Category: Astronomy
Exploring the cosmos
Mercury at Superior Conjunction
Today Mercury will be at superior conjunction. After today the planet will reappear in the evening sky, rising high enough from the Sun’s glow to be seen around the end of the month.
As Mercury is on an orbit inside that of Earth’s it will see both inferior and superior conjunctions as it passes from the evening sky to the dawn sky and back again.
Full Moon
It was one of those weeks…
It was one of those weeks.
One. Deb is having a bad spell. With little warning I took off Monday afternoon to drive her down to Kona to spend a couple hours in the infusion lab for medication.
Two. Monday would just not die easily… The phone calls began just after sunset. The Keck 1 hydraulic bearing system would not come on properly, shutting down just after the main pump came online. It became quickly apparent that I would be joining John and Justin for a trip to the summit in the middle of the night.
Consequences of a Bad LED
A bad indicator LED, a simple ten cent part brought the Keck 1 telescope to a stop this last week.
I was getting ready to leave the summit when the radio started to speak words of concern, it sounded like something was not working, an instrument rotator?
Worse, the Keck 1 computer room hosted a veritable crowd, from the summit supervisor to all of the techs. Yeah, this was not good, why are they all looking at me? Oh, h%#*!
Meadow Telescope
Crossing the Saddle at Night
Leaving Hilo I turn towards the shortest path home. It is also my favorite path by far. Not for me the twisting turns, small towns, and driving rains of the Hamakua coast road. I turn towards Saddle Road, to the pass between the enormous volcanoes of Hawaii.
Even before the road was re-built this was my favorite route to cross the island. The traffic is far heavier now, the new road no longer offers the challenges and dangers of the old road. Drivers no longer deterred by those dangers now use the new road to cross the island rather than driving around the northern belt road.
A Waikoloa Star Party
It started simply enough… Donna asked for suggestions, she was looking for activities the Waikoloa Village Association could share with the community. Of course I suggested a star party. Much of our small club lives in the village, this would be an easy and fun event to put together. Al we need is a date and a place.
A place? The Waikoloa Stables have ceased being a place with horses. There remains a nice lawn, bathrooms, and a large parking lot. The stables currently hosts a thrift shop and regular community events like the yearly Wiliwili festival.
A plan? Easy… Light refreshments, parking coordination, keiki fire dancers, the local CERT team for safety backup, a sound system, a speaker for the evening, and at least five telescopes for viewing. OK, maybe not so simple.
We can do this.
Autumnal Equinox
Fall equinox occurs today at 10:02HST. 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.
| 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 | ||||
New Moon