When you want to see the stars, find someplace dark
New Moon will occur today at 11:04HST.
Saturday Feb. 2nd was the best star party weekend this month, while the weekend of the 9th provides a five day old Moon. March 2nd and 9th both offer good observing weekends.
Continue reading “New Moon”Next up in our examination of the current legislature’s crop of Mauna Kea bills is SB936.
This bill removes two thirds of the revenue currently going to the
University of Hawaii managed Mauna Kea lands management special fund, redirecting the revenue towards two additional funds. One third would go to a new Mauna Kea special fund administered by the Department of Hawaiian Homelands. The other third would go to a DLNR administered Mauna Kea natural area reserve special fund.
The deadline for the introduction of new bills in the Hawaii legislature’s 2019 session has passed and we can see that at least six bills directly address Mauna Kea.
We have previously discussed HB1067, the development moratorium bill addressing Mauna Kea lands above 6,000ft. The remainder are less direct, but are no less aimed squarely at the controversies surrounding new astronomy facilities on Mauna Kea.
Many of these bills do not address the mauna by name, but even a quick reading and familiarity with the issue reveals that there is no other reason for these bills to have been advanced.
What do all of these bills have in common? With the exception of House Bill 1067 all of the senate bills were introduced, and likely authored in large part by state Senator Kaialiʻi Kahele.
It appears that Senator Kahele has made it his mission to destroy astronomy on Mauna Kea. When last year’s blatant attempts in the legislature failed, he has become more circumspect, attempting to add layers of bureaucratic barriers to changing anything on the mauna.
SB916 is the clearest example of this. Not only would it likely make any use permit of Mauna Kea legally impossible, it would have the same effect on all state lands.
It is worth going through the bills individually, considering the possible implications of the language. Over the next few days DarkerView will do just that, examining each of these bills.
Taken individually some of these bills seem reasonable enough, when considered as a group it becomes clear there is a distinct goal. This is not about improving management or oversight of the mauna, there are better ways to accomplish improvement. This is about ending astronomy on Mauna Kea.
With the Hawaii state legislature now in session we now have a clear view of those bills targeting the controversy on Mauna Kea. While of the bills concerning the mauna are indirect, one is quite direct. HB1067 is a complete ban on any development above 6,000ft on Mauna Kea. Blunt and simple.
Introduced by representative Amy A. Perruso representing central Oahu district 46, Launani Valley and Wahiawa . The bill has a long introduction, but a very simple change to the state statutes…
Continue reading “HB1067 Mauna Kea Development Moratorium”§304A- Mauna Kea conservation district lands; development; prohibition. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, no new construction or development on conservation lands on the Mauna Kea summit located at six thousand feet above sea level and higher shall take place after December 31, 2019.
HB1067 from the 2019 Hawaii Legislature
With the Moon only a half a degree from Venus this morning, it should be relatively easy to spot the brilliant planet high in the daytime sky.
Spotting planets in the daytime is not that difficult, both Jupiter and Venus are bright enough to seen in full daylight. Venus is currently near maximum brilliance at about -4.3 magnitude, easily bright enough to see in a clear sky. There are a few helpful hints to make this easier.
Today the Moon will make finding Venus quite easy. The planet is only half a degree above the Moon, just above the slim crescent. Keep in mind that the Moon is half a degree across, the planet will be half a Moon diameter above the unlit side, easy to spot in the mid-morning sky. Having the Moon nearby will not only aid in locating the Planet, it will also provide your eyes something to focus on.
Tomorrow morning will feature a very close pairing of a 15% crescent Moon and a brilliant Venus just
½° apart. The pair will be situated between Jupiter above and Saturn rising below.
The Moon is close to ½° across, thus the planet will lie quite close to the tip of a beautiful, slim crescent. Shining at a brilliant -4.2 magnitude the planet is also a match for the bright Moon.
A beautiful lineup of Moon and planets should make it worth the effort to rise early and enjoy the pre-dawn spectacle.
Today Mercury is passing through superior conjunction, passing around the far side of the Sun as seen from our earthbound vantage point. This fast moving planet will reappear in the sunset in about a week, rising towards maximum elongation on February 26th.
This will be a modest apparition, with the planet only 18° from the Sun at maximum. The next evening apparition in June is much better, reaching over 25° from the Sun.
| Mercury Events for 2019 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Apparition | Date | Elongation | Magnitude |
| Evening | Feb 27 | 18.1°E | -0.2 |
| Morning | Apr 11 | 27.7°W | +0.6 |
| Evening | Jun 23 | 25.2°E | +0.7 |
| Morning | Aug 9 | 19.0°W | +0.3 |
| Evening | Oct 20 | 24.6°E | +0.1 |
| Morning | Nov 28 | 20.1°W | -0.3 |
| Data from the Mercury Chaser’s Calculator by John Walker | |||
Not the first time I have attempted to take this photo, rather the fourth, or is it fifth?
I think I got it right this time…
The image is a two frame mosaic taken with the Mavic Air and stitched in Lightroom. The trick is catching the clouds at just the right place, and racing to launch the drone from close enough to take advantage of the clouds. Conditions change with remarkable speed and fluidity as the clouds move across the flank of the mauna, surging up the slope or dissipating quickly.
I had a plan for this eclipse.
I needed a quiet day to work on some code in the Keck 2 dome control PLC. One problem, every time I load code the dome lights go out. Guys working in the dome tend to object to the lights going out randomly.
Answer? Go up on a weekend when there as only a couple guys on duty and not a lot of work going on. I can have the whole telescope and dome to myself most of the day.
There is also a total lunar eclipse.
Continue reading “Shadow on Shadow”Full Moon will occur today at 19:16HST.
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.
This full moon will feature a total lunar eclipse. For the islands the eclipse will just be starting as the Moon rises with all of totality visible.
Continue reading “Full Moon”