Employment Opprtunity at Keck – Student Assistant Systems Administrator

W. M. Keck Observatory position announcement…

The Observatory seeks a Student Assistant to support the Computer System Administrator on a variety of computer software/hardware oriented assignments.

Keck 2
Looking into the optics of the Keck 2 telescope
Essential Functions:

  1. Hardware and software data entry.
  2. Windows computer software/hardware configuration/troubleshooting
  3. Tape organizing.
  4. Shipping and Receiving support.
  5. Network Table data entry.
  6. Assist as primary help desk for Systems Administration group.
  7. Work effectively with coworkers and others by sharing ideas in a constructive, positive manner; listening to and objectively considering ideas and suggestions from others; keeping commitments; keeping others informed of work progress and issues; addressing problems and issues constructively to find mutually acceptable and practical solutions; and respecting the diversity of the WMKO workforce in actions, words, and deeds.
  8. Maintain commitment to a high standard of safety, comply with all safety laws and WMKO safety policies/rules, and report actual and potential safety violations to appropriate supervisory or management personnel to further WMKO’s core value of safety.

Continue reading “Employment Opprtunity at Keck – Student Assistant Systems Administrator”

Summer Solstice

Summer solstice occurs today at 19:04HST. Today the Sun will occupy the most northerly 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 northwards each day and begins move to the south. This is the first day of summer as marked by many cultures in the northern hemisphere. Alternately this is the first day of winter for those living south of the equator.

Many calendars will mark Jun 21 as the beginning of summer this year, this is correct for much of the world. Here in Hawaii the solstice will occur on the 20th when correcting for the time zone difference.

2013 Solstices and Equinoxes
  UT HST
Perihelion Jan 2 00:59UT Jan 1 14:59HST
Spring Equinox Mar 20 11:02UT Mar 20 01:02HST
Summer Solstice Jun 21 05:04UT Jun 20 19:04HST
Apehelion Jul 5 18:59UT Jul 5 08:59HST
Fall Equinox Sep 22 20:44UT Sep 22 10:44HST
Winter Solstice Dec 21 17:11UT Dec 21 07:11HST
 
Source: NASA Sky Calendar

 

Billion-Pixel View of Mars From Curiosity Rover

JPL press release…

A billion-pixel view from the surface of Mars, from NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity, offers armchair explorers a way to examine one part of the Red Planet in great detail.

The first NASA-produced view from the surface of Mars larger than one billion pixels stitches together nearly 900 exposures taken by cameras onboard Curiosity and shows details of the landscape along the rover’s route.

The 1.3-billion-pixel image is available for perusal with pan and zoom tools at: http://mars.nasa.gov/bp1/ and a scaled down version (~159MB) is available for direct download here: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA16919.

Billion-Pixel View From Curiosity at Rock Nest, Raw Color
This is a reduced version of panorama from NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity with 1.3 billion pixels in the full-resolution version. It shows Curiosity at the “Rocknest” site where the rover scooped up samples of windblown dust and sand. Curiosity used three cameras to take the component images on several different days between Oct. 5 and Nov. 16, 2012. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

The full-circle scene surrounds the site where Curiosity collected its first scoops of dusty sand at a windblown patch called “Rocknest,” and extends to Mount Sharp on the horizon.

Continue reading “Billion-Pixel View of Mars From Curiosity Rover”

Mercury and Venus

Over the next few days Mercury and Venus will pass by each other one last time in a dance that has lasted over a month. Tonight the pair are about 2°04′ apart. Tomorrow that will shrink to 1°55′ and widen the following night to 2°03′.

After the 21st, the pair will separate rapidly as Mercury dives into the sunset to inferior conjunction on July 9th.

Astronomy Lecture in Waimea

Join us for a free astronomy lecture…

KIC 4862625
An artist’s illustration of the exoplanet PH1, Credit: Haven Giguere/Yale
Dr. Charles Beichman, executive director of NASA’s Exoplanet Science Institute at Caltech, will talk about how the dynamic duo of NASA’s Space Missions and Keck Observatory has led to some of the most exciting astronomy results in recent history.

Tuesday
June 25, 2013
Starts at 7 p.m.
Kahilu Theatre, Waimea
Free and Open to the Public

NASA’s Space Missions have identified more than 3,000 possible planets outside of our solar system and Keck Observatory has confirmed the existence of nearly half of the some 900 proven to exist. Join us for another Astronomy Talk to hear about this fascinating field of science unfolding before us.

These lectures are supported by Rob and Terry Ryan and Keck Observatory’s Rising Stars Fund.

Postcard from the Reef – Me

Pete shot a nice photo of me as we dove Kua Bay. It is an action shot too! Well, at least it shows my usual action on the reef… Nose into the coral, camera front, shooting something too small to see from any distance. Thanks Pete!

Andrew Shooting
The author, Andrew Cooper, doing the usual… Photographing the reef life. Photo by Pete Tucker