Category: Astronomy

Exploring the cosmos

Mars and Jupiter

Mercury, Venus and Jupiter
An evening conjunction of Mercury, Venus and Jupiter on 30 May, 2013
Tomorrow morning and Monday morning will see a close pairing of Mars and Jupiter. While the two have been moving closer for a few days, during these two dawns the separation will be just under a degree.

Look for the pair to rise about 4:13am, almost two hours before the Sun. The two planets will be 20 degrees above the horizon at sunrise. They should be easy to spot with Jupiter at -2 magnitude and Mars dimmer but still easy at 1.5 magnitude. Look 8° below the pair for Mercury still rising towards maximum elongation.

Mars and Jupiter

Over the next few mornings Mars and Jupiter will rendezvous in the dawn sky. This morning sees the two a little over 2° apart. Over the next few days that will narrow quickly with close approach occurring on the mornings of July 21st and 22nd with about 50′ of separation between the two planets. By the 26th the distance between the pair will again have grown to over 2°.

Throughout the encounter the two planets will precede the Sun by about 25°, rising about 04:00HST, well placed for observation.

Keep an eye out for Mercury below the pairing, a 2nd magnitude object about halfway between the conjunction and the rising Sun. The innermost planet will reach maximum elongation on July 29th.

The mornings of August 3rd and 4th will see a thin crescent Moon slide along the line of three planets in the dawn.

A Construction Cam for TMT

Not a hard job, but someone has to do it… Hanging off the weather tower again. This time all I am doing is taking pictures!

Paul and Fred from the the TMT telescope are walking the perimeter of the TMT site with a large white pole. At a few preset points they call me on the radio and I snap a couple photos. I spend the few minutes between each location just enjoying the view, or adjusting the climbing harness to find a less uncomfortable pose. At least the weather is quite nice.

TMT Site from Keck
the TMT site as seen from the Keck Observatory roof
The idea is to locate a remote camera that can be used to monitor the construction of TMT. We need to be certain that the entire site can be clearly seen by the camera before we go through the effort to install it.

The camera will most likely be mounted on the Keck weather mast. The location offers power and communications along with a secure mounting point. What we learn is good news, from the mast there is a clear view of the complete TMT building site

What remains to be done is the paperwork. First we must seek and receive approval from the Office of Mauna Kea Management. Any changes to the outside of any of the facilities must be approved before work begins. I have done this in the past whenever I modify one of the weather instruments. Usually not a major hurdle, but one that must be done right.

I have supported the TMT in a number of small ways. It will be exciting to watch the construction, we have a ringside seat at Keck!