A Darker View

Remove the abandoned telescopes?

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.

CSO — 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.

Is TMT a military installation?

This lie is the favorite of the conspiracy theory crowd. It plays upon the fundamental distrust and enmity towards the US military that many segments of our island community hold. How can you have a giant structure on the mountain without the military being in charge? With lasers!

The Thirty Meter Telescope — An artist concept of TMT at night, with the laser guide star system illuminated.

Why does TMT think #MaunaKea is worth all this trouble vs. the Canary Islands?
Is it the subtle cloud cover difference, or the FACT that Hawaii is heavily militarized with all 4 branches nearby?
Spoiler: major weapon contractors reside in current telescopes.
Kaniela Ing‏ @KanielaIng on Twitter, 16July2019

There is even a military base positioned to protect it! Never mind that base is a training base that has no troops more than half the time.

As someone on the inside I know this to be false. How to prove that? A bit more difficult as none of my answers are going to be heard by the true believers.

There are some practical considerations that should make this clear. The largest telescopes are not capable of tracking something as fast as a low earth orbit satellite, where the spy satellites operate. These big telescopes simply can not move fast enough to follow these objects across the sky. I work on the drive systems, I know.

Kohala Skies

While much of the island focused on events taking place on the slopes of Mauna Kea, we had a better plan for Monday evening… Take some activities, and a couple telescopes out to a local library and share the sky with anyone who came.

Shelly the the Pretty Purple Telescope — Shelly enjoying a view of Jupiter through the PPT

We planned to bring a presentation and activities to the Kohala library. While the gals presented inside we had a couple telescopes setup outside the front door for anyone to enjoy. Thus is was a team of four… Shelly, Kelleen, Scott, and myself that arrived at the library about 5pm.

The drive over the Kohala on the mountain road is often pretty in the late afternoon. This day was no exception, the afternoon lighting the rolling green hills, Haleakala on Maui looming directly ahead of me as I drove.

I do worry about setting up a star party in Kohala as the weather is notoriously fickle and heavy rain squalls can sweep off the ocean very quickly. I was greeted by nearly clear skies, a pleasant surprise that bode well for the evening.

Full Moon

Full Moon will occur today at 11:38HST.

This evening look for the Moon rising in the east just as the Sun sets in the west. Across the Big Island this can often lead to moonbows as the low elevation moonlight interacts with fog and clouds.

A partial lunar eclipse will be visible in Europe, India, and Africa. None of this eclipse will be visible here in the islands.

Will TMT be the biggest building on the island?

You see this claim bandied about routinely in newspaper comment sections and Facebook, It has several variations, from biggest, tallest, to largest, to most area. This has been repeated since the beginning of the controversy and continues to the present as a protester staple.

TMT Rendering — An overhead view of the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope, credit TMT Observatory Corporation

This particular myth is easily disproved as there are any number of buildings on the island that are much larger in several respects. All you need is some elementary school math.

The Moon and Saturn

This evening, July 15th, the Moon will pass quite close to Saturn. For viewers in the islands the pair will be closest as it grows dark, slowly separating as the night advances.

At sunset the two will be separated by about 40 arcminutes. Keep in mind that is a center to center distance, considering the size of the moon this puts the planet about 25 arcminutes from the limb of the Moon, close enough to appear in the field of a medium power eyepiece in most amateur telescopes.

Viewers in the South Pacific and Australia will be able to view an occultation of Saturn by the Moon this evening.

As the Moon is also quite close to full it will be rising at sunset, thus a good eastern horizon is desirable to see this event early in the evening. Look for a bright, slightly yellowish star-like object just north of the Moon as it rises.

The Calm Before the Storm

You almost certainly know by now, the Thirty Meter Telescope will restart construction this coming Monday. It was announced in a live press conference Monday from the governor’s office. At 7am Monday, July 15th, the Mauna Kea Access Road will be closed to permit the passage of heavy equipment.

Mauna Kea Protest — Protests on Mauna Kea, June 24, 2015. Photo by Dan Birchall, used with permission.

With this both sides are preparing for the coming confrontation. The protesters are rallying the troops, the state and county have had the response plans in place for a while.

Meanwhile the observatories prepare to get jammed in the middle. We have cancelled planned maintenance operations and stationed a minimum crew in the dorms at Hale Pohaku, just a few guys to keep the telescopes on-sky if the road is impassable due to the protests.

There are already a few protesters on the mauna, a few vehicles at Puʻu Huluhulu, a few to be seen along the summit road. It appears that the larger gatherings will occur over the weekend.

It appears both side expect the action to be at the Mauna Kea Access Road and Saddle Road junction rather than at Hale Pohaku like last time. The plan seems to be forcing the protesters further down the mountain. Actually that is a good plan, safer for everyone protesters included with good road access adjacent to Saddle Road, lower in elevation.

Personally? I was scheduled to go up next week, I cancelled that, opting to go up this Friday to get a last few things done. I may possibly take a turn as part of the minimal crew staying on the mauna for a few days depending on the protests and the ability of law enforcement to keep the road open.

Saturn at Opposition

Today the planet Saturn will pass through opposition, directly opposite the Sun in our sky.

Saturn orbits the Sun once every 29.45 years. As the ringed planet continues on its way the Earth swings around much faster on our inside track. As a result we lap Saturn once every 378.1 days, passing between the planet and the Sun. During opposition Saturn will be well placed for observation all night long, rising at sunset, transiting at midnight, and setting at sunrise.

During opposition the planet and rings will be slightly brighter than normal, an effect known as the opposition effect. The effect is most notable in the rings where the apparent brightness can increase by 30%. The effect is a combination of two factors, shadow hiding and the retro-reflective properties of the ring particles.

A Second Chance for Lāhainā Noon

Lāhainā Noon is that moment when the Sun is directly overhead. At the moment of Lāhainā Noon shadows disappear.

The first Lāhainā Noon of the year occurs in May as the Sun is moving northwards in the sky. The second chance to see Lāhainā Noon is in July as the Sun moves back to the south.

The table below gives the dates and times for this second Lāhainā Noon across the islands.

Lahiana Noon for July 2019
City	Long.	Lat.	Date	Time	Elevation
Naalehu	155°35’W	19°03’N	Jul 27	12:29HST	89.9
Hilo	155°05’W	19°42’N	Jul 24	12:27HST	89.9
Kona	155°59’W	19°39’N	Jul 25	12:30HST	89.9
Waimea	155°40’W	20°01’N	Jul 23	12:29HST	89.9
Hawi	155°50’W	20°14’N	Jul 22	12:30HST	89.9
Hana	156°00’W	20°46’N	Jul 19	12:30HST	89.9
Kihei	156°27’W	20°45’N	Jul 19	12:32HST	90.0
Kahalui	156°28’W	20°53’N	Jul 18	12:32HST	89.9
Lahaina	156°40’W	20°53’N	Jul 18	12:33HST	89.9
Lanai City	156°55’W	20°50’N	Jul 18	12:34HST	89.9
Kaunakakai	157°01’W	21°05’N	Jul 17	12:34HST	89.9
Honolulu	157°49’W	21°18’N	Jul 16	12:37HST	89.9
Kaneohe	157°48’W	21°25’N	Jul 15	12:37HST	89.9
Waialua	158°08’W	21°34’N	Jul 14	12:38HST	89.9
Lihue	159°22’W	21°58’N	Jul 11	12:43HST	89.9
Data from US Naval Observatory Data Services

Goat Trouble

Yes, there is no mystery as to why my sweet potatoes have been mown flat on several occasions. Now… What do I do about it?