Where do you go to show a bunch of students from Hawaii Preparatory Academy the stars? Located in Waimea the school has a very nice campus, that is usually under heavy clouds every afternoon and evening. After looking around we settled on Mauna Kea Recreation Area in the saddle between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. At 6,700ft elevation the site can offer very good skies for stargazing. This area in the saddle at Pōhakuloa is often cloud free, a curious hole in the clouds between the mauna that tower on either side.
Students and chaperones from HPA enjoy dark skies with the 20″ obsession telescopeThe recreation area has recently been undergoing a 10 million dollar renovation. While the renovated cabins are not open yet, the new bathrooms and playground have proven immensely popular to travellers crossing the saddle from Hilo to Kona.
With the opportunity for a reasonably dark sky I brought the 20″ obsession. Tony and Maureen brought 12″ dobs. Tony’s friend Steve brough the 8″ he had just bought from Tony, a first night out with a new ‘scope. Cliff brought his 6″ imaging system set up to show objects on the screen. We had a lot of glass available, good telescopes, and surprisingly good skies.
Cherry Blossom Festival is a huge event where a large segment of the island population descends upon Waimea for a day of celebration. there are booths and events all across town. There are cultural demonstrations, cooking demonstrations, performances, and lots of food available for an all day, all town festival.
Viewing the Sun at the Cherry Blossom FestivalWith most of the parking on the south side of Keck observatory, the shopping mall parking lots, and the main event venue north of Keck at Church Row where the cherry trees are, a huge number of people cross the observatory lawns on their way to the festival. It is a natural fit for us to use the day for an outreach event.
The festival is also a very local event. Sure there are a few tourists drawn to Waimea for a festival. But, by and large this is a local event, the majority of attendees are island residents.
Residents of Waimea know to brace for the Christmas Parade. For an evening half the island population descends upon this little town. Days ahead of time, the parking spots along the street, far from the store’s front doors, normally empty, will be full of pickup trucks as people stake out their favorite spot to watch the parade.
The crowd along the parade route for the 2016 Waimea Christmas ParadeThe main road closes at 5:30pm, important to know as this closure cuts the ring road around the island. By this time the crowd has grown to a size that is quite surprising on this island. Are there actually that many people here?
This year Keck and CFHT cooperated on a float. Really a decorated truck like most entries in the parade. We handed out glow sticks and glow bracelets to the kids along the parade route. walking along with the group is fun, of course I have a camera along.
Aboard the CFHT and Keck float in the 2016 Waimea Christmas ParadeAfter the parade it was time for a star party… Only one issue… Calling it a star party is a bit of a misnomer. There were no stars, there were no telescopes. Two ‘scopes did get set up briefly, then the rain began. With the ongoing winter storm there were only a few glimpses of the moon through the clouds, otherwise nothing to see. The telescopes stayed in the vehicles.
Visitors enjoy telescopes under the star at the Mauna Kea VIS
The observing table during visual observing, all the necessities… charts, guides, binoculars, observing notebook and something to drink.
Visitors enjoy great views of an active Sun at the 2012 Waimea Planet Walk
Bright sunset colors silhouette a telescope at Oregon Star Party 2013
The telescopes are nearly ready, now to wait for dark!
The author waiting for dark at the 2005 All Arizona Messier Marathon with my usual visual setup including Deep Violet
The NexStar 11″, the TV76mm and a Canon 60D setup for astrophotography at the MKVIS
Cliff sets up his 24″ scope on the next target.
A trio of telescopes awaiting darkness at Oregon Star Party
A group of local school students with the 20″ telescope
Maureen sharing her telescope with guests at Keck’s Evening with Astronomers
Maureen setting up for some public observing to support Keck’s Evening with Astronomers
Debbie Goodwin gazes at Saturn through a C-14 at an evening star party in Waikoloa
A line of big ‘scopes to greet a huge Saturday crowd at the MKVIS
Everyone at the VIS was enjoying the night!
The restored 20″ Obsession telescope set up at Hale Pohaku on the side of Mauna Kea
Almost all of the big dobsonian telescopes to be found on Hawai’i show up at the VIS for the night.
The telescope line at Sentinel for the 2005 Sentinel-Schwaar Star Gaze
Green lasers in use at the Mauna Kea VIS nightly observing with the Milky Way high overhead
Tony shows a group of enthusiastic student views with his 12.5″ dob.
The 11″ NexStar GPS telescope, GyPSy set up at Ka’Ohe
My 18″ telescope Deep violet set up under the stars at the MKVIS.
Local amateur astronomers set up their own telescopes behind the main building at Lick Observatory
A trio of telescopes set up for astrophtography at the Mauna Kea VIS
Olivier beside his new telescope, a 12″ Orion Dobsonian
Deb pointing out the star βPhoenicis to VIS volunteer Joe McDonough
A telescope set up on the grounds of the Mauna Kea resort awaiting dark skies
The 20″ Obsession telescope awaiting full dark at Kaʻohe, on the side of Mauna Kea
The observing field at the Farnsworth Ranch, with the Silverbell Mountains in the background and Kitt Peak just visible at far right. The field is unusually green after heavy spring rains. The clouds are rapidly departing to the east.
Telescopes at Oregon Star Party 2013
Steve Dillinger’s 20″ Dob awaiting full dark at Sentinel, AZ with Venus and the Moon shining behind
Observing from the Mauna Loa research station, the trace of red lights in 116 x 20sec exposures, the AMiBA telescope is in the background
A camper and telescope set up under a starry sky
The 20″ Obsession telescope being set up at Kaʻohe, on the side of Mauna Kea
Chris Fuld collimating his 40.5 inch dobsonian
Tony’s 14″ dob with a long line of folks waiting to view
A family enjoys a view of the Sun in the telescope
Ken and Ann Jones oberving with their 18″ at Oregon Star Party 2013
A princess looking through the telescope while we were set up at the King’s Shops
We are good to go! I have the DLNR permit for using the site. We will hold the Mauna Kea Messier Marathon 2016 on the evening of March 12 at the Ka’ohe observing site.
The 11″ NexStar GPS telescope, GyPSy set up at Ka’OheSunset: 18:31 HST
Astronomical twilight ends: 19:44 HST
Astronomical twilight begins: 05:19 HST
Sunrise: 06:32 HST
Please arrive before sunset so as not to annoy other observers with lights and dust, allowing a few extra minutes to find the setup site. This will provide plenty of time to set up gear and have a picnic dinner. I hope to be at the site around 5:30pm. I will sign the group in at the check-in station with the permit number, you need not sign in.
For those who wish to marathon I will have a checklist available for the effort. There are a lot of MM checklists, the one I provide is optimized for our 20N latitude which changes the priority of the evening and morning objects. If you do not want to participate, just come to observe.
If you are participating in the MM I would also suggest a low-power, wide field instrument. Smaller telescopes are actually better at this pursuit than larger. For MM I leave the 18″ at home and bring a 6″ telescope. Any finding aids are acceptable, including GOTO. If you are a purist like me? I will use nothing but a chart and a Telrad to locate the objects.
The site is to be found along the old Saddle Road just above the Kilohana hunter check in station. There is a line of pine trees a couple hundred yards above the gate, I plan to set up on the makai side of the trees where you will find a large flat area and a big pile of gravel stockpiled. A precise location and Google map for the Ka’ohe site can be found here.
A reminder that the DLNR permit has a few restrictions, nothing we would not do anyway… No open flame, no hunting, and please keep the area clean.
Now all we need is clear weather for a successful Marathon!
Preparing for the crowd at Laupāhoehoe Charter SchoolI worry a bit about helping out with a school star party sometimes. When I drum up a few volunteers and telescopes for an event I wonder if we will have clear skies and a good audience. These great guys are coming because I asked them. Will it be worth the effort of the volunteers to pack a ‘scope and drive across the island?
Nothing is more frustrating than a crowd of kids wanting to see through the telescope and all you can show them is the bottom of a cloud. I was worrying again as I left Waimea under a solid overcast. Maybe it will be better on the other side of the island? My fear is justified by past experience, the windward side is often cloudy or even rainy in the evening. Arriving at Honokaʻa it was still overcast, maybe down the coast? Over Laupāhoehoe it was clear! How can this be? We got really lucky.
The next worry was the crowd. While setting up there were a dozen telescopes but only a handful of folks waiting for us. But as it got dark the people kept arriving, a steady stream of students and families. A large area of blankets appeared, covering the playing field. William and the other organizers had done a great job of putting out the message to the community, we had a great crowd.
With a quarter Moon we had a good target even before it got dark. Better yet, there were no lights on the field and only a small town below us. After the light faded it was pretty dark on the field, dark enough to show nebulae and star clusters in all their glory.
I spent much of the evening on the Orion Nebula. It looked great in the ‘scope and I could tell the tale of star formation occurring in the clouds of gas visible in the eyepiece. I took a few iPhone photos of the Moon, demonstrating how it was done. The quarter phase was revealing great topography along the terminator.
In the end my worries were for naught. Everything went very well. A lot of happy kids and parents, presented with a good view of our endlessly fascinating universe.
Preparing for the crowd at Laupāhoehoe Charter School
Cliff performing and alignment on his outreach telescope
Josh setting up his ‘scope set up very low for the kids.
Vaugn set up ahead of everyone else with a 12″ dobsonian
The telescopes are nearly ready, now to wait for dark!
Blankets appear as everyone prepares to enjoy the evening
Getting a look at the moon before it gets dark.
iPhone 5S photo of the Moon through a NexStar 11″, afocal method with a 35mm eyepiece
iPhone 5S photo of the Moon through a 6″ dob, afocal method
In Arizona, during the heat of summer we would head for the mountains. We knew dozens of fire roads and meadows where a telescope could be set up under the stars among the cool forest pines. When the weather chilled, we headed to the low desert, our favorite site was Sentinel, Arizona. A desolate volcanic field just off Interstate 8 between Gila Bend and Yuma. It was still cool at night, a beautiful place to enjoy the desert skies…
Deep Violet at Sentinel, Arizona for the 2015 Pierre Schwarr Star Gaze
Cliff setup and ready for viewers at WHEA.I often caution folks scheduling star parties in Kona that the afternoon and evening clouds will often spoil the attempt. The large Hualalai volcano is the culprit here. In the afternoon the clouds form in the lee of the mountain and give Kona the afternoon showers that nourish the rich rainforest found on the upper slopes.
We try anyway.
WHEA, or West Hawaii Explorations Academy is a charter school located in the NELHA complex just north of Kona and just south of the airport. They concentrate on science, mostly marine science, with an outdoor hands-on curricula. Large pavilions serve as additional classrooms. The campus is littered with evidence of various projects, from large pools, various gardens, and a phalanx of handmade cargo pallet catapults in the back.
Maureen using her big dob at WHEA.The school was having an overnight camp-out on campus, providing a large crowd of students wanting a look through a telescope.
There were some clouds to hamper us, but nothing that would obscure the view for more than a minute or two. A nearly full moon, just a few days shy of this week’s eclipse, was beautiful in the telescope. We also had Saturn, still available in the evening sky at the head of Scorpio. As the evening passed so did the clouds, thinning to a few wisps across the sky.
Maureen was there with her big dob. Chris and Doris with the C-14, Brad with his twin refractor that shows the Moon beautifully. Cliff set up the C-11 giving us five telescopes in all, plenty of eyepieces to supply visions to waiting eyes. I need to spend a little time working on our NextStar GPS 11″, the motor control issue is back, I was running in manual mode much of the evening.
We gazed at the terrain of the Moon and I showed kids, and a few teachers, how to take photos with a cell phone through the eyepiece. A good school star party and a well spent Friday evening. Even if it did take half an hour for the security guard to arrive to open the gate and let us leave. There were also too many chocolate chip cookies available.
