observing lists for a maximum magnitude of 13.
What to observe? Just query my observing list generator for a list of whatever I have not observed in the area. I usually work in 30° x 2 hour section of the sky. This evening would see me south of Orion in Lepus, Eridanus, and Columba. What I did not expect is that everything I had not observed down there was a small, dim 12-13 magnitude galaxy! Everything!
NGC1993 Small, very faint, round 1′ in diameter, stellar core
NGC2089 Small, faint, round 1′ in diameter, stellar core
So it went, galaxy after galaxy, the variation was usually some version of faint… “Faint”, “Very faint”, “Quite faint”, to the limit of my vision “Averted vision required with the 28cm”. A bright star or another galaxy in the same field was exciting!
Normally when working a region of the sky I find quite a few plain objects, the usual slew of dim galaxies when off the galactic plane, open clusters in the plane. Usually there is the occasional gem sprinkled in to liven the observing session. Not tonight!
Still, it was very nice to be out under the stars. It was a completely dark night, the sky brilliant with Orion and Canis Major high overhead. I was sitting just at the top of the cloud deck, the cars far below me on Saddle Road creating a dim glow in the clouds. Across the top of the clouds I could see Mauna Loa and Hualalai lit by starlight and skyglow.
A solid three hours at the eyepiece, three pages of notes, and I was out of hot tea. I put down the unending list of dim galaxies and just spent a bit looking up some old favorites. The Orion nebula was stunning in the eyepeice, R Lep is still very, very red. Finally breaking down and heading home, I was in bed about midnight.
In Arizona, during the heat of summer we would head for the mountains. We knew dozens of fire roads and meadows where a telescope could be set up under the stars among the cool forest pines. When the weather chilled, we headed to the low desert, our favorite site was Sentinel, Arizona. A desolate volcanic field just off Interstate 8 between Gila Bend and Yuma. It was still cool at night, a beautiful place to enjoy the desert skies…
Deep Violet at Sentinel, Arizona for the 2015 Pierre Schwarr Star Gaze
My 18″ telescope Deep violet set up under the stars at the MKVIS.There have been some revisions to the rules as originally proposed. Most notably the closure hours begin at 10pm in place of 8pm, this would allow the VIS to operate the normal evening public program.
I have yet to locate a copy of the final approved rules, it is only a few minutes ago that the decision was approved. I expect they will appear on the DLNR website eventually (Tonight? Monday?). They are effective immediately, I would expect there to be a legal requirement to post them.
It is safe to say that there will be no overnight observing at or near the Mauna Kea VIS. You will need to find a site elsewhere or at least one mile from the access road.
These rules are effective for 120 days, after which we will see what happens. In that time they may be allowed to lapse. It also allows the DLNR time to approve similar, permanent rules through the regular process in place of these emergency rules.
120 days and counting… I make that November 8th, 2015.
Update: Found them!
(a) The area referred to in this rule as the “restricted area” is defined as any lands in the public hunting area that includes the Mauna Kea Observatory Access Road and one mile on either side of the Mauna Kea Observatory Access road.
(b) As used in this rule, the term “transiting” means operating, or being a passenger in, a motor vehicle traveling at a reasonable and prudent speed and having regard to the actual and potential hazards and conditions then existing.
(c) No person shall at any time possess or control in the restricted area any of the following items: sleeping bag, tent, camping stove, or propane burner.
(d) No person shall enter or remain in the restricted area during the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m., unless the person is transiting through the restricted area on the Mauna Kea Observatory Access Road or is lawfully within or entering or exiting an existing observatory or a facility operated by the University of Hawaii.
