This is another fairly common myth about the existing telescopes on Mauna Kea, that most of the telescopes were built without permits or issued “after-the-fact” permits after construction.
The UH88 telescope under the stars of the Milky Way
This is another myth built on a kernel of truth, the two earliest of the remaining thirteen telescopes were built without proper conservation district use permits in place. What is now Hoku Kea was built by the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories and given to the university a couple years later. The UH88 was built by the University of Hawaii in 1968.
As this was the State of Hawaii building on state land, apparently things were a bit lax. In retrospect this is no surprise, the state government was scarcely a decade old at this point and many of the administrative rules and regulations we now take for granted were still being written and implemented.
This is where the myth comes in, as somehow the other telescopes are accused of the same issue. The claim often made is that “most of these structures were un-permitted”. This is often claimed as part of the evidence for mismanagement by the university.
This is incorrect… All of the remaining telescopes were built with proper permits in place. The key permits are the Conservation District Use Permits or CDUP’s that allow the use of state land on the summit of Mauna Kea. Permit numbers and dates are listed in the table below…
One of the most pervasive claims surrounding the summit is that there are obsolete and abandoned telescopes littering the summit region. The claim seems to be pushed to show that there is no need for a new telescope or that the university’s management of the summit is negligent.
The CalTech Submillimeter Observatory under the stars
There are currently thirteen telescope facilities. All of these telescopes are functional, or were usable scientific instruments prior to shutdown, none have been abandoned in any sense.
Two of the telescopes are currently shutdown, in many ways victims of the current controversy rather than obsolescence. Both could be brought back on-line to perform useful science if allowed.
The Caltech Submillimeter Observatory, or CSO, was shutdown and is now awaiting dismantling and site restoration. An environmental assessment and a conservation district use permit are in process to allow this to happen.
Even while CSO has been shut down the reasons were budgetary, not so much obsolescence. The telescope itself is planned to be dismantled, moved, and reassembled on another site elsewhere in the world.
The University of Hawaii Hoku Kea telescope was due to be recommissioned with a new telescope installed in the recently renovated dome. This is on hold due to the TMT issues and the dome is likely to be dismantled as part of the deal to allow TMT. Loss of this telescope is unfortunate as this was a student telescope for university astronomy students.
Given the actual status of these two shutdown telescopes it is clear they are not abandoned as per the usual claim. All of the other facilities on the summit are operational and doing science.
For our late April West Hawaii Astronomy Club star party I have put together a short observing list. This in my effort to expand our skills and knowledge of the sky.
M22 or NGC6656 in Sagittarius, a classic globular cluster
The best upcoming weekend for a star party is May 4th, the same day as new Moon. The 4th is also AstroDay Hilo and many members including myself will be busy. Thus our next new Moon star party will be Saturday, April 27th. With a last quarter Moon rising a little before 2am it is a nice night for a star party with dark skies until long after midnight.
Ten objects, from easy to a few more challenging targets, something for everyone. None of these are Messier objects, a couple are from catalogs you may have never heard of. Trust me in that there are a few nice surprises to be found here…
NGC2362 RA: 7h 18′ Dec: 24° 57′ S Mag: 4.1 Open cluster in CMa Centered on the bright star Tau CMa
h3945 RA: 7h 16′ Dec: 23° 19’S Mag:4.8 Binary star in CMa Pan north of NGC2362 a few fields or about 1° north and a touch west, called the Winter Alberio
The Stargate RA: 12h 36′ Dec: 12° 1’S Mag:7 Asterism in Crv Very bright, easy to find, just one degree SW of M104, look for a triangle within a triangle
Melotte 111 RA: 12h 22′ Dec: 25° 51’N Mag:1.8 Open cluster in Com Hint: Do not use the telescopeNGC4565 RA: 12h 36′ Dec: 25° 59’N Mag: 9.5 Galaxy in Com
Trumpler 20 RA: 12h 39′ Dec: 60° 36’S Mag 10.1 open cluster in Cru Large, try binoculars or lowest power, very rich!
DY Cru RA: 12h 47′ Dec: 59° 42’S Mag: 8.4-9.8 Carbon star in Cru Put Mimosa in the field, put in an eyepiece for about 100x and look 2′ W of Mimosa, if needed put Mimosa just out of the field of view to cut the glare
Pismis 4 RA: 8h 34′ Dec: 44° 24’S Mag: 5.9 Open cluster in Vela Large, bright, use lowest power
Trumpler 14 RA: 10h 43′ Dec: 59° 32’S Mag: 5.5 Open Cluster in Car Part of the Eta Carina nebula complex, 19′ NW of Eta Carina
NGC3532 RA: 11h 5′ Dec: 58° 46’S Mag:3 Open cluster in Car Big, bright, use lowest power
You may notice a lot of seemingly odd catalog designations… Pismis, Trumpler, Melotte… Just to show that there is a lot to discover beyond the Messier and NGC catalogs.
A couple hints… All of these objects are to the south, setup your telescope to be comfortable looking south. Most of these will not be in your telescopes little computer if you use GOTO. Learn how to enter manual RA and Dec coordinates.
M6, the Butterfly Cluster, 9 x 1min Canon 60D and AT6RC
All of these objects should be visible in the early to mid-evening on April 27th. Those in Canis Major should be viewed first, while the last are in Crux which rises around 7pm and culminates around 10pm.
The dimmest objects listed here are tenth magnitude, within easy reach of a six inch telescope. If you do not have a six inch, check out the view in someone else’s telescope. The brightest object here does not even need a telescope, indeed it is too large to fit in the field of view.
I have noted a tendency among my fellow observers in our little local club… To observe the same objects over and over.
M6, the Butterfly Cluster, 9 x 1min Canon 60D and AT6RC
These are the big, bright, showpiece objects that we observe repeatedly. You know the ones… the Orion Nebula, Andromeda Galaxy, Omega Centauri, Eta Carina, Jewelbox, Etc.
I too visit old favorites in the night, stopping by to enjoy the beauty. I will also make it a point to view some new objects each observing session, something I have not seen before. Our universe has more to offer, there are many beautiful sights to be had that are all too often overlooked.
A nice night at Kaʻohe last night for the members of the West Hawaii Asrtonomy Club. As usual it was cloudy when we arrived, but cleared just after sunset leaving a very nice sky. While heavy dew shut most of us dawn after 11pm, we had several hours of very nice observing.
A refractor setup under a dark Mauna Kea sky
An 8″ CPC set up under a dark Mauna Kea sky
Telescopes of the West Hawaii Astronomy Club under a dark Mauna Kea sky
Some equipment around the observatory is thirty or more years old. As you would expect, keeping it running can be a challenge.
A redesigned small signal PCB for an Inland Motor FCU-100-30 amplifier power supply
There are two ways of dealing with this old equipment… Replacing it with something new is the preferred way. When it becomes difficult to locate spare parts, when it breaks down too often, just replace it with new gear. For much of the equipment this is the usual answer and is often a major part of the job.
Some equipment is not so easily replaced. When replacement would require wholesale redesign of a system it becomes more of a challenge. Sometimes the only choice is to keep that old gear running.
This is the case with our servo amplifiers. Twelve amplifiers supply the power that drives the telescope, one amplifier for each motor. Eight amplifiers and motors drive azimuth, four drive elevation. Three hundred and seventy tons moved by twelve relatively small DC motors. While much of the telescope control system was recently replaced, it was decided to keep the old servo amplifiers.
You might notice that these servo amplifiers are just a wee bit critical.
It has been too long since I really got out with a telescope. The ‘scopes have been out, but usually doing public work like last weekend’s Winter Star Party at CFHT in Waimea. Time to get a good night for myself.
Andrew Unger beside the 20″ Obsession while waiting for properly dark skies at Kaʻohe
As president of our little club I make the schedule and choose the night. Last month was a bust, bad weather rolling in both weekends either side of new Moon. Thus I was pleasantly surprised when this particular Saturday I had chosen looked perfect, not a cloud in the sky over Mauna Kea.
It was the wind that was likely to spoil the night. In Waimea and Waikoloa strong trade winds roared and rushed. A pall of dust could be seen over the whole area from Waimea to the sea. The Kaʻohe site has a particular blessing, it is directly in the lee of the mountain when the trades come out of the nor’east.
Today I learned of the passing of Steven Coe, an amateur observer well known and admired in the Arizona community and elsewhere. He had been having health issues on and off for the past few years, but would usually bounce right back and you could again find him out in the dark with a telescope somewhere.
Steven Coe set up at the 2004 All Arizona Star PartyI spent many nights observing with Steve and the rest of the usual gang at star parties in Southern Arizona. Nights at Sentinel or Farnsworth Ranch, he was nearly always there, one of the most dedicated visual observers in the community.
Go to the new moon events in southern AZ, wherever they were that month, and you would find Steve, AJ Crayon, Tom Polakis, and the rest. If everyone was there, it was going to be a good night. They were very memorable nights indeed.
If you saw Steve setting up at a star party you always wanted to setup nearby, you would learn so much just listening through the night. You were always welcome at his eyepiece, and what I saw there was so often something I had never seen before. A distant quasar, or some obscure gem of a nebula not found in the usual guides. Steve knew so much about the sky, and would cheerfully share that knowledge.
