When you want to see the stars, find someplace dark
It snowed much of yesterday and well into the night. The result? Probably about a foot total at the summit, the Mauna Kea rangers report drifts of up to two feet in places. I am scheduled up top tomorrow, maybe some more photos?
It is snowing pretty hard on the summit of Mauna Kea right now. There were a few inches from the previous days, looks like quite a bit more by tomorrow…
With the start of March the observatory known as JAC is no more. The Joint Astronomy Center ran two telescopes, the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT). Both telescopes have been transferred to new management and will continue to pursue science.
You can get more details on Tom Kerr’s blog A Pacific View.
I would also suggest you take a few minutes and enjoy some beautiful time-lapse to celebrate the achievements of the JAC…
Starlapse: The James Clerk Maxwell Telescope from William Montgomerie on Vimeo.
NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has returned new images captured on approach to its historic orbit insertion at the dwarf planet Ceres. Dawn will be the first mission to successfully visit a dwarf planet when it enters orbit around Ceres on Friday, March 6.
Recent images show numerous craters and unusual bright spots that scientists believe tell how Ceres, the first object discovered in our solar system’s asteroid belt, formed and whether its surface is changing. As the spacecraft spirals into closer and closer orbits around the dwarf planet, researchers will be looking for signs that these strange features are changing, which would suggest current geological activity.
“Studying Ceres allows us to do historical research in space, opening a window into the earliest chapter in the history of our solar system,” said Jim Green, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division at the agency’s Headquarters in Washington. “Data returned from Dawn could contribute significant breakthroughs in our understanding of how the solar system formed.”
Dawn began its final approach phase toward Ceres in December. The spacecraft has taken several optical navigation images and made two rotation characterizations, allowing Ceres to be observed through its full nine-hour rotation. Since Jan. 25, Dawn has been delivering the highest-resolution images of Ceres ever captured, and they will continue to improve in quality as the spacecraft approaches.
It was not a lot of snow over the weekend, but it is a pretty snowfall…
You are invited to a public lecture…
Astronomy Talk: America’s Space Program – NASA’s Roadmap to Tomorrow’s Missions
The agency currently has spacecraft speeding toward Jupiter and Pluto and roving on Mars, and is searching for planets that could potentially harbor life beyond our solar system. An unprecedented mission to capture and redirect an asteroid to an orbit near to Earth is in the planning stages, and the Space Launch System and Orion Crew vehicle are reaching new milestones in development to take astronauts to an asteroid and on to Mars.
NASA has been a 1/6 partner in the W. M. Keck Observatory since 1996 and it is an honor to offer this program to the community.
Friday March 13, 2015
07:00 pm – 08:00 pm
Kahilu Theatre
Waimea
Free Admission
Yes, I have done this photo before, did a little better this time with a 14mm lens to expand the view.
My mother is on island, escaping the cold and grey of Portland for a week. An excuse to visit the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden… Again.
Of course, being a tropical rain-forest it rained for our visit. I have never actually managed to visit the gardens when it was not raining. Still, the soft light of heavy overcast and the drops of water on leaves and flowers are just another photographic opportunity.
As my mother and Deb wandered around talking plants, I wandered nearby with a tripod and an umbrella borrowed from the entry station. I did come up with a few pretty photos. Not a bad day for a stroll on the garden.