Category: Astronomy
Exploring the cosmos
Uranus at Opposition
Changing Responsibilities
We have had a couple electrical engineers leave Keck this summer. As a result the few of us left are stretched a little thin. To help cover this, one of the engineers in our group has transferred to the TSD department to continue the telescope drive upgrade project. Unfortunately this moves some of his responsibilities to me.
This also means I am spending a lot more time at the summit. Over the last weeks I have almost forgotten what my desk at HQ looks like, two weeks and only two days spent in Waimea. This is not going to change any time soon.
I have a few projects left to finish up. This month will see the shipment and installation of the TRICK camera and support gear. We started this process last week with the pedestal and focus stage. The dewar and detector will be here next week. A few more days of hands-on work remain to install everything.
There is also the installation of another TBAD system on Keck 1. I will have to get one of the techs to do that for me. All of the engineering is done, what remains is the fun part, installing the gear. I expect that will be the pattern, I get to do the paperwork while the techs have the fun.
Meanwhile… If you are an electrical engineer or technician you might apply at Keck. We could really use a couple more good people.
Guardrails on Mauna Kea
Guardrails? What is the problem? It is only a few hundred feet to the switchback below. As if taking all of the fun out of Saddle Road is not enough.
Mauna Kea Support Services is overseeing the addition of guardrails on quite a few of the more dangerous places on the summit road. This includes the lower side of each of the hairpin turns for the switchbacks. Notable curves are getting the same treatment.
The new rail locations include the spot where a red jeep went off the road a few years ago, killing the driver and a passenger.
MKSS had made a number of safety improvements to the mountain facilities over the last few months, part of a concerted effort. New speed bumps at the visitor center, guardrails, and plans for new signage along the road.
Visitor and observatory traffic on the mountain is increasing, so is the attention from state officials. With the new comprehensive management plan in place, and groundbreaking for TMT not far off, now is a good time for it.
Sockets and Spanners
iOS 7 Brightness Problem
Amateur astronomers learn to love the dark.
Unlike the rest of the human species we enjoy seeing the night sky and have learned not to fear the darkness, rather to embrace it. This phlisophy is carried over to our devices as well. We set our computer screens for minimum brightness with red on black color schemes. We understand dark adaptation and what it means for our vision.
You may note that Darker View uses a dark color scheme. This is not by chance, there was a great deal of thought put into the light on dark color scheme here on DV, with full understanding of the advantages of dark on light schemes.
Many people do not like light on dark schemes, avoiding websites that use such colors. Other folks far prefer such color schemes, particularly people who spend long hours at the computer, programmers and CAD technicians in particular. Programming environments and CAD software make switching color schemes easy, understanding the personal color preferences are critical to good software useability.
Postcard from the Summit – SegEx
Fall Equinox
Fall equinox occurs today at 10:44HST. Today there will be little difference between the length of the night compared to number of daylight hours. This is the first day of fall as marked by many cultures in the northern hemisphere.
| 2013 Solstices and Equinoxes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UT | HST | |||
| Perihelion | Jan 2 | 00:59UT | Jan 1 | 14:59HST |
| Spring Equinox | Mar 20 | 11:02UT | Mar 20 | 01:02HST |
| Summer Solstice | Jun 21 | 05:04UT | Jun 20 | 19:04HST |
| Apehelion | Jul 5 | 18:59UT | Jul 5 | 08:59HST |
| Fall Equinox | Sep 22 | 20:44UT | Sep 22 | 10:44HST |
| Winter Solstice | Dec 21 | 17:11UT | Dec 21 | 07:11HST |
| Source: NASA Sky Calendar | ||||
Full Moon
A penumbral lunar eclipse will occur this Full Moon. With a penumbral magnitude of 0.76 this is a relatively deep penumbral eclipse which should create a nice shadow effect across the Moon. Unfortunately none of this eclipse is visible from the central Pacific Ocean.
Observing
