Tag: Mauna Kea

Capturing the Mountian Shadow

A high quality pan-tilt-zoom camera on the roof of the observatory at an altitude of 13,630ft? Just too much fun. I have found myself logging into the camera at sunset to enjoy the view, or keeping the video in the corner of my screen through a Hawaiian blizzard. I have even forwarded images to a local television station when they requested views of a white Christmas in Hawaiʻi. Yes, they used them for the evening news!

Weather Mast
The Keck weather mast with a sonic anemometer at top, MastCam, and the housings for the temperature, humidity and barometric pressure sensors.
This camera can do more… The camera is an Axis Q6044-E dome style security camera. The camera contains a small Linux computer with a huge array of scripting and control options. Combined with a 720p HD camera, reasonably decent optics, and an accurate PTZ mechanism the camera is quite capable.

To make the best of this wonderful toy I need some tools. To that end several Python programs have been written, including a camera scheduler. This program takes a text file with a schedule and captures images at the programmed time and date. All of this was easy to implement in Python, all of the necessary ‘net protocol support is available in the libraries.

The schedule file can contain any number of separate schedules for multiple sequences. At the specified time the program insures the camera is set properly, moves the camera to the correct position and captures the image. Each sequence is saved to a unique directory and given a sequential name suitable for compiling time lapse video. Add a simple GUI to allow images and status to be monitored and the program becomes a very useful tool.

There are now multiple sequences running… Photos of the summit ridge at each sunset, the shadow of the GPS antenna every day at noon, the Kohala mountain every day mid-morning, the TMT construction site several times a day, and more.

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Postcard from the Summit – A Very Cold Day

Getting to and from the vehicles was done as quickly as possible, running from door to door. Not only were the temperatures as low as anyone could remember, the wind was adding to the issue, blowing at a steady 35mph. The temperatures reached -8°C (17°F) at night and never rose above freezing during the day. The ice is slowly sublimating in the dry air, but there is still too much on the domes for safe observing.

Now if the wind would obey the posted speed limit…

A Very Cold Day
The remains of heavy ice sublimating in cold, dry air with steady 35mph winds

Where to Photograph Comet ISON?

All sky-watchers are hoping that comet ISON is spectacular when it emerges from the solar glare. there is no guarantee on this, we just do not know. But it could be as pretty as comet Ikeya-Seki or comet McNaught, both of which became far brighter after perihelion passage.

Ohia and Sunrise
An ohia tree silhouetted against the dawn in the Saddle
If this does happen the question is where to go to photograph the comet. A week ago I found that ISON was slightly behind the ridge from the Mauna Kea VIS. Not badly, but enough to delay when I could acquire the comet and start taking photos.

This recent Saturday I only went partway up the Mauna Kea access road, just high enough to be clear of the clouds and haze. There is a turnoff on the east side of the road just above the cattle guard at about 8,000 ft, one mile below Hale Pohaku. Plenty of room to park a vehicle or two and plenty of level ground to take photos from.

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ISON, Mercury and Saturn in the Dawn

Not quite the dramatic comet in the dawn shot I was hoping for. The comet is just barely able to compete with the dawn glow. Still, a beautiful morning.

Waiting to see what fate holds in store for this dirty snowball as it travels through the hell of the solar corona. I will try another photo session after perihelion.

ISON in the Dawn
Comet C/2012 S1 ISON, Mercury and Saturn in the dawn over Hilo