Driveway Astrophotography and Comet Garradd

Finally, a night where… A) The sky is clear. B) The wind is not howling through the palm trees. C) I am not exhausted by working the summit. D) I do not have to get up early the next morning.

A + B + C + D = Astrophotography from the driveway!

Comet C/2009 P1 Garradd
Comet C/2009 P1 Garradd on 29 March 2012 showing both tails, sum of 50 x 1 min exposures CoolSNAP ES and 180mm f/2.8 lens
Thus, under a very pretty sky, I rolled the photo rig out of the garage and spent some time getting everything back together. I was not in a hurry, time to let a bright crescent Moon set a little and my primary target rise a little. The target at the top of the list? Comet C/2009 P1 Garradd.

The comet is nicely placed in Ursa Major, transiting late in the evening, available for several hours of exposures. And expose I did, with the auto-guider locked on the a dim star beside the comet, the shutter open for well over two hours. I was shooting my Canon 20Da and the AT6RC, a combination that framed the comet nicely.

It will take a while to get the resulting images processed. In the meantime I did a quick process on a set of images taken with the wide field/finder CCD camera. The results of which can be seen at the right. I also shot a few quick images of the M95 area with the CCD to capture SN2012aw.

Keck Lecture

You are invited to attend a free Keck Observatory lecture…

Earth at Night
A view of the Earth compiled from nighttime shots from the DMSP satellites during October 1994 to March 1995. Image credit NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
City Dark: Search for Night on a Sleepless Planet
Dr. Richard Wainscoat
University of Hawai’i Institute for Astronomy

Kahilu Theater
Thursday, April 5th, 2012
7:00pm

The advent and spread of electrical lighting has made it ever harder to find the dark skies valued by professional and amateur astronomers, not to mention lovers of starry skies in general. Dr. Wainscoat tells the story about light pollution and astronomy, with special emphasis on light pollution’s effects on the world’s best astronomical observing site: Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawai’i. Dr. Wainscoast is an astronomer as well as an accomplished photographer.

There is no charge for admission to any events in the Makana series.

Presented by W.M. Keck Observatory.

Postcard from the Reef – Devil Scorpionfish

I didn’t spot it this time either. It was Mark who was pointing at the coral. I looked, looked again… Oh! There is something there. The camouflage these fish utilize is impressive, even from quite close they blend amazingly well with the coral and algae. I wonder how many times I have drifted past one of these fish without seeing it.

As Olivier and I got closer to take a few photos, the fish began to walk away. Yes, I said walk. The fish would walk several feet on its pectoral fins then try to sit still and hide again. A truly weird thing, watching a fish walk across the reef.

Devil Scorpionfish
Devil Scorpionfish (Scorpaenopsis diabolus) on the reef at O'oma

The Moon, Venus and Jupiter

While Jupiter and Venus are now drawing apart after their rendezvous a few days ago one more pretty dance will liven the evening sky. With the two only 10° apart a crescent Moon will slide between them. The 11% illuminated Moon will make a nice match for the two brilliant planets, creating a lovely trio in the evening sky.

Tomorrow night the Moon will have moved to the other side of Venus, still quite close at about 4° separation, creating another pretty view.

Mauna Loa Messier Marathon

I was determined to get out and use the telescope during the March new Moon, but had planned to go observing with the guys at Hale Pohaku on Mauna Kea. At the last minute I decided to accept an invitation from the Hilo group to observe from Mauna Loa instead. The guys planned on running a Messier Marathon, something I have enjoyed many times before.

Our usual observing location is Hale Pohaku, at 9,000ft on the south side of Mauna Kea. Hale Pohaku is a great observing site, high enough to be above the clouds, but well below the summit where thin air, wind and frigid temperatures can be miserable. It is impossible to do a complete Messier Marathon from Hale Pohaku, the bulk of Mauna Kea blocks too much of the northern sky making a few objects, most notably M52, difficult to impossible.

Mauna Loa Road
The Mauna Loa access road, carved through the lava and paved with red cinder asphalt
The road and climate research station on Mauna Loa sit on the northern face of the mountain, offering a perfect vantage point for the Messier catalog objects given our 20° latutude. The only issue is the road. While Hale Pohaku is reached by six miles of quite nice state highway, Mauna Loa requires navigating an 18 mile drive up a single land paved road. Use of the word “paved” is somewhat casual, as is the maintenance on the road. The first few miles feature new pavement. Beyond that? Not so much, the road becomes a pothole obstacle course. Driving the road with a delicate telescope in the back is rather nerve-wracking.

Continue reading “Mauna Loa Messier Marathon”

Postcard from the Summit – Installing TBAD

Hanging 60ft over the concrete below… fun!

I spent the day drilling and tapping holes into the side of the Keck 2 secondary assembly at the front of the telescope. This is to install two pieces of steel that will serve as a mount for an electronic module behind the secondary mirror. The only way to do this is to climb out onto the secondary assembly. Not a job for anyone that has a problem with heights.

Mind you I am tied to the telescope with safety straps and a full harness. While a fall would not be fatal, it would be an experience in hurt, slammed up against the steel when the straps catch the fall.

The system I am installing is TBAD. I will have to write more about it later, a quick description for now. TBAD is a method of detecting aircraft in front of the telescope, intended to shutter the AO laser before we illuminate an aircraft. It will use a directional antenna to receive transponder transmissions from the aircraft. Of course, the antenna needs to be mounted to the telescope along with the receiver electronics. Thus today’s work.

When you read this I will probably be back at it. Today I will be pulling the cable for the system to the secondary. This is done using our JLG man-lift, a hydraulically powered basket/crane that can access much of the telescope. I think I remember how to drive it…

Installing TBAD
Hanging on to the side of the secondary assembly to install mounting points for TBAD