Calls from the summit facility are not exactly what I want to see on my phone display on Christmas Eve. Heather was very apologetic about calling, but she had no choice, the Keck 2 dome would not rotate.
Christmas Sunrise over the shoulder of Mauna KeaLess than a minute into this conversation I realize the inevitable… This was not going to get fixed over the phone, I would be spending Christmas on the summit. I call John who is already scheduled to go up for the day… Pick me up on your way out of the village. 7am? I will be out front.
It was just before sunrise that we drove up the mountain from Waikoloa, the sun rising over the shoulder of Mauna Kea, casting long crepuscular rays into the sky. It is a beautiful Christmas morning, a clear sky, the snow capped summits of two volcanoes looming overhead. Heading to work on this morning is a bit surreal, while at the same time seeming a bit more festive for the snow.
A very young moon over Waikoloa, this is only 26 hours after new, visible to the unaided eye as a sliver in the fading glow of sunsetNew Moon will occur today at 20:53HST.
The first meteor shower of 2017 is the annual Quadrantid meteor shower. The Quadrantids are a reliable shower, producing 60-120 ZHR, one to two meteors per minute. The Quadrantids are named for the obsolete constellation Quadrans Muralis, now part of the constellation Boötes.
A pair of Leonid meteors streak through OrionUnlike other showers where activity can occur for days or even weeks, the Quadrantids have a sharp peak, activity falls off rapidly on the preceding and following nights, or even a few hours away from the peak. Thus it is important to observe the Quadrantids quite near the peak prediction.
This year’s peak is calculated for January 3rd at 14:00UT, this would be January 3rd at 04:00HST, well timed for observers in the islands. For northern observers the radiant is circumpolar, thus the shower is observable all night long. Given our 20° latitude here in Hawaii the radiant does not rise until 01:30HST, thus observations must wait until well into the morning hours. As this perfectly corresponds with the peak this looks to be an ideal meteor shower for island observers. Further, a first quarter moon will have long set leaving a perfectly dark morning sky for observing meteors.
A first quarter Moon on January 5 creates favourable viewing conditions for the predicted Quadrantid maximum on January 3. For many northern hemisphere sites, the shower’s radiant is circumpolar, in northern Boötes, from where it first attains a useful elevation after local mid-night, steadily improving through till dawn. The 14h UT timing for the peak is favourable for observers in the west of North America. Observers in the north of Asia will find the radiant close to the horizon in their evening skies. The λ⊙ = 283.15◦ maximum timing is based on the best-observed return of the shower ever analysed (IMO data from 1992), and has been confirmed by optical and radio results in most years since. Typically, the peak is short-lived, so can be easily missed in just a few hours of poor northern-winter weather, which may be why the ZHR level apparently fluctuates from year to year. A – IMO 2017 Meteor Shower Calendar
Watching meteors requires no more equipment than your eyes and a dark sky, and can be enjoyable for just about anyone. While most observers in the northern hemisphere must endure winter conditions to observe this shower, in the islands we have the option of observing from somewhat warmer locations. I think this year’s Quadrantids deserve an early wake-up and a trip into the dark!
The Moon one day short of full, afocal photograph taken with a 102mm refractor, 32mm eyepiece and a Canon G9 camera.
An eight day old Moon, Celestron NS11GPS and Canon 6D
iPhone 5S photo of the Moon through a NexStar 11″, afocal method with a 35mm eyepiece
A first quarter moon imaged on 7 Feb 2014
A 94% illuminated waxing Moon, Canon 6D and AT6RC with 0.8x focal reducer.
A partial solar eclipse from Kawaihae, 9 May 2013
A total lunar eclipse on the night of August 27-28, 2007 with the Moon deep in the Earth’s inner shadow. A dark eclipse, this exposure shows a number of stars surrounding the Moon
iPhone 5S photo of the Moon through a 6″ dob, afocal method
Catching the moonrise in just the right spot and with just the right foreground takes planning and perseverance by the photographer. Sometimes things go right and you catch the shot, but you really do not know what you will catch in the final version until you see the final video…
Winter solstice occurs today at 00:44HST. Today the Sun will occupy the most southerly position in the sky of the year. The term solstice comes from the Latin terms Sol (the Sun) and sistere (to stand still). On this day the Sun seems to stand still as it stops moving southwards each day and begins move to the north. This is the first day of winter as marked by many cultures in the northern hemisphere. Alternately, this is the first day of summer for those folks in the southern hemisphere.
Eric gives scale to a rather large snowdrift in front of Keck ObservatoryLate in the afternoon, after waiting at Hale Pohaku all day, we received word that the crews were beginning to clear the access road to Keck Observatory. While most of our crew had been released earlier in the day, a small group of us waited for our chance to make the summit facility. When we got word we piled into the vehicles for the attempt.
It was simply gorgeous at the summit, sunny and clear with no sign of the winds that had raged across the summit all week. The evidence of those winds was all to apparent, they had left a landscape of sculpted drifts. While the actual snowfall had not been that much, maybe a foot, the drifts were impressive.
I am currently sitting at Hale Pōhaku on the side of the mauna waiting for the snowplows to get us access. We are all looking at the webcams and the drifts of snow in front of our facility wondering if we will make it up today.
It does not look like it was a huge amount of snow, rather the high winds re-sculpted the snow into drifts against the buildings and the road cuts. The result is some impressive snow drifts. The snowplow crews are reportedly making slow progress.
In the meantime all we have are the webcam images…
A shot from a UKIRT webcam of the Hoku Kea student observatory
Fresh snow atop Mauna Kea blankets the ground behind Keck
Heavy ice on the weather mast of Keck Observatory, December 19, 2016
Substantial snow drifts in front of the Keck Telescope, December 19, 2016
A total lunar eclipse on the night of August 27-28, 2007 with the Moon deep in the Earth’s inner shadow. A dark eclipse, this exposure shows a number of stars surrounding the Moon
Total lunar eclipse August 28, 2007, photo is a 8sec exposure with a Canon 20Da on a 90mm f/12 APO
The solar eclipse of March 8th, 2016 taken from Spencer Beach State Park. Celestron C8 with a Canon 6D at cassegrain focus, 2000mm focal length
The total lunar eclipse on Apr 14, 2014, Canon 6D on 90mm f/12 APO
Total lunar eclipse of 28 Aug 2007, photo is a 8sec exposure with a Canon 20Da on a 90mm f/12 APO
The sum of 699 exposures taken through the lunar eclipse of Apr 4, 2015
A partial solar eclipse from Kawaihae, 9 May 2013
The eclipsed Moon south of the planet Mars just a week after opposition, Canon 6D and 105mm f/4 lens
